Turks gather to protest assaults against Armenians

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish intellectuals and politicians joined a march organized on Jan 27 in Istanbul’s Samatya district to protest recent assaults against elderly Armenian women, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

The march drew support from members of Istanbul’s other minority communities, including Syriacs, Kurds and religious conservatives, who joined the action to bring awareness to a slew of recent violent attacks levied against the Armenians. As part of the march flowers were left in front of the home of 84-year-old Maritsa Küçük, who was murdered last month in her home.

Organized by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and Turkey’s main Armenian organization, the march saw Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputies Ertuğrul Kürkçü, Sabahat Tuncel and Sırrı Süreyya Önder, former chair of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) Ufuk Uras and Hrant Dink’s brother Orhan Dink participate.

Meanwhile, Kürkçü said it should be questioned why all the victims were Armenians. “I hope the plots behind these incidents will be investigated efficiently and [the truths] could be revealed. Elderly and defenseless women are targeted; it is evident that the motivations behind them are hate and revenge,” Kürkçü said.

On Dec 28, 2012, Marissa Küçük was stabbed seven times before having her throat slit while in her home in Samatya. Two separate attacks were carried out in the past month against elderly Armenian women in the Samatya and Bakırköy districts as well. One of the women, 87-year-old Turfanda Aşık, lost an eye, while the other woman was robbed and severely injured. Most recently, 84-year-old Sultan Akyar was attacked in Samatya, after which she underwent eye surgery.