Ex-mayor: Pope wanted to visit Diyarbakir in 2014 but was deterred
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey - Pope Francis had planned to visit refugees in Diyarbakir in his 2014 Turkey tour, but cancelled it allegedly for security reasons, the then mayor of Diyarbakir’s Sur township said.
“We invited his Highness the Pope to Diyarbakir when we met him in the Vatican before his trip to Turkey,” former mayor Abdulla Demirbas told Rudaw in an interview.
Demirbas said when they later met the Pope in Istanbul in November 2014, they learned that he had planned to visit refugees in Diyarbakir but was dissuaded by Turkish authorities for security reasons.
“We met the Pope once more in the Vatican and this time we urged him to visit the Kurdistan Region instead; he was positive,” said Demirbas, adding that the Pope was “very familiar” with the Kurdish issue in the region.
There are several Christian sites in Sur district, including the iconic 13th century Surp Giragos Church, along with some 500 historically significant sites. Demirbas said these were partly damaged in clashes between the army forces and the Kurdish guerrillas earlier this year.
Demirbas, who was mayor of Sur township for 10 years, said many of the ancient locations -- including the Armenian Churches and the Yezidi sites -- were renovated before the recent clashes.
Sur district is located in an area in Diyarbakir that includes the old parts of the city on the edge of the Tigris River. Many of the monuments in the town date back to some 7,500 years BC. The recent archaeological excavations carried out suggest that the region has been home to one of the oldest populated areas in the world.
Demirbas slammed the Turkish government’s renovation plans for Sur and accused Ankara of “redesigning the city in accordance to the Turkish Islamic tradition.”
“They have forcefully dislocated people in Sur who already suffered so much in the past,” Demirbas said.
Ankara says it will invest some $9 billion on reconstructing the country’s southeast, where Sur and most other Kurdish cities are located.
Sur was one of the more affected areas in the extended clashes between the army and Kurdish guerrillas earlier this year, with many of its private and public constructions leveled to the ground in the bloody fighting.
The government has said it will construct new apartments in Sur, which the displaced residents can own as compensation for their demolished homes.
“Their plans for Sur are much older than the recent conflict. They want to change the soul of the city,” Demirbas said.
“We invited his Highness the Pope to Diyarbakir when we met him in the Vatican before his trip to Turkey,” former mayor Abdulla Demirbas told Rudaw in an interview.
Demirbas said when they later met the Pope in Istanbul in November 2014, they learned that he had planned to visit refugees in Diyarbakir but was dissuaded by Turkish authorities for security reasons.
“We met the Pope once more in the Vatican and this time we urged him to visit the Kurdistan Region instead; he was positive,” said Demirbas, adding that the Pope was “very familiar” with the Kurdish issue in the region.
There are several Christian sites in Sur district, including the iconic 13th century Surp Giragos Church, along with some 500 historically significant sites. Demirbas said these were partly damaged in clashes between the army forces and the Kurdish guerrillas earlier this year.
Demirbas, who was mayor of Sur township for 10 years, said many of the ancient locations -- including the Armenian Churches and the Yezidi sites -- were renovated before the recent clashes.
Sur district is located in an area in Diyarbakir that includes the old parts of the city on the edge of the Tigris River. Many of the monuments in the town date back to some 7,500 years BC. The recent archaeological excavations carried out suggest that the region has been home to one of the oldest populated areas in the world.
Demirbas slammed the Turkish government’s renovation plans for Sur and accused Ankara of “redesigning the city in accordance to the Turkish Islamic tradition.”
“They have forcefully dislocated people in Sur who already suffered so much in the past,” Demirbas said.
Ankara says it will invest some $9 billion on reconstructing the country’s southeast, where Sur and most other Kurdish cities are located.
Sur was one of the more affected areas in the extended clashes between the army and Kurdish guerrillas earlier this year, with many of its private and public constructions leveled to the ground in the bloody fighting.
The government has said it will construct new apartments in Sur, which the displaced residents can own as compensation for their demolished homes.
“Their plans for Sur are much older than the recent conflict. They want to change the soul of the city,” Demirbas said.