REVERBERATIONS IN ARMENIAN COMMUNITY TO KAREKIN II’S COMMENTS ON GENOCIDE

Hurriyet, Turkey
July 5 2006

The recent visit to Istanbul by the leader of the worldwide Armenian
Orthodox Church, Catholicos Karekin II, has reportedly divided
members of his wide spread community. Karekin II, who was in Turkey
between June 20-27, made several widely publicized statements about
Armenian claims of genocide by the Turks, noting that it was Turkey’s
responsibility to officially recognize the genocide.

Speaking after Karekin II’s departure from Turkey, Patriarch Mesrob
II, the leader of the Armenian Orthodox community in Turkey, stated
that he did not agree with Karekin II’s comments on Armenian claims
of genocide. These comments from Mesrob II in turn elicited an angry
reaction from the Turkey-based Armenian language "Agos" newspaper,
whose editor, Hrant Dink, claimed in an article that "a trap had been
laid" for Karekin II on his visit here. Dink’s comments were supported
by statements issued on the "PanArmenian" web site, which said that
the Turkish government had appointed Mesrob II to his position.