Unethical to use century-old pain to pressurize Turkey, Armenian Patriarch Maşalyan says

UĞUR YILDIRIM

A controversial bill recently adopted by the U.S. Senate recognizing the unfortunate events that pitted Ottoman Muslims and Armenians against each other during World War I as genocide drew the ire of the leader of Turkey’s Armenian community.

Patriarch Sahak Maşalyan, the newly elected head of the Armenian Orthodox Church, told the Sabah daily that the Armenian “thesis” put forward to pressurize Turkey creates a sense of exploitation for the community, adding that this cannot be considered ethical.

“It is upsetting for us, Turkey’s Armenians, that the pain that was felt in these territories 100 years is used as an element of strategic, economic and political pressure in other countries’ parliaments. We consider this as an inappropriate situation directed against our ancestors,” Patriarch Maşalyan said.

“There is a political dimension to this. I’m not a politician and it is up to politicians to define this. As the Armenian community, we are people that have integrated into Turkey. We have made a union of fate with this country. We have established a life in harmony with all elements of this country. We have forgotten what happened 100 years ago by remembrance. This is a choice of Istanbul’s Armenian community. We have chosen to live in this country, and this is something that differentiates us from the Armenians of Armenia and the diaspora. We lived the 1915 trauma and somehow treated it while staying in this country. Political issues developing out of Turkey’s Armenians unavoidably affect us too. Provoking such things inside Turkey also increases hate speech,” he added.

https://www.dailysabah.com/diplomacy/2019/12/14/unethical-to-use-century-old-pain-to-pressurize-turkey-armenian-patriarch-masalyan-says