The Republican Party, the major opposition party in Turkey, rejects racial or religious discrimination, Kasim Gulek, secretary general of the party, declared at a mass rally in Kars, in Eastern Turkey.
Mr. Gulek denounced the practice of discrimination as a betrayal of the country, insisting that his party believes that all people in the country are equal as citizens. It was the Republican Party, which held office for 30 years until 1950, that introduced in 1942 the “Varlik,” a discriminatory tax levelled at all minorities in the country. The tax brought the Jewish businessmen and industrialists in Turkey to economic ruin.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
