Ankara to extend condolence to Armenia via Georgia

27.03.2007
Today's Zaman
SÜLEYMAN KURT
ANKARA

Below it says that "Margaryan, who died following a heart attack on Sunday, was an Armenian of Anatolian descent. In a statement he once made, he said, “My family is from Muş [a southeastern Turkish city]. My grandfather was one of the leading figures of Muş, Sekrak Margaryan. In fact, almost all the members of our Ministerial Board are of Anatolian descent. And half of them are from Muş.” ".

In April 1915 the Ottoman government embarked upon the systematic decimation of its civilian Armenian population. The persecutions continued with varying intensity until 1923 when the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist and was replaced by the Republic of Turkey. The Armenian population of the Ottoman state was reported at about two million in 1915. An estimated one million had perished by 1918, while hundreds of thousands had become homeless and stateless refugees. By 1923 virtually the entire Armenian population of Anatolian Turkey had disappeared.

See the SURP ARAK'ELOTS VANK The Holy Apostles Monastery in Mush.

In the wake of the sudden death of Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan, Ankara is readying a letter of condolence that it will send to Yerevan, with which it has no diplomatic relations, via the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

According to information obtained from diplomatic sources, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will send a note of condolence to Armenian President Robert Kocharian. Ankara had not received an invitation for Margaryan’s funeral when Today’s Zaman went to press.

The Armenian government was summoned to an emergency meeting by President Kocharian following Margaryan’s death. According to the Armenian Constitution the new prime minister will be determined in 10 days and the new government will be established in the following 20 days.

A commission has been formed for Margaryan’s funeral. The first ceremony will be held on Tuesday (today), and after the civil ceremony Margaryan’s body will be brought to the National Academic Opera and Ballet House around noon. He will be interred at the Komitas Pantheon cemetery.

His death is not expected to have any serious effect on the internal politics of Armenia or to make any positive contribution to Ankara-Yerevan relations. An expert in the field, Dr. Kamer Kasım, recalled that Armenia had a presidential system and thus the prime minister does not have a large effect on Armenian politics. The death of Margaryan, who was also the leader of the Republican Party, will not effect the parliamentary elections to be held on May 12, Kasım noted, and named two of the candidates for the prime minister’s office as Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan and Defense Minister Serj Sarkissian.

Margaryan, who died following a heart attack on Sunday, was an Armenian of Anatolian descent. In a statement he once made, he said, “My family is from Muş [a southeastern Turkish city]. My grandfather was one of the leading figures of Muş, Sekrak Margaryan. In fact, almost all the members of our Ministerial Board are of Anatolian descent. And half of them are from Muş.”

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.