The Armenian and Assyrian writing on the Sur municipality building in Diyarbakir was recently removed and replaced by a Turkish flag.
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Armenian Weekly)—The Armenian and Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic) writing on the Sur municipality building in Diyarbakir was recently removed and replaced by a Turkish flag. Istanbul-based Armenian bilingual newspaper Agos reported on December 8 that the sign, which was placed in 2012 and was written in four languages (Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian, and Assyrian), was ordered to change by a state-appointed monitor.
The four-language sign was the initiative of then Sur Mayor Abdullah Demirbaş—a longtime advocate for Armenian rights. DemirbaÅŸ worked tirelessly for the Surp Giragos Church reconstruction in 2011. On the occasion of the re-opening of the church, he addressed the Armenians who had gathered there: “Welcome, my brothers and sisters! We are very glad to see you in your own country, your own city!â€
