ETYEN MAHCHUTIAN: "60% OF ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN TURKEY WILL VOTE FOR PARTY IN POWER"
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jul 13 2007
ISTANBUL, JULY 13, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Etyen Mahchupian, the
editor-in-chief of the Weekly Akos, declared that 60% of the Armenian
community in Turkey will vote for the "Ardarutiun and Zargatsum"
("Justice and Development") party in power.
In his interview with the "Tempo" journal, Etyen Mahchupian spoke
about the forthcoming parliamentary elections to be held in Turkey and
declared that 60% of the Armenian community is going to vote for the
"Justice and Development" party: "According to our studies, Armenians
also support Basken Oran, a candidate who has been put forward as an
independent MP in Istanbul.
However, if we leave out the factor of Basken and make a comparision
between political parties, we will see that 60% of the Armenian
community is going to vote for the "Justice and Development" party,
and the remaining 40% will vote for the Democratic-Republican, as well
as the Youth and Democratic parties," The editor-in-chief mentioned.
Basken Oran, a professor of the faculty of political sciences of the
University of Ankara, 2004, and Ibrahim Kboghlun made a report on
the order of the 2004 government, according to which wider rights
were suggested for national minorities. They brought out a fact,
according to which the name "Turk" concerned an ethnic group, however,
there are other ethnic groups in the country as well. And this fact
has become a reason for filing a case on the charge of "splitting
the Turkish nation" against them.
Mahchupian touched upon the issues concerning the belongings of the
Mohammedan communities and declared that the "Justice and Development"
party implements certain positive measures concerning this question,
in difference to the Democratic-Republican and the "Nationalistic
Movement " parties: the "Justice and Development" party is standing
closer to the dream world of non-Moslems," Etyen Mahchupian declared.
It should also be mentioned that Archbishop Mesrop Mutafian, the
Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, declared a month ago that
the Armenian community in Turkey was going to vote for the "Justice
and Development" party in the forthcoming parliamentarian elections:
"We Armenians prefer the "Justice and Development" party as the latter
has adopted a less nationalistic policy against national minorities,"
the Patriarch mentioned.