Study: Armenians in Turkey demanding rights, not tolerance

PanARMENIAN.Net - A new study, which explores various issues faced by Turkey’s Armenians in the republican period, asserts that Armenian citizens of the country are demanding their rights, not tolerance, Today’s Zaman reported.

“When fighting with discrimination, one thing that should never be used but which we frequently hear is the concept of ‘tolerance’ in reference to Ottoman history and with the view that different religions and cultures have lived ‘side-by-side in peace’ for centuries on these lands,” said the report, “Hearing Out Turkey’s Armenians: Problems, Demands, and Suggestions for Solution,” written by academics Günay Göksu Özdoğan and Ohannes Kılıçdağı for the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV).

Kılıçdağı said “tolerance” implies a favor given from authorities at the top levels to lower level citizens who are “not much liked.”

“Legitimacy should come from rights, not from tolerance,” he said and added that making a new constitution which does not have any perceived references to ethno-cultural identities is important in that regard.

“An understanding of equal citizenship is needed,” he also said.

The 170-page study was prepared in light of information and views gathered during four workshops this and last year with participants - Turkey’s Armenians, including teachers, journalists, heads of foundations, academics and professionals - as well as discussions between the participants.

According to participants of the study, it is no longer enough for the government to remove the barriers that make it difficult for Armenians to keep their identities and cultures alive, or that restrict educational opportunities; direct support of the government is needed for the survival of the Armenian education and culture.

Kılıçdağı said all participants agree that Turkey has changed in a positive way in the last 10 years but added that the “openings” and initiatives of the governments are seen as “superficial” and aimed at increasing the potential votes of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) as well as that the whole process was excessively dependent on the will and personality of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The study said some practices reinforces this perception. For example, the historical Armenian church on Akhtamar Island in Turkey’s eastern province of Van was not returned to the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey but opened for worship for only one day a year.

There are also recommendations to the Armenian community of Turkey. One is: “Instead of accepting a passive position within the ‘community’ and instead of sufficing with the mediation of the patriarchate, voicing problems in the public realm and spreading civil citizenship initiatives would be effective in reaching a solution.”