Anna Turay: Erdogan's statement awakened conscience of Armenian community in TurkeyMarch 27, 2010 - 13:27 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement on possible exile of illegal Armenian migrant from Turkey upset the Armenian community of Istanbul, said Anna Turay, one of the founders of Istanbul-based Agos bilingual newspaper. "Look, there are 170,000 Armenians in my country - 70,000 of them are my citizens, but we are [tolerating] 100,000 of them [illegally] in our country. So, what will we do tomorrow? If it is necessary, I will tell them, 'Come on, back to your country.' I will do it. Why? They are not my citizens. I am not obliged to keep them in my country. I mean these are [defenders of the Armenian claims of genocide]. Their attitude is negatively affecting our sincere attitude, and they are not aware of it," Erdogan said in an interview with the BBC. "This statement awakened conscience. We suddenly came to realize that Armenian migrants live in poor conditions and their children have no possibility to get education," she told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. "As a reaction to the Prime Minister's statement Turkish journalists turned their eyes on Armenian migrants." "Armenians in Istanbul are not aware of the problems of those newly arrived. Unfortunately, the Armenian community is not consolidated. Besides, locals and newcomers fail to establish contacts due to psychological differences," she said. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |