Turkish Interior Ministry condemns racist graffiti on church wall

ANKARA

The Turkish Interior Ministry on May 1 condemned racist graffiti inscribed on a church wall in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district.

“[Interior] Minister Süleyman Soylu has visited Acting Patriarch of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey [Archbishop] Aram Ateshian, Kadıköy Surp Takavor Armenian Church Foundation head Aram Bükücüyan, and Kadıköy District Governor Mustafa Özarslan, after the unacceptable vandalism of the Kadıköy Surp Takavor Armenian Church. Our security forces are conducting the necessary investigation into those responsible for this ineffective attempt,” said the statement.

Racist graffiti had been written on the wall of the Armenian Surp Takavor Church in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district, according to a report by weekly newspaper Agos on April 30.

The graffiti read “This country is ours” and a pile of trash was also dumped in front of the church’s door.

Upon examination of the CCTV footage, church officials found that a person who had come to the church a day before the incident during a religious service had exhibited suspicious behavior and was responsible for the graffiti and trash.

The CCTV records have been handed over to the police and an investigation has been launched, Agos reported.

The Kadıköy Municipality condemned what it described as a “racist attack” in a Twitter post, saying the necessary work has been initiated to clear the writing and remove the trash.