NUMBER OF ARMENIANS ILLEGALLY LIVING IN TURKEY ONLY 12,000: RECENT STUDY REPORTS

Tert.am
10:46 â~@¢ 18.03.10

The number of Armenians illegally working in Turkey might actually
be several times smaller than claimed by the Turkish authorities,
reports The Armenian Observer Blog in a blog post last month.

There are between 12,000 and 13,000 Armenian citizens working illegally
in Turkey, according to a study by the Eurasia Partnership Foundation,
which will be made available to the public next month.

This study is very important, because up until now the Turkish
authorities have been claiming there are from 70,000-100,000 Armenians
illegally working in Turkey, and using it as a bargaining chip in
their bi-lateral relations with Armenia, hinting they might send
those illegal migrants back home if Armenia continues to encourage
Armenian-Diaspora efforts for international recognition of the Armenian
Genocide and doesn’t make concessions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Head researcher Alin Ozinian, an Ä°stanbul native of Armenian descent,
worked for two years on the project, which culminated in a 150-page
report to be released in Istanbul next month.