Amed (Diyarbakir) municipality on December 6 announced that it had started working on a street in the city, introducing it as Sheikh Said Boulevard, named for a Kurdish revolutionary who was hanged in 1925. Soon after the announcement, Turkish nationalist politicians, journalists and social media users condemned the move, claiming that the legendary leader was an enemy of the state and a collaborator of the British.
Salim Ensarioglu, a lawmaker from the IYI Party, on Tuesday defended Sheikh Said, describing him as “one of the most important values of our region.” After his remark, he was slammed on social media. On Friday, he announced his resignation from the nationalist party.
Ensarioglu said he joined the party in 2018 “based on the fact that there is a serious centre-right gap in the country.” Party officials “lynching” him on social media and disciplinary actions against him prove that the party no longer sits in centre-right and show “that the party has deviated from its founding philosophy of Nationalist, Developmental and Democratic identity and has no tolerance for different views and democratic identity.”
Ensarioglu, 68, is a Kurd from the southeastern province of Amed. He has served as a lawmaker in several terms of the parliament and as a minister in three cabinets.
Faysal Firat, a grandson of Sheikh Said, told Bianet news outlet on Tuesday that his grandfather was not a collaborator of the British, adding that he did not receive any support from them.
Sheikh Said revolted against the newly-established Turkish state in Diyarbakir in 1925 but was hanged the same year.
This is not the first time the legendary leader was insulted by nationalist Turks.
Umit Ozdag, leader of the Turkish far-right Victory Party, who was quick to denounce the Diyarbakir municipality decision, insulted Sheikh Said in August last year.
The Diyarbakir Bar Association and Sheikh Said Association said that they had separately filed lawsuits against Turkish journalist, Fatih Altayli, for insulting the leader.
Altayli strongly criticised naming of the boulevard after the Kurdish leader, accusing him of being a “disgraceful” and “dishonourable” person and a “collaborator" of the British.
