On July 2, Turkish MP Yasin Öztürk, a founding member of the Kemalist nationalist Good Party (?Y? Parti), announced on his official X account that he and other MPs have submitted a proposal to the Turkish Parliament to rename the Alican Border Gate, the land border crossing with Armenia, as the “Talaat Pa?a Border Gate.”
In his statement, Öztürk described Talaat Pasha as “one of the architects of the nation’s struggle for survival and continuity” and “a leading political figure who shouldered the responsibility of the State during the most challenging turns in the destiny of the Turkish Nation.”
He said the proposed renaming is a symbolic gesture meant to honor Talaat Pasha’s role in shaping the Turkish nation, adding: “Naming the Alican Border Gate after Talaat Pa?a is a mark of respect to be etched into our geography.”
Öztürk emphasized that this initiative goes beyond a simple name change. “This change is not merely about replacing a sign; it is a powerful declaration of the Turkish Nation’s determination to claim its history, its heroes, and its memory,” he wrote.
According to him, the move would reinforce national pride and awareness: “Changing the name of the Alican Border Gate to Talaat Pa?a’s name is also a way for a nation that stands tall against its enemies to stamp its historical identity on its borders.”
He further claimed that this renaming would serve future generations by deepening their connection to Turkey’s past. “This step carries great significance in instilling historical awareness in our nation’s younger generations and reminding our State of its historical continuity and honorable past,” Öztürk stated, concluding:
“Keeping Talaat Pa?a’s name alive at a border gate of great strategic and symbolic importance to our State will be a fitting tribute to his ideals, struggle, and sacrifices.”
The Alican Border Gate, located in Turkey’s I?d?r province, has been closed since 1993. In 2022, the Armenian government renovated the Margara checkpoint on the Armenia-Turkey border after reaching an agreement with Ankara to work toward reopening the border for holders of diplomatic passports and nationals of third countries. Earlier this year, the border was briefly opened for 10 days when Armenia sent humanitarian aid to Syria.
The proposal to rename the Alican Border Gate after Talaat Pasha is already drawing condemnation due to his central role as the chief architect of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, during which over 1.5 million Armenians were systematically deported and killed under Ottoman orders. Talaat Pasha, who served as the empire’s interior minister and later Grand Vizier, is considered the head architect of the genocide.
He was assassinated in 1921 by Armenian genocide survivor Soghomon Tehlirian in Berlin, in an act of justice carried out as part of Operation Nemesis, a covert campaign to eliminate those responsible for the genocide.
If the proposal is accepted, it is expected to cause major turmoil in Armenia and among Armenian communities worldwide, as it would be seen not only as a denial of genocide but as a state-level provocation—glorifying a man responsible for one of the most catastrophic chapters in Armenian and human history at the very border that separates the two countries.
