Markar Esayan, an Armenian MP from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has commented on the award that was presented to the Ara Güler Museum.

“Before President [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan, we [Armenians] used to hesitate to say our name, we had to hide our [national] identity [in Turkey],” Esayan wrote on a Twitter post. “[But] now, our Armenian artist, the late Ara Güler, is considered worthy of the highest [Turkish] state award.”

As reported earlier, the special prize of the year by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey has been awarded to the Ara Güler Museum, which is named after the dear departed famous Istanbul Armenian photojournalist.