ANTI-ARMENIAN ACTS ON THE RISE IN TURKEY

Thursday, March 26th, 2015 | Posted by Asbarez Staff

Graffiti on the wall of St. Mary’s Church in Istanbul says ‘1915,
a blessed year’

ISTANBUL–Anti-Armenian hate speech graffiti appeared on the walls
of an Armenian church, around the same time as the Mayor of Ankara
called Armenians “disgusting.” All this ahead of the 100th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide.

The St. Mary’s (Sourp Astvadzadzin) Church in the Bakirkoy neighborhood
of Istanbul was desecrated with hate speech graffiti that read “1915,
a blessed year,” reported Today’s Zaman newspaper.

Another message on the church was read: “What does it matter if you
are all Armenian when there is already one Ogun Samast,” referring
to the convicted killer of Hrant Dink, after whose death many Turks
took to the streets with placards that read “We are all Dink. We are
all Armenian.”

Another insciption on the church wall reads: ‘What does it matter if
you are all Armenian when there is already one Ogun Samast’

Today’s Zaman wrote that its reporter visited the site on Wednesday
morning and found that the graffiti had been painted over. But an
administrator at the church said, “This type of thing happens all
the time.” The Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul refused to comment
on the matter. No criminal complaint has been filed.

The incident comes hot on the heels of another racist slur against
Armenians in Turkey. It was reported on Tuesday that Ankara Mayor
Melih Gokcek had filed a criminal complaint against Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hayko Bagdat on defamation charges after Bagdat posted
lighthearted tweets on his Twitter account referring to the mayor as
an Armenian after the March 2014 local elections.

Gokcek appears to believe it an insult to be called an Armenian
as his lawyer petitioned the Ankara Prosecutor’s Office, saying,
“The statements [by Bagdat] are false and include insult and libel.”

Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek

Ankara mayor says being called an “Armenian” is an insult Ankara Mayor
Melih Gokcek has filed a criminal complaint against Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hayko Bagdat on defamation charges, after the latter
jokingly posted tweets referring to him as an Armenian after the
March 2014 local elections.

According to the Diken website and the state-run Anadolu news agency,
Gokcek’s petition to the Ankara Prosecutor’s Office stated that Bagdat,
who has more than 300,000 followers on Twitter, wrote a series of posts
in the wake of Gokcek’s victory in last year’s March elections. One
of Bagdat’s messages said: “It is official; they gave the capital
city to an Armenian. What a shame!” according to the petition.

The petition also said a Twitter hashtag “melihgokcekermeniymis”
(Melih Gokcek turns out to be Armenian) was allegedly used by Bagdat
in his tweets on the social media website.

Gokcek’s lawyer said in the petition that the mayor is “a citizen of
the Turkish Republic who loves his country and his nation” and that
Bagdat is aware of this. “The statements [by Bagdat] are false and
include insult and libel,” the petition said.

In addition, the mayor filed a lawsuit with the court claiming that
he was insulted by being called “Armenian.”

Gokcek also sued Bagdat in civil court, demanding compensation of
10,000 liras for psychological damages. Bagdat announced the lawsuit on
Twitter, saying: “Turns out Melih Gokcek sued me demanding 10,000 liras
for calling him “Armenian, dude. We are going to have so much fun.”