Paylan Brings Attack on Armenian Church to Parliament

Turkish Armenian MP from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Garo Paylan, has brought the issue of the attack on an Armenian church to the country's parliament. He has submitted a written inquiry to the Turkish parliament addressed to Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. This was reported by Ermenihaber.

Recall that on May 8, a citizen of Turkey attempted to set fire to the door of the Armenian Church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God located in the Zeytinlik neighborhood of the Bakirkoy district in Istanbul. However, he was unsuccessful.

Paylan drew attention to the fact that the person detained in connection with the incident mentioned in his confession that he was motivated by the belief that “the coronavirus was brought by these (Armenians).”

The Armenian MP also emphasized that in an atmosphere of hatred, attacks on churches occur regularly in Bakirkoy and various areas. There have been instances where racist and nationalist writings have appeared on the walls of Armenian churches.

In light of all this, Garo Paylan directed the following questions to Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu: Do you not think that the words used by the President of Turkey, such as the phrase “excess of knives,” have an influence on attacks motivated by hatred against religious institutions of minorities? What measures are you taking to protect religious institutions belonging to minorities that are frequently subject to attacks? In my opinion, these attacks on the basis of hatred are directed by visible or invisible centers within the state, both in the past and now. Can you assert otherwise?