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Armenian candidate reveals Anatolian roots
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
January/19/2013
Hovhannisian gained headlines after staging a strike against Sargsyan.
Vercihan ZiflioÄ?lu [email protected]
Raffi Hovhannisian, the most prominent rival of Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan for the country's Feb. 18 presidential elections, has
revealed that he is the descendent of Armenians saved during the 1915
events by their non-Christian neighbors.
`My mother's family comes from Garin [the present-day eastern province
of Erzurum], and my father's family is from Harput [the former name of
the eastern province of ElazıÄ?],' Hovhannisian recently told the
Hürriyet Daily News, adding that he often visited East Anatolia.
`My grandmother Khengeni was saved from the genocide by a Turkish
family in Erzurum. My grandfather Kaspar was saved by a Kurdish family
in Harput,' he said.
The son of Richard Hovhannisian, a professor in the United States,
Raffi Hovhannisian was born in the U.S. and came to Armenia in 1988 to
help rescuers after a strong earthquake that hit the country at the
time. Two years later, he decided to settle permanently in the
country.
Speaking about relations with Turkey, Hovhannisian said ensuring that
the 1915 mass killings of Armenians are recognized as `genocide' would
be a must if he is elected.
`Turkey, based on its own needs and interests, should recognize the
great genocide and national dispossession of the Armenian people, seek
full redemption and effect restitution, restore Armenian cultural
heritage, ensure a secure right of return,' he said.
Hovhannisian, meanwhile, said Turks who saved Armenians during the
mass killings would be commemorated in Yerevan on the centenary of the
event in 2015.
Hovhannisian, a former foreign minister and the founder of Armenia's
Heritage Party, gained headlines after staging a hunger strike against
Sargsyan two years ago.
`It was a fast for freedom, rule of law, and the supremacy of rights,' he said.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/armenian-candidate-reveals-anatolian-roots.aspx?pageID=238&nID=39426&NewsCatID=355
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
January/19/2013
Hovhannisian gained headlines after staging a strike against Sargsyan.
Vercihan ZiflioÄ?lu [email protected]
Raffi Hovhannisian, the most prominent rival of Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan for the country's Feb. 18 presidential elections, has
revealed that he is the descendent of Armenians saved during the 1915
events by their non-Christian neighbors.
`My mother's family comes from Garin [the present-day eastern province
of Erzurum], and my father's family is from Harput [the former name of
the eastern province of ElazıÄ?],' Hovhannisian recently told the
Hürriyet Daily News, adding that he often visited East Anatolia.
`My grandmother Khengeni was saved from the genocide by a Turkish
family in Erzurum. My grandfather Kaspar was saved by a Kurdish family
in Harput,' he said.
The son of Richard Hovhannisian, a professor in the United States,
Raffi Hovhannisian was born in the U.S. and came to Armenia in 1988 to
help rescuers after a strong earthquake that hit the country at the
time. Two years later, he decided to settle permanently in the
country.
Speaking about relations with Turkey, Hovhannisian said ensuring that
the 1915 mass killings of Armenians are recognized as `genocide' would
be a must if he is elected.
`Turkey, based on its own needs and interests, should recognize the
great genocide and national dispossession of the Armenian people, seek
full redemption and effect restitution, restore Armenian cultural
heritage, ensure a secure right of return,' he said.
Hovhannisian, meanwhile, said Turks who saved Armenians during the
mass killings would be commemorated in Yerevan on the centenary of the
event in 2015.
Hovhannisian, a former foreign minister and the founder of Armenia's
Heritage Party, gained headlines after staging a hunger strike against
Sargsyan two years ago.
`It was a fast for freedom, rule of law, and the supremacy of rights,' he said.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/armenian-candidate-reveals-anatolian-roots.aspx?pageID=238&nID=39426&NewsCatID=355