Dear T-VINE,
It is good that the Metropolitan Police has apologised to British Turks, but it is not good enough!
This matter should be thoroughly investigated, and from the writer(s) of this racist training material to those who approved it, everyone responsible should be sacked because this is not a simple mistake or an oversight. It was a deliberate act aimed at demonising Turks and Muslims!
This improbable concoction of criminal traits and actions by a single man, described as “Turkish’ in the Met’s training programme for new detectives, had all the ingredients to cause hatred and discrimination against Turks and Muslims, and increase tensions between different communities.
The authors of such hateful material, who set out to negatively profile Turks and Muslims in this way, are not fit to be educators. Serious questions must also be asked about those who approved or remained silent over the use of such racist material to train police officers.
This issue is of grave concern for our community because historically, we Turks are already one of the most racially targeted and discriminated communities in Britain.
Let us hope there will be no reason to call the police anytime soon, because I would not feel safe around them if they are educated with this kind of ghastly material! Appalling!
Yours sincerely,
Servet Hassan
Chairperson, British Turks Solidarity Platform
Main image, top, of a rear view of a police offers from the Metropolitan Police. Photo © Ceri Breeze / iStock
