Moutafian Does It Again!

[AVO]

Not to mention the role the Zionists have in all this. The Kurdish peshmerga is currently being trained by the Israeli Mossad in Iraqi Kurdistan to de-stabilize Turkey and possible, Iran. So the Zionists are playing the game very well. On one part, they are allied with Turkey and on the other, it knows a strong Turkey is bad for them, so it will weaken it by proxy measures. Bombs will fly in Turkey the moment it invades Iraqi Kurdistan.

 

AK during the 03 invasion of Iraq, when Turkey had its military ready on the border of Iraq. Two US bombs were "accidentally" droped near a Turkish village. I'll try to find the news article about it.

[Aratta-Kingdom]

1.

 

"'didn't you earlier in your previous post underestimated the importance of the word 'GENOCIDE'?'

 

"not underestimated , but some posters sounded"

 

 

some posters? who do you have in mind? don't forget we are talking about you, not the others.

 

 

 

 

 

2.

"as if armenica"

 

 

armenica?

 

 

 

 

3.

"is denying armenian genocide , which is not the case ."

 

 

 

your statements are again contradicting each other. at least make a clear statement before trying to put the blame on the others. if you were to speak the truth in the forst place, you wouldn't have been in this situation by now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.

"'That's an interesting way of reinforcing the statement by made by delala. What are you trying to say?...armenians behave yourself or the bolsahays will suffer?

 

i stated very clear to you : "but the diaspora has to in that case also count with harming the armenians still living in turkey . the diaspora should be aware of this fact . " "

 

 

 

 

 

first thing first ------> when it comes to the question of genocide, armenians from all parts of the world are united. you are dead wrong if you belive by using the tectics of intimidation, you'll be able to divide them. this is one of the subjects we have spoken about before. your argument about the issue = 0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.

" ...if we are to belive them, then the whole armenian population is in turkey ...'living/working'...in a time when millions of turkish citizens leave the country for europe and america. "

 

why dont you believe that armenian citizens work/live in turkey ? maybe you dont want to believe ?

 

 

 

 

for one thing because you have no credibliity anymore. anyone who claims mutafian is a turk, or the killers of Hrant Dink were from outside of turkey, or the Armenians are guilty of genocide of turkish people has no credibility.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.

"if we are to belive them, then the whole armenian population is in turkey "

 

no. if we are to believe turkey then there was/is almost no armenians in turkey ever . and we were to belive turkey only 300.000 armenians "only" got deported in 1915 --->http://www.iatp.am/economics/migr/demog-ax.htm#13t

 

 

while at the same time, the government of turkey, with the president of azerbaijan, claim 60,000 armenians from armenia live in turkey. didn't i say your statements contradict each other? didn't i say you have no credibility anymore?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.

"I must say that 'the armenians who live in turkey', and the armenians from other parts of the world are the same people.'"

 

explain that fact to some other posters , but not to me . yes , same armenians , same people ... yes , same armenian churches , same armenian schools ...ect... (;

 

 

you and abass are the only morons who keep talking about 'diaspora', 'bolsahays', 'armenian-armenians'. no one else in the forum but you two try to 'use the tacticks of intimidation' to creat division. don't you hope you can make a back door exit from the situation. i already told you i got no respect for the whores like you who can't stand behind their words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.

"while the turks are known to the mexicans of europe"

 

are you a racist ?

 

 

are you ashamed to be a turk?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9.

"don't fool yourself with an idea that armenia-armenians live and work in turkey. "

 

i am not fooling myself since ive seen with my own eyes , but dont worry , ive heard this denying arguments from lots of armenians in the diaspora . they just dont want to believe . even the bolsohays still cant believe how many hayastan-citizens came over to turkey .

 

 

 

 

come over to turkey? so you are from turkey!?! considering the fact that you also present the official position of the turkish government, one must not be surprised to see a crap like that in your writings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10.

"you think after all that you are qualified to talk about millions of armenians who live in turkey?'"

 

i am realistic and not blind of ultranationalism .

 

 

 

forgive us for not following your footsteps. yet, you can't expect everyone to be as perfect as you are. let's try to be realistic here, shall we ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11.

"no one cares about what you think."

 

why do you respond me then ?

 

 

 

i clean the dust from the hyeforum pages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12.

"you better learn to respect your hosts. you have shown disrespect to all the members who have spoken to you."

 

so the definition of respect in this forum is to join the oppinion of others and not have your own according to you ? i dont think i have shown disrespect with writing my oppinions in this forum . to have a discussion is one thing , but if anybody here is directly feeling offended just because i dont say yes and amen to his/her posts then it is rather an ego problem from my oppinion and has to learn more tolerance .

 

 

 

tolerance? to tolerate what,...intolerance? do i need to remind you that you were questioning the moral of the forum members by also calling them 'you people'?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13.

"do i need to unmask you"

 

SPA ?

 

 

it's been done already. it didn't take much before you started to show your true character.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14.

"shame you have chosen to leave your claim and rest of the answer out of the contest..."

 

yes i am very amot .

 

 

define amot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15.

"since you speak for everyone, who don't you say how they should live in their host countries"

 

sorry but i didnt understand this question of yours gramatically .

 

 

get your head out of the sand. we are not in school. are you gonna answer to the question or not?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16.

"i see you are already bitching without willing to face the concequeces. "

 

what are according to your thoughts the "consequences"? dzezz bidi uddem himma ? lol

 

 

i'm sure your boss kkercni qez if you continue to lose all the arguments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

17.

"'what makes you think 'people' on this forum are not 'mature and honest'? are you questioning the moral of the forum members? '"

 

no . i meant it just as i wrote it , not questioning anything . why do you get hurt by my comment ?

 

 

 

are you defining 'moral' the same way you define 'genocide'? "...there were massacres, but it's not a genocide." " i call upon you to be 'mature and honest' but i don't question your moral." what exatly then do you try to say? explain yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18.

"enough with bitching...why don't you instead back up your claims about the american moral and 3000 young armenians who supposedly left turkey with facts. i did ask you for facts, didn't i?"

 

read AGOS (:

 

 

are you sure it's not zaman or any other turkish newspaper?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

19.

"enough already! are you in a period or something!?!. "

 

iyaaaaaa

 

 

P S

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20.

'"what the hell are you talking about? armenia does 'gas-business with iran' and not the single time the u.s. government has used that card against the armenians. why you think that is, they have run out all the options with turkey and don't care about what armenia does with iran? "

 

then why did digin pilav get angry only at turkey and not to armenia ? why do the ameriggatsis need such a huge embassy in armenia? why why why delalaaaaaaaa lalalalaaaaaaa (;

 

 

 

 

 

r you asking the same question that I asked you? aren't you gonna answer to that question? also, what the hell the question of embassy got to do with the claims you made earlier about america punishing turkey? while you smash your head against the wall, you can also think about the next question i'm gonna ask tyou...why do the americas still have their military bases in 'western-Armenia'? isn't the cold war over?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21.

" until then, i want you to explain to me about the moral of the International Association of Genocide Scholars who openly declared that what the turks did was an act of genocide. you aren't gonna claim the genocide scholars from all parts of the world act by the orders of the u.s, , right? '"

 

???? what did you mean ????

 

 

playing stupid...? ok, i'll let it be your way this time.

as you claimed before, if the u.s. corners turkey when there is a need to, what is the interest of the IAGS to recognize the Armenian-Genocide? do they act by the orders of the u.s. or it's an independent organization capable of making subjective decisions? are you gonna blame everyone who recognizes the AG as being anti-turkish? last but not least, if the u.s. is cornering the turks, why don't they do the same with the armenians?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

22.

"I already told you, with me you stand no chance to play cat and mouse"

 

why ? noren dzezz bidi uddem ? a mouse like me is only interested in sip's kllxark ! yepp !

 

 

sip's glxark already got an owner. why don't you instead be concerned about your glux vor mijov qaminer a ancnum?

Edited July 31, 2007 by Aratta-Kingdom

[DeLaLa]

Ohlala , i really made you angry aratta hm? but sorry , i do not discuss with someone calling me a morron who has pms , i would waist my time and it is not my niveau .

 

 

Bombs will fly in Turkey the moment it invades Iraqi Kurdistan.

 

hello AK-47 , i personally believe that turkey has already entered north irak even if not very far from the turkish border .

 

You never know with politics...it could happen!

 

yes , you never know , i even back then when the americans entered irak with the help of the kurds did believe that the american promises to the iraki-kurds were just going to happen in theory but not praxis .

 

I believe America has BIG plans ahead for our strategic Armenia.

 

i think so too sometimes , but i also ask myself if this strategic plan could also harm a small country like armenia . what kind of scenario could happen in that case , which would affect armenia ?

 

As Turkey grows and becomes a powerhouse, this becomes bad for the USA's global hegemony. It will therefore need to control the rapidly growing Turkey.

 

i believe all this innerpolitical chaos in turkey in these days is a result of the turkish state not being able to control a "rapidly growing turkey" anymore . my prognose for the future is civil war in turkey .

 

Turkey is developping an ego by rejecting 2003 demand by the USA to use its soil as a launchpad to the illegal Iraq invasion.

 

exactly .

 

Sad to say but the entire Middle East and its surrounding regions are a big project to control the oil and the rapidly multiplying Muslim populations. With Israel already having the Arabs on a stranglehold, America will use us to control our barbarian Turkic neighbours (this includes Azerbaboonistan of course).

 

yes could be true , but its only a speculation .

Edited July 31, 2007 by DeLaLa

[Aratta-Kingdom]

 

1.

"Ohlala , i really made you angry aratta hm?"

 

cute baby this is how you wanna make an exit...?...so be it. but it's not over yet

 

 

 

2.

"but sorry , i do not discuss with someone calling me a morron"

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.

"who has pms , i would waist my time and it is not my niveau . "

 

 

 

your presence in this forum is a waste of time. you make arguments just to make your boss happy. even a moron like you knows it's a lost war for the turks.

 

 

 

 

4.

"hello AK-47 , i personally believe that turkey has already entered north irak even if not very far from the turkish border .

yes , you never know , i even back then when the americans entered irak with the help of the kurds did believe that the american promises to the iraki-kurds were just going to happen in theory but not praxis .

i think so too sometimes , but i also ask myself if this strategic plan could also harm a small country like armenia . what kind of scenario could happen in that case , which would affect armenia ?

i believe all this innerpolitical chaos in turkey in these days is a result of the turkish state not being able to control a "rapidly growing turkey"anymore . my prognose for the future is civil war in turkey .

exactly . yes could be true , but its only a speculation ."

 

 

 

hey moron, enough with changing the subject. no one cares about "growing turkey", the control problem, and the pms.

Edited August 2, 2007 by Aratta-Kingdom

[ED]

keep it clean poeple please or take it to chit-chat section

[Shahan Araradian]

Not to mention the role the Zionists have in all this. The Kurdish peshmerga is currently being trained by the Israeli Mossad in Iraqi Kurdistan to de-stabilize Turkey and possible, Iran. So the Zionists are playing the game very well. On one part, they are allied with Turkey and on the other, it knows a strong Turkey is bad for them, so it will weaken it by proxy measures. Bombs will fly in Turkey the moment it invades Iraqi Kurdistan.

Yeah. I'm not surprised.

 

If you read "By Way of Deception" by Ostrovsky, you will find that Mossad is a self-funded organization. The way they fund themselves is through the covert sales of arms all over the world; the arms are produced by the Israeli arms industries. (They also run some legitimate businesses in the "import-export business" just to make it look like their agents are ordinary folks in the host country.)

 

For example, during the 70s, they were training the Sri Lankan gov't army in Israel and supplying PT boats to them, while they were training Tamil tigers and selling them anti-PT boat missiles in the SAME army bases in Israel.

 

War is big business!!!

 

So they arm Turkey as well as arm their enemies. It's classic Mossad... by way of deception...

Edited August 3, 2007 by Shahan Araradian

[Shahan Araradian]

So with the growing Turkish "mini-rebellion", America will be needing to use Armenia and the Kurds to tame Turkey. Folks, I see Armenia becoming the next Israel in a few decades or so. Don't be shocked if the USA even brings up the Treaty of Sevres in the future. We may even (forcefully) gain an access to the Black sea to ease transfers. Sad to say but the entire Middle East and its surrounding regions are a big project to control the oil and the rapidly multiplying Muslim populations. With Israel already having the Arabs on a stranglehold, America will use us to control our barbarian Turkic neighbours (this includes Azerbaboonistan of course). Turkey will be "gdor gdor" in the future. Independent Kurdistan and bigger Armenia are coming.

Armenia has no benevolent friends. Let's not make the same mistake our forefathers made between 1890-1915 in relying to be "saved" by others; that is for cartoons and fairytales.

 

Israel is now depending on the oil from Azerbaijan through the pipeline that is connecting the Ceyhan oil terminus (of the Baku-Ceyhan line). This route completely bypasses all oil from Arab land.

 

Armenia is more than big enough today for 2 million Armenians. Must focus on growing human capital, economy, and military. Political and social revolution required along national and economic lines! The power elite in Armenia must be replaced! (for a more democratic and open society)

Edited August 3, 2007 by Shahan Araradian

[Nikephoros_Phokas]

The famous American director of Greek extraction(but born in the Ottoman Empire) made a movie called America, America dealing tangetically with the Abdul Hamid massacres of 1896, The massacres and their climate prompt a Greek family to send one of their sons to Constantinople to get abroad. On the way there a muslim Turk "befriends" him and keeps robbing him.

 

Here is some pivotal dialogue from that movie that I got from opensubtitles:

 

You have to look out for yourself in this world, you know.

 

The horrible times I had was when I was... soft, or human.

 

You can't afford to be human. People take advantage.

 

You may say well that is just a movie, what is point. But the dialogue above really does describe the conditions that non-muslims face when they live amongst rotten muslim nations like the Turks. Real historical studies confirm the kind of message Elia Kazan was trying to convey.

 

DeLaLa,

You are very confused. You say that Glendale is also not an Armenian city? The USA has its faults but the American people are nothing like the fascist and Islamic Turkish nation. For an Armenian to live in the USA he does not to have to follow the official American ideology, there is none. Everyone in Turkey has to follow the official Kemalist fascist ideology OR ELSE, and this fascist ideology the fascist Turkish population loves so much is very anti-Armenian.

 

Here is an extract from the Pact of Umar

In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate. This is a letter to the servant of God Umar [ibn al-Khattab], Commander of the Faithful, from the Christians of such-and-such a city. When you came against us, we asked you for safe-conduct (aman) for ourselves, our descendants, our property, and the people of our community, and we undertook the following obligations toward you:

 

The Harut Sassounian article about Moustafian confirms this pact of Umar attitude is expected from Turks, that the Armenians are obligated to act as deserving less than true human dignity to be allowed to live. In Turkey in 2007 the Turkish people is thinking the Armenian community is their hostage and if this nation does not get their usual Islamic tributes from Washington in rejecting to recognize the Armenian genocide they will dissolve the Armenian community. So DeLaLa you may want to educate yourself. There is no future for Armenians amongst Turks. You cannot afford to be human amongst Turks or any muslimn nation, they will take advantage of you.

Edited August 22, 2007 by Nikephoros_Phokas

[DeLaLa]

hello nikephoros,

 

your last sentence ... i have a question to you , werent syria lebanon irak ect... muslim countries who took armenian genocide survivors into their countries ?

[Nikephoros_Phokas]

I do not know much about the Arab acceptance of Armenian refugees. That is really going on a tangent from my post.

 

Arab muslims today direct their nationalism and Islam more against Israel and Jews. If an American tourist who visited Turkey saw this conversation he would think we are all fanatics(not the Turks) because they were so nice and kind to him, blah blah. But the idiot tourist would not realize or care Turks direct their nationalism and Islam against Armenians, Greeks, Kurds and show a fake kindness to tourists. The great ambassador Morgenthau finally left Turkey because after the genocide the Turks were all so kind to him and it was so sickening and disgusting to him this kind of behavior.

[DeLaLa]

what does their fake kindness have to do with armenians ? i dont understand your comparison . would you like turks to say : hi american , welcome to turkey its a nice country but we treat our minorities bad"

explain please what you mean ... hmm

[Arpa]

We have seen where Abp. Mutafian was discouraged from speaking at the Turkish sponsored seminar at Washington University. Mission accomplished. Job well done. Congratulations and a round of applause to all those who took the time and trouble to estop him from acting as a propaganda mouthpiece for his Mutafoghlu kin. What a coward, turn the other cheek, pseudoChristian? How is his life more precious than the likes of Hrant Dink?

Which brings to mind. Perhaps off topic, when the US news media is burning with the impending debut of Ahmadi-nana-jaja-dada** at Colombia Universtity.

Why is it that we don't see any Americans bringing up American issues but the main issue is that he may have "denied" the molocuast and proposed that Israel is an "illegimate state"?

Is this America or....????

I live a few miles north of the land of Rip Vanwinkle, the Catskills. Please wake me up. Tell me that New York is not the capital of Israel!!!

** I just lerned that "najad,najat" means deliverer, salvation, savior(Arabic?)

Tell us how Turkey allowed Israeli jets to fly over their territory to bomb suspected nuclear facilities in Der el Zor.

Johannes. Did you hear those jets flying over Aleppo?

We know what "deir/convent/vanq" means. What does "el zor" mean? Just as the "Hayots Vanq "in Jerusalem is known as "deir el Arman". One source says it means the "right bank of the river(Euphrates)??

PATRIARCH MUTAFYAN'S SPEECH CANCELLED BY DECISION OF GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION

PanARMENIAN.Net

24.09.2007 12:40 GMT+04:00

"The decision to postpone the speech by Patriarch

Mesrob II Mutafyan, religious leader of Turkish Armenians was taken

by the Georgetown University administration after a meeting with the

Armenian community," Armenian National Committee of America Executive

Director Aram Hamparian told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

 

"We shared with Georgetown our concern that - as a leading American

center of learning - it should not allow itself to be used as a

platform for the Turkish government's hateful campaign of the Armenian

Genocide denial," Mr Hamparian underscored.

 

Patriarch Mesrob II, who arrived in the U.S. capital last week,

was scheduled to deliver a speech called "The Impasse between Turks

and Armenians Must Be Broken" at Georgetown University's Woodstock

Theological Center.

 

The Turkish Daily News reported that "the event had been cancelled

following pressure on the university by U.S. Armenian groups over

Partiarch's opposition to the Armenian Genocide Resolution."

 

A Turkish diplomat said the event did not take place because "the

Armenian lecturer doesn't share the opinion of the Armenian community

of the U.S."

 

Asked by reporters if his speech was canceled because of U.S. Armenian

pressure, the patriarch said, "it may have been."

Edited September 24, 2007 by Arpa

[Yervant1]

AHVAL News

March 8 2019

Turkey’s Armenian Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan dies at age 63

2019-03-08

The Armenian Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan, the leader of the Armenian Christians in Turkey, died Friday at the age of 63, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The 84th Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople passed away at Istanbul’s Armenian Surp Pirgic hospital where he was being cared for. He had been incapacitated since 2008 with an early onset of dementia, said Anadolu Agency.

Funeral details were not immediately available.

Mutafyan was elected patriarch in 1998, replacing the late Karekin II. After Mutafyan’s health was deteriorated, the Turkish authorities in 2008 appointed Archbishop Aram Ateşyan as deputy chairman, a position which did not exist until that time.

The Armenian Church in Istanbul objected to the appointment, saying that only the Armenian community could select their religious leader. After years-long-disputes, a new election was held in 2017.

The Turkish government intervened to halt the elections at the Armenian Patriarchate on grounds that the necessary conditions for the electoral process had not been met and that Mutafyan was still alive.

Ateşyan, who was likely to lose the election, remains as the General Vicar of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople.

https://ahvalnews.com/turkey-armenians/turkeys-armenian-patriarch-mesrob-mutafyan-dies-age-63

[Yervant1]

Aysor, Armenia

March 8 2019

PM Nikol Pashinyan sent Condolence Message on Passing of Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Mesrop Archbishop Mutafyan

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed a message of condolences on the death of Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Mesrop Archbishop Mutafyan. The message runs as follows:

"I was deeply grieved to learn about the demise of Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Mesrop Archbishop Mutafyan.

As a church leader, he made an invaluable contribution to the revival of national-spiritual life in Turkey and the consolidation of the Armenian Church and the Armenian community.

Mesrop Archbishop Mutafyan enjoyed high reputation for his activities and will remain in our memory as a spiritual leader devoted to his mission.

I express my deepest condolences to Patriarch Mutafian’s family, the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople and the entire Armenian community"

https://www.aysor.am/en/news/2019/03/08/mesrop-mutafyan/1535673

[Yervant1]

A wolf in a sheep clothing, this man can't be trusted or believed!

Newsweek Magazine

March 11 2019

Turkey's Erdogan Sends Tweet in Armenian for First Time, but Is It About Healing Wounds or Increasing Power?

By Cristina Maza On 3/11/19 at 12:09 PM

A little more than 100 years after the Ottoman Turks killed about 1.5 million of the empire’s Armenian citizens, Turkey’s president tweeted in Armenian.

On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan surprised Twitter users with a message in the language of Turkey’s small neighbor Armenia, with whom Ankara has had a tense relationship since World War I.

"I was deeply saddened by the death of the Armenian patriarch of Turkey, the honorable Mesrob Mutafyan. I offer my condolences to his family, relatives and our Armenian citizens," Erdogan tweeted on Friday in Armenian, in a message directed at the estimated 60,000 Armenians living in Turkey today.

------------------------

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

✔ @RT_Erdogan

Խոր վշտով տեղեկացայ Թուրքիոյ հայոց պատրիարք Յարգելի Մեսրոպ Մութաֆեանի մահը։ Այս կապակցութեամբ կը ցաւակցիմ իր ընտնիքին, հարազատներուն եւ մեր հայ քաղաքացիներուն։

-----------------------

The tweet was written following the death of the Armenian Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan, who died on Friday after having early onset dementia for more than a decade. His death will pave the way for the election of a replacement, something Turkey’s small but influential Armenian population has been requesting for years.

Erdogan’s message was the first in Armenian by a Turkish head of state on a major platform like Twitter. That fact, coupled with recent overtures by the new Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who suggested that diplomatic relations could potentially be re-established between the two countries, raised questions about whether the frosty relationship was starting to thaw. Erdogan has only once before released a message in Armenian, and never to his 13.5 million Twitter followers.

“It is in my memory the first time that a Turkish head of state has expressed condolences in Armenian and in such a visible and public way. I am not sure if he has done anything similar in other minority languages, I would be surprised if he has, so this is indeed quite interesting,” Artyom Tonoyan, a research associate at University of Minnesota, told Newsweek.

But some experts argued that, far from a move toward reconciliation or inclusivity, Erdogan’s message was a political power play. With a single tweet, Turkey’s president was aiming to influence internal factors in his country, not alter the relationship between Ankara and Yerevan, analysts said.

“Erdogan is both a populist and simultaneously wants extreme control," Vicken Cheterian, author of the book Open Wounds: Armenians, Turks, and a Century of Genocide, told Newsweek. "In the last years, he tried to please the Armenian community in Turkey, [while] at the same time trying to control the major Armenian institution in Turkey, the Armenian Patriarchate."

“While Patriarch Mesorb was ill, he did not permit elections to select a new head of the church, thus keeping at its head someone who was suitable to Ankara. The tweet comes in this context,” Cheterian continued.

Bedross Der Mattossian, author of the book Shattered Dreams of Revolution: From Liberty to Violence in the Late Ottoman Empire, agreed that the tweet was aimed at influencing the election for a new patriarch. He noted that Turkey’s Armenian community was split between those who supported the government’s role in choosing a new patriarch and those who didn't.

“On February 21, a group of 72 Armenian writers, journalists and artists released a statement in which they said they desire social harmony, and that harmony would only emerge when a legal election of a patriarch happened in a fair manner,” Der Mattossian, told Newsweek.

“Armenians are an important minority in Turkey. It has to do with the genocide, it has to do with Turkish denial, it has to do with criticism of the Turkish government and the constant active policy of denial that it pursues against the Armenians,” he continued. “So these are politics, not a huge gesture… It’s politics because [Erdogan] wants to be shown as a tolerant leader who cares about his own flock.”

Erdogan has repeatedly said that Turkey could not accept the label of genocide, but he had offered condolences for the events of World War I. “It is Turkey’s conscientious and ethical responsibility to share the historical pain of our Armenian citizens,” Erdogan said in a statement last year.

Some argued that Erdogan needed Turkey’s Armenian population to bolster his image.

“The votes from the most influential Christian community of the country could be a way to diversify the political image of the ruling regime, both locally and internationally,” Varuzhan Geghamyan, a scholar focusing on Turkey, told Newsweek. “Another symbolic importance lies in Erdogan’s tendency to be compared to Ottoman sultans, who were rulers not only for Muslim, but also Christian and other subjects of the empire.”

“The tweet in Armenian language was innovative, but the appeal in itself was not unprecedented or unique,” Geghamyan added. “The Ottoman-now-Turkish state tradition requires the ruler to extend his condolences or wishes to the heads of religious communities. This happened many times starting from 1461 when Sultan Mehmed II established the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. Erdogan is basically keeping up the old tradition, but uses the new technologies.”

Even the tweet itself, which was written in the Western Armenian dialect, provides some clues about Erdogan’s intentions, experts said.

“The word Armenian, the ‘a’ should be in upper case, it’s a very important aspect, when you’re referring to a nation you don’t write it in lower case in Armenian. So there are certain shortcomings,” Der Mattossian told Newsweek, adding that the word "family" also had a letter missing in the tweet.

Turkey and Armenia do not currently have diplomatic relations and the border between the two countries remains closed. Russian soldiers man much of the dividing line separating them.

Armenia wants Ankara to recognize formally that Ottoman Turkey attempted to exterminate the Armenians when 1.5 million of them were killed during World War I. The issue of genocide recognition has embittered Turkey’s relationship with Armenia, and with some of the roughly 28 countries, and the majority of U.S. states, which recognize the Armenian genocide.

Turkey, for its part, maintains that the murders took place during skirmishes and uprisings, and claims that the goal was not to exterminate all Armenians. The country also argues that its smaller neighbor has designs on some of Turkey’s territory.

https://www.newsweek.com/turkey-ergodan-armenian-genocide-president-1358435