As authorities in Istanbul rolled into action to determine the identities of the protesters who carried provocative banners at a recently rally to commemorate the Azeri victims of the Khojaly massacre of 1992, the Turkish–Armenian weekly Agos also condemned the incident, Hurriyet Daily News informs.
“Banners, words and behaviors employed by provocative groups that cast a shadow over the goal and spirit of the rally cannot be approved,” a statement from the Interior Ministry said late Feb. 29, amid criticism over the weekend rally that featured anti-Armenian slogans and chants.
Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahin, who participated in the rally and also came under fire for remarks he made there, had “no objective other than condemning the massacre,” the statement continued, adding that his remarks were “distorted” and “taken out of context.” The statement stressed that, “the rights of all citizens in Turkey are guaranteed and everyone is a first-class citizen, regardless of their ethnic identity, language and faith.”
