06/07/2019 Turkey (International Christian Concern) – The doors of some Armenians living in Istanbul’s Samatya District were marked on Wednesday with a Star of David containing threatening words. These markings occurred nearly a week after an Armenian woman in the district was attacked with a knife after her home was marked with the words “this is the beginning.”
The Prosecutor’s Office has promised to open a criminal complaint about the latest markings, but local press reports that neighborhood Armenians are not happy with the police’s response to the situation as they failed to make good documentation.
Armenians are an ethnic group who are also predominately Christian. Their population in Turkey was nearly eliminated during the 1915 genocide, which Turkey continues to deny. The government heavily interferes in Armenian church governance and continues to publicly degrade Christians.
The marking of Armenian doors with hate speech and the vandalism of their churches is a common occurrence. These acts are often done by Turkish nationalists. It is also not unusual for Islamists to associate Christians with Israel and use this narrative to mark Christians as a foreign enemy.
For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: [email protected].
