Istanbul Armenian church ‘glad’ for Davutoglu’s genocide message

The Armenian Patriarchate in Turkey has welcomed a message of condolences by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu over the killings of Armenians at the hands of Ottomans in 1915, just days before the ceremonies on April 24, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

“This is a pointed message, I am glad,” said Deputy Armenian Patriarch Archbishop Aram Ateshyan on April 21, recalling that the then-prime minister, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, delivered a similar message last year.

“The message is an olive branch, just like the one last year, and it should not dry out,” Ateshyan told daily Hürriyet.

The Armenian and Turkish people should find a common path, just as they did in the past, he said on the eve of a ceremony at the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul.

“This will be a service for the Ottoman Armenians and all the people who lost their lives in that period,” he said. “Our pain is common.”

The ceremonies will also include a visit to the cemetery where Sevag Shahin Balikchi, a Turkish-Armenian who was murdered by a Turkish soldier in April 24, 2011, while he was on his compulsory military duty.