Church seizures and political scapegoating heighten unease in Armenian-Turkish community

• Turkey’s Armenian minority has found itself caught in the middle of increasing conflict between the Turkish government and Kurdish separatists, subject to intimidation, slurs, and attacks from politicians.
• The Armenian-Turkish community has been particularly upset by the ongoing expropriation of historic churches through eminent domain seizures by the government.
• In the wake of the centennial of the mass slaughter of Armenians in Turkey during World War I, the community has been fearful of hypernationalist discourse targeting Armenians.

Read more:
“Does Turkey See Its Armenian Minority as a Security Threat?” (EurasiaNet)
“Turkey’s Seizure of Churches and Land Alarms Armenians” (The New York Times)
“A Century Later, Slaughter Still Haunts Turkey and Armenia” (National Geographic)

(Image Credit: Bryan Denton/The New York Times )