AAA: Ankara's decree fails to protect Armenian architectural heritage in Turkey

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) issued a statement, commenting on Turkish government's announcement to return confiscated properties of national minorities.

“The Turkish government's announcement of its decision to abide by the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights to return long-ago confiscated properties of minorities comes as a step in the right direction. While it remains to be seen how the government will implement this new measure, the policy holds the promise of restoring the rule of law for minorities long discriminated against in Turkey.

We hope the timing is not just another effort to burnish the government's image as a reform-minded administration. The timing of Erdogan's new policy on minority properties also coincides with the fact that the Turkish Parliament failed to act on the Armenia-Turkey protocols to establish diplomatic relations and open the border, despite its international commitments to do so.

As far as the Armenian minority in Turkey is concerned - after a century of violent persecution, official discrimination, and public racism - the decree to return some of the confiscated properties is a welcomed development, but cannot begin to redress the magnitude of the damage inflicted.

The decree also does nothing to protect the Armenian architectural heritage in Turkey. The sorry state of the antiquities in the historic city of Ani that sits astride the border with the Republic of Armenia remains a constant testament to offenses committed in denying the Armenian Genocide as Turkish officials continue to drag their feet about salvaging what little remains of the medieval capital city,” the AAA statement said.