ISTANBUL. – The topic of 1937-1938 massacres in Dersim (today’s Tunceli, Turkey) has transferred to television broadcasts. Turkey’s pro-government Beyaz TV Company’s program host Nagehan Alci caused great discontent because of her bold statements.     

On live broadcast, the courageous host defined what occurred in Dersim as genocide and this received a quick reaction from the program’s moderator and guests. The moderator noted that the “genocide” term is dangerous, since Turkey is battling for long years against recognition of the Armenian Genocide. “Like a calamity, the Armenian Genocide problem hangs down Turkey like a sword, every year,” the moderator said. 

And in response, Nagehan Alci stressed that the events in 1915 were a shame and that if Turkey had sensibly faced those events a long time ago, it would not have found itself in such situation. 

To note, Nagehan Alci had visited Armenia and Karabakh two years ago, and her interviews had displeased the Azerbaijanis and the Turkish nationalists.

Thousands of Armenians, who had escaped from the 1915 Genocide and found refuge in the villages of Dersim, were subjected to a second genocide, this time in 1938.