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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Sept 28 2012
Armenians snub mayor's call for return
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
by Vercihan ZiflioÄ?lu
Prominent members of Armenian diaspora reject Diyarbakır Mayor's
invitation to Armenians whose ancestors were forced to flee in 1915 to
return to the city
Various well-known names among the Armenian diaspora have reacted
negatively Diyarbakır Mayor Osman Baydemir recent invitation to
Armenians and other non-Muslim peoples, whose ancestors lived in the
southeastern province before they were forced to flee during the
events of 1915, to return to the city.
Ara Sarafyan, the director of the Gomidas Institute in London, and
whose family's origins lie in the Turkish provinces of Yozgat and
ElazıÄ?, was among those to react to Baydemir's invitation.
`Baydemir's call is not enough. And what is more, it could be
manipulated by the Turkish nationalists.
Even though the intention is good, Baydemir is a politician above
all,' Sarafyan said, adding that a considerable part of the diaspora
has its origins in Diyarbakır. `As in most provinces, Armenians were
also massacred in Diyarbakır. Why should they return to the city they
left with great pain?'
`An Armenian, an Assyrian and a Chaldean, whose grandfathers or
great-grandfathers were born in Diyarbakır, have the same right to
live in Diyarbakır as I have, [speaking] as a Kurdish person who was
born in Diyarbakır. I would like to invite all the ethnic groups whose
ancestors once lived in Diyarbakır back to Diyarbakır again. Come back
to your city,' Baydemir said, addressing Turkish and Armenian
journalists on Sept. 25 on the sidelines of a roundtable conference
called `Expanding the Scope of Dialogue: Media and Armenia-Turkey
Relations at the Current Stage,' organized by the Yerevan Press Club
in Diyarbakır.
`I don't believe it is a serious and sincere call. It has no meaning
for us; no one could come back. What would we find out about ourselves
if we returned? I would of course want to return the land where my
ancestors were born, but it is not possible under such conditions,'
Suzanne Khardalian, a film director currently residing in Stockholm
whose family comes from Adıyaman and MaraÅ?, said.
`Why Diyarbakır?'
Garo Yalick, who currently lives in France but whose family has
origins in Van and Mardin, said the call did not make any sense to
him.
`They only remember to call on Armenian when they are faced with
political problems. So I want to ask: Why should we come back?' Yalick
said.
The Armenian press also criticized Diyarbakır's being chosen for the
`Turkey-Armenia Relations' conference organized by the Yerevan Press
Club and chaired by Boris Navasartyan, because the Kurdish issue is so
intensely felt in the city.
A column about Baydemir's invitation, asking `Why Diyarbakır?' was
published by Hagop Çakıryan, a columnist for the Armenian newspaper
Azg who specializes in Turkey.
`Diyarbakır is being introduced as the capital city of North
Kurdistan, while Osman Baydemir is regarded as the Kurdistan Workers'
Party's [PKK] representative. Baydemir is also seen as an enemy in
political circles in Turkey,' Çakıryan's column read.
The fact that Sunday's meeting's was held in Diyarbakır would not be
useful for the dialogue between the two countries, Çakıryan told the
Hürriyet Daily News. `Diyarbakır is a city associated with the Kurdish
problem. It must be the last place to go in terms of Turkey-Armenia
relations. While the Yerevan Press Club chair was saying this meeting
would contribute to Turkey-Armenia relations, Baydemir both underlined
the events of 1915 and made a call for the return [of non-Muslim
ethnic groups],' Çakıryan said.
September/28/2012
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/armenians-snub-mayors-call-for-return.aspx?pageID=238&nID=31177&NewsCatID=338
Sept 28 2012
Armenians snub mayor's call for return
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
by Vercihan ZiflioÄ?lu
Prominent members of Armenian diaspora reject Diyarbakır Mayor's
invitation to Armenians whose ancestors were forced to flee in 1915 to
return to the city
Various well-known names among the Armenian diaspora have reacted
negatively Diyarbakır Mayor Osman Baydemir recent invitation to
Armenians and other non-Muslim peoples, whose ancestors lived in the
southeastern province before they were forced to flee during the
events of 1915, to return to the city.
Ara Sarafyan, the director of the Gomidas Institute in London, and
whose family's origins lie in the Turkish provinces of Yozgat and
ElazıÄ?, was among those to react to Baydemir's invitation.
`Baydemir's call is not enough. And what is more, it could be
manipulated by the Turkish nationalists.
Even though the intention is good, Baydemir is a politician above
all,' Sarafyan said, adding that a considerable part of the diaspora
has its origins in Diyarbakır. `As in most provinces, Armenians were
also massacred in Diyarbakır. Why should they return to the city they
left with great pain?'
`An Armenian, an Assyrian and a Chaldean, whose grandfathers or
great-grandfathers were born in Diyarbakır, have the same right to
live in Diyarbakır as I have, [speaking] as a Kurdish person who was
born in Diyarbakır. I would like to invite all the ethnic groups whose
ancestors once lived in Diyarbakır back to Diyarbakır again. Come back
to your city,' Baydemir said, addressing Turkish and Armenian
journalists on Sept. 25 on the sidelines of a roundtable conference
called `Expanding the Scope of Dialogue: Media and Armenia-Turkey
Relations at the Current Stage,' organized by the Yerevan Press Club
in Diyarbakır.
`I don't believe it is a serious and sincere call. It has no meaning
for us; no one could come back. What would we find out about ourselves
if we returned? I would of course want to return the land where my
ancestors were born, but it is not possible under such conditions,'
Suzanne Khardalian, a film director currently residing in Stockholm
whose family comes from Adıyaman and MaraÅ?, said.
`Why Diyarbakır?'
Garo Yalick, who currently lives in France but whose family has
origins in Van and Mardin, said the call did not make any sense to
him.
`They only remember to call on Armenian when they are faced with
political problems. So I want to ask: Why should we come back?' Yalick
said.
The Armenian press also criticized Diyarbakır's being chosen for the
`Turkey-Armenia Relations' conference organized by the Yerevan Press
Club and chaired by Boris Navasartyan, because the Kurdish issue is so
intensely felt in the city.
A column about Baydemir's invitation, asking `Why Diyarbakır?' was
published by Hagop Çakıryan, a columnist for the Armenian newspaper
Azg who specializes in Turkey.
`Diyarbakır is being introduced as the capital city of North
Kurdistan, while Osman Baydemir is regarded as the Kurdistan Workers'
Party's [PKK] representative. Baydemir is also seen as an enemy in
political circles in Turkey,' Çakıryan's column read.
The fact that Sunday's meeting's was held in Diyarbakır would not be
useful for the dialogue between the two countries, Çakıryan told the
Hürriyet Daily News. `Diyarbakır is a city associated with the Kurdish
problem. It must be the last place to go in terms of Turkey-Armenia
relations. While the Yerevan Press Club chair was saying this meeting
would contribute to Turkey-Armenia relations, Baydemir both underlined
the events of 1915 and made a call for the return [of non-Muslim
ethnic groups],' Çakıryan said.
September/28/2012
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/armenians-snub-mayors-call-for-return.aspx?pageID=238&nID=31177&NewsCatID=338