New case of vandalism has been found on the walls of the Armenian Surb Astvatsatsin Church in Istanbul’s Zeinlink district, according to a report by ermenihaber.am. The spray-painted graffiti captured by the photographer of the news outlet is signed “OHB” which is one of the most active graffiti makers in Istanbul.
This is not the first incident, in which Armenian institutions have been the target of graffiti and vandalism in Istanbul in recent years. In April 2018 photos of graffiti reading “This homeland is ours” spray-painted on the exterior wall of the Armenian Surp Takavor Church and a pile of trash dumped in front of the church’s door began circulating on social media and various Turkish news outlets. The Kadıkoy Municipality condemned the incident as a “racist attack” in a Twitter post, saying the necessary work has been initiated to clear the writing and remove the trash.
In 2016, the exterior walls of the Bomonti Mkhitarian Armenian School of Istanbul were vandalized with anti-Armenian graffiti recently. “One night, we suddenly will be in Karabakh,” read the graffiti in Turkish.
