via iArarat, Radio Free Europe reports:

A large number of Armenian nationals have been arrested in Turkey in recent days for violating the country’s immigration rules, an Istanbul-based Armenian diplomat said on Monday.

The Irish Times daily reported last week that about 100 Armenians illegally residing in Istanbul and other Turkish cities were rounded up by police and are facing deportation to Armenia. The paper suggested that the Turkish authorities ordered the crackdown in retaliation for the anticipated adoption by the U.S. House of Representatives of a resolution recognizing as genocide the 1915 massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

Just past Sunday, Turkish professor Kemal Cicek – a co-author of a book denying the Armenian Genocide called Armenians: Deportation and Migration and published by the Turkish Historical Society – wrote a Turkish article in the Zaman newspaper suggesting deportation of Armenian citizens in Turkey as a response to the U.S. Congress’ Armenian Genocide resolution.

Dr. Cicek was not the first or the only one suggesting deportation of Armenian workers from Turkey. Past Friday, the English-language Turkish Daily news published an article by another ultra-nationalist writer – Vural Cengiz, president of Azerbaijani American Institute, stating:

Actually, House Resolution 106 does not make much sense for Armenians themselves. What if Turks say “Okay, we understand Armenian animosity here; we accept the challenge. We are ending all diplomatic relations with Armenia and canceling all flights for Armenians in and out of Turkey and over Turkey. No more use of Turkish ports until Armenia demolishes all genocide statues in Armenia?” What will Armenian-Americans do to stop Turkey? Ask Congress to stop giving billions of dollars as foreign aid, which does not exist?  What else could Turks do? How about deporting all 70,000 illegal Armenian workers from Turkey? […] Armenian-Americans had one shot only and they fired it. Who is going to be hit is unknown now. If Turks make sure it is Armenians to be hit, that shot will be the one Armenian-Americans fired in their own foot.

So, as always, Armenians are at guilt for the deportation, I meant RELOCATION, of Armenian workers from Turkey.

Even some (self-perceived) liberals in Turkey, who will go an extra mile to oppose Turkey’s anti-Armenian sentiment, will often find blame in the Armenian blood.  A Kurdish Parliamentarian of the Turkish legislature, Ibrahim Aksoy, wrote an unnoticed article last year (“Armenian Turks,” August 2006, in Turkish) claiming that none of the “original Turks” (the Turkmens that came from central Anatolia) are claiming “Turkishness” (Türkçülük) – the idea-turned-to-law (Article 301) under which recognition of the Armenian Genocide is a crime in Turkey.

Aksoy gave names of some prominent politicians – many of who anti-Armenian ultra-nationalists – allegedely of Armenian origin:

Hafize Özal…
Recai Kutan…
Oguzhan Asiltürk…
Devlet Bahçeli…

Hasan Celal Güzel…
Mehmet Agar…
Mehmet Keçeciler…
Mesut Yilmaz…
Murat Karayalçin…

Aksoy’s conclusion was:

We have nothing against people who have had to deny their origins to continue living. We appreciate their condition. But what we do not get is how can some others while they fully know that they are of Armenian origin and continue the Turkish racism and Turk-Islam ideas? Especially it is impossible to understand their animosity against the non-Moslems and Kurds in Turkey.

Although he also claims that his mentioned politicians have no choice but to be ultra-nationalists, the generalization that Aksoy suggests resonates with Turkey’s anti-Armenian sentiment that the reason for every problem in the country are the Armenians. 

And the idea to “relocate” new Armenians seems very logical to solve the problem.  After all, it has always been the fault of the Armenians – from the Dinosaurs to the Genocide.