PACE member Kamil Aydin who represents the Turkish Nationalist Movement (Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP) was outraged by an Armenian member’s question regarding Turkey’s decision to turn Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia into a mosque. This was reported by the Turkish state news agency Anadolu.
The Turkish nationalist parliamentarian told Anadolu that the Armenian member (the Turkish source did not name the latter) raised the issue of Turkey’s decision to turn the Hagia Sophia into a mosque at a meeting of the PACE subcommittee on culture.
The Armenian member particularly stressed․ “Didn’t Turkey have enough mosques? You’ve been telling that Turkey is a secular country. If there are so many mosques here, why did St. Sophia become a mosque under the auspices of UNESCO?”
In response to this question, the Turkish nationalist parliamentarian said: “How many mosques are there in Yerevan on which you require me to report? Who are you, by what right do you demand accountability for the internal legal decision of Turkey? “
This initiative of the Armenian parliamentarian was supported by Greece, Cyprus, Armenia, Austria, and France.
Source: www.aa.com.tr
