TARAF REPORTS ON DESTRUCTION AND PLUNDER OF ARMENIAN BUILDINGS IN TURKEY

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

12:58, 18 July, 2013

YEREVAN, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS: The famous Turkish Taraf Periodical
touched upon the destruction activities of the Armenian buildings and
structures located in different Turkish territories. As reported by
Armenpress, Taraf wrote about the decision of the Turkish authorities
to demolish the Armenian houses in one of the districts in MuÅ~_
Province and build new apartment buildings. The Periodical quoted
the words of the MuÅ~_ Mayor Necmettin Dede that the houses do not
belong to the Armenians. Dede announced that by now no Armenian has
submitted a property certificate to prove that the property belongs
to an Armenian.

Taraf also touched upon the destruction and plunder of other Armenian
properties, besides MuÅ~_. Particularly the Periodical noted about
the Tekirdag Malkara’s Armenian cemetery, where human bones were
found during the construction works. Some of them were thrown to the
garbage. Another part was buried in the ground.

The same destiny had the Armenian cemetery in Sivas (Armenian
Sebastia), where only one tombstone has remained.

Taraf highlighted the Siirt Eruh’s St. Hovhannes Church as well, which
was sold to a Turkish building company by the Turkish authorities
with a very low price.

The Periodical writes about the Sanasaryan Han building located in
Istanbul, which was put on auction for lease, though a legal trial
is in process to return the structure to the Armenian Patriarchate.

At the end of the article Taraf Periodical noted that before 1915
there were 299 churches, 94 temples, 53 sacred places, 135 Armenian
schools and a cemetery in MuÅ~_. In 339 villages nearby MuÅ~_ about
75,000 Armenians lived. “According to the information found in the
documents of Talaat Pasha, the architect of the Armenian Genocide,
at that time 114,704 Armenians were “deported” from MuÅ~_ and the
neighboring areas and sentenced to death. During the population
census of 1917 it was registered that 99% of the Armenians of the
region have been lost”, – concludes the Turkish Taraf Periodical.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress