The following is a translation of an Armenian editorial that appeared in today’s issue of Agos

On May 22, the “Solidarity with Camp Armen” group organized a march along Istanbul’s Istiklal Avenue.

One of the main slogans voiced during the march was “We will succeed by struggling”. When the hundreds of marchers reached Galatasaray Square, Armenian songs were sung and Sayat Tekir, a representative of the Nor Zartonk (New Awakening) organization addressed the crowd.

Before the march, news had spread that the present owner of the camp would be handing it over to its original owner, the Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church. Upon hearing this and thinking that the matter had been resolved, many decided not to participate in the march.

But the march was aimed at becoming the start of a much wider protest movement, not merely confined to the return of a single piece of property.

The people in the solidarity group are working towards this end by attracting greater attention and numbers to the camp and stressing that the struggle seeks to launch a wider movement of demanding.

From the first day of people coming to the camp and watching over it, there has been a tradition of organizing events on the weekends, but the agenda of what to do the following weekend remains unclear. On the one hand, there is the prospect of emerging victorious, while on the other, tangible evidence of such a victory remains lacking.

According to information disseminated this past Monday, property owner Fatih Ulusoy will not hand over the land deed within the next ten days. Ulusoy claims he’s away on personal business. This news has caused concern within the ranks of the solidarity movement and the public, and has led to speculation that deals are being made that are being kept secret from the public.

Giving the run-up to parliamentary elections in Turkey, this entire struggle would doubtlessly become a matter of interest for various political parties in their campaigns. The ruling party appears to be following the issue and hopes to create the impression that it is approaching the matter judiciously in the hope of attracting Armenian votes and those who support them. But we must remember that the June 7 parliamentary elections will have taken place before the ten day period cited above. Naturally, it will be much more difficult to get the various political parties, including the ruling party, interested in the matter once the elections have come and gone.

This is proof that the solidarity movement has yet to reach its final objective.

While those not intimately familiar with the problem and a press seeking other interests may sound the victory trumpets, one must not get barefoot before seeing the water.