Controversial Turkish mayor Tanju Özcan is facing backlash after posting a social media message using derogatory language towards Armenians, the Agos news website reported.
Özcan, the mayor of Bolu and a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), in a post on X targeted Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
“If only your Armenian father had acted two seconds earlier, so you were never born, Öcalan. I hope this is your last birthday. Traitorous man,” he said.
Since the 1980s the PKK has been leading an insurgency that has claimed the lives of some 40,000 people in Turkey.
The post, viewed more than 7 million times by Friday, drew criticism for what rights groups described as hate speech and ethnic discrimination.
Özcan did not clarify why he invoked Armenian identity in the message. However, critics say the language reinforced harmful ethnic stereotypes and incited division by associating one of Turkey’s most notorious terrorist leaders with the Armenian community.
The spiritual leader of Turkey’s Armenian community, Patriarch Sahak Maşalyan, issued a written statement condemning the mayor’s language, calling it hate speech that undermines social harmony.
“The Armenian community, which has lived in these lands for centuries, is an integral and inseparable part of this country,” the statement read. “Remarks targeting Armenian identity not only insult a people, but also threaten our shared history and will to coexist.”
Maşalyan said such rhetoric “has never served brotherhood, unity or social peace — not in the past, not today, and not in the future.” He urged public officials to adopt more responsible language and warned that legitimizing hate speech damages all of society, not just minorities.
Özcan has previously attracted controversy for remarks targeting ethnic minorities and immigrants. In recent years he made headlines for proposing measures in Bolu aimed at restricting services for refugees and has faced criticism for statements about Kurds, Syrians and Afghans.
The CHP has not issued a formal statement regarding the tweet.
While Turkish law prohibits incitement to hatred and enmity under Article 216 of the penal code, legal experts note that enforcement is inconsistent and often influenced by political context.
Rights organizations and minority advocates have warned of a rise in discriminatory language and xenophobia in Turkish political discourse, particularly on social media platforms where elected officials face little accountability for inflammatory rhetoric.
