ISTANBUL. – Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association of Turkey and the country’s “Say No to Racism and Nationalism” organization have prepared a joint report with respect to the attacks that were carried out, in the past two months, against elderly Armenian women in Istanbul’s densely-Armenian-populated Samatya district.  

The report was presented during a joint conference by these two organizations, and the document stressed that the factor of burglary in these assaults is not credible, Radikal daily of Turkey reports. 

Addressing the conference, Meral Cildir, a representative of the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association of Turkey, noted that it is said among the Turkish society that when the word “Armenian” is used as a swearword in Turkey, the assaults against the country’s Armenians will continue.  

“The report will be sent to the Ministry of the Interior. The murder case of Marissa Kucuk must be investigated openly. The investigation should not include the murder case alone but, also, the potential connecting links should be considered.    

A law must be immediately adopted to define racism as a crime. The state itself has to prove that it does not back nationalists and racists,” Cildir stated.