Armenian church in Istanbul daubed with hate speech

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Surp Astuanzazh Armenian Church in Istanbul's Bakırköy neighborhood was daubed with hate speech this week, as “1915, blessed year” was written on a wall of the building in reference to the Armenian Genocide, the 100th anniversary of which will be marked in April, Today's Zaman reports.

In addition to “1915, blessed year,” another graffiti on the church stated, “What does it matter if you are all Armenian when there is already one Ogün Samast.”

The message echoes a demonstration slogan that commemorated the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink who was assassinated in 2007 by then-17-year-old ultranationalist Samast. In the aftermath of the murder, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to show empathy for the slain journalist with signs reading “We are all Hrant, we are all Armenian.”

Today's Zaman said its representatives visited the site on Wednesday, March 25 morning and found that the graffiti had been painted over. But an administrator at the church said, “This type of thing happens all the time.”

No criminal complaint has been filed.