Armenians in Turkey

The Armenian Patriarchate in Turkey has welcomed a message of condolences by Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu over the killings of Armenians at the hands of Ottomans in 1915, just days before the ceremonies on April 24. 

?Prime Minister Erdo?an?s statement of condolence to the Armenians was a milestone in Turkey?s history.?

This was the first sentence of my column in daily Hürriyet on April 26 last year.

Turkish-Armenian relations are back under the spotlight ahead of the centenary commemorations of 1915 on April 24. The date will be especially strained this year, after Turkey opted to rearrange the international Gallipoli campaign remembrance service to compete with genocide commemorations in Yerevan on the same day.

'Great Catastrophe: Armenians and Turks in the Shadow of Genocide' by Thomas de Waal
(Oxford University Press, 312 pages, $29.95)

Sarkis Seropyan, the veteran editor of Istanbul-based weekly Agos' Armenian language pages, has passed away at the age of 80.

Seropyan died on March 28 after succumbing to pancreatic cancer, news portal T24 reported.

A probe has been opened into the two Interior Ministry inspectors who allegedly covered up the acts of police chiefs in the murder of Armenian Turkish journalist Hrant Dink in 2007, daily Yeni ?afak reported on March 2.
 

Former head of Turkey's police intelligence, Ramazan Akyürek, sent to prison over the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink

Former head of Turkey's police intelligence, Ramazan Akyürek, was sent to prison late on Feb. 27 over the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, according to police sources.
      

Messages from President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an last year and Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu on Jan. 20 addressed to Armenians were not "tactical" steps taken for the 100th anniversary of the 1915 events, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç has said.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu has called on all Armenians to jointly seek ways to resolve their historical differences with Turkey, stressing that it is a must for Turks and Armenians to "engage in humane relations and to recognize each other in light of 800 years of common history."

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.