Anti-Armenianism

Turkey and Switzerland have never been best pals in the years preceding the 2000s. During the Justice and Development Party?s (AKP) rule, the relationship started having an inconsistent course with ups and downs. The Swiss parliament?s decision in 2003 to recognize the World War I Armenian tragedy as genocide despite government opposition was not appreciated by Turkey.

Human rights organizations in Turkey issued a statement urging world leaders to reject Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's invitation to take part in the ceremony commemorating the 100-year anniversary since the Battle of Gallipoli on April 25.

Armenian leader Sargsyan attends the Moscow premier of Turkish-German director Ak?n's 'The Cut' amid fresh exchange of words on 1915 events Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan attended Jan. 30 the Moscow premier of ?The Cut,? the latest movie from Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Ak?n which  centers on an Armenian father who travels from the 1915 Ottoman Empire to the U.S.

Accusing Turkey of committing genocide is a form of execution without trial, President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has indicated, while also stating that Ankara is ?ready to pay for any misdeed? if an ?impartial board of historians? concludes that it was at fault for the events of 1915.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has ?mistakenly? published a picture of an ?Armenian Genocide Monument? on an official day planner, prepared to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Çanakkale in World War I.

A picture of the monument is included on the April page of the planner.

On Jan. 17, 2007, Hrant Dink, a Turkish Armenian intellectual and the editor-in-chief of the Istanbul-based Armenian daily newspaper, Agos, was assassinated right outside his office in one of the busiest streets in the country. The assassin, Ogün Samast, was a 17-year-old ultra-nationalist from Trabzon, a Black Sea town known for its tough guys and nationalist circles.

Officers arrested in the murder case of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink have joined the civilian suspects in blaming one-time allies or colleagues for the killing, after the inspection was recently widened.

If I had not read Hayko Ba?dat?s article last week in daily Taraf, I would not have realized that there are more similarities  than meet the eye between the Charlie Hebdo killings and the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink. Their common point is not limited to both incidents being attacks on freedom of expression.

A police chief accused of negligence in the murder of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink in 2007 was arrested after turning himself into the authorities in Ankara on Jan. 19.

Police chief Ercan Demir was arrested on charges of "voluntary manslaughter with reckless behavior."

Mourners have marched in Istanbul to commemorate Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, on the 8th anniversary of his killing.

The march started 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 19 from Taksim Square and ended with a homage to Dink in front of the Armenian weekly Agos newspaper's office building in the Pangalt? neighborhood of the ?i?li district.