KLCRM

Hi Joe, I´m Emre from Hannover, Germany. It´s a pleasure to be able to chat with you. What are your thoughts on the current political atmosphere? The situation seems to be heating up every day, so I wonder if you think whether or not Turkey will face another Gezi style protest wave.

Hi there, I hope you allow me to answer your question from a Turk´s perspective. Please let me assure you that there is no general negative sentiment towards Armenians in Turkey. I currently reside in Germany, but my family lives in Turkey. There is a considerable Armenian diaspora living in Turkey, and my entire family had Armenian friends for ages, and continues to do so to this day. We don´t consider ourselves „ethnic Turks“ (because there is no such thing) or „ethnic Armenians“, but we are all Turkish citizens with different origins. Most of our Armenian fellows we do even consider being part of our family network, and we would´t want to miss them for a single second in our lives. This not only counts for my family in Istanbul, but also for those living in deeper Anatolia. We have always defended our Armenian brothers and sisters against offenders, and will continue to do so. No doubt that there are nationalists and even racists in Turkey, who still might think in categories that should have been overcome by now. But I guess that this is also the case in Armenia.

Truth is that Turks are raised with the belief the Turkey is surrounded by enemies, not neighbors. This is a crucial part of the myth of the republican resurrection. So Armenia is at times regarded as a threat, same as Iran, Irak and Syria are. But Armenians, sorry if I keep repeating myself, are not. Definitely.

Thank you for your answer Joe. What are your observations from talking with Turkish folks you meet on the streets? Given that "(economic) stability" is a core asset for Turks, what are the political repercussions of the economic turmoil at the grassroots level?

Big fan of Saray muhallebicisi here ;-)

I´ll have to leave this chat. Thank you so much for your time Joe, your insights are much appreciated. I hope there will be another session like this to come in the (near) future. All the best, Emre