378 HAVE JOINED THE ON-LINE PETITION "WE ARE LIVING IN ANOTHER TURKEY"

armradio.am
02.04.2010 15:40

Angered by a Turkish-Armenian representative’s failure to emphasize
the group’s suffering in 1915 during a recent meeting with the prime
minister, community members have demanded "civilian" leadership within
the community through an online petition.

The intra-communal split stems from a March 26 meeting in Ankara
between Bedros Sirinoglu, president of the Yedikule Surp Prkich
Armenian Hospital Foundation, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

During their conversation, Sirinoglu, who is also a prominent
businessman, described the events of 1915 as "a fight between two
brothers," and said Armenians in Turkey have no problems whatsoever.

Furious at the remarks, some members of the Armenian
community have started an online petition campaign at
bizbaskabirturkiyedeyasiyoruz.blogspot.com, a domain name that means
"We are living in another Turkey." The petition had been signed by
378 individuals as the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review went to
press Thursday.

Speaking to the Daily News, Sirinoglu said he was deeply sorry
about the issue. "I do not deny what was experienced, but calling it
‘genocide’ does no good to anyone," he said.

Rakel Dink, the widow of assassinated Turkish-Armenian journalist
Hrant Dink, and other Dink family members are among those who have
signed the online petition. Signatories see the petition as a first
step on the path toward "civilianizing" the community.

Pakrad Oztukyan, editor at the weekly Agos, where Dink once worked,
is among the signatories. "This is the reaction of the Armenian
people, a denominational stance and a first step on the path toward
civilianization," he told the Daily News.