DIASPORA’S MAIN PROBLEM IS MAINTENANCE OF ARMENIAN LANGUAGE
PanARMENIAN.Net
18.09.2008 14:53 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian community of Istanbul tries to
resolve problems both on state and community levels, Ara Kochunyan,
editor-in-chief of Zhamanak Istanbul-based Armenian-language newspaper,
said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.
"We have a hospital and a school under the aegis of the Constantinople
Patriarchate. The EU urged Turkey to return constructions belonging to
national minorities. We are allowed to build and reconstruct houses
and churches. In two or three years we will have new houses. Life in
a community helps to preserve faith, tradition and language," he said.
The main problem is maintenance of the Armenian language, according
to him.
"An entire generation can hardly understand and speak Armenian. That
is why most of the newspapers are bilingual. Asbarez newspaper has
been an exception until recently but now it’s published in three
languages: Armenian, English and Spanish. Otherwise, no one will buy
Armenian press. During 100 years of existence, our newspaper didn’t
lose readers. We present various viewpoints about the events taking
place in Armenia and Diaspora," Kochunyan said.
The Armenian community of Istanbul numbers 60-70 people. Some
40 churches throughout Turkey are under the authority of the AAC
Constantinople Patriarchate.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
