Zarakolu to be reunited with son behind bars
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Authorities have accepted prominent publisher Ragıp Zarakolu’s longstanding request to be placed in the same prison ward as his son, Deniz Zarakolu, who was also arrested as part of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) case like his father.
“If conscience now serves as a justification for unfair arrests in this country, the gravity of the point we have reached makes itself felt once more. If lies pass as the truth, and denials have replaced apologies, then everything is rotten,” Ragıp Zarakolu told the Hürriyet Daily News in a recent letter.
Deniz Zarakolu, a 36-year-old Ph.D. student at Istanbul’s Bilgi University, was transferred Dec. 28 from a prison in the Thracian province of Edirne to another prison in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, where his father, Ragıp Zarakolu, is currently being kept under arrest.
“We are living in a country that has turned into a field of death. I could not have born the weight of remaining outside [of prison] any longer. Greetings to you all; I am delighted to be inside. As you know, they like the dead and the underdog in this country and turn life into hell for those still alive,” said Ragıp Zarakolu.
Human rights activist, writer, publisher and journalist Ragıp Zarakolu is also a member of the Turkish PEN Center, as well as a recipient of numerous prestigious international awards. He was arrested on Nov. 1, 2011, alongside prominent academic Büşra Ersanlı and dozens of other suspects upon the order of an Istanbul court over his alleged links with the KCK, the alleged urban wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
“As 2011 is drawing to a close, or being expended away with ignorance, boorishness and gauche to be more precise, Turkey has also made it among the [the world’s] worst countries in terms of the freedom of thought and expression,” Tarık Günersel, a member of PEN International Board and the president of the Turkish PEN Center, told the Daily News.
Six PEN members, including Zarakolu, are currently serving time behind bars, according to Günersel.
“Over 100 of our journalists are in prison. More than 500 students are still under arrest merely for unfurling banners. Statues are getting torn down into pieces, while writers, translators and publishers are being shoved into prisons,” he said. “Anxiety and self-censorship is growing more widespread, while critical thinkers censor themselves even when speaking on the phone.”
Ahmet Abakay, the head of the Ankara-based Contemporary Journalists’ Association (ÇGD), also condemned Ragıp Zarakolu’s continued arrest.
“Turkey is flunking on the year 2011. The government is at ease over all these developments. Even the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights are no longer relevant. Over 100 journalists are being tried, while the files of journalists released pending trial are nearing 10,000,” Abakay told the Daily News.
31 Aralık 2011 Cumartesi
Church asks for return of orphanage
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News Vercihan Ziflioğlu
An Armenian Protestant Church applies to the Foundations General Directorate for the return of an Armenian orphanage that had been expropriated in the wake of Turkey’s 1980 military coup. Pasteur Krikor Ağabaloğlu says they will bring the case before the ECHR unless the state returns the orphans’ camp
The Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church has filed a formal application with the Foundations General Directorate for the return of an Armenian orphanage in Istanbul’s Tuzla district that had been expropriated in the wake of Turkey’s 1980 military coup.
“Orphans and the children of destitute families used to reside in the camp. If the state is truly sincere and means well and if it is really determined to return what belongs to us, then it ought to hand back to our children their home,” Pasteur Krikor Ağabaloğlu, the spiritual head of the Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
They would initiate legal proceedings and even bring the case before the European Court of Human Rights unless the state returns the orphans’ camp, Ağabaloğlu said.
Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist who was murdered in 2007, also received education there and contributed to its construction with his brothers. “The Swallow Nest” was what Dink, the former editor-in-chief of weekly Agos, a paper published in both Turkish and Armenian, used to call the orphanage.
“The state has returned only about 100 from thousands of foundation properties,” Ağabaloğlu said in relation to the new Foundations Law enacted by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), adding that he was skeptical about the government’s sincerity.
No formal reasons were ever provided as to why the orphanage lands had been expropriated, Ağabaloğlu said. “The state wants us to prove the title deeds of properties it expropriated. The state already knows why and what it expropriated. All the documents and title deeds are in their possession,” he said.
The camp bears great spiritual significance for us, Ağabaloğlu said, adding that Hrant Dink had also fought tooth and nail for the orphanage to be returned during the concluding years of his life.
Simon İş, a lawyer who represents minority foundations, told the Daily News, however, he thought the whole process of returning the property would be an agonizing one.
The camp currently lies in ruins, according to Ağabaloğlu, but it would undergo repairs if returned to the church, and its gates would then be opened once more to orphans and children of the destitute.
In August 2011, the Turkish government signed a historic decree to return property taken away from minority foundations 75 years ago.
Some of the property set to be returned to Armenian, Greek and Syriac foundations include schools, churches, stores, hundreds of houses, buildings and apartments, cemeteries, factories and even nightclubs
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News Vercihan Ziflioğlu
An Armenian Protestant Church applies to the Foundations General Directorate for the return of an Armenian orphanage that had been expropriated in the wake of Turkey’s 1980 military coup. Pasteur Krikor Ağabaloğlu says they will bring the case before the ECHR unless the state returns the orphans’ camp
The Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church has filed a formal application with the Foundations General Directorate for the return of an Armenian orphanage in Istanbul’s Tuzla district that had been expropriated in the wake of Turkey’s 1980 military coup.
“Orphans and the children of destitute families used to reside in the camp. If the state is truly sincere and means well and if it is really determined to return what belongs to us, then it ought to hand back to our children their home,” Pasteur Krikor Ağabaloğlu, the spiritual head of the Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
They would initiate legal proceedings and even bring the case before the European Court of Human Rights unless the state returns the orphans’ camp, Ağabaloğlu said.
Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist who was murdered in 2007, also received education there and contributed to its construction with his brothers. “The Swallow Nest” was what Dink, the former editor-in-chief of weekly Agos, a paper published in both Turkish and Armenian, used to call the orphanage.
“The state has returned only about 100 from thousands of foundation properties,” Ağabaloğlu said in relation to the new Foundations Law enacted by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), adding that he was skeptical about the government’s sincerity.
No formal reasons were ever provided as to why the orphanage lands had been expropriated, Ağabaloğlu said. “The state wants us to prove the title deeds of properties it expropriated. The state already knows why and what it expropriated. All the documents and title deeds are in their possession,” he said.
The camp bears great spiritual significance for us, Ağabaloğlu said, adding that Hrant Dink had also fought tooth and nail for the orphanage to be returned during the concluding years of his life.
Simon İş, a lawyer who represents minority foundations, told the Daily News, however, he thought the whole process of returning the property would be an agonizing one.
The camp currently lies in ruins, according to Ağabaloğlu, but it would undergo repairs if returned to the church, and its gates would then be opened once more to orphans and children of the destitute.
In August 2011, the Turkish government signed a historic decree to return property taken away from minority foundations 75 years ago.
Some of the property set to be returned to Armenian, Greek and Syriac foundations include schools, churches, stores, hundreds of houses, buildings and apartments, cemeteries, factories and even nightclubs
27 Aralık 2011 Salı
Dink lawyers demand deatils of phone records
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
During the 23rd court hearing of slain Armenian journalist Hrant Dink case, one of the lawyers of Dink family says the phone conversations that TİB provided to the court do not include all the records from the area
Suspect Yasin Hayal is under pressure not to disclose significant information, Fethiye Çetin, one of the prosecution lawyers representing the family of Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist assassinated in 2007, said yesterday.
“When we consider the four-year-long trial process, it seems apparent we have not made any progress, even though all the guilty parties are manifest,” lawyer Çetin told the Hürriyet Daily News.
The 23rd hearing of the Dink trial began yesterday at 11:05 a.m., approximately two hours late due to the delayed arrival of suspects Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel. The hearing yielded no results, however, and the case is still stuck in a deadlock.
“Yasin Hayal’s mental health is quite balanced. He can divulge a lot of things, but he is under pressure from different quarters not to talk. Nevertheless, he would be saying a lot if he could speak,” Çetin said.
Çetin also said they had met with Bahattin Hayal, suspect Yasin Hayal’s father, who had claimed to be in possession of important information pertinent to the case. But he divulged nothing the prosecution did not already know about, she said.
Meanwhile, a group of 200 people gathered in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district and marched toward the Istanbul’s Court for Serious Crimes in protest of the apparent lack of progress in the case.
Demonstrators included Hrant Dink’s wife Rakel Dink and his son Orhan Dink, as well as Sezgin Tanrıkulu, the deputy leader of the opposition People’s Republican Party (CHP), Levent Tüzel, an Istanbul deputy of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), and other high-profile figures.
“[Phone] records from the Telecommunications Directorate (TİB) dominated the public’s attention throughout this one year, and especially since May. TİB records were of course important, but it should not be forgotten we are talking about thousands of records. The truly important thing, we believe, was the silence of those caught on camera footage on the day of the murder,” Çetin said.
The Dink family’s lawyers also raised an objection to the trial of the suspects in the Black Sea province of Trabzon solely on the charge of “dereliction of duty,” according to the Doğan news agency.
“These men have solely been tried on the charge of dereliction of duty, whereas they are partners in manslaughter through dereliction,” prosecution lawyer Bahri Belen said in relation to claims gendarmerie commanders Ali Öz and Metin Yıldız had been notified about the murder six months earlier by suspect Coşkun İğci, Yasin Hayal’s brother-in-law.
The Dink family’s lawyers had prepared a 200 page file connecting the history of the Armenian issue with the murder and read the document’s first half during the previous hearing.
While the first half of the file was primarily about the historical dimension of the problem, the second half read a variety of other topics, including indictments, the suspects’ testimonies and other relevant assessments.
The Dink family’s lawyers also argued in favor of merging the two separate case files in Istanbul and the Black Sea province of Samsun.
Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin, was the chief editor for weekly Agos, a paper published in both Turkish and Armenian. He was shot in front of his office in January 2007. Triggerman Ogün Samast was sentenced to 22 years in prison last month for the murder.
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
During the 23rd court hearing of slain Armenian journalist Hrant Dink case, one of the lawyers of Dink family says the phone conversations that TİB provided to the court do not include all the records from the area
Suspect Yasin Hayal is under pressure not to disclose significant information, Fethiye Çetin, one of the prosecution lawyers representing the family of Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist assassinated in 2007, said yesterday.
“When we consider the four-year-long trial process, it seems apparent we have not made any progress, even though all the guilty parties are manifest,” lawyer Çetin told the Hürriyet Daily News.
The 23rd hearing of the Dink trial began yesterday at 11:05 a.m., approximately two hours late due to the delayed arrival of suspects Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel. The hearing yielded no results, however, and the case is still stuck in a deadlock.
“Yasin Hayal’s mental health is quite balanced. He can divulge a lot of things, but he is under pressure from different quarters not to talk. Nevertheless, he would be saying a lot if he could speak,” Çetin said.
Çetin also said they had met with Bahattin Hayal, suspect Yasin Hayal’s father, who had claimed to be in possession of important information pertinent to the case. But he divulged nothing the prosecution did not already know about, she said.
Meanwhile, a group of 200 people gathered in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district and marched toward the Istanbul’s Court for Serious Crimes in protest of the apparent lack of progress in the case.
Demonstrators included Hrant Dink’s wife Rakel Dink and his son Orhan Dink, as well as Sezgin Tanrıkulu, the deputy leader of the opposition People’s Republican Party (CHP), Levent Tüzel, an Istanbul deputy of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), and other high-profile figures.
“[Phone] records from the Telecommunications Directorate (TİB) dominated the public’s attention throughout this one year, and especially since May. TİB records were of course important, but it should not be forgotten we are talking about thousands of records. The truly important thing, we believe, was the silence of those caught on camera footage on the day of the murder,” Çetin said.
The Dink family’s lawyers also raised an objection to the trial of the suspects in the Black Sea province of Trabzon solely on the charge of “dereliction of duty,” according to the Doğan news agency.
“These men have solely been tried on the charge of dereliction of duty, whereas they are partners in manslaughter through dereliction,” prosecution lawyer Bahri Belen said in relation to claims gendarmerie commanders Ali Öz and Metin Yıldız had been notified about the murder six months earlier by suspect Coşkun İğci, Yasin Hayal’s brother-in-law.
The Dink family’s lawyers had prepared a 200 page file connecting the history of the Armenian issue with the murder and read the document’s first half during the previous hearing.
While the first half of the file was primarily about the historical dimension of the problem, the second half read a variety of other topics, including indictments, the suspects’ testimonies and other relevant assessments.
The Dink family’s lawyers also argued in favor of merging the two separate case files in Istanbul and the Black Sea province of Samsun.
Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin, was the chief editor for weekly Agos, a paper published in both Turkish and Armenian. He was shot in front of his office in January 2007. Triggerman Ogün Samast was sentenced to 22 years in prison last month for the murder.
25 Aralık 2011 Pazar
Syriacs to report to EU on problems in Turkey
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
VERCIHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
Syriac Christian communities are to report to EU regarding a number of problems they face in Turkey, a community leader says, such as unresolved murders of Syriacs in the 90’s, property rights and social pressure.
A report detailing the problems Turkey’s long forgotten Syriac Christian communities face, prepared with the backing of the European Syriac Union (ESU) and the Dutch Foreign Ministry, will be presented to European Parliament in the coming days.
“Previously issued statements were based on estimated information, but now we have concrete conclusions,” Tuma Çelik, the head of ESU’s Turkey branch, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
The report prepared by the Southeastern Syriac Culture in Solidarity Association is based on research conducted in the southeastern provinces of Mardin, Şırnak and Batman, where there once was a heavily concentrated Syriac Christian population.
The occasion marks the first time such a study was conducted in Turkey’s eastern and southeastern regions, Çelik said on behalf of the association.
Entitled “Syriacs in a Multi-Cultural Environment and the Right of Property,” the report covers a number of issues, including the unresolved murders of Syriacs in connection with the 1980s and 1990s fighting between government forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeast.
Caught in the crossfire, many Syriacs fled en masse to Europe because of the unresolved murders, Çelik explained. “This matter unfortunately is unknown to the Turkish public. We are going to make an effort to get those responsible to account [for their actions].”
The Syriac population in Mardin’s Midyat district, a traditional Syriac hmeland, fell from 1800 residents before the year 1985 down to a mere 130 residents in 2011, while the same figure in the district of Yemiþli dropped from 270 down to 18, according to the report.Syriac populations in other districts mentioned in the document also experienced a similar decline, despite very slight increases over the past decade.
The report also covers other issues, such as the occupation of lands owned by Syriacs, the problems Syriacs who fled and those returning to Turkey have faced and other rights violations.
“Syriacs do not have enough power to influence public opinion. First, we are going to encourage Syriacs in Turkey to explain their problems. We are going to get problems in the southeast to be discussed in Istanbul,” Çelik said. He and researchers had met with Syriacs in the area and local governments, he said.
Turkey’s Syriac population dropped to as low as 5,000 people due to repression, he said. “Following the [the Syriacs’] exodus, a large portion of [their] lands were registered as ‘treasury property’ or ‘forest lands’ by the state on the pretext they were not being utilized. Villagers [then] occupied the lands of those who left,” Çelik said. “Syriacs had to leave their properties behind while fleeing from the region during the events that took place between 1985 and 1995.”
He said returning Syriacs were still confronted with problems.
Syriac residents in Mardin’s Midyat district most commonly referred to “social pressure” as a great concern in the study, while they also pointed to infrastructure as a significant problem. Elsewhere, however, issues of land registry topped the list of problems, while security, social pressure and infrastructure were also cited as issues of significant concern.
“A returning Syriac named İsrail Demir was harassed and wounded with a weapon. There is in the region a wall of fear emanating from the past, and that is still influential.”
December/24/2011
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
VERCIHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
Syriac Christian communities are to report to EU regarding a number of problems they face in Turkey, a community leader says, such as unresolved murders of Syriacs in the 90’s, property rights and social pressure.
A report detailing the problems Turkey’s long forgotten Syriac Christian communities face, prepared with the backing of the European Syriac Union (ESU) and the Dutch Foreign Ministry, will be presented to European Parliament in the coming days.
“Previously issued statements were based on estimated information, but now we have concrete conclusions,” Tuma Çelik, the head of ESU’s Turkey branch, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
The report prepared by the Southeastern Syriac Culture in Solidarity Association is based on research conducted in the southeastern provinces of Mardin, Şırnak and Batman, where there once was a heavily concentrated Syriac Christian population.
The occasion marks the first time such a study was conducted in Turkey’s eastern and southeastern regions, Çelik said on behalf of the association.
Entitled “Syriacs in a Multi-Cultural Environment and the Right of Property,” the report covers a number of issues, including the unresolved murders of Syriacs in connection with the 1980s and 1990s fighting between government forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeast.
Caught in the crossfire, many Syriacs fled en masse to Europe because of the unresolved murders, Çelik explained. “This matter unfortunately is unknown to the Turkish public. We are going to make an effort to get those responsible to account [for their actions].”
The Syriac population in Mardin’s Midyat district, a traditional Syriac hmeland, fell from 1800 residents before the year 1985 down to a mere 130 residents in 2011, while the same figure in the district of Yemiþli dropped from 270 down to 18, according to the report.Syriac populations in other districts mentioned in the document also experienced a similar decline, despite very slight increases over the past decade.
The report also covers other issues, such as the occupation of lands owned by Syriacs, the problems Syriacs who fled and those returning to Turkey have faced and other rights violations.
“Syriacs do not have enough power to influence public opinion. First, we are going to encourage Syriacs in Turkey to explain their problems. We are going to get problems in the southeast to be discussed in Istanbul,” Çelik said. He and researchers had met with Syriacs in the area and local governments, he said.
Turkey’s Syriac population dropped to as low as 5,000 people due to repression, he said. “Following the [the Syriacs’] exodus, a large portion of [their] lands were registered as ‘treasury property’ or ‘forest lands’ by the state on the pretext they were not being utilized. Villagers [then] occupied the lands of those who left,” Çelik said. “Syriacs had to leave their properties behind while fleeing from the region during the events that took place between 1985 and 1995.”
He said returning Syriacs were still confronted with problems.
Syriac residents in Mardin’s Midyat district most commonly referred to “social pressure” as a great concern in the study, while they also pointed to infrastructure as a significant problem. Elsewhere, however, issues of land registry topped the list of problems, while security, social pressure and infrastructure were also cited as issues of significant concern.
“A returning Syriac named İsrail Demir was harassed and wounded with a weapon. There is in the region a wall of fear emanating from the past, and that is still influential.”
December/24/2011
23 Aralık 2011 Cuma
Turkish Armenians chide Ankara, Paris
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu ve
Turkey’s Armenian community wants the events of 1915 to be discussed in the Turkish Parliament rather than in other countries, Istanbul Armenians have said, criticizing both Paris and Ankara for using the community’s pain for their own benefit.
“We want the issue to be debated in the Turkish Parliament. It hurts us when [the matter] is spoken about in other countries and our pain is used for political gain,” Istanbul Armenian community member Garo Paylan told the Hürriyet Daily News on behalf of a group that released a press statement on the issue.
“Turkey has been hurling threats at France for days. Does it not constitute an ethical crime to deny such great agony? Did we not end up here because of Turkey’s 96-year-long denial?” Paylan said. Many crimes were committed due to Turkey’s policies of denial in the aftermath of 1915, which also paved the way for the 2007 assassination of Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, said Paylan. Among the Istanbul Armenians who issued the press statement was Arat Dink, the assassinated journalist’s son. “I would like to ask whether the preference of Hrant Dink, the final scream of Turkish-Armenians, not to use the term ‘genocide’ is of the same caliber as others’ preference not to use the term ‘genocide’ now? Does Turkey still have the face to use words it cherry-picked from Hrant Dink for its own benefit?” Arat Dink said in an apparent reaction to recent statements made by the murdered journalist’s brother Orhan Dink and which were widely covered in the Turkish press. Paylan also flatly criticized deputy Patriarch Archbishop Aram Ateşyan’s recent statement.
December/23/2011
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu ve
Turkey’s Armenian community wants the events of 1915 to be discussed in the Turkish Parliament rather than in other countries, Istanbul Armenians have said, criticizing both Paris and Ankara for using the community’s pain for their own benefit.
“We want the issue to be debated in the Turkish Parliament. It hurts us when [the matter] is spoken about in other countries and our pain is used for political gain,” Istanbul Armenian community member Garo Paylan told the Hürriyet Daily News on behalf of a group that released a press statement on the issue.
“Turkey has been hurling threats at France for days. Does it not constitute an ethical crime to deny such great agony? Did we not end up here because of Turkey’s 96-year-long denial?” Paylan said. Many crimes were committed due to Turkey’s policies of denial in the aftermath of 1915, which also paved the way for the 2007 assassination of Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, said Paylan. Among the Istanbul Armenians who issued the press statement was Arat Dink, the assassinated journalist’s son. “I would like to ask whether the preference of Hrant Dink, the final scream of Turkish-Armenians, not to use the term ‘genocide’ is of the same caliber as others’ preference not to use the term ‘genocide’ now? Does Turkey still have the face to use words it cherry-picked from Hrant Dink for its own benefit?” Arat Dink said in an apparent reaction to recent statements made by the murdered journalist’s brother Orhan Dink and which were widely covered in the Turkish press. Paylan also flatly criticized deputy Patriarch Archbishop Aram Ateşyan’s recent statement.
December/23/2011
22 Aralık 2011 Perşembe
Turkish Armenians condemn Sarkozy over bill
ISTANBUL - Hurriyet Daily News
VERCIHAN ZIFLIOĞLU
Those who doubt themselves and the truth of what happened would regard denial as a crime, says Mahçupyan.
Prominent Turkish-Armenians have sharply criticized French President Nicolas Sarkozy for his stance on a motion criminalizing the denial of Armenian genocide claims if the French Parliament votes in favor of the draft bill Dec. 22.
“If a person massacred in some part of Anatolia in 1915 could come back to life and reach Sarkozy, he would spit on his face and say Sarkozy was trying to score political gains through his pain,” Markar Esayan, a Turkish-Armenian columnist for the daily Taraf, yesterday wrote in an article titled “Sarkozy is deceiving the Armenians, too.”
Orhan Dink, the brother of the assassinated Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, also said he thought the motion ran counter to freedom of thought while speaking on a private broadcasting station he called by phone the night of Dec. 19.
“I have been witnessing the Turkish people’s efforts to face their history for the past 10 years. This decision is going to strike a blow to the process,” Esayan told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Sarkozy is not being sincere, he said. France had already recognized the events of 1915 as genocide, he said, so, “What use is there now for another law that contradicts itself? This is a ridiculous proposal. Those who doubt themselves and the truth of what happened would regard denial as a crime, whereas Armenians are very certain of the agonies they went through. If Sarkozy is unsure, it does not concern us. It is not just the Armenian genocide but also the Jewish genocide that ought to be debated,” Etyen Mahçupyan, a Turkish-Armenian writer and a columnist for the daily Zaman, told the Daily News.
Turkish intellectuals are courageous and ready to pay a price for this, he said. “The word ‘genocide’ is now being used in this country. Turkish society has passed a certain threshold.”
Turkey ought to view its own past with greater candor, said Zakariya Mildanoğlu, a writer for the history section of the Turkish-Armenian daily Agos, urging people to stop tussling over such terms as “genocide” and “massacre.” “Turkish and Armenian peoples ought to speak about 1915 by themselves,” Mildanoğlu said. The law would entail a yearlong jail sentence and a 45,000 euro fine if passed.
ISTANBUL - Hurriyet Daily News
VERCIHAN ZIFLIOĞLU
Those who doubt themselves and the truth of what happened would regard denial as a crime, says Mahçupyan.
Prominent Turkish-Armenians have sharply criticized French President Nicolas Sarkozy for his stance on a motion criminalizing the denial of Armenian genocide claims if the French Parliament votes in favor of the draft bill Dec. 22.
“If a person massacred in some part of Anatolia in 1915 could come back to life and reach Sarkozy, he would spit on his face and say Sarkozy was trying to score political gains through his pain,” Markar Esayan, a Turkish-Armenian columnist for the daily Taraf, yesterday wrote in an article titled “Sarkozy is deceiving the Armenians, too.”
Orhan Dink, the brother of the assassinated Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, also said he thought the motion ran counter to freedom of thought while speaking on a private broadcasting station he called by phone the night of Dec. 19.
“I have been witnessing the Turkish people’s efforts to face their history for the past 10 years. This decision is going to strike a blow to the process,” Esayan told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Sarkozy is not being sincere, he said. France had already recognized the events of 1915 as genocide, he said, so, “What use is there now for another law that contradicts itself? This is a ridiculous proposal. Those who doubt themselves and the truth of what happened would regard denial as a crime, whereas Armenians are very certain of the agonies they went through. If Sarkozy is unsure, it does not concern us. It is not just the Armenian genocide but also the Jewish genocide that ought to be debated,” Etyen Mahçupyan, a Turkish-Armenian writer and a columnist for the daily Zaman, told the Daily News.
Turkish intellectuals are courageous and ready to pay a price for this, he said. “The word ‘genocide’ is now being used in this country. Turkish society has passed a certain threshold.”
Turkey ought to view its own past with greater candor, said Zakariya Mildanoğlu, a writer for the history section of the Turkish-Armenian daily Agos, urging people to stop tussling over such terms as “genocide” and “massacre.” “Turkish and Armenian peoples ought to speak about 1915 by themselves,” Mildanoğlu said. The law would entail a yearlong jail sentence and a 45,000 euro fine if passed.
Turkey, Armenians lock horns in case
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The fourth hearing of a lawsuit filed by three Armenian-Americans in the United States for $64 million to be paid in compensation for lands allegedly expropriated by the Ottoman government during the events of 1915 was held Dec. 19.
“The court was clear all our arguments were as of this date ‘submitted’ to the court,” Jean-Pierre Dermenjian told the Hürriyet Daily News on behalf of the Yeghiayan Law Office.
The suit alleges nearly 500 hectares of land, including the American airbase in İncirlik in the southern province of Adana, were expropriated and income flows from the lands in question were transferred to Ziraat Bank and the Turkish Central Bank.
The two banks were “extensively and thoroughly” interrogated by our team, Dermenjian said. The hearing had lasted for two hours and the atmosphere was contentious, he said.
The suit was filed by Rita Mahtesyan, Anais Harutyunyan and Alex Bakalyan, all of whose families emigrated to the U.S. from Adana in the wake of the events of 1915.
Dermenjian said the defense is contending their claims to Ottoman citizenship and questioning “the subjectivity of expropriation of property through the perpetration of ‘crimes against humanity,’” as well as the issue of statute of limitations.
The Ziraat Bank and the Turkish Central Bank presented a common defense to the U.S. court while claiming their plea was not in any way binding to the Turkish Republic. “The Republic of Turkey still claims this matter is not of their concern and as such have not asked to be represented,” he said.
December/22/2011
PRINTER FRIENDLY
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The fourth hearing of a lawsuit filed by three Armenian-Americans in the United States for $64 million to be paid in compensation for lands allegedly expropriated by the Ottoman government during the events of 1915 was held Dec. 19.
“The court was clear all our arguments were as of this date ‘submitted’ to the court,” Jean-Pierre Dermenjian told the Hürriyet Daily News on behalf of the Yeghiayan Law Office.
The suit alleges nearly 500 hectares of land, including the American airbase in İncirlik in the southern province of Adana, were expropriated and income flows from the lands in question were transferred to Ziraat Bank and the Turkish Central Bank.
The two banks were “extensively and thoroughly” interrogated by our team, Dermenjian said. The hearing had lasted for two hours and the atmosphere was contentious, he said.
The suit was filed by Rita Mahtesyan, Anais Harutyunyan and Alex Bakalyan, all of whose families emigrated to the U.S. from Adana in the wake of the events of 1915.
Dermenjian said the defense is contending their claims to Ottoman citizenship and questioning “the subjectivity of expropriation of property through the perpetration of ‘crimes against humanity,’” as well as the issue of statute of limitations.
The Ziraat Bank and the Turkish Central Bank presented a common defense to the U.S. court while claiming their plea was not in any way binding to the Turkish Republic. “The Republic of Turkey still claims this matter is not of their concern and as such have not asked to be represented,” he said.
December/22/2011
PRINTER FRIENDLY
20 Aralık 2011 Salı
France may punish denial of ‘genocide’
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
France’s parliament might finally approve a law penalizing the denial of Armenian genocide claims, a deputy who helped prepare a new draft on the matter has said ahead of legislative discussion on the bill, which has prompted a Turkish reaction.
“The draft law [to penalize the denial of genocide], which was prepared back in 2006, ran the risk of challenging the constitution. The new draft law has a stronger basis as it completely complies with European Union norms,” said deputy Valeri Boyer. The bill, however, has caused some worry in Ankara. “At a moment when Turkey and France have entered into a process in which they could increase their cooperation at bilateral and international level, we hope no unrecoverable steps will be taken,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. France recently officially recognized the 1915 incidents as genocide.
“This draft law will penalize not only the denial of genocide but also the denial of tragedies that France has recognized as genocide. Above all, racism and xenophobia will be penalized,” Boyer recently told the Hürriyet Daily News in an email interview. Noting that Turkey emphasizes the Algeria issue when 1915 incidents are in question, Boyer said, “the incidents of Algeria were a decolonization project which ended with the Evian Accords in March 19, 1962; they were not genocide.” Boyer added that she had Algerian origins in her family. Boyer said France and Turkey might have radically different visions about the tragedies yet could continue their economic and cultural relations. “The general opinion in France is in favor of penalizing the denial of genocide.”
December/12/2011
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
France’s parliament might finally approve a law penalizing the denial of Armenian genocide claims, a deputy who helped prepare a new draft on the matter has said ahead of legislative discussion on the bill, which has prompted a Turkish reaction.
“The draft law [to penalize the denial of genocide], which was prepared back in 2006, ran the risk of challenging the constitution. The new draft law has a stronger basis as it completely complies with European Union norms,” said deputy Valeri Boyer. The bill, however, has caused some worry in Ankara. “At a moment when Turkey and France have entered into a process in which they could increase their cooperation at bilateral and international level, we hope no unrecoverable steps will be taken,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. France recently officially recognized the 1915 incidents as genocide.
“This draft law will penalize not only the denial of genocide but also the denial of tragedies that France has recognized as genocide. Above all, racism and xenophobia will be penalized,” Boyer recently told the Hürriyet Daily News in an email interview. Noting that Turkey emphasizes the Algeria issue when 1915 incidents are in question, Boyer said, “the incidents of Algeria were a decolonization project which ended with the Evian Accords in March 19, 1962; they were not genocide.” Boyer added that she had Algerian origins in her family. Boyer said France and Turkey might have radically different visions about the tragedies yet could continue their economic and cultural relations. “The general opinion in France is in favor of penalizing the denial of genocide.”
December/12/2011
Commission formed for arrested publisher
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Friends, acquaintances and other supporters of prominent activist, journalist and publisher Ragıp Zarakolu have established a commission following his arrest by law enforcement officials last month in connection with the ongoing Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) trials.
“For now, the website freedom-for-zarakolu.blogspot.com that contains news about Zarakolu has gone online,” Sait Çetinoğlu, a member of the commission, told the Hürriyet Daily News. “There is a campaign live on gercek-inatcidir.blogspot.com to protest his arrest. We are going to initiate new campaigns step by step. The required permits for those who want to visit Zarakolu are going to be obtained.”
The commission is open to all those who would like to contribute to it and willing participants are welcome to contact us, Çetinoğlu said.
“The indictment, the defense and other information pertaining to the trial process will be disclosed to his friends, after the lifting of the court’s ruling on confidentiality,” Çetinoğlu said. No information regarding the continuing trial could currently be provided due to the court’s confidentiality ruling.
All domestic and international requests regarding Ragıp Zarakolu’s case are going to be dealt with through the commission, of which the publisher’s son Sinan Zarakolu is also a member.
“Give your friends a gift book from Zarakolu’s Belge Publishing House for the New Year,” Çetinoğlu said, and this would also support the publishing house itself.
December/13/2011
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Friends, acquaintances and other supporters of prominent activist, journalist and publisher Ragıp Zarakolu have established a commission following his arrest by law enforcement officials last month in connection with the ongoing Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) trials.
“For now, the website freedom-for-zarakolu.blogspot.com that contains news about Zarakolu has gone online,” Sait Çetinoğlu, a member of the commission, told the Hürriyet Daily News. “There is a campaign live on gercek-inatcidir.blogspot.com to protest his arrest. We are going to initiate new campaigns step by step. The required permits for those who want to visit Zarakolu are going to be obtained.”
The commission is open to all those who would like to contribute to it and willing participants are welcome to contact us, Çetinoğlu said.
“The indictment, the defense and other information pertaining to the trial process will be disclosed to his friends, after the lifting of the court’s ruling on confidentiality,” Çetinoğlu said. No information regarding the continuing trial could currently be provided due to the court’s confidentiality ruling.
All domestic and international requests regarding Ragıp Zarakolu’s case are going to be dealt with through the commission, of which the publisher’s son Sinan Zarakolu is also a member.
“Give your friends a gift book from Zarakolu’s Belge Publishing House for the New Year,” Çetinoğlu said, and this would also support the publishing house itself.
December/13/2011
No progress made in cleric’s murder
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The investigation into the murder of a Catholic bishop in the Mediterranean district of İskenderun cannot advance any further due to a lack of support from the dead cleric’s family, according to a lawyer involved in the case.
Ercan Eriş, a close friend of Luigi Padovese – the pope’s apostolic vicar in Anatolia – who was murdered in 2010, told the Hürriyet Daily News via email that the case would only be able to move forward if the slain bishop’s family became involved.
“Father Padovese personally got involved in the Santoro trial because he was worried the case was not going to be brought to light, as [Santoro’s] family had shown no interest [in the suit]. Now, his own family is not assuming [responsibility] for the case either, just like Father Santoro’s family. What a shame,” Eriş said in reference to Andrea Santoro, a priest in the Sancta Maria Catholic Church in the Black Sea province of Trabzon who was murdered in 2006.
Murat Altun, Padovese’s driver, has been charged with the murder. Authorities ruled out a political motive for the killing immediately after the incident, but church authorities have subsequently hinted that there might have been a political dimension to the murder.
Padovese’s family lives in Milan, Eriş said, adding that he had met them but had not been able to convince them to become involved in the case.
“They are not giving any explanations. Perhaps, it may be an attitude stemming from the Catholic faith. The family in the Santoro murder also presented a similar attitude,” Eriş said.
The Vatican reportedly cannot become involved in the trials either, as the Turkish Code of Criminal Procedure does not permit such intervention. The case is still being followed on behalf of the Vatican, however, by Ruggero Franceschini, who is the archbishop of the Aegean province of İzmir, the apostolic vicar of Anatolia and the new president of the Turkish Bishops’ Conference.
“The Vatican does not reserve the right to intervene in the case due to [existing] laws. We cannot follow the suit. We feel bitter,” Fransceshini’s spokesperson, Rev. Marko, told the Hürriyet Daily News via a telephone interview. The cleric chose to withhold his last name due to safety concerns.
“We could not issue any formal demands about the course of the trial, as the family did not get involved in the Santoro trial. The investigation and prosecution in both murders are conducted solely by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office. Evidence from the crime scene that had not been handed over to the judiciary two years after the conclusion of the Santoro trial had created question marks about the soundness of the investigation. I hope things do not repeat themselves in this trial, too,” Eriş said, adding that he was deeply worried about the current state of affairs in the trial due to the lack of any parties who would act on behalf of the slain bishop.
Neither of the two trials has yielded a satisfactory investigative process, he said. Everyone who reads the files will be able to see that certain issues have not yet been fully uncovered during the investigation phase, he added.
“For instance, even though a certain GSM line had never been used to make contact with any other phone numbers for four years, the murder suspect used the same line three hours prior to the murder. Why?” he said.
The next hearing for the case is set to be held on Feb. 22.
Eriş said he used to be Padovese’s lawyer back when he was still alive and added that he held a deep veneration for Padovese as a human being.
“He was a cleric and academic courageous enough to organize a recitation of [the Muslim call to prayer] in church and so much at peace with himself as to arrange for a conference on Islam to be given to faculty members from the [Muslim] school of divinity. He aided hundreds of people by concealing his identity,” Eriş said.
Altun said in the trial proceedings that Padovese had offered to engage in a homosexual relationship with him. A trial as important as this one cannot be subjected to a multi-pronged investigation due to such obnoxious allegations, Erciş added.
“The case is unfortunately not receiving the attention it deserves due to the allegations,” he said.
December/14/2011
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The investigation into the murder of a Catholic bishop in the Mediterranean district of İskenderun cannot advance any further due to a lack of support from the dead cleric’s family, according to a lawyer involved in the case.
Ercan Eriş, a close friend of Luigi Padovese – the pope’s apostolic vicar in Anatolia – who was murdered in 2010, told the Hürriyet Daily News via email that the case would only be able to move forward if the slain bishop’s family became involved.
“Father Padovese personally got involved in the Santoro trial because he was worried the case was not going to be brought to light, as [Santoro’s] family had shown no interest [in the suit]. Now, his own family is not assuming [responsibility] for the case either, just like Father Santoro’s family. What a shame,” Eriş said in reference to Andrea Santoro, a priest in the Sancta Maria Catholic Church in the Black Sea province of Trabzon who was murdered in 2006.
Murat Altun, Padovese’s driver, has been charged with the murder. Authorities ruled out a political motive for the killing immediately after the incident, but church authorities have subsequently hinted that there might have been a political dimension to the murder.
Padovese’s family lives in Milan, Eriş said, adding that he had met them but had not been able to convince them to become involved in the case.
“They are not giving any explanations. Perhaps, it may be an attitude stemming from the Catholic faith. The family in the Santoro murder also presented a similar attitude,” Eriş said.
The Vatican reportedly cannot become involved in the trials either, as the Turkish Code of Criminal Procedure does not permit such intervention. The case is still being followed on behalf of the Vatican, however, by Ruggero Franceschini, who is the archbishop of the Aegean province of İzmir, the apostolic vicar of Anatolia and the new president of the Turkish Bishops’ Conference.
“The Vatican does not reserve the right to intervene in the case due to [existing] laws. We cannot follow the suit. We feel bitter,” Fransceshini’s spokesperson, Rev. Marko, told the Hürriyet Daily News via a telephone interview. The cleric chose to withhold his last name due to safety concerns.
“We could not issue any formal demands about the course of the trial, as the family did not get involved in the Santoro trial. The investigation and prosecution in both murders are conducted solely by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office. Evidence from the crime scene that had not been handed over to the judiciary two years after the conclusion of the Santoro trial had created question marks about the soundness of the investigation. I hope things do not repeat themselves in this trial, too,” Eriş said, adding that he was deeply worried about the current state of affairs in the trial due to the lack of any parties who would act on behalf of the slain bishop.
Neither of the two trials has yielded a satisfactory investigative process, he said. Everyone who reads the files will be able to see that certain issues have not yet been fully uncovered during the investigation phase, he added.
“For instance, even though a certain GSM line had never been used to make contact with any other phone numbers for four years, the murder suspect used the same line three hours prior to the murder. Why?” he said.
The next hearing for the case is set to be held on Feb. 22.
Eriş said he used to be Padovese’s lawyer back when he was still alive and added that he held a deep veneration for Padovese as a human being.
“He was a cleric and academic courageous enough to organize a recitation of [the Muslim call to prayer] in church and so much at peace with himself as to arrange for a conference on Islam to be given to faculty members from the [Muslim] school of divinity. He aided hundreds of people by concealing his identity,” Eriş said.
Altun said in the trial proceedings that Padovese had offered to engage in a homosexual relationship with him. A trial as important as this one cannot be subjected to a multi-pronged investigation due to such obnoxious allegations, Erciş added.
“The case is unfortunately not receiving the attention it deserves due to the allegations,” he said.
December/14/2011
History books to exclude discrimination
History books to exclude discrimination
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Education Minister Ömer Dinçer has promised to alter clauses in Turkish history books that are antagonistic toward Armenians and Syriac Christians, according to Erol Dora, a deputy of Syriac origin from the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).
Dora met Dinçer on Dec. 12 to request the alteration of the clauses in question. Dinçer showed close interest in the subject, Dora said, adding that he had told the minister that the clauses against Armenians and Syriacs in school history books ran counter to the European declarations on children’s and human rights, as well as United Nations resolutions.
“It is not only Syriacs and Armenians but also Turkish families, Kurds and the whole country that need to react to these books, which inculcate enmity in our children. This is exceedingly important for a peaceable future,” Dora recently told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Dora also outlined the consequences of failing to remove the language from the books. “Unless the ministry takes decisive steps soon, legal action will be pursued against Turkey. The Syriac diaspora has developed into a lobby, and there is severe backlash against Turkey,” Dora said.
Clauses involving hostility toward Armenians and Syriacs appeared relatively recently, said Dora, adding that he had not encountered history books that denigrated Syriacs and Armenians until his graduation from school in Turkey in 1973.
“Clauses denigrating Syriacs and Armenians entered books 12 years ago. Turkey also changed its history books to propagate its own official theses of history because of lessons in history books that are taught in Armenian diaspora schools,” a minority school administrator told the Daily News on condition of anonymity.
The Turkish school books state that the tragic events of 1915 were committed by the Armenians and that the Armenians and Syriacs initiated revolts and stabbed the Turkish military in the back, he said.
“In the past, as minority schools, we had to accept everything imposed upon us, but now we can intervene. Teachers skip those pages in history books, and we can speak to any teacher who does not comply with the rules. Despite the absence of an official directive, the Education Ministry now recognizes this right,” he said.
December/16/2011
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Education Minister Ömer Dinçer has promised to alter clauses in Turkish history books that are antagonistic toward Armenians and Syriac Christians, according to Erol Dora, a deputy of Syriac origin from the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).
Dora met Dinçer on Dec. 12 to request the alteration of the clauses in question. Dinçer showed close interest in the subject, Dora said, adding that he had told the minister that the clauses against Armenians and Syriacs in school history books ran counter to the European declarations on children’s and human rights, as well as United Nations resolutions.
“It is not only Syriacs and Armenians but also Turkish families, Kurds and the whole country that need to react to these books, which inculcate enmity in our children. This is exceedingly important for a peaceable future,” Dora recently told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Dora also outlined the consequences of failing to remove the language from the books. “Unless the ministry takes decisive steps soon, legal action will be pursued against Turkey. The Syriac diaspora has developed into a lobby, and there is severe backlash against Turkey,” Dora said.
Clauses involving hostility toward Armenians and Syriacs appeared relatively recently, said Dora, adding that he had not encountered history books that denigrated Syriacs and Armenians until his graduation from school in Turkey in 1973.
“Clauses denigrating Syriacs and Armenians entered books 12 years ago. Turkey also changed its history books to propagate its own official theses of history because of lessons in history books that are taught in Armenian diaspora schools,” a minority school administrator told the Daily News on condition of anonymity.
The Turkish school books state that the tragic events of 1915 were committed by the Armenians and that the Armenians and Syriacs initiated revolts and stabbed the Turkish military in the back, he said.
“In the past, as minority schools, we had to accept everything imposed upon us, but now we can intervene. Teachers skip those pages in history books, and we can speak to any teacher who does not comply with the rules. Despite the absence of an official directive, the Education Ministry now recognizes this right,” he said.
December/16/2011
Minorities request civil envoys in charter talks
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Prominent figures of Turkey’s non-Muslim minorities say they would like to have civil representatives, instead of religious ones, to take part in discussions with Turkey’s new constitution commission.
Representatives of Turkey’s non-Muslim minorities met Dec. 15 at the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul’s Kumkapı district to discuss the ongoing efforts to draft a new constitution amidst a discussion on who should represent them.
Participants in the meeting debated on the recognition of minorities as legal entities, citizenship, cultural organization and the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, which prescribed the current status of non-Muslim minorities in the country, Laki Vingas, the spokesman for Anatolian Greek foundations and a member of the Foundations General Council, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Joint commission
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos, the Ancient Syriac Community’s Metropolitan Yusuf Çetin and Chief Rabbi İshak Haleva also attended the meeting. There, a decision was made to establish a joint commission of academics and legal experts, said Vingas, the spokesperson for Anatolian Greek foundations and a council member in charge of minority foundations under the Foundations Directorate General. Claims by the Syriac Christian community, one of Turkey’s long forgotten minorities, that they had been kept out of the legal framework provided by the Treaty of Lausanne also came up during the meeting, Vingas said.
“This topic goes beyond me. Are we going to look for solutions to the problems of all minority communities, or [the problems of minorities recognized by the] Lausanne Treaty plus the Syriacs? By itself, the Lausanne Treaty is inadequate for a contemporary understanding,” Vingas said.
Foundation representatives and the religious leaders of minority communities will also be invited to Ankara for consultations with the sub-commission on associations and foundations under the Constitutional Reconciliation Commission within the scope of Parliament’s ongoing efforts to draft a new constitution.
Another meeting was also held Dec. 15 at the Nazar Şirinoğlu Hall of the Surp Vartananzs Armenian Church in Istanbul’s Feriköy district by lay representatives of the Armenian community, foundation administrators and academics. The participants discussed the role to be played by non-clerical minority members in drafting the new constitution.
“We are going to establish a working group. Decisions made [by established minority leaders]are with going to be brought to the attention of community members. A few people cannot make decisions on our behalf. It was said in the past that minority communities do not speak up. Now we have demands,” a Turkish-ArmenianTatyos Bebek told the Daily News. “If we are talking about a civilian constitution, then civilians [lay members of minority communities] will of course be involved in the process,” Vingas also said.
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Prominent figures of Turkey’s non-Muslim minorities say they would like to have civil representatives, instead of religious ones, to take part in discussions with Turkey’s new constitution commission.
Representatives of Turkey’s non-Muslim minorities met Dec. 15 at the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul’s Kumkapı district to discuss the ongoing efforts to draft a new constitution amidst a discussion on who should represent them.
Participants in the meeting debated on the recognition of minorities as legal entities, citizenship, cultural organization and the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, which prescribed the current status of non-Muslim minorities in the country, Laki Vingas, the spokesman for Anatolian Greek foundations and a member of the Foundations General Council, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Joint commission
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos, the Ancient Syriac Community’s Metropolitan Yusuf Çetin and Chief Rabbi İshak Haleva also attended the meeting. There, a decision was made to establish a joint commission of academics and legal experts, said Vingas, the spokesperson for Anatolian Greek foundations and a council member in charge of minority foundations under the Foundations Directorate General. Claims by the Syriac Christian community, one of Turkey’s long forgotten minorities, that they had been kept out of the legal framework provided by the Treaty of Lausanne also came up during the meeting, Vingas said.
“This topic goes beyond me. Are we going to look for solutions to the problems of all minority communities, or [the problems of minorities recognized by the] Lausanne Treaty plus the Syriacs? By itself, the Lausanne Treaty is inadequate for a contemporary understanding,” Vingas said.
Foundation representatives and the religious leaders of minority communities will also be invited to Ankara for consultations with the sub-commission on associations and foundations under the Constitutional Reconciliation Commission within the scope of Parliament’s ongoing efforts to draft a new constitution.
Another meeting was also held Dec. 15 at the Nazar Şirinoğlu Hall of the Surp Vartananzs Armenian Church in Istanbul’s Feriköy district by lay representatives of the Armenian community, foundation administrators and academics. The participants discussed the role to be played by non-clerical minority members in drafting the new constitution.
“We are going to establish a working group. Decisions made [by established minority leaders]are with going to be brought to the attention of community members. A few people cannot make decisions on our behalf. It was said in the past that minority communities do not speak up. Now we have demands,” a Turkish-ArmenianTatyos Bebek told the Daily News. “If we are talking about a civilian constitution, then civilians [lay members of minority communities] will of course be involved in the process,” Vingas also said.
Syriacs frustrated by trial deciding fate of monastery
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
The trial on the Mor Gabriel Monastery, or ‘Deyrulumur’ in Syriac, was filed in 2008. Hürriyet photo
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Syriac Christians living both in Turkey and abroad are growing weary over an ongoing trial about the fate of their most revered place of worship, the 1,700-year-old Mor Gabriel Monastery in the southeastern province of Mardin. The case is presented to the public as if it were merely a simple suit filed by villagers, whereas in truth, the trial has transformed into a political one, Evgil Türker, the head of the Federation of Syriac Associations, recently told the Daily News.
“There are currently a total of five more lawsuits that were filed by the Forestry [and Waterworks] Ministry, [the Directorate of Land Registry and] Cadastre, the Treasury and [one trial] against the administrators of the Mor Gabriel Foundation, in addition to the current trial that seems as if it were opened by villagers [but] is backed by locals,” Türker said.
The current trial regarding the Mor Gabriel Monastery, or “Deyrulumur” in Syriac, was filed in 2008, and the next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2012, in Mardin’s Midyat district.
“We very much would have wanted the trial to reach a conclusion in Turkey. Lands that had been ours for thousands of years were expropriated. We wanted the trial to reach a resolution very much but to no avail,” Türker said, adding that they could not file any suits to retrieve thousands of hectares of expropriated land due to fear and financial constraints.
The Forestry Ministry claims the monastery lands constitute a forest, he said. Syriac representatives have consequently brought the case before the European Court of Human Rights, though the first hearing is yet to be held.
As more and more villagers began settling on the lands in question, the monastery was gradually encircled by the communities. The inhabitants of the villages of Yayvantepe, Çandarlı and Eğlence subsequently filed a suit against the monastery in 2008 on the grounds that it was occupying their lands.
“Our sanctity was violated with this case. What Jerusalem means to the Christian world, Mor Gabriel means that to Syriacs,” Tuma Çelik, the head of the Turkey branch of the European Syriacs Union, told the Daily News.
The Supreme Court of Appeals overturns the decisions of local Midyat courts that rule in favor of the Syriac community, Çelik added.
Syriacs were caught in the crossfire during clashes between government forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeast during the mid-1980s. Many of them have consequently left for abroad while the current Syriac population in Turkey is estimated to be in the thousands. “They ask us why we blow the monastery case out of proportion. They advance the decision made by the Swedish Parliament regarding the genocide of 1915,” Çelik said in reference to the alleged Syriac genocide.
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
The trial on the Mor Gabriel Monastery, or ‘Deyrulumur’ in Syriac, was filed in 2008. Hürriyet photo
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Syriac Christians living both in Turkey and abroad are growing weary over an ongoing trial about the fate of their most revered place of worship, the 1,700-year-old Mor Gabriel Monastery in the southeastern province of Mardin. The case is presented to the public as if it were merely a simple suit filed by villagers, whereas in truth, the trial has transformed into a political one, Evgil Türker, the head of the Federation of Syriac Associations, recently told the Daily News.
“There are currently a total of five more lawsuits that were filed by the Forestry [and Waterworks] Ministry, [the Directorate of Land Registry and] Cadastre, the Treasury and [one trial] against the administrators of the Mor Gabriel Foundation, in addition to the current trial that seems as if it were opened by villagers [but] is backed by locals,” Türker said.
The current trial regarding the Mor Gabriel Monastery, or “Deyrulumur” in Syriac, was filed in 2008, and the next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2012, in Mardin’s Midyat district.
“We very much would have wanted the trial to reach a conclusion in Turkey. Lands that had been ours for thousands of years were expropriated. We wanted the trial to reach a resolution very much but to no avail,” Türker said, adding that they could not file any suits to retrieve thousands of hectares of expropriated land due to fear and financial constraints.
The Forestry Ministry claims the monastery lands constitute a forest, he said. Syriac representatives have consequently brought the case before the European Court of Human Rights, though the first hearing is yet to be held.
As more and more villagers began settling on the lands in question, the monastery was gradually encircled by the communities. The inhabitants of the villages of Yayvantepe, Çandarlı and Eğlence subsequently filed a suit against the monastery in 2008 on the grounds that it was occupying their lands.
“Our sanctity was violated with this case. What Jerusalem means to the Christian world, Mor Gabriel means that to Syriacs,” Tuma Çelik, the head of the Turkey branch of the European Syriacs Union, told the Daily News.
The Supreme Court of Appeals overturns the decisions of local Midyat courts that rule in favor of the Syriac community, Çelik added.
Syriacs were caught in the crossfire during clashes between government forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeast during the mid-1980s. Many of them have consequently left for abroad while the current Syriac population in Turkey is estimated to be in the thousands. “They ask us why we blow the monastery case out of proportion. They advance the decision made by the Swedish Parliament regarding the genocide of 1915,” Çelik said in reference to the alleged Syriac genocide.
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