AGENDA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent a letter of condolence to April 24 mass that was held in Kumkapı Surp Asdvadzadzin Church.

HDP Istanbul MP Garo Paylan suggested forming a parliamentary commission for carrying out an investigation on 7 Armenian members of Chamber of Deputies of Ottoman Parliament who served in 1908-1915 and killed after being arrested on April-May 2015.

Today, public officials who are responsible for Dink murder are being heard. Before the trial, Friends of Hrant made a statement to the press. It is stated that the public officials stand trial because of “fight for power” and the highest prosecution organ insists on protecting the governor who was in office at the time of murder.

The first hearing of the two Dink cases that are joined will be held today. At the hearings that will be held between April 19 and 21, 34 suspects, 8 of them being arrested, will stand trial together for the first time.

Various institutions file annulment actions against the urgent expropriation in Sur province of Diyarbakir. Syriac Foundation and Protestant Church filed annulment action against expropriation.

In the report of civil inspectors, the names of the police chiefs, who hadn't reported the information about Ankara massacre to their superiors, are listed. 102 people were killed in the suicide attack on October 10, 2015 during a rally in Ankara. In the information that was received on the day of the attack, even the name of the bomber is reported.

Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality appealed to Council of State for annulling the urgent expropriation decision taken by cabinet.

While child abuse is currently on the agenda of Turkey, another report about child abuse came from Jerusalem. With the child abuse happened in early '90s, Jarankavorats Armenian School in Jerusalem drew attention.

The debates that started after the urgent expropriation decision, which involves the churches in Diyarbakir, made the history of Sur, Suriçi a current issue. Having an important role in the history of Anatolian Armenians and Christians, Diyarbakir, and especially Suriçi, have been at the center of such practices throughout its history. Zakarya Mildanoğlu tells about the story of Suriçi churches and the expropriation history of Diyarbakir.

The expropriation decision made by the cabinet in Sur province of Diyarbakir caused disquiet. Stating that the cabinet should correct this decision, Archbishop Aram Ateşyan said that they demanded a meeting with Minister of Environment Sarı. Lawyer of Surg Giragos Church Ali Elbeyoğlu said, “The execution of this decision shouldn't be under the initiative of the government. We will appeal this decision. The decision of the cabinet should be corrected by the cabinet itself.”