Turkish Red Crescent provides aid for Armenian poor
Thursday, December 30, 2010
VERCIHAN ZIFLIOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Needy people in the Kumkapı area of Istanbul, including poor unregistered Armenian immigrants, will receive donations of food and shoes to start the new year thanks to Türk Kızılay (Turkish Red Crescent).
The organization signed an agreement Wednesday with the Armenian patriarchate, which has been delivering aid to people in need for a decade, about making the deliveries.
“Some 1,000 food packages and 300 pairs of shoes, given to the patriarchate, have started to be distributed to the people in need,” Avedis Hilkat, a member of the Turkish Red Crescent’s board of directors for its Princes’ Islands branch, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Thursday. Hilkat is also deputy head of the Princes’ Islands organization for the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP.
“The patriarchate has long been distributing aid to the poor in the [Kumkapı] area, regardless of their ethnic or religious background, which is why I so much wanted to bring this joint project to life,” Hilkat said.
Distribution of the first aid boxes started Thursday, Hilkat said, adding that all the details on the project implementation, prepared in cooperation with the patriarchate, had already been handed to Turkish Red Crescent Chairman Tekin Küçükali.
“We first started distributing clean secondhand clothes to people in need,” Aram Ateşyan, the patriarchate’s vice chairman, said in the delivery ceremony, adding that they soon realized clothes were not enough and that poor people living in Kumkapı needed food donations as well, the Doğan news agency reported Thursday.
“We, however, faced problems with funding,” Ateşyan said, adding that the patriarchate had contacted the Turkish Red Crescent to ask for a charitable donation. “Kızılay donated 1,000 food packages within a very short period of time,” he said.
The Turkish Red Crescent will continue to distribute aid to people in need, not only by continuing its partnership with the Armenian patriarchate, but by extending the effort to work with the Greek patriarchate as well.
Unregistered Armenian immigrants
The patriarchate is very pleased to help people in need, regardless of their ethnic origin or religion, Hilkat told the Daily News. “Our possibilities [to provide aid] are much higher now,” he said.
Thousands of immigrants of Armenian origin live in Istanbul’s Kumkapı area. The total number of Armenians living in Turkey is 15,000, according to data provided by the Foreign Ministry. Other authorities in Turkey place this figure at more than 20,000.
Most Armenian immigrants have illegally entered Turkey due to their poor financial conditions; Hilkat said the majority live in very poor conditions in Turkey as well. He said some 3,000 immigrants have been receiving assistance funded by the patriarchate’s own sources.
“Now we will be able to provide more assistance, thanks to the Kızılay-patriarchate cooperation,” he said.
30 Aralık 2010 Perşembe
28 Aralık 2010 Salı
Landmark Istanbul hotel threatened by stall on restoration
Monday, December 27, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The Tokatlıyan Pera Hotel, an Istanbul landmark on İstiklal Avenue, is in urgent need of repair but the building’s owners, the Beyoğlu Üç Horan Armenian Church Foundation, have reportedly refused to permit any refurbishment. ‘The Tokatlıyan is the history of Istanbul. Destroying this building means betraying history,’ says an architectural history expert
One of Istanbul’s grandest old hotels, the Tokatlıyan Pera Hotel, requires urgent restoration if the historical structure is to be preserved for the future, according to a number of architectural experts.
“It is murder not to restore this building,” Efrim Bağ, a businessman and prominent member of Turkey’s Armenian community, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
The Tokatlıyan Pera on Istanbul’s İstiklal Avenue is the last remaining property of a former Armenian-owned hotel chain in the city. The hotel, which has hosted Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Leon Trotsky and countless other prominent national and international figures since it was constructed in 1897, is now in a state of severe disrepair. Although many projects have been submitted for its restoration, its owner, the Beyoğlu Üç Horan Armenian Church Foundation, has reportedly failed to grant permission to any refurbishment plan.
Currently, the building’s lower floors are used as a hotel, while other rooms now house shops. Many of the upper floors, which replaced the structure’s once-magnificent dome, are now off-limits as even walking can be dangerous.
“[The Tokatlıyan] belongs to the community, not to a person. It is unbelievable that such a structure, which might provide millions of Turkish Liras for the community, is abandoned to its fate even as the state gives permission for its restoration,” said Harutyan Şanlı, another community member.
The Üç Horan foundation, which owns dozens of valuable properties around Beyoğlu, did not respond to the Daily News’ questions about the claims.
An executive from another Armenian community foundation speaking on condition of anonymity, said the problem stemmed from Üç Horan’s fear of losing its current power and wealth.
“The management of the Üç Horan foundation wants to hold onto its power. They have been managing the foundation for 30 years without holding an election. They don’t provide information about their work, the proposals they receive and the income they bring into their society,” he said.
The executive said part of the reason the foundation’s management has resisted approving any refurbishment plan is because it already receives substantial income from the offices that presently pay rent for use of the structure’s lower floors.
‘Betraying history’
The building is not simply a hotel, but an important part of Istanbul’s history, architectural history expert Professor Afife Batur recently told the Daily News.
“Destroying this building means betraying history,” she said, urging that the edifice be protected immediately.
“It is very important that the building serve as a hotel again in order to maintain its historical function,” she said.
Noting the recent fire that destroyed the roof of Kadıköy’s historical Haydarpaşa Train Station, Batur said: “We can’t protect our history and values we have. We are not aware of the fact that we lose ourselves along with our history. What is this selfishness [in not restoring this building]?”
“I don’t know about the disagreement [with Turkey’s Armenian community], but it should be considered that history is about to die,” restoration expert and architect Fatma Sedes told the Daily News.
Sensitive restoration crucial
Any restoration should be undertaken with extreme care so as to avoid damaging the historical structure, Sedes said.
“The Tokatlıyan Pera, which is one of the structures that best reflects the history of Istanbul, should undergo a very sensitive restoration process; its original structure should not be touched. The project is very important because history has been destroyed in Istanbul in the name of restoration,” she said.
Architect Melih Güneş said the hotel should be taken under protection as soon as possible, adding that the edifice was a treasure. “It should be restored like its original. The additional floors should be removed and it should be reopened as a hotel.”
Sedes said the Tokatlıyan Pera used to be Istanbul’s second largest hotel, trailing only the legendary Pera Palas in Tepebaşı.
“There were 160 rooms in the [Tokatlıyan Pera]. It was one of the most striking structures in Beyoğlu in terms of its architectural features. Its furnishings were brought from Europe. It is painful to see that such a significant building has been abandoned to its fate,” Sedes said.
A second branch of the hotel, the Tokatlıyan Therapia, used to stand in the present location of the Büyük Tarabya Hotel overlooking the Bosphorus in Sarıyer, but it was destroyed by fire at the turn of the 20th century. The Therapia was built by Armenian businessman Mıgırdiç Tokatlıyan in 1897.
Monday, December 27, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The Tokatlıyan Pera Hotel, an Istanbul landmark on İstiklal Avenue, is in urgent need of repair but the building’s owners, the Beyoğlu Üç Horan Armenian Church Foundation, have reportedly refused to permit any refurbishment. ‘The Tokatlıyan is the history of Istanbul. Destroying this building means betraying history,’ says an architectural history expert
One of Istanbul’s grandest old hotels, the Tokatlıyan Pera Hotel, requires urgent restoration if the historical structure is to be preserved for the future, according to a number of architectural experts.
“It is murder not to restore this building,” Efrim Bağ, a businessman and prominent member of Turkey’s Armenian community, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
The Tokatlıyan Pera on Istanbul’s İstiklal Avenue is the last remaining property of a former Armenian-owned hotel chain in the city. The hotel, which has hosted Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Leon Trotsky and countless other prominent national and international figures since it was constructed in 1897, is now in a state of severe disrepair. Although many projects have been submitted for its restoration, its owner, the Beyoğlu Üç Horan Armenian Church Foundation, has reportedly failed to grant permission to any refurbishment plan.
Currently, the building’s lower floors are used as a hotel, while other rooms now house shops. Many of the upper floors, which replaced the structure’s once-magnificent dome, are now off-limits as even walking can be dangerous.
“[The Tokatlıyan] belongs to the community, not to a person. It is unbelievable that such a structure, which might provide millions of Turkish Liras for the community, is abandoned to its fate even as the state gives permission for its restoration,” said Harutyan Şanlı, another community member.
The Üç Horan foundation, which owns dozens of valuable properties around Beyoğlu, did not respond to the Daily News’ questions about the claims.
An executive from another Armenian community foundation speaking on condition of anonymity, said the problem stemmed from Üç Horan’s fear of losing its current power and wealth.
“The management of the Üç Horan foundation wants to hold onto its power. They have been managing the foundation for 30 years without holding an election. They don’t provide information about their work, the proposals they receive and the income they bring into their society,” he said.
The executive said part of the reason the foundation’s management has resisted approving any refurbishment plan is because it already receives substantial income from the offices that presently pay rent for use of the structure’s lower floors.
‘Betraying history’
The building is not simply a hotel, but an important part of Istanbul’s history, architectural history expert Professor Afife Batur recently told the Daily News.
“Destroying this building means betraying history,” she said, urging that the edifice be protected immediately.
“It is very important that the building serve as a hotel again in order to maintain its historical function,” she said.
Noting the recent fire that destroyed the roof of Kadıköy’s historical Haydarpaşa Train Station, Batur said: “We can’t protect our history and values we have. We are not aware of the fact that we lose ourselves along with our history. What is this selfishness [in not restoring this building]?”
“I don’t know about the disagreement [with Turkey’s Armenian community], but it should be considered that history is about to die,” restoration expert and architect Fatma Sedes told the Daily News.
Sensitive restoration crucial
Any restoration should be undertaken with extreme care so as to avoid damaging the historical structure, Sedes said.
“The Tokatlıyan Pera, which is one of the structures that best reflects the history of Istanbul, should undergo a very sensitive restoration process; its original structure should not be touched. The project is very important because history has been destroyed in Istanbul in the name of restoration,” she said.
Architect Melih Güneş said the hotel should be taken under protection as soon as possible, adding that the edifice was a treasure. “It should be restored like its original. The additional floors should be removed and it should be reopened as a hotel.”
Sedes said the Tokatlıyan Pera used to be Istanbul’s second largest hotel, trailing only the legendary Pera Palas in Tepebaşı.
“There were 160 rooms in the [Tokatlıyan Pera]. It was one of the most striking structures in Beyoğlu in terms of its architectural features. Its furnishings were brought from Europe. It is painful to see that such a significant building has been abandoned to its fate,” Sedes said.
A second branch of the hotel, the Tokatlıyan Therapia, used to stand in the present location of the Büyük Tarabya Hotel overlooking the Bosphorus in Sarıyer, but it was destroyed by fire at the turn of the 20th century. The Therapia was built by Armenian businessman Mıgırdiç Tokatlıyan in 1897.
22 Aralık 2010 Çarşamba
Istanbul literary figure receives final send-off
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Writer Yervant Gobelyan died last week at the age of 87, leaving behind an impressive literary career that included eight books, one of which was devoted to poetry. Born in Istanbul, Gobelyan was known for emphasizing his profound love of the city in his literary works. The writer also spent his last 14 years at Agos, a weekly of Turkey’s Armenian community
Gobelyan had spent many years away from newspapers until he was hired at Agos in 1996 by Hrant Dink.
Prominent Istanbul literary figure and weekly Agos writer Yervant Gobelyan will be buried Wednesday after succumbing to illness last week.
The 87-year-old writer was best known for his poetic and literary works that reflected an overwhelming love of Istanbul.
Gobelyan died Thursday at Yedikule Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital after a long treatment process. He will be buried at the Balıklı Cemetery in Zeytinburnu after a funeral service starting at 1 p.m. at Beyoğlu’s Üç Horan Armenian Church.
Gobelyan was born in Rumelihisarı in the Istanbul district of Sarıyer, a neighborhood known for is beauty next to the Bosphorus. Like many other Armenian writers from his generation, Gobelyan enjoyed close relations with members of the Turkish literary world, including one of the country’s most famous poets, Orhan Veli Kanık, as well as many others. Gobelyan and others, such as Kanık, used to come together at Eptalafos, an old Greek-style tavern in Taksim.
Writing was a passion for him
Writing was Gobelyan’s main interest in life, but financial difficulties often prevented him from earning a living solely from his literary pursuits. Like many other leading figures in Turkish-Armenian literature, Gobelyan graduated from Esayan Armenian School in Taksim. After finishing school, however, Gobelyan had difficulty in making ends meet as a writer, leading him to work as an apprentice, auto mechanic, carpenter and in other professions. Despite the hardships, Gobelyan never ceased his literary pursuits.
His first book of poetry was published in 1948, after which he found a job writing for the local Armenian community’s weekly “Luys” (Light) paper. Financial difficulties, however, soon forced Luys to close, after which Gobelyan was again forced to find other employment. Within time, Gobelyan would work for all of the major Armenian community’s papers in Istanbul, working the final 14 years of his life at Agos.
Gobelyan had spent many years away from Armenian newspapers until he was hired for the Agos job in 1996 by Editor-in-Chief Hrant Dink, the prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist assassinated in 2007.
Remained inaccessible to non-Armenian readers
Despite his close relations with Turkish writers and poets, most of Gobelyan’s works, including one book of poetry among a total of eight books, remained only in Armenian for many years and were thus inaccessible to the wider Turkish society.
Eager to bring the writer’s work to the Turkish public, Aras Publishing House, which began publishing in the 1990s, released a number of Gobelyan’s stories in “Memleketini Özleyen Yengeç” (The Crab Missing His Country) in 1998.
The book, which featured stories from Gobelyan telling of the daily routines of Turks, Greeks and Armenians in Istanbul, quickly drew interest from Turkish readers.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Writer Yervant Gobelyan died last week at the age of 87, leaving behind an impressive literary career that included eight books, one of which was devoted to poetry. Born in Istanbul, Gobelyan was known for emphasizing his profound love of the city in his literary works. The writer also spent his last 14 years at Agos, a weekly of Turkey’s Armenian community
Gobelyan had spent many years away from newspapers until he was hired at Agos in 1996 by Hrant Dink.
Prominent Istanbul literary figure and weekly Agos writer Yervant Gobelyan will be buried Wednesday after succumbing to illness last week.
The 87-year-old writer was best known for his poetic and literary works that reflected an overwhelming love of Istanbul.
Gobelyan died Thursday at Yedikule Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital after a long treatment process. He will be buried at the Balıklı Cemetery in Zeytinburnu after a funeral service starting at 1 p.m. at Beyoğlu’s Üç Horan Armenian Church.
Gobelyan was born in Rumelihisarı in the Istanbul district of Sarıyer, a neighborhood known for is beauty next to the Bosphorus. Like many other Armenian writers from his generation, Gobelyan enjoyed close relations with members of the Turkish literary world, including one of the country’s most famous poets, Orhan Veli Kanık, as well as many others. Gobelyan and others, such as Kanık, used to come together at Eptalafos, an old Greek-style tavern in Taksim.
Writing was a passion for him
Writing was Gobelyan’s main interest in life, but financial difficulties often prevented him from earning a living solely from his literary pursuits. Like many other leading figures in Turkish-Armenian literature, Gobelyan graduated from Esayan Armenian School in Taksim. After finishing school, however, Gobelyan had difficulty in making ends meet as a writer, leading him to work as an apprentice, auto mechanic, carpenter and in other professions. Despite the hardships, Gobelyan never ceased his literary pursuits.
His first book of poetry was published in 1948, after which he found a job writing for the local Armenian community’s weekly “Luys” (Light) paper. Financial difficulties, however, soon forced Luys to close, after which Gobelyan was again forced to find other employment. Within time, Gobelyan would work for all of the major Armenian community’s papers in Istanbul, working the final 14 years of his life at Agos.
Gobelyan had spent many years away from Armenian newspapers until he was hired for the Agos job in 1996 by Editor-in-Chief Hrant Dink, the prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist assassinated in 2007.
Remained inaccessible to non-Armenian readers
Despite his close relations with Turkish writers and poets, most of Gobelyan’s works, including one book of poetry among a total of eight books, remained only in Armenian for many years and were thus inaccessible to the wider Turkish society.
Eager to bring the writer’s work to the Turkish public, Aras Publishing House, which began publishing in the 1990s, released a number of Gobelyan’s stories in “Memleketini Özleyen Yengeç” (The Crab Missing His Country) in 1998.
The book, which featured stories from Gobelyan telling of the daily routines of Turks, Greeks and Armenians in Istanbul, quickly drew interest from Turkish readers.
15 Aralık 2010 Çarşamba
Slain Turkish-Armenian bride laid to rest in Istanbul
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
A Turkish-Armenian newlywed who was allegedly shot and killed by her brother for marrying a Muslim man without the family’s approval was laid to rest at Istanbul’s Surp Kevork Armenian Church on Tuesday.
Soney Vural, 26, and her new husband Zekeriya Vural, 29, were both shot to death in their car in the Fatih district of Istanbul on Saturday.
Soney Vural’s brother, Göney Ö., was detained after the killings, confessing to the crime, according to news agencies.
According to media reports, Göney Ö. told police that his family objected to the marriage on grounds that the couple were "from different cultures.” In his testimony, Göney Ö. said he killed the couple because Zekeriya Vural had "insulted [his] Christian identity" and had said it was against his honor to hold a wedding ceremony at a church.
The couple had married without their families’ knowledge less than two weeks ago.
Sorrow and anger permeated the atmosphere in the church Tuesday, as women from Soney Vural’s family accepted condolences and her father went to the cemetery for preparations.
“I wish she had not married [him],” said a family member, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on the condition of anonymity. “I still cannot believe what happened.”
A white bridal veil was put on Soney Vural’s coffin; the veil is traditionally put on the coffins of women who die before wearing their bridal dress. Television cameras were not allowed into the ceremony.
Zekeriya Vural’s funeral was held on Monday in Istanbul's Kocamustafapaşa neighborhood. His mother, Hazal Emine Vural, cried during the ceremony, saying that her son’s only crime was falling in love with the wrong person.
“Our children agreed among themselves. They would each live according to their own religion,” said Murat Vural, the father of Zekeriya
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
A Turkish-Armenian newlywed who was allegedly shot and killed by her brother for marrying a Muslim man without the family’s approval was laid to rest at Istanbul’s Surp Kevork Armenian Church on Tuesday.
Soney Vural, 26, and her new husband Zekeriya Vural, 29, were both shot to death in their car in the Fatih district of Istanbul on Saturday.
Soney Vural’s brother, Göney Ö., was detained after the killings, confessing to the crime, according to news agencies.
According to media reports, Göney Ö. told police that his family objected to the marriage on grounds that the couple were "from different cultures.” In his testimony, Göney Ö. said he killed the couple because Zekeriya Vural had "insulted [his] Christian identity" and had said it was against his honor to hold a wedding ceremony at a church.
The couple had married without their families’ knowledge less than two weeks ago.
Sorrow and anger permeated the atmosphere in the church Tuesday, as women from Soney Vural’s family accepted condolences and her father went to the cemetery for preparations.
“I wish she had not married [him],” said a family member, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on the condition of anonymity. “I still cannot believe what happened.”
A white bridal veil was put on Soney Vural’s coffin; the veil is traditionally put on the coffins of women who die before wearing their bridal dress. Television cameras were not allowed into the ceremony.
Zekeriya Vural’s funeral was held on Monday in Istanbul's Kocamustafapaşa neighborhood. His mother, Hazal Emine Vural, cried during the ceremony, saying that her son’s only crime was falling in love with the wrong person.
“Our children agreed among themselves. They would each live according to their own religion,” said Murat Vural, the father of Zekeriya
Armenian foundation ventures into real estate sector with Istanbul project
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Istanbul’s Armenian community has ventured into the city’s booming property sector with the completion of Lotus Evleri, a luxury housing project whose foundations were laid four years ago by Patriarch Mesrop II.
The project was built on 11,250 acres of land on a ridge overlooking the Bosphorus. The land is the biggest piece of land owned by Istanbul’s Armenian community.
The Ortaköy Surp Asdvazsazsin Armenian Church Foundation handed over the land to a construction company in return for a portion of the apartments to be built.
The construction of Lotus Evleri was completed last year and tenants have been moving into the 200 luxury apartments for some time now.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, İskender Şahingöz, president of the foundation, said the community reclaimed the valuable land through intense efforts.
“This land was taken [from us] by the Treasury in 1973, just after the Bosphorus Bridge was built. The reason was national security. Then the land was assigned to the Defense Ministry,” Şahingöz said.
The foundation filed a lawsuit in 1996 against the state and won the land back. “This case was a first in the history of minority foundations,” Şahingöz said.
Jesus the fugitive
In Ottoman times, minority foundation property was registered under the names of Jesus Christ, Mary and the apostles to prevent inheritance disputes.
Later, however, the Treasury declared the owners of the land to be “fugitives” when it confiscated the land from the community, according to Şahingöz.
The foundation leader praised European Union adjustment laws and the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, government as keys to getting the land back.
“We were not even able to use our money as we wanted [in the old days],” he said. “Now we can use it as we like. The new regulations on minority foundations, though not enough, give us hope for the future.”
As foundation lands are notoriously mired in various ownership disputes in Turkey, finding a construction company for the project proved difficult.
The Lotus Evleri have 20 luxury blocks as well as shopping and sports complexes. Şahingöz declined to say how many apartments the foundation received in return for the land, but added that the rent revenues would be used to finance the expenditures of the Tarkmançazs school and church, which belong to the foundation, and to engage in new investments.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Istanbul’s Armenian community has ventured into the city’s booming property sector with the completion of Lotus Evleri, a luxury housing project whose foundations were laid four years ago by Patriarch Mesrop II.
The project was built on 11,250 acres of land on a ridge overlooking the Bosphorus. The land is the biggest piece of land owned by Istanbul’s Armenian community.
The Ortaköy Surp Asdvazsazsin Armenian Church Foundation handed over the land to a construction company in return for a portion of the apartments to be built.
The construction of Lotus Evleri was completed last year and tenants have been moving into the 200 luxury apartments for some time now.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, İskender Şahingöz, president of the foundation, said the community reclaimed the valuable land through intense efforts.
“This land was taken [from us] by the Treasury in 1973, just after the Bosphorus Bridge was built. The reason was national security. Then the land was assigned to the Defense Ministry,” Şahingöz said.
The foundation filed a lawsuit in 1996 against the state and won the land back. “This case was a first in the history of minority foundations,” Şahingöz said.
Jesus the fugitive
In Ottoman times, minority foundation property was registered under the names of Jesus Christ, Mary and the apostles to prevent inheritance disputes.
Later, however, the Treasury declared the owners of the land to be “fugitives” when it confiscated the land from the community, according to Şahingöz.
The foundation leader praised European Union adjustment laws and the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, government as keys to getting the land back.
“We were not even able to use our money as we wanted [in the old days],” he said. “Now we can use it as we like. The new regulations on minority foundations, though not enough, give us hope for the future.”
As foundation lands are notoriously mired in various ownership disputes in Turkey, finding a construction company for the project proved difficult.
The Lotus Evleri have 20 luxury blocks as well as shopping and sports complexes. Şahingöz declined to say how many apartments the foundation received in return for the land, but added that the rent revenues would be used to finance the expenditures of the Tarkmançazs school and church, which belong to the foundation, and to engage in new investments.
11 Aralık 2010 Cumartesi
Ezan, chazzan and church bells on Istanbul's Princes' Islands
Friday, December 10, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hurriyet Daily News
The deputy mayor of Istanbul’s Princes' Islands, Armenian-origin Raffi Hermon’s job regularly brings him into contact with Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Hermon says the islands could ultimately be a key to restoring Istanbul’s cosmopolitanism. ‘To return Istanbul to its original cultural identity, we need to start on the Princes’ Islands,’ he says
Raffi Hermon attends prayers at the mosque, wears a kippah when entering the synagogue and takes the holy Eucharist at church. Going to services of the three major monotheistic faiths is part of the job description for Hermon, deputy mayor for Istanbul’s Princes’ Islands, one of the most religiously diverse municipalities in Turkey.
An Istanbul Armenian originally from the islands, Hermon also has the added distinction of being among the first members of the Armenian community to hold public office in Turkey.
Hermon lived his adult life in France for 25 years before returning to Istanbul a few years ago. He became deputy mayor after winning a municipal seat with the Republican Peoples’ Party, or CHP.
The deputy mayor told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that he has been criticized for following Muslim rites as part of his official duties, but he rebuked such views.
“Just because I do this, it does not mean I have given up on my own religion,” he said. “If I can plant a positive understanding in the people watching me, I would be the happiest man.”
Hermon said he attended the Kurban Bayram holiday prayers at the mosque during last month’s Muslim holiday and added that he also performed the ritual animal slaughter. “I distributed the meat together with rice and ayran to all people living on the Islands.”
As well there is no problem listening to a chazzan, which is a Jewish cantor, a musician, trained in the vocal arts who helps lead a congregation in melodious prayer.
Full circle to Istanbul
Hermon said he had Princes’ Islands origins and that he was Italian on his mother’s side and Armenian on his father’s side. “Just like my whole family, I was born on Büyükada [the largest of the Princes’ Islands], and spent my childhood here.”
Later, he moved to France, eventually gaining dual French-Turkish citizenship. Supported by the then-President Jacques Chirac, he established an Armenian diaspora studies center together with Jean Claude Kebapçiyan in 1994 in France. Hermon also worked hard to promote tentative diplomatic contacts between Turkey and Armenia during the 1990s.
After returning to Turkey and becoming involved in the CHP, however, Hermon said he experienced a lot of opposition, especially from Armenians.
According to him, the reactions actually stemmed from CHP deputy Canan Arıtman’s fierce opposition to the “We Apologize” campaign, which was launched in 2008 by Turkish intellectuals to apologize to Armenians for the events of 1915.
Turkish President Abdullah Gül later announced that he also supported the campaign, after which Arıtman declared him to be an Armenian on his mother’s side and that this supposedly secret family background was the reason he lent his weight to the campaign.
Her remarks met with harsh criticism from both Armenian and Turkish circles.
Addressing the concerns that many still had with his participation in the CHP, Hermon said involvement with the party on a local level was much different than involvement on a countrywide level.
“I am capable of acknowledging the difference between national and local elections. In local elections, there is not as much room for ideology, as is the case at the national level,” Hermon said.
Princes’ Islands the key
For Hermon, the Princes’ Islands are a crucial place that could be a prototype for a new Istanbul.
“When I returned after 25 years, I noticed that the islands had lost all their cosmopolitan texture, which broke my heart. To return Istanbul to its original cultural identity, we need to start on the Princes’ Islands,” he said.
Hermon also said the local municipality would soon embark upon a sister-city project with a town in Armenia.
"We are going to announce Sevan Lake Municipality in Armenia and Adalar Municipality as sister cities. Out talks concerning the project are ongoing at the moment. We aim to support the establishment of close relations between Turks and Armenians in our own way,” he said.
Friday, December 10, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hurriyet Daily News
The deputy mayor of Istanbul’s Princes' Islands, Armenian-origin Raffi Hermon’s job regularly brings him into contact with Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Hermon says the islands could ultimately be a key to restoring Istanbul’s cosmopolitanism. ‘To return Istanbul to its original cultural identity, we need to start on the Princes’ Islands,’ he says
Raffi Hermon attends prayers at the mosque, wears a kippah when entering the synagogue and takes the holy Eucharist at church. Going to services of the three major monotheistic faiths is part of the job description for Hermon, deputy mayor for Istanbul’s Princes’ Islands, one of the most religiously diverse municipalities in Turkey.
An Istanbul Armenian originally from the islands, Hermon also has the added distinction of being among the first members of the Armenian community to hold public office in Turkey.
Hermon lived his adult life in France for 25 years before returning to Istanbul a few years ago. He became deputy mayor after winning a municipal seat with the Republican Peoples’ Party, or CHP.
The deputy mayor told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that he has been criticized for following Muslim rites as part of his official duties, but he rebuked such views.
“Just because I do this, it does not mean I have given up on my own religion,” he said. “If I can plant a positive understanding in the people watching me, I would be the happiest man.”
Hermon said he attended the Kurban Bayram holiday prayers at the mosque during last month’s Muslim holiday and added that he also performed the ritual animal slaughter. “I distributed the meat together with rice and ayran to all people living on the Islands.”
As well there is no problem listening to a chazzan, which is a Jewish cantor, a musician, trained in the vocal arts who helps lead a congregation in melodious prayer.
Full circle to Istanbul
Hermon said he had Princes’ Islands origins and that he was Italian on his mother’s side and Armenian on his father’s side. “Just like my whole family, I was born on Büyükada [the largest of the Princes’ Islands], and spent my childhood here.”
Later, he moved to France, eventually gaining dual French-Turkish citizenship. Supported by the then-President Jacques Chirac, he established an Armenian diaspora studies center together with Jean Claude Kebapçiyan in 1994 in France. Hermon also worked hard to promote tentative diplomatic contacts between Turkey and Armenia during the 1990s.
After returning to Turkey and becoming involved in the CHP, however, Hermon said he experienced a lot of opposition, especially from Armenians.
According to him, the reactions actually stemmed from CHP deputy Canan Arıtman’s fierce opposition to the “We Apologize” campaign, which was launched in 2008 by Turkish intellectuals to apologize to Armenians for the events of 1915.
Turkish President Abdullah Gül later announced that he also supported the campaign, after which Arıtman declared him to be an Armenian on his mother’s side and that this supposedly secret family background was the reason he lent his weight to the campaign.
Her remarks met with harsh criticism from both Armenian and Turkish circles.
Addressing the concerns that many still had with his participation in the CHP, Hermon said involvement with the party on a local level was much different than involvement on a countrywide level.
“I am capable of acknowledging the difference between national and local elections. In local elections, there is not as much room for ideology, as is the case at the national level,” Hermon said.
Princes’ Islands the key
For Hermon, the Princes’ Islands are a crucial place that could be a prototype for a new Istanbul.
“When I returned after 25 years, I noticed that the islands had lost all their cosmopolitan texture, which broke my heart. To return Istanbul to its original cultural identity, we need to start on the Princes’ Islands,” he said.
Hermon also said the local municipality would soon embark upon a sister-city project with a town in Armenia.
"We are going to announce Sevan Lake Municipality in Armenia and Adalar Municipality as sister cities. Out talks concerning the project are ongoing at the moment. We aim to support the establishment of close relations between Turks and Armenians in our own way,” he said.
8 Aralık 2010 Çarşamba
Founder of new Turkish party eyes building bridges with Armenians
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Numan Kurtulmuş, founder of the People’s Voice Party, or HSP, visited Tuesday the Armenian Yedikule Surp Pirgiç Hospital Foundation in Istanbul in a symbolic move to enhance dialogue with members of Turkey’s minorities.
“Throughout the history of the Republic, many [social] ruptures have occurred,” Kurtulmuş said. “Because of these, minorities living in these lands felt as though they were aliens. It is time to break [this cycle].”
Kurtulmuş told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that his visit was specifically designed to enhance relations with the Armenian community.
The significance of the hospital-foundation, which is widely regarded as one of the most important institutions of the city’s Armenian community, has been growing in recent years as many prominent politicians, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have paid visits to highlight the community’s importance.
Kurtulmuş met Bedros Şirinoğlu, the president of the foundation and a prominent businessman, visited the hospital’s museum and spoke with the elderly residents of the attached nursing home.
“[Turkey] wants to know more about the communities it calls minorities,” Şirinoğlu told the Daily News, adding that the country also wanted to take steps to close the gap between the majority and its minorities.
The HSP leader, a veteran Istanbul politician, also said both the events of 1915 and the Sept. 6-7, 1955, pogroms were “extremely painful events” and “provocations.”
“With Armenians, with Greeks and with all our ethnic backgrounds, we are a garden of roses,” he told the Daily News. “All these provocations were aimed at destroying this garden.”
The Sept. 6-7 1955 pogroms targeted Istanbul’s Greek minority and involved nationalist riots triggered by false rumor that the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki, Greece – the house where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was born in 1881 – had been bombed by the Greeks. The rioters, however, also targeted Armenians and Jews. In the aftermath of the provocation, thousands of minorities left Istanbul and Turkey in fear.
No more ‘gavur’
Kurtulmuş said his party was working to draft a constitutional reform package.
“When we come to power, we will take steps to make sure all our citizens are constitutionally equal,” he said, promising that the derogatory term “gavur” (infidel), which is used for non-Muslims, would be banned under an HSP government.
Şirinoğlu said the visit was “extremely important” for the Armenian community. “But what is really important is the policy that will be implemented in power,” he said. “I hope [a possible HSP government] will have the tolerance and vision that the AKP [Justice and Development Party] government has toward minorities.”
Kurtulmuş and his supporters recently split from the Saadet (Felicity) Party and the “National View” line led by veteran Islamist politician Necmettin Erbakan. The HSP is regarded by some circles as a “Muslim left” organization, though the party denies the label.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Numan Kurtulmuş, founder of the People’s Voice Party, or HSP, visited Tuesday the Armenian Yedikule Surp Pirgiç Hospital Foundation in Istanbul in a symbolic move to enhance dialogue with members of Turkey’s minorities.
“Throughout the history of the Republic, many [social] ruptures have occurred,” Kurtulmuş said. “Because of these, minorities living in these lands felt as though they were aliens. It is time to break [this cycle].”
Kurtulmuş told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that his visit was specifically designed to enhance relations with the Armenian community.
The significance of the hospital-foundation, which is widely regarded as one of the most important institutions of the city’s Armenian community, has been growing in recent years as many prominent politicians, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have paid visits to highlight the community’s importance.
Kurtulmuş met Bedros Şirinoğlu, the president of the foundation and a prominent businessman, visited the hospital’s museum and spoke with the elderly residents of the attached nursing home.
“[Turkey] wants to know more about the communities it calls minorities,” Şirinoğlu told the Daily News, adding that the country also wanted to take steps to close the gap between the majority and its minorities.
The HSP leader, a veteran Istanbul politician, also said both the events of 1915 and the Sept. 6-7, 1955, pogroms were “extremely painful events” and “provocations.”
“With Armenians, with Greeks and with all our ethnic backgrounds, we are a garden of roses,” he told the Daily News. “All these provocations were aimed at destroying this garden.”
The Sept. 6-7 1955 pogroms targeted Istanbul’s Greek minority and involved nationalist riots triggered by false rumor that the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki, Greece – the house where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was born in 1881 – had been bombed by the Greeks. The rioters, however, also targeted Armenians and Jews. In the aftermath of the provocation, thousands of minorities left Istanbul and Turkey in fear.
No more ‘gavur’
Kurtulmuş said his party was working to draft a constitutional reform package.
“When we come to power, we will take steps to make sure all our citizens are constitutionally equal,” he said, promising that the derogatory term “gavur” (infidel), which is used for non-Muslims, would be banned under an HSP government.
Şirinoğlu said the visit was “extremely important” for the Armenian community. “But what is really important is the policy that will be implemented in power,” he said. “I hope [a possible HSP government] will have the tolerance and vision that the AKP [Justice and Development Party] government has toward minorities.”
Kurtulmuş and his supporters recently split from the Saadet (Felicity) Party and the “National View” line led by veteran Islamist politician Necmettin Erbakan. The HSP is regarded by some circles as a “Muslim left” organization, though the party denies the label.
German writer comes to Istanbul to support Akhanlı in murder case
German writer comes to Istanbul to support Akhanlı in murder case
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The real reason behind Turkish writer Doğan Akhanlı’s arrest in Istanbul is his work on Armenian genocide claims, German intellectual Günter Wallraff said Wednesday.
Wallraff was in Istanbul to attend the first hearing of Akhanlı, who was arrested last August while returning from self-imposed exile in Germany.
Akhanlı, who fled Turkey after serving sentences for his political activities following the 1980 military coup and settled in Germany as an author, translator and human rights activist, attended the first hearing of a murder case on Wednesday. Prosecutors accuse Akhanlı of being the member and leader of a terrorist organization and of killing jewelry store owner İbrahim Yaşar Tutum during an attempted robbery in 1989. Prosecutors have demanded a life sentence for Akhanlı.
The first hearing was continuing as the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review went to press late Wednesday.
German writer Wallraff told the Daily News that his government was not lending support to Akhanlı, who is also a German citizen.
Wallraff said he believed Akhanlı’s 2003 work “Talat Paşa Minutes,” about the Ottoman political figure seen as responsible for the death of Armenians in the 1915 events, is the real reason behind his arrest.
He said Germany did not want to be involved since it shared responsibility for the Armenian tragedy equally with Turkey.
“Akhanlı is a real intellectual,” said Wallraff, criticizing the fact that despite democratic reforms in Turkey, authors and writers were still being victimized by judicial processes.
“We want to see Turkey in the European Union. But there needs to be improvement in human rights, freedom of expression and democracy,” he said, adding that he does not believe Akhanlı, a long-time friend, committed the murder of which he is accused.
Akhanlı came to Turkey this summer to visit his sick 90-year-old father, but was unable to see to the latter before he died because of his arrest at Atatürk Airport.
“The innocence of Akhanlı will be proven one day or another. But how will one compensate for this humanitarian tragedy?” Wallraff asked.
Anderej Hunko from the German parliament was also present at the trial and said what was happening to Akhanlı was unacceptable.
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The real reason behind Turkish writer Doğan Akhanlı’s arrest in Istanbul is his work on Armenian genocide claims, German intellectual Günter Wallraff said Wednesday.
Wallraff was in Istanbul to attend the first hearing of Akhanlı, who was arrested last August while returning from self-imposed exile in Germany.
Akhanlı, who fled Turkey after serving sentences for his political activities following the 1980 military coup and settled in Germany as an author, translator and human rights activist, attended the first hearing of a murder case on Wednesday. Prosecutors accuse Akhanlı of being the member and leader of a terrorist organization and of killing jewelry store owner İbrahim Yaşar Tutum during an attempted robbery in 1989. Prosecutors have demanded a life sentence for Akhanlı.
The first hearing was continuing as the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review went to press late Wednesday.
German writer Wallraff told the Daily News that his government was not lending support to Akhanlı, who is also a German citizen.
Wallraff said he believed Akhanlı’s 2003 work “Talat Paşa Minutes,” about the Ottoman political figure seen as responsible for the death of Armenians in the 1915 events, is the real reason behind his arrest.
He said Germany did not want to be involved since it shared responsibility for the Armenian tragedy equally with Turkey.
“Akhanlı is a real intellectual,” said Wallraff, criticizing the fact that despite democratic reforms in Turkey, authors and writers were still being victimized by judicial processes.
“We want to see Turkey in the European Union. But there needs to be improvement in human rights, freedom of expression and democracy,” he said, adding that he does not believe Akhanlı, a long-time friend, committed the murder of which he is accused.
Akhanlı came to Turkey this summer to visit his sick 90-year-old father, but was unable to see to the latter before he died because of his arrest at Atatürk Airport.
“The innocence of Akhanlı will be proven one day or another. But how will one compensate for this humanitarian tragedy?” Wallraff asked.
Anderej Hunko from the German parliament was also present at the trial and said what was happening to Akhanlı was unacceptable.
6 Aralık 2010 Pazartesi
Armenian parliament to discuss Karabakh independence
Monday, December 6, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
Armenia’s parliament will discuss Thursday the possibility of recognizing breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh’s dependence, yet many admit that international considerations effectively preclude Yerevan from making any such acknowledgement.
"Armenia cannot make this decision at the moment, no matter how much they want it, because they attach the utmost importance to mediators’ diplomatic efforts for a solution to the [Nagorno-Karabakh problem],” Manvel Sargsyan, a Karabakh political figure, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
The issue has been brought to the agenda by the country’s strongest opposition party, Jarankutyun. Although the party raised the same issue in 2007, it failed, said Sargsyan.
According to political scientists, although the Serge Sarkisian government, like other previous administrations, wants to recognize Karabakh’s independence, the issue’s delicate nature makes it difficult to make such a move. In order not to disrupt the work of the international mediators who are trying to solve the issue in peaceful terms, the government has refused to recognize the territory.
Still, the desire is shared by all Armenians, Güner Özkan, deputy chairman of the International Strategic Research Foundation’s Eurasia desk, told the Daily News.
"Former President Robert Kocharyan was from Karabakh; so is the present president, Sarkisian. Despite that, they are timid in recognizing independence,” he said.
"Armenia needs Russia’s consent to be able to recognize Karabakh’s independence. It is not possible otherwise. Of course we should not forget the role of the European Union and United States in the process,” Özkan said.
There are two different opinions about the Nagorno-Karabakh problem in Armenia, said Hayk Khanumyan, a political scientist and chairman of the European Movement NGO in Karabakh.
On one hand, one side thinks that if Armenia recognized Karabakh’s independence, it would be detrimental to the solution of issues in a peaceful manner, while more radical sections support an Armenian-Karabakh union, said Khanumyan. “My opinion is both Armenia and the other countries should recognize the independence.”
Although Armenia has yet to recognize the region’s independence, Nagorno-Karabakh is of vital importance, Sargsyan said, adding that the consensus in Armenia between the government and the opposition was that the region could on no accounts remain a part of Azerbaijan.
‘Party funded by the US’
Ultimately, Jarankutyun is after its own political ends, Özkan said.
"Jarankutyun is a party funded by the U.S., everybody knows that,” said Khanumyan. “The Armenian Center for National and International Studies, owned by the party, has long received financial support from the country. If we bear that in mind, we could as well say that Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence is approved by the U.S.”
‘Football diplomacy’
Touching on the “football diplomacy” that started in 2008 between Turkey and Armenia, Sargsyan said, “Football diplomacy not only ended without any results, it also deepened the deadlock between Azerbaijan and Armenia and of course negatively affected the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, too.”
The apparent detente started when Turkish President Abdullah Gül made a historic visit to Armenia in 2008 to watch a World Cup qualifier football match between the two countries’ national football teams. Sarkisian visited Turkey to watch the return match in 2009.
Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols for the development of relations and opening their sealed mutual border in 2009 but have been unable to complete the ratification process.
Monday, December 6, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
Armenia’s parliament will discuss Thursday the possibility of recognizing breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh’s dependence, yet many admit that international considerations effectively preclude Yerevan from making any such acknowledgement.
"Armenia cannot make this decision at the moment, no matter how much they want it, because they attach the utmost importance to mediators’ diplomatic efforts for a solution to the [Nagorno-Karabakh problem],” Manvel Sargsyan, a Karabakh political figure, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
The issue has been brought to the agenda by the country’s strongest opposition party, Jarankutyun. Although the party raised the same issue in 2007, it failed, said Sargsyan.
According to political scientists, although the Serge Sarkisian government, like other previous administrations, wants to recognize Karabakh’s independence, the issue’s delicate nature makes it difficult to make such a move. In order not to disrupt the work of the international mediators who are trying to solve the issue in peaceful terms, the government has refused to recognize the territory.
Still, the desire is shared by all Armenians, Güner Özkan, deputy chairman of the International Strategic Research Foundation’s Eurasia desk, told the Daily News.
"Former President Robert Kocharyan was from Karabakh; so is the present president, Sarkisian. Despite that, they are timid in recognizing independence,” he said.
"Armenia needs Russia’s consent to be able to recognize Karabakh’s independence. It is not possible otherwise. Of course we should not forget the role of the European Union and United States in the process,” Özkan said.
There are two different opinions about the Nagorno-Karabakh problem in Armenia, said Hayk Khanumyan, a political scientist and chairman of the European Movement NGO in Karabakh.
On one hand, one side thinks that if Armenia recognized Karabakh’s independence, it would be detrimental to the solution of issues in a peaceful manner, while more radical sections support an Armenian-Karabakh union, said Khanumyan. “My opinion is both Armenia and the other countries should recognize the independence.”
Although Armenia has yet to recognize the region’s independence, Nagorno-Karabakh is of vital importance, Sargsyan said, adding that the consensus in Armenia between the government and the opposition was that the region could on no accounts remain a part of Azerbaijan.
‘Party funded by the US’
Ultimately, Jarankutyun is after its own political ends, Özkan said.
"Jarankutyun is a party funded by the U.S., everybody knows that,” said Khanumyan. “The Armenian Center for National and International Studies, owned by the party, has long received financial support from the country. If we bear that in mind, we could as well say that Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence is approved by the U.S.”
‘Football diplomacy’
Touching on the “football diplomacy” that started in 2008 between Turkey and Armenia, Sargsyan said, “Football diplomacy not only ended without any results, it also deepened the deadlock between Azerbaijan and Armenia and of course negatively affected the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, too.”
The apparent detente started when Turkish President Abdullah Gül made a historic visit to Armenia in 2008 to watch a World Cup qualifier football match between the two countries’ national football teams. Sarkisian visited Turkey to watch the return match in 2009.
Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols for the development of relations and opening their sealed mutual border in 2009 but have been unable to complete the ratification process.
4 Aralık 2010 Cumartesi
Patriarch Mesrop II, left alone between life and death
Friday, December 3, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
Has the Armenian community in Istanbul descended into chaos by itself or has it been pushed into it while trying to select a patriarch? Where is the ballot box? In fact, there are many answers to these questions. But nobody is paying attention to the health of Patriarch Mesrop II Mutafyan, which is worsening gradually, because everyone is talking all at once.
Mesrop II, behind the closed doors of the Patriarchate, tries to stay alive with the tremendous help of his old mother. He is surviving but standing on a thin line separating life from death.
As he faces death the community he leads is looking for a ballot box outside. Spiritual leaders inside the premise make more chaos rather than control the situation. The Armenian community, therefore, is approaching a solution on one hand, but is falling apart on the other, as everyone wants to see his/her own candidate in the seat. The selfishness of the spiritual leaders and the community is now being taken to court. In the history of the patriarchate, the state of Turkey, for the first time ever, has had the urge to interfere closely in the election process.
Suspicious disease, painful process
How did the Armenian community get into this cycle? Clues can be found, actually, on Jan. 19, 2007 or a little before. The country was going through a painful political turmoil. Exercising his spiritual leadership, Mesrop II was also making a statement to reflect the problems of the Armenian community. He started to be threatened so much that he even decided to resign due to the pressures, but was not allowed to according to the rules of the church. Mesrop II was thus left to his fate. The patriarch’s duty was valued above his life. Amid such painful experiences, the Hrant Dink murder hit a blow to the community. Although Mesrop II had a conflict with Dink just before his death, the patriarch was deeply saddened by the incident. As everyone was talking about the killing of Dink, Mesrop II fell ill. Nobody wanted to believe this, because he was a young, healthy man. But the rumors didn’t seem to end. The patriarchate had to make an announcement and state that Mesrop II had frontal tempora dementia and that the disease was incurable. His illness was found suspicious by some. The Spiritual Council worried about the elections and the Executive Committee didn’t back Mesrop II. Nobody talked, everybody preferred to remain silent. A passionate, assertive, intellectual man suddenly goes senile; or rather fights with death … No one questioned this. Without a doubt, Turkish Armenians’ Patriarchate and the Armenian community in Istanbul went through a painful process. Perhaps this history will give the real answers to today’s questions in the future.
As Mesrop II was elected
Let’s have a glimpse back at how Mesrop II was elected. Following the death of the 83rd patriarch, Karekin II, the Armenian community faced a new election. Mesrop Mutafyan, as an archbishop, was the strongest candidate. Mutafyan was very active both in the community and in the patriarchate during Karekin’s tenure, so his candidacy was not a surprise. However, the Armenian community in Istanbul, which prefers to have a conservative and introverted lifestyle, opposed Mutafyan because of his relative youth. They wanted a candidate more mature in life. But the real reason was that everyone wanted to see his or her own candidate in the seat. As a matter of fact, the difference between the situations today and yesterday was that Karekin was dead. The community had not discussed such issues publicly in the past, but rather solved them internally. Times have changed, however. I was on duty during the 1998 elections, which ended with the victory of Mesrop II. We worked hard around the clock, counted votes and checked the lists. In the elections of October 1998, Mesrop Mutafyan became the 84th patriarch of the Armenian community in Turkey. The process was criticized, with claims that there had been fraud. However, Mesrop II stood strong and gave a different portrait. While acting as the spiritual leader of the community, Mesrop II played a critical role in carrying the community’s problems to the agenda of the country. Yes, he was a spiritual leader and had to remain so, but it was such a process the community was going under that he found himself at the center of politics. Mesrop II was worn out. In short, what is left from an idealist 56-year-old man is a community that still cannot find its way out to the ballot box and an ill man who is fighting for his life.
Friday, December 3, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
Has the Armenian community in Istanbul descended into chaos by itself or has it been pushed into it while trying to select a patriarch? Where is the ballot box? In fact, there are many answers to these questions. But nobody is paying attention to the health of Patriarch Mesrop II Mutafyan, which is worsening gradually, because everyone is talking all at once.
Mesrop II, behind the closed doors of the Patriarchate, tries to stay alive with the tremendous help of his old mother. He is surviving but standing on a thin line separating life from death.
As he faces death the community he leads is looking for a ballot box outside. Spiritual leaders inside the premise make more chaos rather than control the situation. The Armenian community, therefore, is approaching a solution on one hand, but is falling apart on the other, as everyone wants to see his/her own candidate in the seat. The selfishness of the spiritual leaders and the community is now being taken to court. In the history of the patriarchate, the state of Turkey, for the first time ever, has had the urge to interfere closely in the election process.
Suspicious disease, painful process
How did the Armenian community get into this cycle? Clues can be found, actually, on Jan. 19, 2007 or a little before. The country was going through a painful political turmoil. Exercising his spiritual leadership, Mesrop II was also making a statement to reflect the problems of the Armenian community. He started to be threatened so much that he even decided to resign due to the pressures, but was not allowed to according to the rules of the church. Mesrop II was thus left to his fate. The patriarch’s duty was valued above his life. Amid such painful experiences, the Hrant Dink murder hit a blow to the community. Although Mesrop II had a conflict with Dink just before his death, the patriarch was deeply saddened by the incident. As everyone was talking about the killing of Dink, Mesrop II fell ill. Nobody wanted to believe this, because he was a young, healthy man. But the rumors didn’t seem to end. The patriarchate had to make an announcement and state that Mesrop II had frontal tempora dementia and that the disease was incurable. His illness was found suspicious by some. The Spiritual Council worried about the elections and the Executive Committee didn’t back Mesrop II. Nobody talked, everybody preferred to remain silent. A passionate, assertive, intellectual man suddenly goes senile; or rather fights with death … No one questioned this. Without a doubt, Turkish Armenians’ Patriarchate and the Armenian community in Istanbul went through a painful process. Perhaps this history will give the real answers to today’s questions in the future.
As Mesrop II was elected
Let’s have a glimpse back at how Mesrop II was elected. Following the death of the 83rd patriarch, Karekin II, the Armenian community faced a new election. Mesrop Mutafyan, as an archbishop, was the strongest candidate. Mutafyan was very active both in the community and in the patriarchate during Karekin’s tenure, so his candidacy was not a surprise. However, the Armenian community in Istanbul, which prefers to have a conservative and introverted lifestyle, opposed Mutafyan because of his relative youth. They wanted a candidate more mature in life. But the real reason was that everyone wanted to see his or her own candidate in the seat. As a matter of fact, the difference between the situations today and yesterday was that Karekin was dead. The community had not discussed such issues publicly in the past, but rather solved them internally. Times have changed, however. I was on duty during the 1998 elections, which ended with the victory of Mesrop II. We worked hard around the clock, counted votes and checked the lists. In the elections of October 1998, Mesrop Mutafyan became the 84th patriarch of the Armenian community in Turkey. The process was criticized, with claims that there had been fraud. However, Mesrop II stood strong and gave a different portrait. While acting as the spiritual leader of the community, Mesrop II played a critical role in carrying the community’s problems to the agenda of the country. Yes, he was a spiritual leader and had to remain so, but it was such a process the community was going under that he found himself at the center of politics. Mesrop II was worn out. In short, what is left from an idealist 56-year-old man is a community that still cannot find its way out to the ballot box and an ill man who is fighting for his life.
1 Aralık 2010 Çarşamba
Turkish Armenians sue Turkey over belated patriarch election
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The Turkish Armenian community has filled two lawsuits against the Turkish government, including one to get permission to go ahead with a long-delayed election to select their own new patriarch.
“A committee composed of civilian representatives from the community filed two lawsuits,” the community’s attorney Sebuh Aslangil told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “The first one is to make the government allow an election for a patriarch to take place, and the second is for canceling the substitute patriarch’s post.”
Aslangil told the Daily News that such a post does not exist in the rules of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Civilian representatives of the community, who have formed an initiative to lobby for their rights to select their own patriarch, meanwhile held a meeting Wednesday in Istanbul. The initiative previously organized a petition campaign that gathered 6,000 signatures from Armenians in Istanbul demanding that the election be allowed to take place.
Previous patriarch Mesrop II stepped down due to dementia. After his resignation, the Armenian community applied to the Interior Ministry; the first was made by the patriarchate’s spiritual committee to elect a co-patriarch and the second was made by the civilian committee to elect a new patriarch.
Speaking to the Daily News, initiative spokesman Garo Paylan said the fact that there were two applications posed a problem, but that this should “not get the Interior Ministry off the hook for what they have done.”
He said the ministry invented the post of “substitute patriarch” in order to see the person they wanted installed in the patriarch’s place. “The Turkish state needs to give the Armenian community what they are entitled to and should not impede the election process,” Paylan said. “It is our most deserved right to be able to elect our patriarch. In no time in history has the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul been persecuted to this extent.”
Secret meeting at the palace
In November, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a secret meeting with Archbishop Aram Ateşyan and a few prominent businessmen from the Armenian community. The participants made no statement about what was discussed at the meeting.
In subsequent months, Ateşyan was assigned as substitute patriarch through the intervention of the Interior Ministry.
According to Paylan, some prominent people from the community had an interesting meeting with Interior Minister Beşir Atalay last week. “Atalay told us he was given information by Ateşyan concerning the election procedure,” the spokesman said. “We do not know what is happening behind closed doors, but we know there is a post that has been left unfilled for three years and that is the post of the community’s spiritual leader.”
Paylan said the election must take place as soon as possible and that it does not matter whether it selects a co-patriarch or a new patriarch.
“Ateşyan imitates the Turkish government’s official discourse wherever he goes and says we have no problems with the Turkish state,” he said. “We want someone who is not afraid to speak his mind and who could represent our community in a way that is true to reality.”
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The Turkish Armenian community has filled two lawsuits against the Turkish government, including one to get permission to go ahead with a long-delayed election to select their own new patriarch.
“A committee composed of civilian representatives from the community filed two lawsuits,” the community’s attorney Sebuh Aslangil told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “The first one is to make the government allow an election for a patriarch to take place, and the second is for canceling the substitute patriarch’s post.”
Aslangil told the Daily News that such a post does not exist in the rules of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Civilian representatives of the community, who have formed an initiative to lobby for their rights to select their own patriarch, meanwhile held a meeting Wednesday in Istanbul. The initiative previously organized a petition campaign that gathered 6,000 signatures from Armenians in Istanbul demanding that the election be allowed to take place.
Previous patriarch Mesrop II stepped down due to dementia. After his resignation, the Armenian community applied to the Interior Ministry; the first was made by the patriarchate’s spiritual committee to elect a co-patriarch and the second was made by the civilian committee to elect a new patriarch.
Speaking to the Daily News, initiative spokesman Garo Paylan said the fact that there were two applications posed a problem, but that this should “not get the Interior Ministry off the hook for what they have done.”
He said the ministry invented the post of “substitute patriarch” in order to see the person they wanted installed in the patriarch’s place. “The Turkish state needs to give the Armenian community what they are entitled to and should not impede the election process,” Paylan said. “It is our most deserved right to be able to elect our patriarch. In no time in history has the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul been persecuted to this extent.”
Secret meeting at the palace
In November, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a secret meeting with Archbishop Aram Ateşyan and a few prominent businessmen from the Armenian community. The participants made no statement about what was discussed at the meeting.
In subsequent months, Ateşyan was assigned as substitute patriarch through the intervention of the Interior Ministry.
According to Paylan, some prominent people from the community had an interesting meeting with Interior Minister Beşir Atalay last week. “Atalay told us he was given information by Ateşyan concerning the election procedure,” the spokesman said. “We do not know what is happening behind closed doors, but we know there is a post that has been left unfilled for three years and that is the post of the community’s spiritual leader.”
Paylan said the election must take place as soon as possible and that it does not matter whether it selects a co-patriarch or a new patriarch.
“Ateşyan imitates the Turkish government’s official discourse wherever he goes and says we have no problems with the Turkish state,” he said. “We want someone who is not afraid to speak his mind and who could represent our community in a way that is true to reality.”
Sibil’s Armenian songs echo on Istanbul’s İstiklal
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Young Armenian artist Sibil’s album is on the market. In the album she is accompanied by leading Turkish artists. Sufi music master Mercan Dede performed the most beloved song of the Armenian world, Giligya, with his reed flute and was accompanied by zither virtuoso Göksel Baktagir. Cenk Taşkan (Majak Toşikyan), who has produced legendary Turkish pop music songs, arranged the album. ‘Turkey is progressing so fast. It is unbelievable that an Armenian album is played on the streets,’ Sibil says
One of the most successful names of Sufi music in Turkey, Mercan Dede, has made the dreams of an Armenian artist come true. In recent days, an impressive sound has been heard in the music markets on İstiklal Avenue. Some think this different language is Kurdish or Laz, but actually the songs are Armenian.
Armenian artist Sibil’s album, on the Ossi Music label, is an example of solidarity between Turkish, Armenian, Greek and diaspora Armenian artists. Sibil is accompanied by Mercan Dede with his reed flute and Göktel Baktagir with his zither. Greek artist Petro has made a first by performing Armenian music legend Gomidas’ song “Der Voğormya” (God Mercy Us) in Turkish style. Jimmy Philipossian from the diaspora is on the album with his lyrics. Majak Toşikyan, who is known as Cenk Taşkan and has made legendary Turkish pop music since the 1970s, arranged the album.
“My dreams have come true thanks to this album,” said Sibil, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. She said that while she was a child her mother warned her not to speak Armenian on the street. “I discovered Armenian music at the age of 14 with a cassette from abroad. I cried for hours when I listened to the first Armenian song. We were not able to express our identity freely in those years.”
Sibil said she believed Turkey was democratizing fast. “We left all those hard years behind. I can make an Armenian album and it is played on the street, it is unbelievable.”
Very hard times
Although she has had great interest in music since her childhood, Sibil did not get a conservatory education. “My family hesitated to send me to conservatory because of my identity. I had very hard times. Even though I did not attend conservatory, music has become a part of my life.”
Soprano Sibil, who is known for her successful solos in the Armenian society, said she owed her voice to Armenian church choirs in Istanbul. “Even though it is called church choir, each Armenian child gets serious music education in these choirs and improves their voice. The choir has given many things to me, but I always loved popular music.”
Mercan Dede finds Sibil
Sibil’s dreams came true thanks to a coincidence. The Surp Vartananz Armenian Choir, of which she is a member, shared the stage with Turkish pop music stars Nükhet Duru and Sezen Aksu in the mid-2000s. These concerts drew great attention from the Turkish media. Sibil accompanied the two artists on stage in both concerts. Later on the concerts were released on CD.
“How could I know that this CD would be a turning point in my life?” Sibil said. “In 2006, Mercan Dede was expected to give a concert in a cathedral in Paris. When an Armenian choir quit the concert at the last minute, he remembered and found me. It was unbelievable that I took the stage in this concert as a big coincidence.
“I have never dreamed of releasing a CD one day with such big artists, but it is real now. I will always appreciate all of them.” They came together and gave life to Armenian music with me. Also, Mercan Dede accompanied the most beloved song of the Armenian world, Giligya, with his reed flute. In the album listeners will find the harmony of Turkish and Armenian motifs.”
‘I fear the dream will end’
Sibil, who has been working in the financial sector for many years, explained how she felt when she heard her own voice on the streets. “I feel like I am in a dream, I fear that the dream will come to an end when I wake up.”
Sibil said her friends at work gave her an unforgettable surprise when her album was released. “Everyone had my album on their desk and were listening to my songs. I returned to my childhood, to those days when I could not tell my name freely. I was really affected.”
“We came together in this album for a common goal and gave life to Armenian songs,” she said. “I want all my songs to reach all around Turkey.”
Sibil’s album will be released in Europe and the U.S. in the coming days
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Young Armenian artist Sibil’s album is on the market. In the album she is accompanied by leading Turkish artists. Sufi music master Mercan Dede performed the most beloved song of the Armenian world, Giligya, with his reed flute and was accompanied by zither virtuoso Göksel Baktagir. Cenk Taşkan (Majak Toşikyan), who has produced legendary Turkish pop music songs, arranged the album. ‘Turkey is progressing so fast. It is unbelievable that an Armenian album is played on the streets,’ Sibil says
One of the most successful names of Sufi music in Turkey, Mercan Dede, has made the dreams of an Armenian artist come true. In recent days, an impressive sound has been heard in the music markets on İstiklal Avenue. Some think this different language is Kurdish or Laz, but actually the songs are Armenian.
Armenian artist Sibil’s album, on the Ossi Music label, is an example of solidarity between Turkish, Armenian, Greek and diaspora Armenian artists. Sibil is accompanied by Mercan Dede with his reed flute and Göktel Baktagir with his zither. Greek artist Petro has made a first by performing Armenian music legend Gomidas’ song “Der Voğormya” (God Mercy Us) in Turkish style. Jimmy Philipossian from the diaspora is on the album with his lyrics. Majak Toşikyan, who is known as Cenk Taşkan and has made legendary Turkish pop music since the 1970s, arranged the album.
“My dreams have come true thanks to this album,” said Sibil, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. She said that while she was a child her mother warned her not to speak Armenian on the street. “I discovered Armenian music at the age of 14 with a cassette from abroad. I cried for hours when I listened to the first Armenian song. We were not able to express our identity freely in those years.”
Sibil said she believed Turkey was democratizing fast. “We left all those hard years behind. I can make an Armenian album and it is played on the street, it is unbelievable.”
Very hard times
Although she has had great interest in music since her childhood, Sibil did not get a conservatory education. “My family hesitated to send me to conservatory because of my identity. I had very hard times. Even though I did not attend conservatory, music has become a part of my life.”
Soprano Sibil, who is known for her successful solos in the Armenian society, said she owed her voice to Armenian church choirs in Istanbul. “Even though it is called church choir, each Armenian child gets serious music education in these choirs and improves their voice. The choir has given many things to me, but I always loved popular music.”
Mercan Dede finds Sibil
Sibil’s dreams came true thanks to a coincidence. The Surp Vartananz Armenian Choir, of which she is a member, shared the stage with Turkish pop music stars Nükhet Duru and Sezen Aksu in the mid-2000s. These concerts drew great attention from the Turkish media. Sibil accompanied the two artists on stage in both concerts. Later on the concerts were released on CD.
“How could I know that this CD would be a turning point in my life?” Sibil said. “In 2006, Mercan Dede was expected to give a concert in a cathedral in Paris. When an Armenian choir quit the concert at the last minute, he remembered and found me. It was unbelievable that I took the stage in this concert as a big coincidence.
“I have never dreamed of releasing a CD one day with such big artists, but it is real now. I will always appreciate all of them.” They came together and gave life to Armenian music with me. Also, Mercan Dede accompanied the most beloved song of the Armenian world, Giligya, with his reed flute. In the album listeners will find the harmony of Turkish and Armenian motifs.”
‘I fear the dream will end’
Sibil, who has been working in the financial sector for many years, explained how she felt when she heard her own voice on the streets. “I feel like I am in a dream, I fear that the dream will come to an end when I wake up.”
Sibil said her friends at work gave her an unforgettable surprise when her album was released. “Everyone had my album on their desk and were listening to my songs. I returned to my childhood, to those days when I could not tell my name freely. I was really affected.”
“We came together in this album for a common goal and gave life to Armenian songs,” she said. “I want all my songs to reach all around Turkey.”
Sibil’s album will be released in Europe and the U.S. in the coming days
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