To the Editor:

Re “Turkey’s Seizure of Property for War Restoration Alarms Armenians” (news article, April 24):

It has been made abundantly clear, at the highest levels, that places of worship will not be expropriated and that the right of ownership will not be infringed upon. This includes the Armenian Surp Giragos Church.

Moreover, Turkey has taken every measure to preserve and, as necessary, to restore the property of religious minorities in Turkey. To insinuate that the steps taken to restore order in the city of Diyarbakir and rebuild certain neighborhoods struck by terrorism somehow reflects a historical tendency for demographic engineering is not only unfair but also reflective of a mind-set that tries to demonize whatever the Turkish government does, regardless of the context.

It is the P.K.K. that is responsible for the destruction of parts of Diyarbakir, and it is the responsibility of our government to help the inhabitants of Sur, the heart of Diyarbakir, among others, to return to normal life.

As to the tendentious connection that the article tries to establish between what is happening today and the events of 1915, suffice it to say that it is Turkey that has been reaching out to Armenians to seek common ground based on mutual respect and understanding, as evidenced by the April 24 message of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.