Ankara welcomes appointment of Turk as OSCE executive for efforts against intolerance

ANKARA

Turkey has welcomed the appointment of a Turkish academic as a senior representative in charge of combating intolerance and discrimination against Muslims under the roof of Europe’s top security body.

Bülent Şenay, an associate professor, was last week appointed by German chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims.

“Our country has been attaching a special importance to supporting work by international organizations in regards to preventing tendencies such as intolerance, xenophobia, racism and Islamophobia which have been rising within the context of today’s challenges such as regional instabilities, irregular migration flows and increasing terror threats,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement released on Feb. 23.

“The appointment [of Şenay] has been welcomed by our side within the framework of our determined approach within the content of struggling against intolerance and discrimination against Muslims,” the ministry said, recalling Turkey’s contributions to efforts for building of “a security community” in the OCSE’s geography.