“Aravot” asked Istanbul-based Armenian journalist, a member of the Union of Human Rights in Turkey, Hrant Gasparyan, whether stereotypes are broken in Turkey and the mindset is changed. Our interlocutor told us that especially after the assassination of Agos editor-in-chief, Hrant Dink, people were able to express what they think more freely, hold street protests in the central squares of Istanbul, also in cities of Izmir and Ankara. To the question of whether there are advanced academic circles who are ready to confront the past, Hrant Gasparian replied that the free atmosphere that existed 5-6 years ago has already yielded, and to speak about the freedom of university students is impossible as today we have academicians in detention in Turkey, the circle of freedom of various organizations and media has been narrowed, everything is under control.
To our question of what he thinks about the existence of a museum dedicated to the journalists in Istanbul, the ethnic Armenian journalist replied that hardly there will be a fact that the first newspaper in the Ottoman Empire was published by Armenians but after 2010, the photo of Hrant Dink is placed in this museum next to other deceased journalists. See the upheaval of Istanbul-based Armenians regarding the infamous letter of Constantinople Armenian Patriarch’s Vicar Archbishop Aram Ateshyan sent to the President of Turkey in the print “Aravot” newspaper on September 30.
Gohar HAKOBYAN
