ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A renowned Turkish cardiologist and professor has ignited widespread outrage after posting a controversial remark on social media, widely interpreted as derogatory toward Turkey’s Kurdish population - the country’s second-largest ethnic group. The post has triggered legal action from main pro-Kurdish political party and bar associations.
In a Sunday post on X, Bengi Baser shared a cartoon depicting the same caricatured individual in five different panels. The cartoon was titled “Hırtlar Vadisi” - a pun on the popular Turkish crime drama, Kurtlar Vadisi - Valley of the Wolves. The term “hırt” is a derogatory slang word in Turkish meaning “boor” and is often used to describe someone who is perceived as stupid, unrefined or socially awkward.
Alongside the image, Baser commented, “Why don't you spend the energy you spend on destroying stray animals on rehabilitating these human subspecies?”
The phrase “human subspecies” was also widely condemned as dehumanizing and offensive, with many interpreting the remark as targeting Kurds - especially in light of Baser’s past comments, which critics have described as anti-Kurdish.
Legal action and backlash
Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish political force, the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), announced on Monday that it had filed a criminal complaint against Baser. In a statement, the party said her remarks “targeted Kurdish people as a whole,” accused them of criminal behavior, and posed “a direct threat to social peace and coexistence.”
Similarly, a bar association in Diyarbakir (Amed) - a Kurdish-majority province in southeast Turkey - filed a separate lawsuit, accusing Baser of "hate speech.” The association also urged the Turkish Health ministry to launch a disciplinary investigation, citing “a violation of ethical principles tied to professional responsibilities.”
The backlash extended beyond political and legal spheres, with prominent Turkish professor Ozgur Demirtas indirectly criticizing Baser in a post on X, stating, “Racism is a MENTAL ILLNESS... Looking down on races other than your own is to be ignorant of GENETIC science. This mental illness can also be seen in some ‘so-called’ professors.”
In response to the uproar, Baser denied that her post targeted Kurds. She stated in a follow-up post that the cartoon referred to those “who harass women in the streets” and were responsible for the stabbing of 14-year-old Ahmet Minguzzi in Istanbul earlier this year.
“When I see this drawing, it reminds me of those who can’t even manage to be human,” she wrote, adding that those accusing her of anti-Kurdish sentiment should apologize “to citizens of Kurdish origin.”
The bigger picture
This incident is the latest in a series of controversies involving anti-Kurdish rhetoric in Turkey.
In January, a member of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was criticized for displaying an air freshener depicting the execution of Sheikh Said, a revered Kurdish figure. The Sheikh Said Association condemned the act as deeply offensive.
In December 2023, the Diyarbakir municipality named a boulevard after Sheikh Said, prompting backlash from Turkish nationalists who labeled the historical figure a “traitor” and alleged British collaborator. Among the critics was Umit Ozdag, leader of the Turkish far-right Victory Party, who censured the Diyarbakir municipality’s decision.
Importantly, the latest controversy emerged amid renewed efforts by Ankara to resolve the decades-long Kurdish issue. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has implemented several reforms related to Kurdish cultural and linguistic rights over its two-decade tenure.
It also comes amid a peace process aimed at ending the four-decade old armed conflict between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
