Two Turks honored by the Belgian Armenian Committee
The Belgian Armenian Committee honored the founders of Info-Türk and Güneş Atölyeleri, Doğan Özgüden and İnci Tuğsavul, for their long-standing friendship and support at a ceremony attended by many political figures at the prestigious Cercle Royal Gaulois in Brussels on the evening of March 12.
Speaking after the award plaque was presented to them, Doğan Özgüden thanked the Belgian Armenian Committee for this gesture with the following speech:
“As long-standing friends of the Armenian community, we thank you for honoring us tonight… Our friendship began in the 70s, when the second major wave of Armenian deportations intensified with the increase in state oppression and racist paramilitary attacks in Turkey.
“I can never forget our friendship and cooperation with Armenian figures in this country, with the President of the Belgian Armenian Committee Michel Mahmourian and the President of the European Armenian Federation Kaspar Karampetian.
“This March 12th day that you honored us is unfortunately one of the darkest days of our lives from the 90s.
“Exactly 54 years ago, the military coup on March 12, 1971 forced us into exile, and nine years later, on September 12, 1980, a second coup rendered us stateless.
“The struggle we waged against the fascist regime in Turkey gained a new dimension with exile, and it became possible for us to recognize the truth of the 1915 genocide.
“This bitter truth was unfortunately a taboo even for the most progressive political parties and media in Turkey.
“We are proud to have been involved in the struggle for the recognition of genocides in continuous cooperation with our Armenian, Assyrian, Greek and Kurdish friends in exile for half a century.
“In this meeting that you made us happy, I would like to express our deep gratitude to the Belgian Armenian Committee, who has always been by our side and shown solidarity when we were exposed to threats from the Turkish state.
“We wish you great success in your struggle, not only on our behalf, but also on behalf of Info-Türk and Güneş Workshops.
“Yes… Your legitimate struggle is also our struggle…”
