TURKEY

“The Social, Cultural and Economic History of Van and the Region” conference organized by Hrant Dink Foundation was held in Anarad Hığutyun building on November 11 and 12. We talked to Dr. Yektan Türkyılmaz, who was the keynote speaker of the conference, about Van's importance in Armenian and Ottoman history.

Ali Yamaş and Bülent Erdem are engaged in caving. They have a cave research group called “Obruk” (sink-hole). We wanted to talk to two experienced cavers about the works in this field. However, we found ourselves talking about the underground cities in Turkey. They say that there are many underground cities that were built by Christian peoples especially between 6th and 11th centuries.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan spoke about Armenian-Turkish relations. Sargsyan stated that the preconditions propounded by Turkey halted the relations.

EU Foreign Ministers gathered together yesterday in Brussels for a 2-day summit. Today, the ministers will discuss the situation in Turkey.

Aydın Engin writes about the recent developments in Turkey in a letter addressed to Hrant Dink.

European Commission released 2016 Progress Report, which includes severe criticisms against Turkey. Released on November 9, the Report is considered as the most negative report about Turkey so far.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi spoke about Turkey's military dispatch to Iraqi border: “We don't want to wage war against Turkey. If a country fights against its neighbor, no party would win; both sides would end up losing.”

After the arrest of Co-Mayors of Diyarbakir Gültan Kışanak and Fırat Anlı, who were elected by getting 55% of the votes in 2014, a trustee is assigned to Diyarbakir Municipality.

Saturday Mothers: “Stand in solidarity with Cumhuriyet today. Or else they will come and knock on your door tomorrow.”

Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a statement assessing the developments in Turkey within the last two days and stated that these developments point out the deepening of the crackdown.