Turkey grants 5-year residence permit to Armenian family

Turkey has granted a five-year residence permit to Armenian citizen Arthur Manukyan, who suffers from a permanent disease, and his family, officials said on Monday, according to the turkishny.com web-page.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Canan Aritman, during a parliamentary gathering on April 24, approached Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and asked him to help grant a residence permit to Manukyan, 21, as he has to be treated in Turkey for the deadly moyamoya disease, an inherited disease in which certain arteries in the brain are constricted.

Manukyan and his mother Hasmik Manukyan went to the Istanbul Police Department on Monday to receive their residence permit. Here, they met with Istanbul Police Chief Huseyin Capkin who said the Manukyan family was asked also if they wanted to become Turkish citizens.

"They wanted to become citizens," Capkin said. "We have received their application papers. We will be closely interested in them."

Arthur’s mother Hasmik Manukyan said they were illegally residing in Turkey until today.
"We did not have residence permit. But Arthur’s treatment had to go on. Thank God we have not been caught so far. I’d like to thank everyone, from Ms. Aritman to Mr. Prime Minister for their efforts," Hasmik Manukyan said.

Thousands of Armenians are living illegally in Turkey, most of them in Istanbul. The exact number is unknown but they are usually known as undocumented Armenians who are working illegally in Turkey.


/APA/