Many bitter events took place throughout history, but the Armenian and Turkish people must go forward thanks to the uniting power of music. Göksel Baktagir, Turkish journalist taking part in the intercultural initiative of Armenian and Turkish musicians “Melody for Harmony,” told Armenian News – NEWS.am.  

Touching on the attitude of the Turkish society to the policy of the Turkish leadership on the denial and non-recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the musician said that the political interrelations impact different spheres of cooperation.

“If we consider the relations with Greece, it should be said that we go to Greece and implement different programs there for already 13 years.  But 13 years ago the visit of some Turk to Greece was perceived with great hostility, but now we part with tears,” Göksel Baktagir said.

To the question on what his call to the Turkish government would be, Göksel Baktagir said: “We are musicians and our work is music. Music can heal - it heals the souls. There’s one very interesting story: a king visits a very wise man and gifts him golden scissors, but the wise man doesn’t like them. When the king asks what the matter is, the wise man says: “You could have gifted me a needle instead of scissors: scissors cut everything and separate, whereas the needle connects.” And here we don’t play the role of scissors but a needle, trying to unite both nations.”

In the framework of the initiative “Melody for Harmony,” the Armenian rock band “The Beautified Project,” Turkish Armenian singer Sibil Bektorosoglu and famous Turkish folk music performers Göksel Baktagir, Burak Malchok, Osman Yurdal Tokcan and Mert Elmas will give a concert in Yerevan Monday. On December 22, they will give another concert in Istanbul.