We commemorate with respect and mercy our five citizens who were massacred
as a result of the arson attack perpetrated against their house by a group
of xenophobes and racists in Solingen, Germany, on 29 May 1993. Turkish
people still feel the sorrow of this tragedy and the pain of our citizens
who lost their lives.
It is essential to continue relentlessly with the fight against
Islamophobia and racism in Europe. We wish such an incident would never
happen anywhere else in the world.
Last year, the commemoration ceremony of the 25th anniversary of
Solingen attack was held in Solingen with the participation of H.E. Mevlüt
Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey. The
ceremony demonstrated that this pain in the hearts of the members of Genç
family, as well as of the Turkish community in Germany, still continues
after 25 years.
It is of utmost important to draw the necessary lessons from this tragedy
and stand together against the menace of racism and, take effective
measures against xenophobia to prevent the recurrence of such attacks.
We welcome the decision by the State of Northern Rhein-Westphalia to award
every year a person or a group of persons contributing to tolerance and
intercultural reconciliation togetherness with the “Mevlüde Genç Medal”.
We invite those who have a steering influence over the
community, in particular politicians and media representatives, to adopt a
unifying language rather than a marginalising and discriminating approach
and discourse and to promote social unity in line with the
principle of living together in peace and harmony.