Armenian Orphanage a Reason for Protests

• 06.29.2015, 20:26
•  Region,  Diaspora

As famous Turkish newspapers report, on June 26 there was a march in the central streets of Istanbul with the participation of the members of "New Awakening and Kamp of Resistance" organization. The matter is that the process of demolishing the famous "Armen Camp" Armenian orphanage in Istanbul started in early May with the initiative of its owner, but some time later, due to severe protests of the Armenian community in Turkey, was temporarily stopped.

A number of Turkey-based organizations and individuals rushed there to stop the destruction of the orphanage building. There is a permanent 24-hour shift there with hundreds of young activists claiming that they would not leave until the camp is returned to the Armenian fund. In fact, there has been such a promise, but no specific legal actions were carried out to return the camp.

The march participants were holding posters with inscriptions such as "Return the Camp to Armenians", "Join our fight", "Fight Continues'', ''End the Deception'', ʺWe are Here. We are Still Here" and many others, Haberler reports.

But the most noteworthy one was surely the poster named "From #CampArmen to #ElectricYerevan" which expressed the solidarity of the march participants to the protesters against electricity price hike in Yerevan, encouraging and cheering up their fellow co-patriots.

Let’s recall that "Armen Camp" building was bought in 1961 by the Armenian Protestant Church and served as a summer camp for the orphans of "Gedik Pasha" school. Well-known Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was murdered in 2007 and his wife, Rakel Dink were also brought up in this camp. One of Hrant’s friends, Garabed Oronyuz, who also used to live here, told the Turkish media that they were just used as a ʺproduct of advertisementʺ for the local elections.

"We were used only as a means to advertise them. But we are the demanders, and they are trying to nullify our memories. The summer camp is already deleted from the memories,ʺ Oronyuz said to the "Vatan" Turkish newspaper.