Turkish Hurriyet Daily News Agency writes that various well-known names among the Armenian Diaspora have reacted negatively to Diyarbakır city’s Mayor, Osman Baydemir’s recent invitation to Armenians and other non-Muslim peoples, whose ancestors lived in the southeastern province before they were forced to flee because of 1915 Armenian Genocide, to return to the city.
As reported, Ara Sarafyan, the director of the Gomidas Institute in London, and whose family’s origins lie in the Turkish provinces of Yozgat and Elazığ, was among those to react to Baydemir’s invitation.
“Baydemir’s call is not enough. And what is more, it could be manipulated by the Turkish nationalists. Even though the intention is good, Baydemir is a politician above all” said Safaryan adding “As in most provinces, Armenians were also massacred in Diyarbakır. Why should they return to the city which they left with great pain?”
We should recall that on September 25, Diyarbakır city’s Mayor, Osman Baydemir, made the following speech:
“An Armenian, an Assyrian and a Chaldean, whose grandfathers or great-grandfathers were born in Diyarbakır, have the same right to live in Diyarbakır as I have. I would like to invite all the ethnic groups whose ancestors once lived in Diyarbakır back to Diyarbakır again. Come back to your city”.
