We must turn these districts into Armenian and Kurdish cemeteries

We must turn these districts into Armenian and Kurdish cemeteries –

Ottawa, Ontario – The Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) condemns the recent rise of Armenophobia in Turkey.

 On September 4, the Kurdish town of Cizre in the province of Şırnak, Turkey declared autonomy by the Patriotic Revolutionist Youth Movement (YDG-H) — an affiliate of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Turkish Government declared a curfew on September 4th and was lifted 6 days later.

 During the 6 days of clashes the Turkish police were making announcements via megaphones to the people of the town: “You are all Armenians!”

 On September 7, in the city of Diyarbakir, the largest Armenian church in the Middle East, Surp Giragos, was left with broken windows and damaged walls as a result of an explosion and gunfire.

 On September 8, Turkish nationalist groups attacked the Sisli, Kurtulus, and Besiktas neighborhoods of Istanbul, in an apparent retaliation against the recent wave of violence that has gripped Turkey. They chanted “We must turn these districts into Armenian and Kurdish cemeteries”.

 Dr. Basmajian, President of ANCC stated “Whenever Turkey faces internal conflicts, the government quickly blames its minorities of wrongdoings. 100 years have passed since the Armenian Genocide yet the same mentality and mindset is found in Erdogan’s government. We strongly condemn the recent rise of Armenophobia and ask Canada, a NATO ally with Turkey, to condemn the recent acts of hate towards its minorities by the Erdogan government.”

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 The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Canadian-Armenian grassroots human rights organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCC actively advances the concerns of the Canadian-Armenian community on a broad range of issues.