An action against assaults at the Armenians passed off in Istanbul

A mass action of protest was held in Istanbul in response to assaults at the Armenians which became more frequent.

The action was organized by “Democratic Congress of Nations” in Samatiya district on January, 27. The participants of the action were carrying posters: “Hatred is yours, humanism is ours!”, “We support the Armenian people, no place for racism here!” Kornelij, author of “The Armenian chronicles”, writes in his blog on the “Caucasian Knot”.

Representatives of Turkish intelligentsia and national minorities took part in the action.

Ertugrul Kiurkcjiu, member of the parliamentary Committee of human rights, emphasized that the reason for the assaults at Armenians was xenophobia. He did not rule out that the police were at the back of the assaults, News.am reports.

In the beginning of December, 2012, an Armenian woman aged 87 underwent an assault in her own flat. Another Armenian, Maritsa Kuichuk, also lived alone. Unidentified people assaulted and killed her on December, 28, stabbing her with a knife seven times.

On January, 10, Ilker Shahin aged 40 was found dead in his flat with his throat cut. Shahin worked as a teacher in one of the Armenian schools of the city. The police rule out the motive of larceny, Kornelij writes.

In the evening of January, 22, one more elderly Armenian woman was beaten up in Samatiya district. Her glasses were broken as a result and her eye was injured with a splinter.