Half of Turkey's Islamized Armenians silent on ethnic origins - expert
13:44 - 16.11.13
Of the 4 million Islamized Armenians residing in Turkey today, nearly
half remain silent on their ethnic origins, an expert has said,
addressing the problems of Turkey's crypto-Armenians.
`Who is a crypto-Armenian? The one who knows who he or she is. They
wed their children between themselves and know the Armenian traditions
better than we do,' Haykazun Alvrtsyan, the director of the Center for
Western Armenian Studies, told a news conference on Saturday.
The expert said that his studies of Turkey's Islamized Armenians have
revealed that the Crypto-Armenians, whose number is about 1.5 - 2
million, reside mainly on the territory of the historical Kingdom of
Armenia. Yet there is another half that never identifies itself as
descendents ethnic Armenians and never wishes to remember the past for
fear of losing what they have, Alvrtsyan added.
`This is first of all a political issue, as Islamized Armenians have
become a kind of problem for Turkey,' he explained. `Turkey feels an
urge to show something to the West. And to do that it is important [to
promote] religious freedom and human liberties. We are first of all
interested in the Islamized Armenians problem which is something they
must be able to solve.'
`First, there is the government viewpoint and the scientific studies
confirming that. In the second place, we deal with nationalist `gray
wolves' etc, the attitude of different circles and trends. And
thirdly, there is the demand of the humanity understanding this
problem in the best way and urging that it be raised and a solution is
found.'
Alvrtsyan further referred to the Turkish constitutional provision
saying that all people residing in the country are Turks. But that, he
said, does not mean at all they know nothing about Islamized
Armenians.
`All the Ismalized Armenians - whether hiding [their origins] or not -
are registered. And we learned recently about the codes which are
effective even today and whose initiator is Talaat [Pasha]. They know
that quite well, and not only; all the Armenians are controllable, and
that gives hints as to the policies conducted today,' Alvrtsyan said,
noting that Islamized Armenians in Turkey are often denied promotion
in the military or the state sector.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/11/16/haykazun-alvrcyan/
13:44 - 16.11.13
Of the 4 million Islamized Armenians residing in Turkey today, nearly
half remain silent on their ethnic origins, an expert has said,
addressing the problems of Turkey's crypto-Armenians.
`Who is a crypto-Armenian? The one who knows who he or she is. They
wed their children between themselves and know the Armenian traditions
better than we do,' Haykazun Alvrtsyan, the director of the Center for
Western Armenian Studies, told a news conference on Saturday.
The expert said that his studies of Turkey's Islamized Armenians have
revealed that the Crypto-Armenians, whose number is about 1.5 - 2
million, reside mainly on the territory of the historical Kingdom of
Armenia. Yet there is another half that never identifies itself as
descendents ethnic Armenians and never wishes to remember the past for
fear of losing what they have, Alvrtsyan added.
`This is first of all a political issue, as Islamized Armenians have
become a kind of problem for Turkey,' he explained. `Turkey feels an
urge to show something to the West. And to do that it is important [to
promote] religious freedom and human liberties. We are first of all
interested in the Islamized Armenians problem which is something they
must be able to solve.'
`First, there is the government viewpoint and the scientific studies
confirming that. In the second place, we deal with nationalist `gray
wolves' etc, the attitude of different circles and trends. And
thirdly, there is the demand of the humanity understanding this
problem in the best way and urging that it be raised and a solution is
found.'
Alvrtsyan further referred to the Turkish constitutional provision
saying that all people residing in the country are Turks. But that, he
said, does not mean at all they know nothing about Islamized
Armenians.
`All the Ismalized Armenians - whether hiding [their origins] or not -
are registered. And we learned recently about the codes which are
effective even today and whose initiator is Talaat [Pasha]. They know
that quite well, and not only; all the Armenians are controllable, and
that gives hints as to the policies conducted today,' Alvrtsyan said,
noting that Islamized Armenians in Turkey are often denied promotion
in the military or the state sector.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2013/11/16/haykazun-alvrcyan/