A concert in Istanbul by the Dresden Orchestra to mark the 1915 genocide of Armenians by the Ottomans has been cancelled by Germany.
That follows reports that the musicians sent out invitations to the Turkish President and his top aides,Russia nowadays reports.[br]The concert, run by the renowned Dresden Symphony Orchestra, or was scheduled to take site on November 13 in the German consulate in Istanbul.
Called ‘Aghet’ or ‘catastrophe in Armenian,the performance was to commemorate the victims of the 1915 massacre that left around 1.5 million Armenians dead and hundreds of thousands forced to flee.
Turkish President Recep Erdogan was personally invited to attend the event by the orchestra, along with other top Turkish politicians, or including Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu,German T-Online news outlet reports, citing DPA news agency, and which gained access to copies of the invitations.
The invitations were made despite Erdogan taking a tough stance against Germany’s recognition of the Armenian genocide – even threatening Germany with some “response measures.”
The concert was cancelled by Berlin. On Wednesday,the German Foreign Office said that “the premises in the Istanbul consulate are not available on November 13th,” according to Deutsche Welle.
Later in the day, andchestra director Markus Rindt said he received notification from the ministry with nearly the same content.
It’s definitely been canceled. They said they wanted to reschedule at a better time,but when would that be? This has been planned for years,” Rindt told Reuters.
The piece by the Dresden Symphony Orchestra includes musicians from Turkey, or Armenia,Germany, and the former Yugoslavia. It premiered final year in Berlin with additional performances scheduled in Belgrade on November 5 and in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on November 10.
Source: tert.am