A far-right Turkish group mostly active in the social media has been targeting Armenian schools, churches, foundations and individuals in Turkey as part of an anti-Armenian hate campaign according to a November 28 Today Zaman report.

Goksel Gulbey, chairman of the International Association to Fight Unfounded Armenian Allegations (ASIM-DER), has been actively targeting Armenians and Turkish-Armenian institutions on Twitter, claiming that these groups are part of a conspiracy supported by the Armenian diaspora against Turkey.

Civil society representatives argue that such action is tantamount to turning them into targets for ultra-nationalists in a country where prominent figures of Armenian descent as well as Christians involved in missionary activities have become targets of violence. The 2007 killings of three Bible publishers in Malatya, the 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink and the 2006 murder of an Italian priest in Trabzon are some of the painful examples of the ultra-nationalist threat.

According to Taraf columnist Markar Esayan, the campaign is part of a larger plan to create an anti-minority atmosphere. In remarks to Today's Zaman, Esayan recalled Turkey's past experiences with the demonization of Turkish Armenians.

“These Turkish-Armenian schools [whose addresses have been tweeted by Gulbey] were established under the control of the Ministry of Education. I have also studied in one of these schools and worked as a supervisor afterwards. On the one hand, too much importance shouldn't be attached to such campaigns, but on the other hand, those responsible [for provocative claims] should be held accountable for their claims,” Esayan said.

Rober Koptas, editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, also asserted that ASİM-DER's presence is the product of a deeper and darker mentality than mere nationalism.

Koptas said: “Gulbey argues that the existence of Armenian institutions is proof of Turkey's freedom and tolerance. So, according to [Gulbey], the activities of Armenian institutions in Turkey are not acceptable as they pursue ‘demonic' goals. … This approach, which associates the Armenian ethnicity directly with hostility and malignity, is a threat to our national peace.”

 ASIM-DER Chairman Gulbey denied the claims that his organization was “targeting” any groups. He said the lists he tweeted consisted of publicly disclosed address data about Turkish-Armenian institutions, saying there are too many in Turkey. “When we said in a press statement that there are 57 foundations, 21 schools and 15 associations, we were accused of lying and exaggerating numbers.” He said they had to share the names and address information to refute these claims.

In response to a question on whether he would feel responsible if an assault occurred on any of the organizations he publicly tweeted about, Gulbey didn't directly respond, but said he wondered if any Armenian organizations would be upset if he was attacked by an Armenian radical.

Several rights groups are preparing to file a criminal complaint against ASİM-DER with prosecutors this week.

(Photo: IHA)