Armenian theater play enrages Turkish community in US

ISTANBUL

The poster for the play. Milliyet photo

An Armenian play that is set to take the stage in New York in September has caused a strong backlash from the Turkish community in the United States, daily Milliyet reported.
 
The play, titled “Red Dog Howls,” tells the story of an Armenian man discovering the events of 1915 through the letters of his relatives that were killed during the incidents.
 
The play depicts the deaths of the character's family, as well as many other Armenian families, at the hands of Ottoman forces.
 
The Turkish community in the U.S. has reacted strongly to the play, with Ali Çınar, head of the Turkish American Association, stating that they expected the 100th anniversary of 1915 to bring similar acts from the Armenian lobby in the U.S.
 
"The goal of this play is not to make art," Çınar said. "The goal here is simply to repeat the 1915 claims. It aims to propagate and to make alleged stories from letters and memoirs look like the real events."