75 percent of Dersim’s villages populated by Armenians - Gultekin

75 percent of Dersim population is converted Armenians, founder of “Union of Dersim Armenians” Mihran Gultekin told reporters in Yerevan.

Mihran Gultekin, a Turkish-Armenian, is paying his first visit to Armenia. He noted that several years ago his family decided to announce their Armenian descent and to restore their Armenian name.

“In Dersim, everyone knows our family as an Armenian one. For a long time we had spoken about returning to our Armenian roots. After studying a series of big international archives I applied to the court and changed my name, then I founded the “Union of Dersim Armenians,” speaker said.

Gultekin noted that part of Armenians is now appealing to court, converting to Christianity and taking an Armenian name. But this is not a general tendency, despite the absence of pressure by the ruling power of Turkey. The greater part of hidden Armenians of Dersim, according Gultekin, is afraid that the nationalist regime may be back and may repress them.

Currently over 200 families announce their Armenian descent in Dersim, Gultekin said.