For Turkey's crypto-Armenians national identity is beyond any sort of politics: Avedis Hadjian

YEREVAN, MAY 5, ARMENPRESS. The number of the crypto- Armenians in Turkey today is not as big, as to call in question the unity of the Turkish state, or to represent a serious threat to the national security of the country. But the issue of the crypto-Armenians may have a greater significance when the problem is viewed as a component of the Kurdish question which in Turkey has turned into a big headache. In an interview with “Armenpress” this was told by the New York based Armenian journalist Avedis Hadjian, who made a study of the crypto-Armenians living in Turkey. "The Kurds constitute a large number of the country and especially in the result of the confrontations, collisions of 1990s, they are scattered throughout the country. Despite having political goals, they claim that they do not want Kurdistan, have no land claim from Turkey and want to have a free, democratic confederation with Turkey" - noted Hadjian, however, drawing attention to the fact that the Kurds have their eyes on some areas of Western Armenia.

"The Kurds say that Van is ours, Diyarbakir is ours, which today has become their unofficial capital. There are many different shades among the local crypto-Armenians. Those who have come into close contact with the Kurds, share their political goals. The crypto- Armenians greatly dependent on the places , which they inhabit. Among them one can meet people with different convictions: believers, nonbelievers, lefts, Marxists. There are many different shades among the crypto-Armenians. But for them their national identity is beyond any sort of politics" – underlined the Armenian journalist.