NEWS.am posts the article “Fears of the cross: the nationalism within” by Orhan Kemal Cengiz published in the Turkish Today’s Zaman daily.

“This government has been better than all the others. … They renovated the church, which is great. But they must be braver. This was not enough. Most of Turkish society is ready to accept this is an Armenian church. Now it is the government’s turn,” the daily reports.

“This is the statement of Rober Koptas, editor-in-chief of the Armenian Agos weekly, to the BBC on the occasion of the religious service at the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross on Akhtamar Island in Van.

I totally agree with Mr. Koptas. Why has this government been better than all the others when it comes to dealing with non-Muslims but why at the same time is it not doing enough? My answers are simple and the same. They are better than all the others because they do not come from a nationalist background, but they have not done enough because they are infected with the nationalist virus just like everyone else in this country,” the daily says.

“Quite contrary to what most outsiders may think, their Muslim side encourages them to help non-Muslims but their nationalist side just sabotages what their devout side is trying to do. No other government would have renovated and opened the Akhtamar Church in Van. We all are very pleased to see the progress made. But this government has also self-sabotaged what it has done: This renovated church reopened as a museum, not as a church. It was not given to the Armenian Patriarchate, to which it historically and traditionally belongs, but is instead run by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Instead of holding a service every Sunday, it will open one day a year. Its cross was not erected before the service. OK, I accept some of these issues maybe attributed to realpolitik, but not all. The government may have refrained from erecting the cross just before the referendum because of the fear of a nationalist reaction, but opening it as a museum and not giving it to the Armenian community cannot be explained by fear. These are just nationalist reflexes,” the source reads.

“Will the AK Party get rid of this “nationalist wing” while it gains more space in politics, space gradually being left by the military and civil bureaucracy, who are in retreat to democratically acceptable positions? The answer to this question will not only have a huge impact on the situation of minorities but also on the whole process of democratization in this country, without which there will be no peace for anyone, whether they are Christian or Muslim,” the daily concludes.