ARMENIANS IN TURKEY UNHAPPY AT LINKAGE WITH GREEKS’ PROBLEMS, PATRIARCH

Hurriyet , Turkey
29 Sep 06

"Let us educate Armenian children"

Patriarch Mesrob II, in a letter that he wrote to Prime Minister
Erdogan, has noted that the principle of reciprocity may only be
valid for the citizens of foreign countries.

Mesrob II, patriarch of the Armenians in Turkey, sent a letter
to Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and stressed that the principle
of "reciprocity" may only be valid for the citizens of foreign
countries. Stating that they feel uncomfortable with the fact that
the problems encountered by the Armenian community are based on the
principles of reciprocity between Turkey and Greece, Mesrob II said
the following: "My community is seriously uncomfortable with the fact
that each and every issue related to the Armenian community is being
linked to the problems of the Greek Orthodox community. With their
Turkish citizenship, the Turkish Armenian community does not have any
problems related to reciprocity with any other country. Therefore
Turkish Armenians believe that it is meaningless to put this issue
on the agenda every now and then. They also believe that they are
becoming the victims of the dispute between Turkey and Greece."

Recalling that 30,000 to 40,000 citizens of the Republic of Armenia
live in Turkey due to the tolerance displayed by the administrators of
the Republic of Turkey, Mesrob II called upon Prime Minister Erdogan to
resolve the education problems of the children of these people. Noting
that these children may receive education in the Armenian schools
that operate within the framework of the National Education Ministry,
Mesrob II underlined that this may serve the dialogue between Turkey
and Armenia. Mesrob II continued as follows: "Please allow me to say
that I have been following the discussions in this regard with sadness
and that I believe that the policies pursued over these children are
very regretful. These foreign citizens who live in Turkey are the
children of the neighbouring countries with which our country should
develop a dialogue. If these foreign children learn fluent Turkish,
will they not contribute to the dialogue that will be established
with the citizens of these countries in the future?"