The European Union has voiced concern over racist slogans targeting Armenians at a rally in Istanbul held last week to commemorate what Azeris call “Khojalu massacre”, Today’s Zaman reports.

In a statement the European Commission called on Turkey to carry out the Council of Europe recommendations to adopt a code of ethics respecting religious minorities.

The commission said: “The Commission is concerned about some of the slogans used in last weekend's demonstration, and recalls that, regarding hate speech, the Council of Europe recommendation encouraging Turkey and the media to adopt a code of ethics on respect for religious minorities has not been implemented and that there is a need for new legislation which would allow effective prosecution of incitement to hatred.”