'Patriarch' and 'co-patriarch' chaos among Turkey's Armenian's
Sunday, January 31, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Elections for the Armenian patriarch in Turkey have been cast into confusion with two separate applications filed to hold the polls. While the patriarchate's clerical board intends to elect a 'co-patriarch,' an 'Entrepreneur Committee' of community foundation directors is insisting on electing a completely new patriarch
Mesrop II.
Upcoming elections to select a new patriarch for Turkey’s Armenians have become increasingly enveloped in confusion as two separate community applications to hold the polls were recently filed with the Istanbul Governor's Office.
The patriarchate’s clerical board recently decided to elect a co-patriarch for the Armenian community due to the deteriorating heath condition of current Patriarch Mesrop II. The elected co-patriarch would then become the patriarch following Mesrop II’s death.
At the same time, the Entrepreneur Committee, a body consisting of the directors of the community’s foundations, has initiated proceedings to elect a completely new patriarch. This means that two separate applications to elect the community’s religious leader have now been filed with the Istanbul Governor.
After learning of the committee’s application, the clerical board released a statement condemning the filing of election papers, as the double application has cast a shadow over the co-patriarch elections tentatively scheduled to be held May 12.
Mesrop II was elected in October 1998 as the 84th Patriarch of Turkey’s Armenians by the community of 50,000. In addition to fulfilling his clerical and communal duties for the past 12 years, Mesrop II has also played an active role in bringing the problems of the Armenian community to Turkey’s agenda.
Mesrop II fell suspiciously ill following the Jan. 19, 2007, assassination of Hrant Dink; the patriarchate has since declaring his illness to be dementia. His duties have been assumed by the clerical board under Archbishop Aram Ateşyan.
Intra-communal debate on the matter has led to calls for the election of a co-patriarch. According to the canon law of the Armenian Apostolic Church, an elected patriarch holds his title until death, meaning that it is impossible to elect a new patriarch until the passing of the incumbent one.
Possible legal problems
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review about the situation, Arsen Aşık, one of the former directors of the committee, said the community was going through a very sensitive time, adding that he approved of the committee’s actions.
“Mesrop II is in a condition in which he cannot fulfill his duties. Let us assume that a co-patriarch is elected and then a legal problem occurs. At that point, the co-patriarch might say, ‘I do not have authority’ and isolate himself [from the situation],” Aşık said.
Sarkis Elbe, one of the current members of the foundation, also approved of the committee’s actions but expressed some wariness about the general situation. “Nobody knows what is going on behind closed doors,” he said, referring to the clerical board’s decision to elect a co-patriarch.
‘Mesrop II is the community’s choice’
Sevan Ataoğlu, a young member of the community, disagreed with Elbe and Aşık, saying he is against the idea of electing a completely new patriarch and adding that the community wants to see Mesrop II as full patriarch until his death.
“I believe the government is interfering with the Entrepreneur Committee. That is why they are so determined,” Ataoğlu said, claiming both the state and the committee had a secret candidate in mind for the position.
“There may be government advice [but] not interference,” Elbe said in response to such claims. “Such rumors were seen during the previous elections too; they do not seem that believable.”
31 Ocak 2010 Pazar
28 Ocak 2010 Perşembe
Foreign support to Armenia media stirs debate
Foreign support to Armenia media stirs debate
Thursday, January 28, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily NewsFinancial support from international foundations and foreign embassies to the Armenian media has sparked a debate, with some saying such efforts would give journalists a chance to work more freely. Critics, however, insist change must come from within the country’s own dynamics.
Foreign support for Armenian media has grown in recent years, following a regional pattern. “Hedq” (Trace) one of the best-known online portals, moved into print format last September with the support of the British Embassy.
Boris Navasaritan, president of the Yerevan Press Club, said he thinks journalists who receive international support can work more freely. “Unfortunately, the rulers in Armenia have an oppressor mentality. However, the world is changing rapidly. It is not possible for Armenia to [resist] change,” Navasaritan told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review during a recent visit to Istanbul.
Levon Barsghian, president of the Journalists Club Asparez in the northwestern Armenian city of Gyumri, said he agrees with Navasaritan, but added he believes the issue of foreign support should be tackled carefully.
“We thank all institutions that offer support for the freedom of speech and democracy,” he said. “But the political perspective of this support should be given attention, too. The only goal of such support must be about freedom of speech for the Armenian press. Opinions, political views and ideologies should not be forced upon anyone.”
Change coming from inside
Lucia Najslova, chief editor for Zahranicna, a foreign policy magazine in Slovakia, said the momentum for media reform has to come from Armenians themselves. “An ‘imposed’ change will most probably not be a lasting one, nor will it be genuinely embraced by the majority of the people. Change can, however, be assisted by those who went through similar experiences. It is wiser to learn from the errors of your fellows than from your own.”
Najslova compared the Armenian media with those in Eastern European countries. “In the past 20 years, during the restoration of democracy in the former Czechoslovakia, we certainly did receive a lot of help from foreigners who had good intentions. Without them, our liberalization would have been much more painful and longer. But there were also those who had no idea about the experience of the country they came to 'civilize.' We experienced a number of entertaining moments, being put into positions in which we supposedly had yet to learn how to dine using cutlery.”
According to Navasartian, one of the most modern printing houses in Armenia was founded in the early 1990s with the support of the Eurasia Foundation, which had support from the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, as well as other governments, private foundations, corporations and individuals. Then, the Open Society Institute, funded by billionaire investor George Soros, and Internews, another global nonprofit organization, opened offices in Yerevan.
“Armenians’ enthusiasm in embracing foreign investors entering the media sector should not be surprising,” Aslı Tunç, dean of the communication faculty at Istanbul’s Bilgi University, told the Daily News. “I believe that this is a strategic move for Washington to create a competitive media market in Armenia. Those efforts cannot make any country’s media independent, but training programs and financing civil society organizations might increase the level of journalism standards in the long run.”
Thursday, January 28, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily NewsFinancial support from international foundations and foreign embassies to the Armenian media has sparked a debate, with some saying such efforts would give journalists a chance to work more freely. Critics, however, insist change must come from within the country’s own dynamics.
Foreign support for Armenian media has grown in recent years, following a regional pattern. “Hedq” (Trace) one of the best-known online portals, moved into print format last September with the support of the British Embassy.
Boris Navasaritan, president of the Yerevan Press Club, said he thinks journalists who receive international support can work more freely. “Unfortunately, the rulers in Armenia have an oppressor mentality. However, the world is changing rapidly. It is not possible for Armenia to [resist] change,” Navasaritan told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review during a recent visit to Istanbul.
Levon Barsghian, president of the Journalists Club Asparez in the northwestern Armenian city of Gyumri, said he agrees with Navasaritan, but added he believes the issue of foreign support should be tackled carefully.
“We thank all institutions that offer support for the freedom of speech and democracy,” he said. “But the political perspective of this support should be given attention, too. The only goal of such support must be about freedom of speech for the Armenian press. Opinions, political views and ideologies should not be forced upon anyone.”
Change coming from inside
Lucia Najslova, chief editor for Zahranicna, a foreign policy magazine in Slovakia, said the momentum for media reform has to come from Armenians themselves. “An ‘imposed’ change will most probably not be a lasting one, nor will it be genuinely embraced by the majority of the people. Change can, however, be assisted by those who went through similar experiences. It is wiser to learn from the errors of your fellows than from your own.”
Najslova compared the Armenian media with those in Eastern European countries. “In the past 20 years, during the restoration of democracy in the former Czechoslovakia, we certainly did receive a lot of help from foreigners who had good intentions. Without them, our liberalization would have been much more painful and longer. But there were also those who had no idea about the experience of the country they came to 'civilize.' We experienced a number of entertaining moments, being put into positions in which we supposedly had yet to learn how to dine using cutlery.”
According to Navasartian, one of the most modern printing houses in Armenia was founded in the early 1990s with the support of the Eurasia Foundation, which had support from the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, as well as other governments, private foundations, corporations and individuals. Then, the Open Society Institute, funded by billionaire investor George Soros, and Internews, another global nonprofit organization, opened offices in Yerevan.
“Armenians’ enthusiasm in embracing foreign investors entering the media sector should not be surprising,” Aslı Tunç, dean of the communication faculty at Istanbul’s Bilgi University, told the Daily News. “I believe that this is a strategic move for Washington to create a competitive media market in Armenia. Those efforts cannot make any country’s media independent, but training programs and financing civil society organizations might increase the level of journalism standards in the long run.”
27 Ocak 2010 Çarşamba
Dashnak official warns of war if Azeri, Armenia talks fail
Dashnak official warns of war if Azeri, Armenia talks fail
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Vercihan ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
A deadlock in peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan might lead to new conflicts in the region, warned a senior official from the far-right Armenian Revolutionary Federation, or Dashnaktsutyun Party.
While praising the international negotiators for their active role in talks, Giro Manoian said that neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan now desire to engage a new war. His warning came a day after the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia held their fifth meeting for a peace agreement in the Russian resort city of Sochi, as Moscow pushes the sides to resolve their longstanding conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an enclave in Azerbaijan that has been occupied by Armenian forces since the end of a six-year conflict that left about 30,000 people dead and 1 million displaced before a truce was reached in 1994. The region’s unilateral independence is not recognized by the international community. The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been negotiating on the issue under the OSCE, but little progress has been made in the talks.
When reminded of the positive picture drawn on the solution to the Karabakh problem in previous months, Manoian said he believed that was done to mislead the public. He also said that Turkey perceived the Karabakh problem differently than Russia, the United States and other Western nations. “When a solution to the Karabakh problem is mentioned, Turkey perceives it as returning the whole Karabakh to Azerbaijan. However, Russia and the United States are aware of the sensitivity of the problem,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an e-mail interview.
Armenia’s Constitutional Court recently published a decision affirming the constitutionality of the protocol, angering Ankara because the decision stipulated that the agreements must not violate a part of Armenia’s declaration of independence that calls for recognition of the deaths of Armenians in 1915 as “genocide.”
According to Manoian, Turkey has tried to use the court’s ruling for its own good. “[Turkey] is not genuine on normalizing ties with Armenia. It is trying to build an image of a country that moves toward consensus. That is all.”
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Vercihan ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
A deadlock in peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan might lead to new conflicts in the region, warned a senior official from the far-right Armenian Revolutionary Federation, or Dashnaktsutyun Party.
While praising the international negotiators for their active role in talks, Giro Manoian said that neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan now desire to engage a new war. His warning came a day after the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia held their fifth meeting for a peace agreement in the Russian resort city of Sochi, as Moscow pushes the sides to resolve their longstanding conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an enclave in Azerbaijan that has been occupied by Armenian forces since the end of a six-year conflict that left about 30,000 people dead and 1 million displaced before a truce was reached in 1994. The region’s unilateral independence is not recognized by the international community. The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been negotiating on the issue under the OSCE, but little progress has been made in the talks.
When reminded of the positive picture drawn on the solution to the Karabakh problem in previous months, Manoian said he believed that was done to mislead the public. He also said that Turkey perceived the Karabakh problem differently than Russia, the United States and other Western nations. “When a solution to the Karabakh problem is mentioned, Turkey perceives it as returning the whole Karabakh to Azerbaijan. However, Russia and the United States are aware of the sensitivity of the problem,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an e-mail interview.
Armenia’s Constitutional Court recently published a decision affirming the constitutionality of the protocol, angering Ankara because the decision stipulated that the agreements must not violate a part of Armenia’s declaration of independence that calls for recognition of the deaths of Armenians in 1915 as “genocide.”
According to Manoian, Turkey has tried to use the court’s ruling for its own good. “[Turkey] is not genuine on normalizing ties with Armenia. It is trying to build an image of a country that moves toward consensus. That is all.”
23 Ocak 2010 Cumartesi
Speculation ends on Van's Holy Cross Church
Speculation ends on Van's Holy Cross Church
Friday, January 22, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The Culture and Tourism Ministry ends speculation about the historical Surp Haç (Holy Cross) Church on Akdamar Island in Van. Officials from the ministry say the church will be opened for prayer and a cross will be placed on the roof by September 2010
Renovation of the historical Surp Haç (Holy Cross) Church on Akdamar Island in the eastern district of Van helped begin the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia, but the church remains a topic of considerable debate.
The Armenian church was renovated and opened as a museum in 2007 by former Culture Minister Atilla Koç; since then, debate has centered on whether a cross would be placed atop the building’s dome and whether the church would once again be opened for prayer.
Buildings designated as museums are not allowed to host religious services under Turkish law.
Current Culture Minister Ertuğrul Günay has told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that the ministry is making the final legal arrangements to allow the church to open for prayer once a year.
Last week, however, daily Milliyet and other Turkish newspapers announced that the ministry was no longer considering opening Surp Haç for prayer. The announcement naturally attracted the interest of Armenian media and the Armenian diaspora as well.
‘The information is old; preparations are at the final level’
The Daily News spoke to ministry officials to get the latest developments about the historical church. Denying last week’s news story, the officials said the church would be opened for prayer in September 2010 with a cross on the building’s roof. According to the ministry sources, Milliyet’s story was based on old information; in fact, they said, the legal preparations for opening the church to prayer are continuing rapidly.
Disappointment caused by museum status
Günay said there are obstacles to churches in addition to Surp Haç being opened for prayer, adding that the ministry is handling the legal arrangements very carefully to prevent similar difficulties in the future.
The church has symbolic importance in the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia. Although it is commonly believed that Armenian-Turkish dialogue began with the World Cup Qualifier between the two countries’ national teams in 2008, the actual process began with the initial renovation of Surp Haç.
Former minister Koç contacted Gagik Gürciyan, the deputy culture minister of Armenia at that time, to provide experts from Armenia to come to Turkey to inspect the church. Despite the closed borders between the two countries, Turkish and Armenian experts have engaged in a coordinated effort aimed at restoring Surp Haç.
Leaving the church without a cross and opening it as a museum, however, disappointed the Armenian world. During the restoration, a replica of the original cross was prepared by experts according to the traditions of the Apostolic Church. That cross was brought to Istanbul and delivered to Mesrop II, patriarch of Turkish Armenians.
The cross is still at the Istanbul patriarchate, waiting to be placed atop Surp Haç.
Friday, January 22, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The Culture and Tourism Ministry ends speculation about the historical Surp Haç (Holy Cross) Church on Akdamar Island in Van. Officials from the ministry say the church will be opened for prayer and a cross will be placed on the roof by September 2010
Renovation of the historical Surp Haç (Holy Cross) Church on Akdamar Island in the eastern district of Van helped begin the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia, but the church remains a topic of considerable debate.
The Armenian church was renovated and opened as a museum in 2007 by former Culture Minister Atilla Koç; since then, debate has centered on whether a cross would be placed atop the building’s dome and whether the church would once again be opened for prayer.
Buildings designated as museums are not allowed to host religious services under Turkish law.
Current Culture Minister Ertuğrul Günay has told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that the ministry is making the final legal arrangements to allow the church to open for prayer once a year.
Last week, however, daily Milliyet and other Turkish newspapers announced that the ministry was no longer considering opening Surp Haç for prayer. The announcement naturally attracted the interest of Armenian media and the Armenian diaspora as well.
‘The information is old; preparations are at the final level’
The Daily News spoke to ministry officials to get the latest developments about the historical church. Denying last week’s news story, the officials said the church would be opened for prayer in September 2010 with a cross on the building’s roof. According to the ministry sources, Milliyet’s story was based on old information; in fact, they said, the legal preparations for opening the church to prayer are continuing rapidly.
Disappointment caused by museum status
Günay said there are obstacles to churches in addition to Surp Haç being opened for prayer, adding that the ministry is handling the legal arrangements very carefully to prevent similar difficulties in the future.
The church has symbolic importance in the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia. Although it is commonly believed that Armenian-Turkish dialogue began with the World Cup Qualifier between the two countries’ national teams in 2008, the actual process began with the initial renovation of Surp Haç.
Former minister Koç contacted Gagik Gürciyan, the deputy culture minister of Armenia at that time, to provide experts from Armenia to come to Turkey to inspect the church. Despite the closed borders between the two countries, Turkish and Armenian experts have engaged in a coordinated effort aimed at restoring Surp Haç.
Leaving the church without a cross and opening it as a museum, however, disappointed the Armenian world. During the restoration, a replica of the original cross was prepared by experts according to the traditions of the Apostolic Church. That cross was brought to Istanbul and delivered to Mesrop II, patriarch of Turkish Armenians.
The cross is still at the Istanbul patriarchate, waiting to be placed atop Surp Haç.
18 Ocak 2010 Pazartesi
No advance in Dink assassination case even after three
No advance in Dink assassination case even after three
Monday, January 18, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The Hrant Dink assassination case has not advanced despite the three years since his death. Dink's relatives and friends share the pessimism of the family's lawyers about the future of the case. ‘The Dink murder wouldn't be solved even if the Ergenekon case ends,’ according to Yalçın Çilingir, a close friend of the late Dink
Although some hitmen who have assassinated journalists in Turkey during the last three decades have been caught, their leaders behind the scenes have never been revealed.
Abdi İpekçi, former chief editor for the daily Milliyet was gunned down in the Maçka neighborhood of Istanbul in 1979. The İpekçi assassination was a beginning – more followed afterward. Among those murdered journalists, the assassinations of Uğur Mumcu and Ahmet Taner Kışlalı in 1993 and 1999 had the most tremendous impact.
Three years ago, one of the more infamous recent assassinations occurred. Hrant Dink, chief editor for the daily Agos, published in both Turkish and Armenian, was shot in front of his paper’s office on Jan. 19, 2007.
According to the criminal report, Dink lost his life a few seconds after the first bullet. The significant detail that separates the Dink assassination from the ones of İpekçi, Mumcu and Kışlalı is that he was a Turkish citizen of Armenian origin who strived to bring the sensitive matters of the Armenian problem to Turkey’s agenda.
The Dink family, along with their lawyers, Fethiye Çetin and Deniz Tuna, has reiterated its hopelessness about the progress of the case at every opportunity. The sudden illness of Turkish Armenian patriarch Mesrop II just weeks after the assassination raised many questions that were not answered, even after the official medical diagnosis.
Isolated by both Turks and Armenians
The Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review spoke to Yalçın (Oşin) Çilingir, a close friend of Dink, and lawyer Luiz Bakar, one of Agos’ founders and a press spokeswoman for the patriarchy on the third anniversary of the assassination.
Dink was a figure who attempted to tear down the wall between the people of Armenia and Turkey after the sad events of 1915. He believed the two peoples should build dialogue between themselves without interventions from the outside, stating this opinion at every opportunity. Dink’s stance caused reactions in Armenia and among the Armenian diaspora as much as it did in Turkey. Some Armenians even claimed Dink was a Turkish agent.
“Some people are reborn after death,” said Çilingir. “Hrant perceived both the societies of Armenia and Turkey as psychologically ill when it came to the events of 1915; he said both societies needed treatment. That was why he was isolated by both Turks and Armenians. It was more agonizing that Armenian society left his outstretched hand hanging in air.”
Dink in the history pages
There were times when Çilingir could not control his emotions during the interview. “Hrant ended a 100-year loneliness for Istanbul’s Armenians even though he knew it would cost him his life,” he said. “He managed to make the two peoples get involved in dialogue. The thousands of people who hit the streets after his death are the biggest example of that.”
Describing Dink as his brother and as “a brave person who jumped into the sea without knowing how to swim,” Çilingir said the murdered journalist has already attained his rightful place in the pages of history.
Çilingir is like a member of the family who lacks the surname Dink only. He said he went through great agony after the assassination. “It is not possible for anyone to comprehend the pain his wife Rakel and children experience everyday.”
A critical approach to the Dink case
Çilingir said he is not hopeful about the progress of the Dink case. “The Ergenekon case might come to a result but the Dink murder will not because the ‘don’t let this go too much farther’ mentality is dominant in the Ergenekon case. The hitman will be set free in a few years just like it happened with the İpekçi case.”
Çilingir said Dink had not mentioned the threats he was receiving to either himself or his own brother. “Television shows were making him a target. Being put on trial for Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Law was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Mesrop II and Hrant Dink at the crossroads
Bakar said Hrant became a target because his words were twisted. “This was done on purpose. This situation served the purposes of some people.”
Bakar published the following comment in Agos: “Agos was our child. Before Agos, there were prejudices against the Armenian community in the public opinion. We were perceived as unfavorable citizens. We have showed that we share the fate of this country thanks to our newspaper.”
Agos’ founding figures have split in time. When Mesrop II rose to the patriarchy, Dink supported the idea that the community’s daily affairs be separated from religious ones, a fact that brought the two to a crossroads. “Mesrop II and Hrant were strong characters, that was why they had a conflict but they always kept their love for each other,” Bakar said.
Asked whether he believes there is a connection between Dink’s assassination and the patriarch’s illness, Bakar said: “The doctors do not know what triggered Mesrop II’s illness. It is impossible for me to comment on that.”
Bakar said she is following the Dink case closely with a lawyer’s perspective. “The case is going nowhere fast.”
The Ergenekon case
The Ergenekon case started after the discovery of 27 hand grenades in June 2007 in a shanty house belonging to a retired non-commissioned officer in Istanbul 's Ümraniye district. The grenades were found to be the same ones used in attacks on the daily Cumhuriyet’s Istanbul offices in 2006.
The finding led to scores of arrests, putting more than 100 journalists, writers, gang leaders, scholars, businessmen and politicians into detention in what became a terror investigation to stop the alleged ultranationalist, shadowy gang referred to as Ergenekon. In the later stages of the investigation, those under custody were accused of planning to topple the government by staging a coup in 2009 by initially spreading chaos and mayhem.
The earlier bombings of Cumhuriyet, Dink’s assissination, the murder of the Council of State’s top judge and alleged plans for the assassination of high-profile figures in Turkish politics are occasionally associated with the case.
Monday, January 18, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The Hrant Dink assassination case has not advanced despite the three years since his death. Dink's relatives and friends share the pessimism of the family's lawyers about the future of the case. ‘The Dink murder wouldn't be solved even if the Ergenekon case ends,’ according to Yalçın Çilingir, a close friend of the late Dink
Although some hitmen who have assassinated journalists in Turkey during the last three decades have been caught, their leaders behind the scenes have never been revealed.
Abdi İpekçi, former chief editor for the daily Milliyet was gunned down in the Maçka neighborhood of Istanbul in 1979. The İpekçi assassination was a beginning – more followed afterward. Among those murdered journalists, the assassinations of Uğur Mumcu and Ahmet Taner Kışlalı in 1993 and 1999 had the most tremendous impact.
Three years ago, one of the more infamous recent assassinations occurred. Hrant Dink, chief editor for the daily Agos, published in both Turkish and Armenian, was shot in front of his paper’s office on Jan. 19, 2007.
According to the criminal report, Dink lost his life a few seconds after the first bullet. The significant detail that separates the Dink assassination from the ones of İpekçi, Mumcu and Kışlalı is that he was a Turkish citizen of Armenian origin who strived to bring the sensitive matters of the Armenian problem to Turkey’s agenda.
The Dink family, along with their lawyers, Fethiye Çetin and Deniz Tuna, has reiterated its hopelessness about the progress of the case at every opportunity. The sudden illness of Turkish Armenian patriarch Mesrop II just weeks after the assassination raised many questions that were not answered, even after the official medical diagnosis.
Isolated by both Turks and Armenians
The Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review spoke to Yalçın (Oşin) Çilingir, a close friend of Dink, and lawyer Luiz Bakar, one of Agos’ founders and a press spokeswoman for the patriarchy on the third anniversary of the assassination.
Dink was a figure who attempted to tear down the wall between the people of Armenia and Turkey after the sad events of 1915. He believed the two peoples should build dialogue between themselves without interventions from the outside, stating this opinion at every opportunity. Dink’s stance caused reactions in Armenia and among the Armenian diaspora as much as it did in Turkey. Some Armenians even claimed Dink was a Turkish agent.
“Some people are reborn after death,” said Çilingir. “Hrant perceived both the societies of Armenia and Turkey as psychologically ill when it came to the events of 1915; he said both societies needed treatment. That was why he was isolated by both Turks and Armenians. It was more agonizing that Armenian society left his outstretched hand hanging in air.”
Dink in the history pages
There were times when Çilingir could not control his emotions during the interview. “Hrant ended a 100-year loneliness for Istanbul’s Armenians even though he knew it would cost him his life,” he said. “He managed to make the two peoples get involved in dialogue. The thousands of people who hit the streets after his death are the biggest example of that.”
Describing Dink as his brother and as “a brave person who jumped into the sea without knowing how to swim,” Çilingir said the murdered journalist has already attained his rightful place in the pages of history.
Çilingir is like a member of the family who lacks the surname Dink only. He said he went through great agony after the assassination. “It is not possible for anyone to comprehend the pain his wife Rakel and children experience everyday.”
A critical approach to the Dink case
Çilingir said he is not hopeful about the progress of the Dink case. “The Ergenekon case might come to a result but the Dink murder will not because the ‘don’t let this go too much farther’ mentality is dominant in the Ergenekon case. The hitman will be set free in a few years just like it happened with the İpekçi case.”
Çilingir said Dink had not mentioned the threats he was receiving to either himself or his own brother. “Television shows were making him a target. Being put on trial for Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Law was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Mesrop II and Hrant Dink at the crossroads
Bakar said Hrant became a target because his words were twisted. “This was done on purpose. This situation served the purposes of some people.”
Bakar published the following comment in Agos: “Agos was our child. Before Agos, there were prejudices against the Armenian community in the public opinion. We were perceived as unfavorable citizens. We have showed that we share the fate of this country thanks to our newspaper.”
Agos’ founding figures have split in time. When Mesrop II rose to the patriarchy, Dink supported the idea that the community’s daily affairs be separated from religious ones, a fact that brought the two to a crossroads. “Mesrop II and Hrant were strong characters, that was why they had a conflict but they always kept their love for each other,” Bakar said.
Asked whether he believes there is a connection between Dink’s assassination and the patriarch’s illness, Bakar said: “The doctors do not know what triggered Mesrop II’s illness. It is impossible for me to comment on that.”
Bakar said she is following the Dink case closely with a lawyer’s perspective. “The case is going nowhere fast.”
The Ergenekon case
The Ergenekon case started after the discovery of 27 hand grenades in June 2007 in a shanty house belonging to a retired non-commissioned officer in Istanbul 's Ümraniye district. The grenades were found to be the same ones used in attacks on the daily Cumhuriyet’s Istanbul offices in 2006.
The finding led to scores of arrests, putting more than 100 journalists, writers, gang leaders, scholars, businessmen and politicians into detention in what became a terror investigation to stop the alleged ultranationalist, shadowy gang referred to as Ergenekon. In the later stages of the investigation, those under custody were accused of planning to topple the government by staging a coup in 2009 by initially spreading chaos and mayhem.
The earlier bombings of Cumhuriyet, Dink’s assissination, the murder of the Council of State’s top judge and alleged plans for the assassination of high-profile figures in Turkish politics are occasionally associated with the case.
For slain journalist İpekçi's friend, the pain remains
For slain journalist İpekçi's friend, the pain remains
Sunday, January 17, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vasfiye Özkoçak, the first female reporter in Turkey and a close friend of Abdi İpekçi, the slain editor in chief of daily Milliyet, tells the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review about the day he was murdered by Mehmet Ali Ağca, who will be set free Monday. For Özkoçak, now 86 years old, the memory of that fateful day in 1979 is as alive as yesterday. 'I would shoot Ağca if I were not afraid of God,' she says
The year 1979 was a bloody one in Turkey, as the conflict between leftist and rightist political groups reached its peak a year before the Sept. 12, 1980, military coup. But one murder that will never be forgotten was the gunning down of Abdi İpekçi, the editor in chief of daily Milliyet, in Istanbul on Feb. 1, 1979.
İpekçi’s murderer, rightwing militant Mehmet Ali Ağca, would later make an international name for himself with his assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II. Although the late pope forgave Ağca, İpekçi’s family and friends never did.
“Ağca was not a normal person. It is impossible for [a single guy] to kill like this. Unfortunately, the connections behind the murder remain in the shadows,” Vasfiye Özkoçak told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “I was a court reporter at the time and knew members of all the left- and right-wing [political] organizations.”
The first female reporter in Turkey and a close friend of İpekçi, Özkoçak said she met with Ağca years before the murder. “It is impossible for me to feel the pain that [the İpekçi] family feels, but in my heart the pain is deep,” she said. “I am 86 years old and if I were not afraid of God, I would shoot Ağca in the head.”
On the morning of the murder, İpekçi was at the newspaper. Daily meetings were held, stories were discussed – everything was as usual, except that İpekçi, who used to tour the newsroom and whose office door was never kept closed, was not seen that day. “There was a strange worry on his face. He was quiet,” Özkoçak said. “Before I left the office, I visited him and said goodbye. At that moment, I felt a pain impossible to describe.”
One hour later, Özkoçak was in her house and turned on the radio as she always did. Upon hearing the fateful news, she broke into tears and immediately rushed to the scene. “There was a big crowd. Everyone was crying,” she said. “I was trying to stop sobbing, my hands were shaking, but I was also trying to make the story ready. A person I loved most in the world was lying covered in blood, not breathing anymore. It was the most painful day of my professional life.”
A column on arms smuggling
İpekçi did not mention to her about any threats beforehand, Özkoçak said, but she had her own worries. “The leftists were trying to have him on their side, but he was keeping his impartiality. That impartiality made him a target.”
In his last column, İpekçi wrote about arms smuggling, Özkoçak noted. One theory holds that this article was what triggered the murder. İpekçi had learned that a member of a Masonic lodge, in which he himself was a member, had some connections with weapons smuggled to Turkey that ended up in the hands of various armed groups.
Özkoçak attended the murder trials and also talked to Ağca, who she said kept saying, “Sister Vasfiye, İpekçi was really a good guy, was he not?” She said she wanted to quit journalism several times after the murder, but could not bring herself to do it.
Asked what she thought about Ağca’s release Monday, Özkoçak broke into tears. “I do not believe in justice,” she said. “An innocent person died, his family has been left in pain for years. This is a great unfairness.”
Sunday, January 17, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vasfiye Özkoçak, the first female reporter in Turkey and a close friend of Abdi İpekçi, the slain editor in chief of daily Milliyet, tells the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review about the day he was murdered by Mehmet Ali Ağca, who will be set free Monday. For Özkoçak, now 86 years old, the memory of that fateful day in 1979 is as alive as yesterday. 'I would shoot Ağca if I were not afraid of God,' she says
The year 1979 was a bloody one in Turkey, as the conflict between leftist and rightist political groups reached its peak a year before the Sept. 12, 1980, military coup. But one murder that will never be forgotten was the gunning down of Abdi İpekçi, the editor in chief of daily Milliyet, in Istanbul on Feb. 1, 1979.
İpekçi’s murderer, rightwing militant Mehmet Ali Ağca, would later make an international name for himself with his assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II. Although the late pope forgave Ağca, İpekçi’s family and friends never did.
“Ağca was not a normal person. It is impossible for [a single guy] to kill like this. Unfortunately, the connections behind the murder remain in the shadows,” Vasfiye Özkoçak told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “I was a court reporter at the time and knew members of all the left- and right-wing [political] organizations.”
The first female reporter in Turkey and a close friend of İpekçi, Özkoçak said she met with Ağca years before the murder. “It is impossible for me to feel the pain that [the İpekçi] family feels, but in my heart the pain is deep,” she said. “I am 86 years old and if I were not afraid of God, I would shoot Ağca in the head.”
On the morning of the murder, İpekçi was at the newspaper. Daily meetings were held, stories were discussed – everything was as usual, except that İpekçi, who used to tour the newsroom and whose office door was never kept closed, was not seen that day. “There was a strange worry on his face. He was quiet,” Özkoçak said. “Before I left the office, I visited him and said goodbye. At that moment, I felt a pain impossible to describe.”
One hour later, Özkoçak was in her house and turned on the radio as she always did. Upon hearing the fateful news, she broke into tears and immediately rushed to the scene. “There was a big crowd. Everyone was crying,” she said. “I was trying to stop sobbing, my hands were shaking, but I was also trying to make the story ready. A person I loved most in the world was lying covered in blood, not breathing anymore. It was the most painful day of my professional life.”
A column on arms smuggling
İpekçi did not mention to her about any threats beforehand, Özkoçak said, but she had her own worries. “The leftists were trying to have him on their side, but he was keeping his impartiality. That impartiality made him a target.”
In his last column, İpekçi wrote about arms smuggling, Özkoçak noted. One theory holds that this article was what triggered the murder. İpekçi had learned that a member of a Masonic lodge, in which he himself was a member, had some connections with weapons smuggled to Turkey that ended up in the hands of various armed groups.
Özkoçak attended the murder trials and also talked to Ağca, who she said kept saying, “Sister Vasfiye, İpekçi was really a good guy, was he not?” She said she wanted to quit journalism several times after the murder, but could not bring herself to do it.
Asked what she thought about Ağca’s release Monday, Özkoçak broke into tears. “I do not believe in justice,” she said. “An innocent person died, his family has been left in pain for years. This is a great unfairness.”
12 Ocak 2010 Salı
100 years of Turkey on display in Tophane
100 years of Turkey on display in Tophane
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The owner of Bir Zamanlar Publishing House, Osman Köker, and one of the founders of Anadolu Kültür, Osman Kavala, reveal the 100-year adventure of 'Jamanag' (Time), the oldest newspaper in Turkish press history. Köker and Kavala open an exhibition displaying historical documents and photos at the Tütün Deposu in Istanbul's Tophane district
A project to organize an exhibition about the Armenian daily “Jamanag” (Time) newspaper has overcome stumbling blocks to celebrate the century-long history of Turkey’s oldest press organization.
The 102-year-old paper has published all incidents in the history of Turkey since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, World War I and the founding of the Turkish Republic.
The owner of Bir Zamanlar Publishing House, Osman Köker, and one of the founders of the civil-society organization Anadolu Kültür, Osman Kavala, joined forces two years ago to carry out a project related to the paper. As part of this, they decided to organize an exhibition featuring the history of Jamanag.
But there was a bad surprise in store for the team: The newspaper’s administration disposed of its archive in the early 1970s.
The archive was found at the State Library in Beyazıt, where a team led by Köker has conducted research for two years, uncovering hundreds of documents, photographs and other pieces of information.
All historical material found during the research process is now on display as part of the exhibition “Türkiye’de Yüzyıllık Bir Ermenice Gazete” (A 100-Year-Old Armenian Newspaper in Turkey), which opened last Saturday at the Tütün Deposu in Istanbul’s Tophane district and will run through Jan. 21.
“The paper may be an Armenian one, but it was not limited only to Armenian society. It has an Ottoman philosophy; it appeals to all sections of society,” said Köker.
Many firsts
The newspaper initiated many things in Turkey’s press history, including holding the title of the first newspaper to run promotions. It was also the most preferred paper for advertisements within the borders of the empire.
Speaking about the founders of the paper, the brothers Misak and Sarkis Koçunyan, Köker said: “The newspaper was entrusted to Mr. Misak in the field of reporting. Mr. Sarkis was responsible for promotion and advertisements. He was a very experienced name in that field.”
According to Köker, the newspaper was founded around the time of the fall of Sultan Abdulhamid II’s oppressive regime. “With Abdulhamid gone, there were many movements in the political field,” he said. “The number of publications increased during this period. Lots of newspapers and magazines began to be published. Jamanag was one of them.”
A part of Turkish press history
Even though Jamanag was published in Armenian, Köker called it a part of Turkish press history, adding that anyone searching the paper’s archive could see the truth of this statement. “In this exhibition, we reveal the last 100 years of Turkey with 100 [pieces of] headline news,” he said. “There are many surprises waiting for visitors in the exhibition.”
Köker has compiled his research in three parts – the Ottoman period, the early years of the Turkish Republic and the present day – examining the newspaper in each era.
“In the first period, Armenian society was active in politics, like all Ottoman people,” he said. “This began to decrease in 1915 and in the Republic period it fell behind politics. In the present time, it follows a broadcasting policy regarding its own society.”
Paper was punished for execution photos
Based on historical data in newspaper clippings, Köker said Jamanag had a very active news policy during its first years. “Eight people were sentenced to death in 1913 for political reasons. A notification was sent to Istanbul’s Babıali district, where the heart of Turkish press was beating, [telling journalists] not to publish execution photos,” he said. “None of the newspapers but Jamanag dared to publish them.”
According to Köker, Jamanag ceased publication following this brave act, and changed its name to “Herazsayn” (Telephone). “But the new paper’s edition number was the continuation of the previous one,” he said. “They wrote ‘3,000th edition’ on the first page of the paper. When the ban was lifted, it returned to its former name, Jamanag.”
Alternative look at official history
For the last five years, Köker has been carrying out research on the life of Armenians and Greeks in Turkey throughout history. He has been publishing books and opening exhibitions that travel to various metropolitan areas around the world.
“Turkey’s multicultural structure in the past is my area of interest,” Köker said, explaining why he conducted such extensive research on the Armenian and Greek communities. “Beyond the official history, I want to present a different alternative to our people. They need to know how people lived on this Earth in the past.”
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The owner of Bir Zamanlar Publishing House, Osman Köker, and one of the founders of Anadolu Kültür, Osman Kavala, reveal the 100-year adventure of 'Jamanag' (Time), the oldest newspaper in Turkish press history. Köker and Kavala open an exhibition displaying historical documents and photos at the Tütün Deposu in Istanbul's Tophane district
A photo from the exhibition shows two men working the paper's old printing press.
A project to organize an exhibition about the Armenian daily “Jamanag” (Time) newspaper has overcome stumbling blocks to celebrate the century-long history of Turkey’s oldest press organization.
The 102-year-old paper has published all incidents in the history of Turkey since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, World War I and the founding of the Turkish Republic.
The owner of Bir Zamanlar Publishing House, Osman Köker, and one of the founders of the civil-society organization Anadolu Kültür, Osman Kavala, joined forces two years ago to carry out a project related to the paper. As part of this, they decided to organize an exhibition featuring the history of Jamanag.
But there was a bad surprise in store for the team: The newspaper’s administration disposed of its archive in the early 1970s.
The archive was found at the State Library in Beyazıt, where a team led by Köker has conducted research for two years, uncovering hundreds of documents, photographs and other pieces of information.
All historical material found during the research process is now on display as part of the exhibition “Türkiye’de Yüzyıllık Bir Ermenice Gazete” (A 100-Year-Old Armenian Newspaper in Turkey), which opened last Saturday at the Tütün Deposu in Istanbul’s Tophane district and will run through Jan. 21.
“The paper may be an Armenian one, but it was not limited only to Armenian society. It has an Ottoman philosophy; it appeals to all sections of society,” said Köker.
Many firsts
The newspaper initiated many things in Turkey’s press history, including holding the title of the first newspaper to run promotions. It was also the most preferred paper for advertisements within the borders of the empire.
Speaking about the founders of the paper, the brothers Misak and Sarkis Koçunyan, Köker said: “The newspaper was entrusted to Mr. Misak in the field of reporting. Mr. Sarkis was responsible for promotion and advertisements. He was a very experienced name in that field.”
According to Köker, the newspaper was founded around the time of the fall of Sultan Abdulhamid II’s oppressive regime. “With Abdulhamid gone, there were many movements in the political field,” he said. “The number of publications increased during this period. Lots of newspapers and magazines began to be published. Jamanag was one of them.”
A part of Turkish press history
Even though Jamanag was published in Armenian, Köker called it a part of Turkish press history, adding that anyone searching the paper’s archive could see the truth of this statement. “In this exhibition, we reveal the last 100 years of Turkey with 100 [pieces of] headline news,” he said. “There are many surprises waiting for visitors in the exhibition.”
Köker has compiled his research in three parts – the Ottoman period, the early years of the Turkish Republic and the present day – examining the newspaper in each era.
“In the first period, Armenian society was active in politics, like all Ottoman people,” he said. “This began to decrease in 1915 and in the Republic period it fell behind politics. In the present time, it follows a broadcasting policy regarding its own society.”
Paper was punished for execution photos
Based on historical data in newspaper clippings, Köker said Jamanag had a very active news policy during its first years. “Eight people were sentenced to death in 1913 for political reasons. A notification was sent to Istanbul’s Babıali district, where the heart of Turkish press was beating, [telling journalists] not to publish execution photos,” he said. “None of the newspapers but Jamanag dared to publish them.”
According to Köker, Jamanag ceased publication following this brave act, and changed its name to “Herazsayn” (Telephone). “But the new paper’s edition number was the continuation of the previous one,” he said. “They wrote ‘3,000th edition’ on the first page of the paper. When the ban was lifted, it returned to its former name, Jamanag.”
Alternative look at official history
For the last five years, Köker has been carrying out research on the life of Armenians and Greeks in Turkey throughout history. He has been publishing books and opening exhibitions that travel to various metropolitan areas around the world.
“Turkey’s multicultural structure in the past is my area of interest,” Köker said, explaining why he conducted such extensive research on the Armenian and Greek communities. “Beyond the official history, I want to present a different alternative to our people. They need to know how people lived on this Earth in the past.”
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The owner of Bir Zamanlar Publishing House, Osman Köker, and one of the founders of Anadolu Kültür, Osman Kavala, reveal the 100-year adventure of 'Jamanag' (Time), the oldest newspaper in Turkish press history. Köker and Kavala open an exhibition displaying historical documents and photos at the Tütün Deposu in Istanbul's Tophane district
A project to organize an exhibition about the Armenian daily “Jamanag” (Time) newspaper has overcome stumbling blocks to celebrate the century-long history of Turkey’s oldest press organization.
The 102-year-old paper has published all incidents in the history of Turkey since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, World War I and the founding of the Turkish Republic.
The owner of Bir Zamanlar Publishing House, Osman Köker, and one of the founders of the civil-society organization Anadolu Kültür, Osman Kavala, joined forces two years ago to carry out a project related to the paper. As part of this, they decided to organize an exhibition featuring the history of Jamanag.
But there was a bad surprise in store for the team: The newspaper’s administration disposed of its archive in the early 1970s.
The archive was found at the State Library in Beyazıt, where a team led by Köker has conducted research for two years, uncovering hundreds of documents, photographs and other pieces of information.
All historical material found during the research process is now on display as part of the exhibition “Türkiye’de Yüzyıllık Bir Ermenice Gazete” (A 100-Year-Old Armenian Newspaper in Turkey), which opened last Saturday at the Tütün Deposu in Istanbul’s Tophane district and will run through Jan. 21.
“The paper may be an Armenian one, but it was not limited only to Armenian society. It has an Ottoman philosophy; it appeals to all sections of society,” said Köker.
Many firsts
The newspaper initiated many things in Turkey’s press history, including holding the title of the first newspaper to run promotions. It was also the most preferred paper for advertisements within the borders of the empire.
Speaking about the founders of the paper, the brothers Misak and Sarkis Koçunyan, Köker said: “The newspaper was entrusted to Mr. Misak in the field of reporting. Mr. Sarkis was responsible for promotion and advertisements. He was a very experienced name in that field.”
According to Köker, the newspaper was founded around the time of the fall of Sultan Abdulhamid II’s oppressive regime. “With Abdulhamid gone, there were many movements in the political field,” he said. “The number of publications increased during this period. Lots of newspapers and magazines began to be published. Jamanag was one of them.”
A part of Turkish press history
Even though Jamanag was published in Armenian, Köker called it a part of Turkish press history, adding that anyone searching the paper’s archive could see the truth of this statement. “In this exhibition, we reveal the last 100 years of Turkey with 100 [pieces of] headline news,” he said. “There are many surprises waiting for visitors in the exhibition.”
Köker has compiled his research in three parts – the Ottoman period, the early years of the Turkish Republic and the present day – examining the newspaper in each era.
“In the first period, Armenian society was active in politics, like all Ottoman people,” he said. “This began to decrease in 1915 and in the Republic period it fell behind politics. In the present time, it follows a broadcasting policy regarding its own society.”
Paper was punished for execution photos
Based on historical data in newspaper clippings, Köker said Jamanag had a very active news policy during its first years. “Eight people were sentenced to death in 1913 for political reasons. A notification was sent to Istanbul’s Babıali district, where the heart of Turkish press was beating, [telling journalists] not to publish execution photos,” he said. “None of the newspapers but Jamanag dared to publish them.”
According to Köker, Jamanag ceased publication following this brave act, and changed its name to “Herazsayn” (Telephone). “But the new paper’s edition number was the continuation of the previous one,” he said. “They wrote ‘3,000th edition’ on the first page of the paper. When the ban was lifted, it returned to its former name, Jamanag.”
Alternative look at official history
For the last five years, Köker has been carrying out research on the life of Armenians and Greeks in Turkey throughout history. He has been publishing books and opening exhibitions that travel to various metropolitan areas around the world.
“Turkey’s multicultural structure in the past is my area of interest,” Köker said, explaining why he conducted such extensive research on the Armenian and Greek communities. “Beyond the official history, I want to present a different alternative to our people. They need to know how people lived on this Earth in the past.”
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The owner of Bir Zamanlar Publishing House, Osman Köker, and one of the founders of Anadolu Kültür, Osman Kavala, reveal the 100-year adventure of 'Jamanag' (Time), the oldest newspaper in Turkish press history. Köker and Kavala open an exhibition displaying historical documents and photos at the Tütün Deposu in Istanbul's Tophane district
A photo from the exhibition shows two men working the paper's old printing press.
A project to organize an exhibition about the Armenian daily “Jamanag” (Time) newspaper has overcome stumbling blocks to celebrate the century-long history of Turkey’s oldest press organization.
The 102-year-old paper has published all incidents in the history of Turkey since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, World War I and the founding of the Turkish Republic.
The owner of Bir Zamanlar Publishing House, Osman Köker, and one of the founders of the civil-society organization Anadolu Kültür, Osman Kavala, joined forces two years ago to carry out a project related to the paper. As part of this, they decided to organize an exhibition featuring the history of Jamanag.
But there was a bad surprise in store for the team: The newspaper’s administration disposed of its archive in the early 1970s.
The archive was found at the State Library in Beyazıt, where a team led by Köker has conducted research for two years, uncovering hundreds of documents, photographs and other pieces of information.
All historical material found during the research process is now on display as part of the exhibition “Türkiye’de Yüzyıllık Bir Ermenice Gazete” (A 100-Year-Old Armenian Newspaper in Turkey), which opened last Saturday at the Tütün Deposu in Istanbul’s Tophane district and will run through Jan. 21.
“The paper may be an Armenian one, but it was not limited only to Armenian society. It has an Ottoman philosophy; it appeals to all sections of society,” said Köker.
Many firsts
The newspaper initiated many things in Turkey’s press history, including holding the title of the first newspaper to run promotions. It was also the most preferred paper for advertisements within the borders of the empire.
Speaking about the founders of the paper, the brothers Misak and Sarkis Koçunyan, Köker said: “The newspaper was entrusted to Mr. Misak in the field of reporting. Mr. Sarkis was responsible for promotion and advertisements. He was a very experienced name in that field.”
According to Köker, the newspaper was founded around the time of the fall of Sultan Abdulhamid II’s oppressive regime. “With Abdulhamid gone, there were many movements in the political field,” he said. “The number of publications increased during this period. Lots of newspapers and magazines began to be published. Jamanag was one of them.”
A part of Turkish press history
Even though Jamanag was published in Armenian, Köker called it a part of Turkish press history, adding that anyone searching the paper’s archive could see the truth of this statement. “In this exhibition, we reveal the last 100 years of Turkey with 100 [pieces of] headline news,” he said. “There are many surprises waiting for visitors in the exhibition.”
Köker has compiled his research in three parts – the Ottoman period, the early years of the Turkish Republic and the present day – examining the newspaper in each era.
“In the first period, Armenian society was active in politics, like all Ottoman people,” he said. “This began to decrease in 1915 and in the Republic period it fell behind politics. In the present time, it follows a broadcasting policy regarding its own society.”
Paper was punished for execution photos
Based on historical data in newspaper clippings, Köker said Jamanag had a very active news policy during its first years. “Eight people were sentenced to death in 1913 for political reasons. A notification was sent to Istanbul’s Babıali district, where the heart of Turkish press was beating, [telling journalists] not to publish execution photos,” he said. “None of the newspapers but Jamanag dared to publish them.”
According to Köker, Jamanag ceased publication following this brave act, and changed its name to “Herazsayn” (Telephone). “But the new paper’s edition number was the continuation of the previous one,” he said. “They wrote ‘3,000th edition’ on the first page of the paper. When the ban was lifted, it returned to its former name, Jamanag.”
Alternative look at official history
For the last five years, Köker has been carrying out research on the life of Armenians and Greeks in Turkey throughout history. He has been publishing books and opening exhibitions that travel to various metropolitan areas around the world.
“Turkey’s multicultural structure in the past is my area of interest,” Köker said, explaining why he conducted such extensive research on the Armenian and Greek communities. “Beyond the official history, I want to present a different alternative to our people. They need to know how people lived on this Earth in the past.”
11 Ocak 2010 Pazartesi
Grandchild of ‘Crimson Sultan’ goes to court for Mosul oil
Grandchild of ‘Crimson Sultan’ goes to court for Mosul oil
Sunday, January 10, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Beyzade Bülent Osman, grandson of Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamit II, is preparing to go to court to claim the rich oil reserves of Mosul. Osman, who calls himself an Ottoman of French origin, also has thoughts on the association of his grandfather with the Armenian issue: ‘I am on the side of the truth, but we need to look to the future now’
Beyzade Bülent Osman, grandson of Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamit II, known as the “Crimson Sultan,” is preparing to go to court to claim oil reserves around the city of Mosul in northern Iraq.
Osman is the son of Abdülhamit II’s youngest daughter, Naime Sultan, who spent the last years of her life in exile after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Osman spoke to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review at his modest house in the Teşvikiye neighborhood of Istanbul.
“My mother lived her last days dealing with financial problems, as many of our family members did since everything that belonged to my grandfather was confiscated, including his personal items,” Osman said.
Osman’s father had been exploring legal avenues to claim the rights to the Mosul oil reserves until his death, yet those efforts had been fruitless, he said. “Mosul’s oil [reserves] were not purchased by the money of the state but with money Abdülhamit owned personally,” Osman said.
He criticized Britain’s stance on the issue. “My family was promised by Britain during World War I that the income would be shared. Unfortunately, this promise was not kept,” he said. “I have been in contact with top officials in Ankara about the matter and the legal process will be started as soon as possible.”
Osman recounted the story of his grandfather’s purchase of Mosul’s oil reserves based on the details he heard from his grandmother. “Abdülhamit II noticed the British were paying frequent visits to Iraq and consulted palace bureaucrats on the issue,” he said. “The civil servants told him to see Kalust Gulbenkian, a member of the Ottoman-Armenian community who was studying at Galatasaray High School. He later made an international name for himself as an oil tradesman.”
According to Osman, Abdülhamit summoned Gulbenkian, who told the sultan that Britain was using Iraq’s oil to power their cars. “My grandfather happened to be the owner of the oil reserves of Mosul thanks to Gulbenkian,” he said.
The Armenian issue and the Crimson Sultan
The world knows Sultan Abdülhamit II as a key name related to the Armenian issue and the events of 1915, recognized as genocide by many countries, a claim Turkey rejects. “I am on the side of truth,” Osman said on the issue. “The French and the Germans had also slaughtered each other, came into conflict but still managed to establish dialogue. We have to leave history behind us and look ahead.”
Osman also said his family “owed their lives” to French-Armenians after their exile from Turkey. “We were penniless,” he told the Daily News. “Our Armenian friends helped us. There was an Armenian lady who welcomed us to her chateau and we lived there for a long time. I cannot deny the good deeds Armenians have done for my family.”
The Ottoman dynasty was ordered into exile with a law passed by the Turkish Parliament on March 3, 1924. While their assets were seized, the members of the imperial family were given 2,000 pounds sterling each and special “one-way passports” that could not be used to enter the country again. The first to go into exile was the last caliph, Abdülmecid, while the last to leave was Fatma Sultan, daughter of Sultan Murad V.
Born in France, Osman is now 80 years old. He said he witnessed his grandmother crying many times when he was a child. Only learning Turkish later in life, he said: “My grandmother and mother wanted us to learn Turkish. They thought Mustafa Kemal Atatürk would be unsuccessful in his cause and that we would return to the old days. My father, however, was a republican by all means and was supportive of Atatürk’s principles.”
All suffering from financial problems, exiled members of the Ottoman dynasty dispersed to the world’s major cities, including Paris, London and New York. Only in 1952, under then-Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, were some members allowed to return to Turkey, he said.
“That law opened the path for women to return to Turkey and become citizens once more. Men, on the other hand, were only able to win this right in 1974 through a general amnesty granted by the late Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit,” he said.
Heir as a Michelin employee
Osman defines himself as “an Ottoman of French origin” and said Turkey should “rehabilitate the reputation of the Ottoman dynasty.”
He said his life had been hard but that changed after applying for a job at Michelin. “During my time with Michelin, I worked in every country that used to be a part of the Ottoman Empire,” he said. “I first visited Istanbul during the 1990s, shortly after my father’s passing.”
Sunday, January 10, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Beyzade Bülent Osman, grandson of Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamit II, is preparing to go to court to claim the rich oil reserves of Mosul. Osman, who calls himself an Ottoman of French origin, also has thoughts on the association of his grandfather with the Armenian issue: ‘I am on the side of the truth, but we need to look to the future now’
Beyzade Bülent Osman, grandson of Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamit II, known as the “Crimson Sultan,” is preparing to go to court to claim oil reserves around the city of Mosul in northern Iraq.
Osman is the son of Abdülhamit II’s youngest daughter, Naime Sultan, who spent the last years of her life in exile after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Osman spoke to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review at his modest house in the Teşvikiye neighborhood of Istanbul.
“My mother lived her last days dealing with financial problems, as many of our family members did since everything that belonged to my grandfather was confiscated, including his personal items,” Osman said.
Osman’s father had been exploring legal avenues to claim the rights to the Mosul oil reserves until his death, yet those efforts had been fruitless, he said. “Mosul’s oil [reserves] were not purchased by the money of the state but with money Abdülhamit owned personally,” Osman said.
He criticized Britain’s stance on the issue. “My family was promised by Britain during World War I that the income would be shared. Unfortunately, this promise was not kept,” he said. “I have been in contact with top officials in Ankara about the matter and the legal process will be started as soon as possible.”
Osman recounted the story of his grandfather’s purchase of Mosul’s oil reserves based on the details he heard from his grandmother. “Abdülhamit II noticed the British were paying frequent visits to Iraq and consulted palace bureaucrats on the issue,” he said. “The civil servants told him to see Kalust Gulbenkian, a member of the Ottoman-Armenian community who was studying at Galatasaray High School. He later made an international name for himself as an oil tradesman.”
According to Osman, Abdülhamit summoned Gulbenkian, who told the sultan that Britain was using Iraq’s oil to power their cars. “My grandfather happened to be the owner of the oil reserves of Mosul thanks to Gulbenkian,” he said.
The Armenian issue and the Crimson Sultan
The world knows Sultan Abdülhamit II as a key name related to the Armenian issue and the events of 1915, recognized as genocide by many countries, a claim Turkey rejects. “I am on the side of truth,” Osman said on the issue. “The French and the Germans had also slaughtered each other, came into conflict but still managed to establish dialogue. We have to leave history behind us and look ahead.”
Osman also said his family “owed their lives” to French-Armenians after their exile from Turkey. “We were penniless,” he told the Daily News. “Our Armenian friends helped us. There was an Armenian lady who welcomed us to her chateau and we lived there for a long time. I cannot deny the good deeds Armenians have done for my family.”
The Ottoman dynasty was ordered into exile with a law passed by the Turkish Parliament on March 3, 1924. While their assets were seized, the members of the imperial family were given 2,000 pounds sterling each and special “one-way passports” that could not be used to enter the country again. The first to go into exile was the last caliph, Abdülmecid, while the last to leave was Fatma Sultan, daughter of Sultan Murad V.
Born in France, Osman is now 80 years old. He said he witnessed his grandmother crying many times when he was a child. Only learning Turkish later in life, he said: “My grandmother and mother wanted us to learn Turkish. They thought Mustafa Kemal Atatürk would be unsuccessful in his cause and that we would return to the old days. My father, however, was a republican by all means and was supportive of Atatürk’s principles.”
All suffering from financial problems, exiled members of the Ottoman dynasty dispersed to the world’s major cities, including Paris, London and New York. Only in 1952, under then-Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, were some members allowed to return to Turkey, he said.
“That law opened the path for women to return to Turkey and become citizens once more. Men, on the other hand, were only able to win this right in 1974 through a general amnesty granted by the late Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit,” he said.
Heir as a Michelin employee
Osman defines himself as “an Ottoman of French origin” and said Turkey should “rehabilitate the reputation of the Ottoman dynasty.”
He said his life had been hard but that changed after applying for a job at Michelin. “During my time with Michelin, I worked in every country that used to be a part of the Ottoman Empire,” he said. “I first visited Istanbul during the 1990s, shortly after my father’s passing.”
6 Ocak 2010 Çarşamba
Armenian community to hold ‘co-patriarchy’ election
Armenian community to hold ‘co-patriarchy’ election
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Turkey’s Armenian community has officially applied to the Istanbul governorship to begin the election process for a co-patriarch because of the illness of the current patriarch, Mesrop II. Under the Armenian Church’s canon law, Mesrop II will retain the title until his death even after the co-patriarch is elected. The electorate is composed of 50,000 members of Istanbul’s Armenian community
The Armenian community is preparing for the second “co-patriarchy” election in the history of the Turkish Republic.
Current Patriarch Mesrop II, the 84th to hold the office, is ill and, in case of his death, the co-patriarch will assume the job after 40 days. According to the Armenian Church’s canon law, Mesrop II will keep his title until his death. But because he is suffering from dementia, it is necessary to elect a co-patriarch.
The official application for the elections has been made to the Istanbul governor’s office although the election has raised debate about the function of the patriarch. Some community members believe the patriarch should act as a more symbolic figure.
When Mesrop II became patriarch, Turkey’s Armenian community was largely inward looking. The patriarch drew attention through his intellectual background, foreign education and modern point of view in contrast to many of his predecessors during the republican period.
At the time, Mesrop II’s candidacy aroused much debate both in the local Armenian community and the Turkish press. The community was skeptical of a young cleric becoming patriarch while the Turkish press focused on his political views.
Despite these questions, Mesrop Mutafyan won the election in 1998 and became Mesrop II, Patriarch of Turkey’s Armenians. Besides handling his spiritual duties and fulfilling his community responsibilities, Mesrop II also played an active role in bringing the problems of the Armenian community to Turkey’s agenda.
The year 2007 was a near-breaking point for Mesrop II; he retreated into a deep silence following the assassination of his close friend, Hrant Dink. Mesrop II was the one who suggested founding Agos, a bilingual daily in both Turkish and Armenian that was run by Dink.
Despite his comparatively young age, the patriarch’s medical prognosis is not encouraging. In an attempt to avoid upsetting the community, his health issue was initially reported as a thyroid tumor. Afterward, however, it was announced that the patriarch had dementia at the age of 53.
Some remained suspicious of the diagnosis while others connected the announcement with threats against the Armenian community. Nonetheless, the patriarchate’s clerical council has been handling Mesrop II’s duties for more than a year and has said it will look for a co-patriarch because of the patriarch’s irreversible condition.
Regarding the recent events, the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review spoke to Agos chief editor Etyen Mahçupyan and Seven Nişanyan, an academic and author. Mahçupyan and Nişanyan represent different faces of the Armenian community, both through their ideas and their identities: Mahçupyan is from the Catholic Armenian Church while Nişanyan is a member of the Apostolic Armenian Church.
Suspicious circumstances
Nişanyan, who is also a close friend of Mesrop II, said he has closely observed every step of the patriarch’s illness and said he skeptical of the illness: “I have met the patriarch many times, … it is too hard for me to believe his illness has natural causes.”
Nişanyan agrees that there is a possibility that Mesrop II may have fallen ill under suspicious circumstances. “This is a very serious matter and it needs to be looked into. There might be people who want Mutafyan to be in this condition. It is inevitable that there would be people who want him to be weak as much as people who would want him to be strong in both Turkish and Armenian communities.”
Mahçupyan spoke about Mesrop II’s intellectual vision and education but said those qualities are insufficient for spiritually leading a community. “At first, Mutafyan gave the impression that he would be a patriarch to act in solidarity with his community but in time, he founded a small clan among those in the community with whom he was close. If he weren’t ill and there were elections again, he would only be able to receive half the votes.”
‘The position of patriarch should be a symbolic one’
Mahçupyan said the Armenian community has rapidly entered a new phase following the Dink assassination, adding that the community’s spiritual and daily affairs should be separated. “The position of patriarch should be a symbolic one,” said Mahçupyan.
“The person who would be patriarch could have a representative authority like the [Turkish] president. He should act like a counseling mechanism whose opinions would be asked when necessary,” Mahçupyan said.
He claimed the patriarchate has become a political tool due to the pressure Turkey exerts on minorities. “Whoever is selected as patriarch will be turned into a political target; it is not possible to prevent that,” Mahçupyan said but emphasized that the community was adapting to the situation.
A patriarch above the standards of others
In contrast to Mahçupyan’s criticism of Mesrop II, Nişanyan said both Turkey and its Armenian community have been fortunate to have him. “Through his courage and intelligence, Mesrop II went beyond the usual standards Turkey’s Armenian community is used to seeing in church leaders.” He also praised the patriarch for changing the perception that being afraid of one’s own shadow was a commendable trait.
Regarding the patriarch’s religious and secular duties, Nişanyan said: “Of course it is a source of contradiction and problem that the Armenian community, which has a secular and dynamic structure, is being represented by a religious position. On the other hand, I don’t think it’s wise to say we don’t like it and [that we should] eliminate such an influential mechanism of so many years.”
On the prospective new patriarch, Nişanyan said, “Let us hope the community and church members who select the new patriarch will not prefer the old policy of succumbing and silence in the name of peace and accord in the country.”
Patriarch moves to Istanbul
Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II transferred the Armenian Pontificate from Bursa to Istanbul after he conquered the city in 1453. He also brought Episkopos Hovagim Golod, leader of the Armenian community in Bursa, to Istanbul and assigned him as patriarch. The patriarch’s building is in Istanbul’s Kumkapı neighborhood today.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Turkey’s Armenian community has officially applied to the Istanbul governorship to begin the election process for a co-patriarch because of the illness of the current patriarch, Mesrop II. Under the Armenian Church’s canon law, Mesrop II will retain the title until his death even after the co-patriarch is elected. The electorate is composed of 50,000 members of Istanbul’s Armenian community
The Armenian community is preparing for the second “co-patriarchy” election in the history of the Turkish Republic.
Current Patriarch Mesrop II, the 84th to hold the office, is ill and, in case of his death, the co-patriarch will assume the job after 40 days. According to the Armenian Church’s canon law, Mesrop II will keep his title until his death. But because he is suffering from dementia, it is necessary to elect a co-patriarch.
The official application for the elections has been made to the Istanbul governor’s office although the election has raised debate about the function of the patriarch. Some community members believe the patriarch should act as a more symbolic figure.
When Mesrop II became patriarch, Turkey’s Armenian community was largely inward looking. The patriarch drew attention through his intellectual background, foreign education and modern point of view in contrast to many of his predecessors during the republican period.
At the time, Mesrop II’s candidacy aroused much debate both in the local Armenian community and the Turkish press. The community was skeptical of a young cleric becoming patriarch while the Turkish press focused on his political views.
Despite these questions, Mesrop Mutafyan won the election in 1998 and became Mesrop II, Patriarch of Turkey’s Armenians. Besides handling his spiritual duties and fulfilling his community responsibilities, Mesrop II also played an active role in bringing the problems of the Armenian community to Turkey’s agenda.
The year 2007 was a near-breaking point for Mesrop II; he retreated into a deep silence following the assassination of his close friend, Hrant Dink. Mesrop II was the one who suggested founding Agos, a bilingual daily in both Turkish and Armenian that was run by Dink.
Despite his comparatively young age, the patriarch’s medical prognosis is not encouraging. In an attempt to avoid upsetting the community, his health issue was initially reported as a thyroid tumor. Afterward, however, it was announced that the patriarch had dementia at the age of 53.
Some remained suspicious of the diagnosis while others connected the announcement with threats against the Armenian community. Nonetheless, the patriarchate’s clerical council has been handling Mesrop II’s duties for more than a year and has said it will look for a co-patriarch because of the patriarch’s irreversible condition.
Regarding the recent events, the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review spoke to Agos chief editor Etyen Mahçupyan and Seven Nişanyan, an academic and author. Mahçupyan and Nişanyan represent different faces of the Armenian community, both through their ideas and their identities: Mahçupyan is from the Catholic Armenian Church while Nişanyan is a member of the Apostolic Armenian Church.
Suspicious circumstances
Nişanyan, who is also a close friend of Mesrop II, said he has closely observed every step of the patriarch’s illness and said he skeptical of the illness: “I have met the patriarch many times, … it is too hard for me to believe his illness has natural causes.”
Nişanyan agrees that there is a possibility that Mesrop II may have fallen ill under suspicious circumstances. “This is a very serious matter and it needs to be looked into. There might be people who want Mutafyan to be in this condition. It is inevitable that there would be people who want him to be weak as much as people who would want him to be strong in both Turkish and Armenian communities.”
Mahçupyan spoke about Mesrop II’s intellectual vision and education but said those qualities are insufficient for spiritually leading a community. “At first, Mutafyan gave the impression that he would be a patriarch to act in solidarity with his community but in time, he founded a small clan among those in the community with whom he was close. If he weren’t ill and there were elections again, he would only be able to receive half the votes.”
‘The position of patriarch should be a symbolic one’
Mahçupyan said the Armenian community has rapidly entered a new phase following the Dink assassination, adding that the community’s spiritual and daily affairs should be separated. “The position of patriarch should be a symbolic one,” said Mahçupyan.
“The person who would be patriarch could have a representative authority like the [Turkish] president. He should act like a counseling mechanism whose opinions would be asked when necessary,” Mahçupyan said.
He claimed the patriarchate has become a political tool due to the pressure Turkey exerts on minorities. “Whoever is selected as patriarch will be turned into a political target; it is not possible to prevent that,” Mahçupyan said but emphasized that the community was adapting to the situation.
A patriarch above the standards of others
In contrast to Mahçupyan’s criticism of Mesrop II, Nişanyan said both Turkey and its Armenian community have been fortunate to have him. “Through his courage and intelligence, Mesrop II went beyond the usual standards Turkey’s Armenian community is used to seeing in church leaders.” He also praised the patriarch for changing the perception that being afraid of one’s own shadow was a commendable trait.
Regarding the patriarch’s religious and secular duties, Nişanyan said: “Of course it is a source of contradiction and problem that the Armenian community, which has a secular and dynamic structure, is being represented by a religious position. On the other hand, I don’t think it’s wise to say we don’t like it and [that we should] eliminate such an influential mechanism of so many years.”
On the prospective new patriarch, Nişanyan said, “Let us hope the community and church members who select the new patriarch will not prefer the old policy of succumbing and silence in the name of peace and accord in the country.”
Patriarch moves to Istanbul
Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II transferred the Armenian Pontificate from Bursa to Istanbul after he conquered the city in 1453. He also brought Episkopos Hovagim Golod, leader of the Armenian community in Bursa, to Istanbul and assigned him as patriarch. The patriarch’s building is in Istanbul’s Kumkapı neighborhood today.
4 Ocak 2010 Pazartesi
Small 'home church’ survives in Istanbul
Small 'home church’ survives in Istanbul
Sunday, January 3, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU - FİRST PERSON
Istanbul: Hürriyet Daily News
Unlike Turkey’s Christian communities that often belong to a certain Christian sect, one church founded mostly by Turkish converts from Islam eschews any denominational categorization. A member of the community says other Christian groups are far from the true path of Christianity. The church has asked the government for land, a building and security, but so far its request has gone unanswered
In the middle of Istanbul, there is a “home church” with people from various parts of the world praying together in joy. Composed of worshippers from around the world, there are Turks, Kurds, Japanese, Chinese, Brits and Canadians inside.
There are no candles lit by anyone and no icons or stained-glass windows in sight. The crowd is almost entranced as hymns are sung alongside a piano and guitar. Some are crying, some are kneeling and some are clapping their hands with excitement. There are people with their eyes closed while others have lifted up their arms, having lost sense of time and place.
Bible verses are read for almost two hours. Interestingly, prayers are said for the government, the military and the unity of Turkey toward the end of the service. Meanwhile, a small pouch is passed around and everyone contributes an offering. Addressing each other as “sibling,” everybody hugs each other, regardless of whether they know their neighbor or not.
This “church,” on the entrance floor of an apartment building, is connected to the basement by some stairs. The community goes downstairs to the kitchen after the service to have soup or tea and chat with fellow parishioners.
The problems with other churches
The “home church” is called Dirisu and was named after a Bible verse. Its doors were opened to the community with the permission of the Istanbul Governor in 1999.
Almost all of the church’s founding members were Turks or Kurds and came from Muslim families. The church’s elders – in reference to their founding membership in the church rather than their age – said they are generally people who became Christian in their 30s because of an inner emptiness.
The Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review spoke to Dirisu founders Bedri Peker, Ercan Yıldırım, Alper Özharar and Aden Baydemir, who all come from different backgrounds. Peker is Kurdish, Yıldırım and Özharar are Turkish and Baydemir is Chaldean, one of the oldest communities in the world. They define themselves as “shepherds,” in reference to Jesus Christ, and as “missionaries,” in reference to his apostles.
Baydemir and his family from the Pervari district of Siirt in Southeast Anatolia were Catholic, yet he never saw a church building before he turned 20, only encountering one in Mardin during the 1960s.
“We were one of the few Christian families in Siirt but they alienated us because of our beliefs,” said Baydemir. “I am not blaming anyone because they were ignorant.” When asked why he chose to be a missionary instead of following Catholicism, Baydemir said: “All the churches, including the Catholic Church, are full of rules. I had an undefined emptiness inside me; I filled it at this church. I have learned that Christianity is not only a denomination but a lifestyle.”
Baydemir is critical of all churches whether they be Apostolic, Catholic or Orthodox. “We are praying for them to find the path of the true God. Unfortunately, they are very far away from grasping the true meaning of Christianity.”
The Zirve massacre and the death list
Peker, from Diyarbakır, became a Christian at the age of 24. He said he tries to proselytize at every possible opportunity. He said he was threatened shortly before the 2007 massacre at the Zirve publishing house in Malatya, where three missionaries were killed at a Christian book publisher.
“The Zirve publishing house massacre was not an ordinary incident; it was planned. My name was on the kill list, too. I told law enforcement officers but they did not provide me with protection. Even our parents have abandoned. We have devoted our lives to the way of Jesus Christ. If the price is our lives, we are ready to pay it,” he said.
“During my childhood, I was aggressive toward Christian children, calling them ‘Haço,’ a demeaning term in Kurdish that means ‘cross worshipper,’ because I thought Christians did not believe in Allah,” he said. “During my adult years, I felt an undefined emptiness in my inner world. That emptiness was filled with Jesus Christ, the word of God.”
Peker does not approve of the term “home church” because he believes it is contemptuous. He said the church survives on the donations of the community. “We asked the authorities to assign us land and a building. That was in 2004 but it still has not happened. We want churches to be looked after just as mosques are.”
‘Our security is entrusted to God’
Yıldırım said the community’s main problem is not land or a building but security. “We have entrusted our security to God. We have asked for protection many times but authorities do not grant it. There is a police station on this street. We have that to trust at least.
“We are different from other churches that belong to the minority groups. We were from Islam, most of us are Turks and we are a part of the majority,” he said.
Yıldırm said being a missionary is misunderstood and therefore feared in Turkey: “It is believed that we will divide the country, but that is a misunderstanding. We are leading those who hear the word of Jesus Christ. That is all. We are not forcing anyone.”
A confusion of terms
Yıldırım said they were forced to call themselves a Protestant church because of the authorities but said they are against all denominations. “We are a church of the Bible only.”
Like Baydemir, Yıldırım also criticized the traditions of the Apostolic, Catholic and Orthodox churches. “They have rituals of the worshipping kind. They appeal to icons. They have adopted practices of worship from the time of Moses. When you read the Bible, you see that these are wrong.”
Özharar, another missionary of Turkish origin, said his wife was from an Armenian background and that both were atheists before she went to Italy for schooling. He said their lives were changed after that. “My wife returned from Italy as if she were blessed. I started to question the emptiness inside me after I saw the change in her. We started looking for a church on the Internet and found this place.”
As if by conclusion, Özharar said: “I was looking for friendship and strong love. I found it here among my siblings and am born again.”
Sunday, January 3, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU - FİRST PERSON
Istanbul: Hürriyet Daily News
Unlike Turkey’s Christian communities that often belong to a certain Christian sect, one church founded mostly by Turkish converts from Islam eschews any denominational categorization. A member of the community says other Christian groups are far from the true path of Christianity. The church has asked the government for land, a building and security, but so far its request has gone unanswered
In the middle of Istanbul, there is a “home church” with people from various parts of the world praying together in joy. Composed of worshippers from around the world, there are Turks, Kurds, Japanese, Chinese, Brits and Canadians inside.
There are no candles lit by anyone and no icons or stained-glass windows in sight. The crowd is almost entranced as hymns are sung alongside a piano and guitar. Some are crying, some are kneeling and some are clapping their hands with excitement. There are people with their eyes closed while others have lifted up their arms, having lost sense of time and place.
Bible verses are read for almost two hours. Interestingly, prayers are said for the government, the military and the unity of Turkey toward the end of the service. Meanwhile, a small pouch is passed around and everyone contributes an offering. Addressing each other as “sibling,” everybody hugs each other, regardless of whether they know their neighbor or not.
This “church,” on the entrance floor of an apartment building, is connected to the basement by some stairs. The community goes downstairs to the kitchen after the service to have soup or tea and chat with fellow parishioners.
The problems with other churches
The “home church” is called Dirisu and was named after a Bible verse. Its doors were opened to the community with the permission of the Istanbul Governor in 1999.
Almost all of the church’s founding members were Turks or Kurds and came from Muslim families. The church’s elders – in reference to their founding membership in the church rather than their age – said they are generally people who became Christian in their 30s because of an inner emptiness.
The Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review spoke to Dirisu founders Bedri Peker, Ercan Yıldırım, Alper Özharar and Aden Baydemir, who all come from different backgrounds. Peker is Kurdish, Yıldırım and Özharar are Turkish and Baydemir is Chaldean, one of the oldest communities in the world. They define themselves as “shepherds,” in reference to Jesus Christ, and as “missionaries,” in reference to his apostles.
Baydemir and his family from the Pervari district of Siirt in Southeast Anatolia were Catholic, yet he never saw a church building before he turned 20, only encountering one in Mardin during the 1960s.
“We were one of the few Christian families in Siirt but they alienated us because of our beliefs,” said Baydemir. “I am not blaming anyone because they were ignorant.” When asked why he chose to be a missionary instead of following Catholicism, Baydemir said: “All the churches, including the Catholic Church, are full of rules. I had an undefined emptiness inside me; I filled it at this church. I have learned that Christianity is not only a denomination but a lifestyle.”
Baydemir is critical of all churches whether they be Apostolic, Catholic or Orthodox. “We are praying for them to find the path of the true God. Unfortunately, they are very far away from grasping the true meaning of Christianity.”
The Zirve massacre and the death list
Peker, from Diyarbakır, became a Christian at the age of 24. He said he tries to proselytize at every possible opportunity. He said he was threatened shortly before the 2007 massacre at the Zirve publishing house in Malatya, where three missionaries were killed at a Christian book publisher.
“The Zirve publishing house massacre was not an ordinary incident; it was planned. My name was on the kill list, too. I told law enforcement officers but they did not provide me with protection. Even our parents have abandoned. We have devoted our lives to the way of Jesus Christ. If the price is our lives, we are ready to pay it,” he said.
“During my childhood, I was aggressive toward Christian children, calling them ‘Haço,’ a demeaning term in Kurdish that means ‘cross worshipper,’ because I thought Christians did not believe in Allah,” he said. “During my adult years, I felt an undefined emptiness in my inner world. That emptiness was filled with Jesus Christ, the word of God.”
Peker does not approve of the term “home church” because he believes it is contemptuous. He said the church survives on the donations of the community. “We asked the authorities to assign us land and a building. That was in 2004 but it still has not happened. We want churches to be looked after just as mosques are.”
‘Our security is entrusted to God’
Yıldırım said the community’s main problem is not land or a building but security. “We have entrusted our security to God. We have asked for protection many times but authorities do not grant it. There is a police station on this street. We have that to trust at least.
“We are different from other churches that belong to the minority groups. We were from Islam, most of us are Turks and we are a part of the majority,” he said.
Yıldırm said being a missionary is misunderstood and therefore feared in Turkey: “It is believed that we will divide the country, but that is a misunderstanding. We are leading those who hear the word of Jesus Christ. That is all. We are not forcing anyone.”
A confusion of terms
Yıldırım said they were forced to call themselves a Protestant church because of the authorities but said they are against all denominations. “We are a church of the Bible only.”
Like Baydemir, Yıldırım also criticized the traditions of the Apostolic, Catholic and Orthodox churches. “They have rituals of the worshipping kind. They appeal to icons. They have adopted practices of worship from the time of Moses. When you read the Bible, you see that these are wrong.”
Özharar, another missionary of Turkish origin, said his wife was from an Armenian background and that both were atheists before she went to Italy for schooling. He said their lives were changed after that. “My wife returned from Italy as if she were blessed. I started to question the emptiness inside me after I saw the change in her. We started looking for a church on the Internet and found this place.”
As if by conclusion, Özharar said: “I was looking for friendship and strong love. I found it here among my siblings and am born again.”
A 2009 look at the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation
A 2009 look at the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation
Saturday, January 2, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process started in September 2008 with ‘football diplomacy’ and gained new dimensions in 2009. The foreign ministers of the two countries signed historic protocols despite the increased public pressure from both of their countries. Although the borders have not been reopened due to the Azerbaijani factor, 2010 looks like it will bring many new developments.
September 2008, when the national football teams of Turkey and Armenia played a match in Yerevan, happened to be a historical milestone not only for the two countries but also for me personally. I was in the press box as an Armenian member of the Turkish press with the industry’s leading names right beside me. Moreover, I was in a stadium for the first time in my life. I sang the national anthems of both countries with tears in my eyes. I only wanted to cheer when the game started but I was afraid to be misunderstood. Suddenly, Fatih Çekirge, one of the master columnists of daily Hürriyet, held my hands and gave me strength. My voice was crackling; I supported the team of Armenia for the first time in my life even if I knew it was going to lose.
The “football diplomacy” started a historical process of convergence between Turkey and Armenia, after the tragic events of 1915 that have scarred both sides. The two countries declared in April that they agreed on a road map to open the borders and normalize relations. Naturally, all hell broke lose in Turkey and Armenia.
The Armenian public opinion claimed Turkey has profited from the protocols and the Serge Sarkisian’s administration compensated. Demonstrations and hunger strikes were held in the capital Yerevan and protests have emerged in countries where members the Armenian diaspora reside.
In Turkey, criticisms were voiced on how Azerbaijan was abandoned in the Nagorno-Karabakh problem it has with Armenia. Turkey closed its Armenian border in 1993 to show support for Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has been putting pressure on Turkey every chance it has to not open the border before a solution can be reached.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan went to Baku and promised that the protocols would not be approved by the Turkish Parliament before a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. However, no such direct connection was made in the protocol drafts. Even though no progress has been made in the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, the two sides decided to sign the protocols before the return match in October.
The return match played in Bursa was under the shadow of tension raised by the Azerbaijan issue among the Turkish public. Extreme security measures were taken around the stadium. No tickets were sold in order to keep the normal supporters outside and they were handed out to select people just hours before the game. The accredited press were granted access at the last minute. I was in Bursa again for duty and I could not receive my accreditation papers. I found a high official from the Football Federation of Turkey and told him the importance of this match for me and that was how I managed to enter the stadium.
The effort to bring Azerbaijani flags to the stadium by some created a tense atmosphere before the game but things went smoothly when Bursaspor supporters released white doves into the sky just before the kick-off. The match in Bursa was less exciting for me compared to the one in Yerevan. I experienced the real excitement a few days prior to the match when the two foreign ministers signed the protocols.
Actually, the process experienced until the signing in October was as exciting as that day too. I was in Yerevan in September when the protesters were on hunger strike and I went to the central bureau of the Tashnak Party to interview them. The place was surrounded with meters-long banners and people were running around in hurry. The hunger strike lasted for a month across from the Foreign Ministry building. Petitions were signed in the streets against the protocols and the resignation of Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian was demanded. Despite all this, Nalbandian sat at the table in Switzerland next to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. I was following the events from Istanbul instead of Yerevan this time. I remember seeing Charles Aznavour, the world famous French artist of Armenian origin and Armenia’s ambassador to Sweden, live television and looking really stressed out. Also, an unexpected surprise was experienced on the day of the signing as the process became stuck due to disagreements on the protocol texts and only later the foreign ministers of the two countries appeared and the protocols were signed. I took a deep breath. I also understood that despite sharing the same lands for centuries, the re-emergence of the two peoples would not be as easy as expected.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process started in September 2008 with ‘football diplomacy’ and gained new dimensions in 2009. The foreign ministers of the two countries signed historic protocols despite the increased public pressure from both of their countries. Although the borders have not been reopened due to the Azerbaijani factor, 2010 looks like it will bring many new developments.
September 2008, when the national football teams of Turkey and Armenia played a match in Yerevan, happened to be a historical milestone not only for the two countries but also for me personally. I was in the press box as an Armenian member of the Turkish press with the industry’s leading names right beside me. Moreover, I was in a stadium for the first time in my life. I sang the national anthems of both countries with tears in my eyes. I only wanted to cheer when the game started but I was afraid to be misunderstood. Suddenly, Fatih Çekirge, one of the master columnists of daily Hürriyet, held my hands and gave me strength. My voice was crackling; I supported the team of Armenia for the first time in my life even if I knew it was going to lose.
The “football diplomacy” started a historical process of convergence between Turkey and Armenia, after the tragic events of 1915 that have scarred both sides. The two countries declared in April that they agreed on a road map to open the borders and normalize relations. Naturally, all hell broke lose in Turkey and Armenia.
The Armenian public opinion claimed Turkey has profited from the protocols and the Serge Sarkisian’s administration compensated. Demonstrations and hunger strikes were held in the capital Yerevan and protests have emerged in countries where members the Armenian diaspora reside.
In Turkey, criticisms were voiced on how Azerbaijan was abandoned in the Nagorno-Karabakh problem it has with Armenia. Turkey closed its Armenian border in 1993 to show support for Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has been putting pressure on Turkey every chance it has to not open the border before a solution can be reached.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan went to Baku and promised that the protocols would not be approved by the Turkish Parliament before a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. However, no such direct connection was made in the protocol drafts. Even though no progress has been made in the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, the two sides decided to sign the protocols before the return match in October.
The return match played in Bursa was under the shadow of tension raised by the Azerbaijan issue among the Turkish public. Extreme security measures were taken around the stadium. No tickets were sold in order to keep the normal supporters outside and they were handed out to select people just hours before the game. The accredited press were granted access at the last minute. I was in Bursa again for duty and I could not receive my accreditation papers. I found a high official from the Football Federation of Turkey and told him the importance of this match for me and that was how I managed to enter the stadium.
The effort to bring Azerbaijani flags to the stadium by some created a tense atmosphere before the game but things went smoothly when Bursaspor supporters released white doves into the sky just before the kick-off. The match in Bursa was less exciting for me compared to the one in Yerevan. I experienced the real excitement a few days prior to the match when the two foreign ministers signed the protocols.
Actually, the process experienced until the signing in October was as exciting as that day too. I was in Yerevan in September when the protesters were on hunger strike and I went to the central bureau of the Tashnak Party to interview them. The place was surrounded with meters-long banners and people were running around in hurry. The hunger strike lasted for a month across from the Foreign Ministry building. Petitions were signed in the streets against the protocols and the resignation of Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian was demanded. Despite all this, Nalbandian sat at the table in Switzerland next to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. I was following the events from Istanbul instead of Yerevan this time. I remember seeing Charles Aznavour, the world famous French artist of Armenian origin and Armenia’s ambassador to Sweden, live television and looking really stressed out. Also, an unexpected surprise was experienced on the day of the signing as the process became stuck due to disagreements on the protocol texts and only later the foreign ministers of the two countries appeared and the protocols were signed. I took a deep breath. I also understood that despite sharing the same lands for centuries, the re-emergence of the two peoples would not be as easy as expected.
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