Public building being constructed on the Armenian Cemetery in Turkey

VAN, APRIL 12, ARMENPRESS: Construction of a public building kicked off on the Armenian cemetery in Yaylakonak village of Van’s Bahchesaraj province.

Armenpress reports citing Turkish “Taraf” newspaper that the villagers applied to the Van culture and museums directorates to stop the construction, but useless. Parliamentarian Fathma Kurtulan, elected from Van and belonging to the only Kurdish Peace and Democracy party having 20 parliamentarians in the Turkish parliament, presented an inquiry to the Turkish culture and tourism minister who answered that “the task group sent to the village to study the issue on site has not reached its destination because of floods which have closed the roads.”

The newspaper wrote that head of the province Mehmed Yuzer was also informed about it but did not want to interfere in the affair and the villagers applied to the Van branch of Human Rights organization. A village resident Hamid Karcn told the newspaper on behalf of the villagers that “people’s bones and tombstones are destroyed and spread”. “We apply to the human rights defenders: what happens with the Armenian cemetery is illegal and inhuman,” he said.