Turkish Government Rep. Builds Toilets in Armenian Cemetery in Van

EDREMIT, Turkey (Armenian Weekly)””Reports indicate that a Turkish government-appointed trustee of Van’s Edremit Municipality has built toilets in a historic Armenian cemetery in the vicinity of a new public beach.

According to a report by Turkish-based T24 news, the bones from the cemetery were scattered after a public beach was installed on the site. The site at which historic artifacts dating to 3000 B.C. were found according to the report, is said to be damaged by the new construction. A total of 24 graves were discovered in the area once heavily settled by Armenians.

The beach was opened on July 23 by Van trustee Murat Zorluoğlu and Edremit Municipality trustee Atıf Çiçekli, who were both appointed by government as part of an ongoing crackdown against Kurdish politicians.

Edremit is a district of Van Province of Turkey, which is situated on the coast of the Lake Van, 18 kilometers (approx. 11 miles) from the city of Van. The current name of Edremit originates from Armenian name of Artamet, which literally means “Near the Fields”