Turkey’s Armenians demand rights, not tolerance from State

The historical Armenian church on Akhtamar Island in the province of Van was not returned to the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey but opens for worship once a year. YONCA POYRAZ DOĞAN , İSTANBUL 2/10/2011 A new study, which explores various issues faced by Turkey’s Armenians in the republican period, asserts that Armenian citizens of the country are demanding their rights, not tolerance. “When fighting with discrimination, one thing that should never be used but which we frequently hear is the concept of ‘tolerance’ in reference to Ottoman history and with the view that different religions and cultures have lived ‘side-by-side in peace’ for centuries on these lands,” said the report, “Hearing Out Turkey’s Armenians: Problems, Demands, and Suggestions for Solution,” written by academics Günay Göksu Özdoğan and Ohannes Kılıçdağı for the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)