New residence law ‘trauma’ for students from Armenia
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Children of Armenian workers that are enrolled in Turkish minority schools are waiting apprehensively for a new foreigners’ residence law as the new regulations could result in many foreigners being expelled from the country.
“These kids have grown up in Turkey. This is where they received their education. It will turn their lives upside down if they are sent back,” Karekin Barsamyan, the director of the Mıhitaryan Private Armenian High School in Istanbul’s Nişantaşı neighborhood, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
The law, which will only permit foreigners to reside in Turkey 90 days out of 180 unless they pay to obtain a residence permit, goes into effect tomorrow.
Sixty students from Armenia are enrolled in Armenian minority schools across Istanbul, Barsamyan said, adding that the concept of being a “guest student” had already led to traumatic problems for the children.
“A person who resides in Turkey for three months has to wait for another three months before going back into Turkey again according to the new residence law. It’s possible that these kids’ education is going to be disrupted,” he said.
The children were admitted into Armenian minority schools for the 2011-2012 education year by means of a special permit granted by the Education Ministry. They receive education under the status of a “guest student,” which means they receive neither report cards nor diplomas. Students enrolled in minority schools must hold Turkish citizenship based on the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, while pupils are further affected by the restrictive Armenian Schools Law that was passed in the 1940s.
“Even though this law seems to be universal, the real target is the people from Armenia. Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan had openly hurled threats in 2010. The government contradicts itself. On one hand, it grants the status of a ‘guest student’ to the children and says it will enact new legal arrangements while trying to deport families on the other,” Pastor Krikor Ağabaloğlu of the Protestant Church in Istanbul’s Gedikpaşa neighborhood told the Daily News.
Angered at the time by foreign parliaments passing motions related to the events of 1915, Erdoğan threatened in 2010 to retaliate by deporting up to “100,000” Armenian citizens living illegally in Turkey.
Some families send their children to the basement floor of the Protestant Church in Gedikpaşa where they receive education informally so as to avoid exposing their identities.
“Yes, those who pay 400 Turkish Liras in insurance premiums will be able to continue residing [in Turkey] in accordance with the new law, but almost 90 percent of those coming here are women, and the wages they earn are too low. They cannot meet this price. As a church, we strive to help them materially and spiritually to get them to hold onto life. Our [means] are inadequate, however,” Ağabaloğlu said, adding that he condemned the new law.
All these women are university graduates who found employment in patient care, baby-sitting and house labor to meet their families’ needs, he said. “I call on people’s conscience. Do not let this law go through.”
January/31/2012
31 Ocak 2012 Salı
30 Ocak 2012 Pazartesi
Doubts emerge in death of Armenian-Turk soldier
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
A key eyewitness changes his testimony in the trial of Sevag Şahin Balıkçı’s death, fueling suspicions that the Armenian-Turkish troop’s death last year could be more than just a simple accident as suggested earlier
A military court has move forward a hearing into the suspicious death of soldier Sevag Şahin Balıkçı, a Turkish citizen of Armenian origin, to today after a key witness changed his testimony.
“The witnesses were freed from pressure when they were discharged [from military service]. Perhaps they are doing some soul-searching. It is hard to tell,” lawyer Cem Halavurt, who represents Balıkçı’s family in court, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
The Second Air Force Command Military Tribunal in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır ruled to hold the trial today rather than in March as witness Halil Ekşi altered his testimony regarding the circumstances under which Balıkçı lost his life on Apr. 24, 2011, the same date regarded as the anniversary of the events of 1915.
“While we were drawing barbed wire on the day of the incident, [Pvt.] Kıvanç Ağaoğlu cocked his weapon, pointed it at our friend Sevag and pulled the trigger,” Halil Ekşi told the court in his most recent testimony regarding the incident that occurred at a gendarmerie outpost in the district of Kozluk in the southeastern province of Batman.
Ekşi had confirmed that suspect Ağaoğlu had pointed his weapon at Sevag in his first testimony but then claimed the incident was an accident at a later hearing. Ekşi finally withdrew his initial testimony on Jan. 27, 2011, as Ağaoğlu’s sister and uncle had earlier called on him to testify in the defendant’s favor, he said.
“We are going to file a criminal complaint about Ağaoğlu’s sister and uncle and open a new lawsuit. Kıvanç runs the risk of getting arrested in this trial, and that is what we are going to request,” Halavurt said, adding that today’s hearing was going to be a critical one.
The witness could change his testimony yet again, Halavurt said, adding that they were determined to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights if the matter cannot be resolved in Turkey.
“It would not be right to connect or draw a parallel between the cases of [Balıkçı and murdered Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink]. The common point of intersection between the two cases, however, is that they are both racially motivated murders,” said Halavurt, who also represented the Dink family in court.
Sevag Balıkçı’s mother, Ani Balıkçı, told members of press shortly after her son’s death that she had not suspected the possibility of a racially motivated hate crime, indicating instead that the incident could have been an accident.
“I have no clue about [whether the murder was about] nationalism or racism. As such, I did not even consider these [possibilities] until I attended the [crime scene] re-enactment and listened to the testimonies,” Ani Balıkçı told the Daily News.
“I feel proud of my identity, but people do not choose their identities,” she said, adding that she thought nationalism was meaningless.
“Everyone is sending their kids to the military in fear. I hope the same agony that burned through me does not visit anyone else,” she said.
“I buried my son into the depths of this land, ‘as Hrant put it,’” she added.
January/30/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
A key eyewitness changes his testimony in the trial of Sevag Şahin Balıkçı’s death, fueling suspicions that the Armenian-Turkish troop’s death last year could be more than just a simple accident as suggested earlier
A military court has move forward a hearing into the suspicious death of soldier Sevag Şahin Balıkçı, a Turkish citizen of Armenian origin, to today after a key witness changed his testimony.
“The witnesses were freed from pressure when they were discharged [from military service]. Perhaps they are doing some soul-searching. It is hard to tell,” lawyer Cem Halavurt, who represents Balıkçı’s family in court, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
The Second Air Force Command Military Tribunal in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır ruled to hold the trial today rather than in March as witness Halil Ekşi altered his testimony regarding the circumstances under which Balıkçı lost his life on Apr. 24, 2011, the same date regarded as the anniversary of the events of 1915.
“While we were drawing barbed wire on the day of the incident, [Pvt.] Kıvanç Ağaoğlu cocked his weapon, pointed it at our friend Sevag and pulled the trigger,” Halil Ekşi told the court in his most recent testimony regarding the incident that occurred at a gendarmerie outpost in the district of Kozluk in the southeastern province of Batman.
Ekşi had confirmed that suspect Ağaoğlu had pointed his weapon at Sevag in his first testimony but then claimed the incident was an accident at a later hearing. Ekşi finally withdrew his initial testimony on Jan. 27, 2011, as Ağaoğlu’s sister and uncle had earlier called on him to testify in the defendant’s favor, he said.
“We are going to file a criminal complaint about Ağaoğlu’s sister and uncle and open a new lawsuit. Kıvanç runs the risk of getting arrested in this trial, and that is what we are going to request,” Halavurt said, adding that today’s hearing was going to be a critical one.
The witness could change his testimony yet again, Halavurt said, adding that they were determined to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights if the matter cannot be resolved in Turkey.
“It would not be right to connect or draw a parallel between the cases of [Balıkçı and murdered Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink]. The common point of intersection between the two cases, however, is that they are both racially motivated murders,” said Halavurt, who also represented the Dink family in court.
Sevag Balıkçı’s mother, Ani Balıkçı, told members of press shortly after her son’s death that she had not suspected the possibility of a racially motivated hate crime, indicating instead that the incident could have been an accident.
“I have no clue about [whether the murder was about] nationalism or racism. As such, I did not even consider these [possibilities] until I attended the [crime scene] re-enactment and listened to the testimonies,” Ani Balıkçı told the Daily News.
“I feel proud of my identity, but people do not choose their identities,” she said, adding that she thought nationalism was meaningless.
“Everyone is sending their kids to the military in fear. I hope the same agony that burned through me does not visit anyone else,” she said.
“I buried my son into the depths of this land, ‘as Hrant put it,’” she added.
January/30/2012
27 Ocak 2012 Cuma
Turkey, Syriacs talk to host Patriarchate
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Turkish diplomatic sources express an invitation for dialogue to all religions and sectarian groups as the Syriac community leaders confirm that Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has been engaged in efforts to relocate the Patriarchate back to Turkey. Still, the idea of moving back bring different responses from Syriac groups
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has been engaged in efforts to relocate the Syriac Christian Patriarchate from its current center in Syria back to Turkey, where the institution was abolished in 1930, according to reports.
Some, however, remain skeptical about the potential move. “Relocating the patriarchate back to Turkey would provide no benefits to the Syriac community, as we have no parish left,” Mor Melki Ürek the metropolitan of the eastern province of Adıyaman, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
A large of proportion of Turkey’s Syriac population has already emigrated abroad due to problems in their homeland, according to Ürek.
“We have maintained our silence for too long on every matter. We could not seek our rights. The Syriac Church is a universal church, but Turkey did not appreciate the significance of this invaluable asset. Everyone is responsible for bringing about the current state of our church,” Ürek said.
The Ancient Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate remained in service for six centuries. Initially located in the southern province of Antakya, it moved for some time to the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, and finally to the Deyrulzafaran Monastery in the southeastern province of Mardin. When the Patriarchate was abolished in 1930, its last leader, Patriarch Mor Ignatius III Ilyas Şakır, was also deported.
“The Syriac Patriarchate might decide [to relocate to Turkey] due to the ongoing [political] turmoil in Syria. Turkey might also derive some merit for itself from this. Meetings could be underway, but it is the substance [of the meetings] that matters,” political scientist Professor Doğu Ergil told the Daily News.
Ürek, however, denied any link between the decision to move and the unrest in Syria. “I do not think there is any direct connection because as far as I know, the meetings have been going on for five years,” he said.
“Turkey might be trying to put some new squeeze on the patriarchate because the Syriac Church bears the ecumenical title. As such, the Turkish Republic might be [trying to avoid] a new problem, similar to the example of the Fener Greek Patriarchate. If the invitation truly sprang out of Turkey, that is very important and meaningful,” Ergil said.
The meetings to move the patriarchate back to Turkey have been taking place since 1997, Tuma Çelik, head of the Turkey branch of the European Syriacs’ Union, told the Daily News. The return of the patriarchate back to its homeland bears great spiritual significance, he added.
“If the Turkish Republic wants to take this step, it will not amount to granting a favor. Let us assume the patriarchate moved back to Turkey. Is it not going to be strange for the patriarchate to gain legal status when Syriacs in Turkey are still lacking an official status themselves?” David Vergili, a member of the European Syriacs Union, told the Daily News.
January/25/2012
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Turkish diplomatic sources express an invitation for dialogue to all religions and sectarian groups as the Syriac community leaders confirm that Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has been engaged in efforts to relocate the Patriarchate back to Turkey. Still, the idea of moving back bring different responses from Syriac groups
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has been engaged in efforts to relocate the Syriac Christian Patriarchate from its current center in Syria back to Turkey, where the institution was abolished in 1930, according to reports.
Some, however, remain skeptical about the potential move. “Relocating the patriarchate back to Turkey would provide no benefits to the Syriac community, as we have no parish left,” Mor Melki Ürek the metropolitan of the eastern province of Adıyaman, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
A large of proportion of Turkey’s Syriac population has already emigrated abroad due to problems in their homeland, according to Ürek.
“We have maintained our silence for too long on every matter. We could not seek our rights. The Syriac Church is a universal church, but Turkey did not appreciate the significance of this invaluable asset. Everyone is responsible for bringing about the current state of our church,” Ürek said.
The Ancient Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate remained in service for six centuries. Initially located in the southern province of Antakya, it moved for some time to the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, and finally to the Deyrulzafaran Monastery in the southeastern province of Mardin. When the Patriarchate was abolished in 1930, its last leader, Patriarch Mor Ignatius III Ilyas Şakır, was also deported.
“The Syriac Patriarchate might decide [to relocate to Turkey] due to the ongoing [political] turmoil in Syria. Turkey might also derive some merit for itself from this. Meetings could be underway, but it is the substance [of the meetings] that matters,” political scientist Professor Doğu Ergil told the Daily News.
Ürek, however, denied any link between the decision to move and the unrest in Syria. “I do not think there is any direct connection because as far as I know, the meetings have been going on for five years,” he said.
“Turkey might be trying to put some new squeeze on the patriarchate because the Syriac Church bears the ecumenical title. As such, the Turkish Republic might be [trying to avoid] a new problem, similar to the example of the Fener Greek Patriarchate. If the invitation truly sprang out of Turkey, that is very important and meaningful,” Ergil said.
The meetings to move the patriarchate back to Turkey have been taking place since 1997, Tuma Çelik, head of the Turkey branch of the European Syriacs’ Union, told the Daily News. The return of the patriarchate back to its homeland bears great spiritual significance, he added.
“If the Turkish Republic wants to take this step, it will not amount to granting a favor. Let us assume the patriarchate moved back to Turkey. Is it not going to be strange for the patriarchate to gain legal status when Syriacs in Turkey are still lacking an official status themselves?” David Vergili, a member of the European Syriacs Union, told the Daily News.
January/25/2012
Foreigners leave Turkey amid new residence law
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
A high nubmer of Armenian and Georgian people working in Turkey are leaving the country in the wake of a recent law implementation that complicates working permits for foreign people. While workers complain of extreme financial difficulties, Labor Ministry announces that there will be exceptions for house workers
Armenians and Georgians are rushing to exit Turkey before a new law complicating residence procedures comes into effect Feb 1. Many workers from the countries have implored PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to quash the law, saying it will make it impossible for them to continue living in Turkey.
A new law that will make it more difficult for foreigners to continue living in Turkey without a residence permit has prompted an exodus of Georgians and Armenians who want to leave the country before new regulations go into effect Feb. 1.
“I am pleading to Turkish Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan [to prevent] this law from going into effect. I am feeding and educating my kids with money that I earn here,” said Sofiya, a 47-year-old Georgian citizen, as she was getting ready to travel back to Tbilisi.
“The Law of Foreigners’ Residence and Travel in Turkey” has also put the Emniyet Bus Terminal in Istanbul’s Aksaray district into a frenzy, as Georgians and Armenians who are mainly employed in house labor, babysitting and patient care are rushing to leave Turkey to avoid incurring any penalties.
“Bread has no country. Wherever there is bread, we, the economically vulnerable people, go there. We have to live and support our families. We have no other chance,” Hayganuş, an Armenian citizen, said in reference to the tough rhetoric employed by Erdoğan in response to a draft bill on Armenian genocide allegations that came before the House of Representatives in the United States in 2010.
Regulations
Until now, many foreigners have done “visa runs” to neighboring countries, exiting Turkey after their 90-day visa ends and then immediately re-entering with a new 90-day visa. However, the new law prepared by the Labor and Social Security Ministry will only allow foreign citizens entering the country with a tourist visa to stay in Turkey for three months, after which time they will be obliged to wait for another three months abroad before they can return.
Authorities have provided one convenience for foreign workers, however, in recognition of Armenian, Kyrgyz and Gagauz home laborers. Such house workers will pay the same premiums as a Turkish citizen and will be allowed to continue working even if a Turkish citizen demands the same job.
“Those employed in house labor will continue working by paying premiums like a Turkish citizen,” Labor and Social Security Minister Faruk Çelik said.
As many Armenian, Kyrgyz and Gagauz residents in Turkey work in such services as home labor and patient care, they will also be able to take advantage of this provision.
Foreign citizens who arrive in Turkey by means of a tourist visa and later obtain a work permit will be allowed to extend their stay in the country for a year or more, Çelik added.
Foreign workers, however, will then be obliged to pay a hefty premium of 400 Turkish Liras as well, while they will also be barred from obtaining employment in a sector where Turkish citizens demand work.
Prime Minister Tayyip Eroğan last year expressed that some 170,000 Armenians live in Turkey. The Armenian Foreign Ministry, however, said only 15,000 Armenian citizens currently reside in Turkey.
Armenians in Turkey on the other hand, seem worried.
“As Armenian [citizens], we always lived in fear of being sent back. Such a return would mean chaos for my family. I can neither find food nor take a leave for three months and return back, or find a job,” said Hayganuş, who has been taking care of an elderly woman in Istanbul.
January/27/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
A high nubmer of Armenian and Georgian people working in Turkey are leaving the country in the wake of a recent law implementation that complicates working permits for foreign people. While workers complain of extreme financial difficulties, Labor Ministry announces that there will be exceptions for house workers
Armenians and Georgians are rushing to exit Turkey before a new law complicating residence procedures comes into effect Feb 1. Many workers from the countries have implored PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to quash the law, saying it will make it impossible for them to continue living in Turkey.
A new law that will make it more difficult for foreigners to continue living in Turkey without a residence permit has prompted an exodus of Georgians and Armenians who want to leave the country before new regulations go into effect Feb. 1.
“I am pleading to Turkish Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan [to prevent] this law from going into effect. I am feeding and educating my kids with money that I earn here,” said Sofiya, a 47-year-old Georgian citizen, as she was getting ready to travel back to Tbilisi.
“The Law of Foreigners’ Residence and Travel in Turkey” has also put the Emniyet Bus Terminal in Istanbul’s Aksaray district into a frenzy, as Georgians and Armenians who are mainly employed in house labor, babysitting and patient care are rushing to leave Turkey to avoid incurring any penalties.
“Bread has no country. Wherever there is bread, we, the economically vulnerable people, go there. We have to live and support our families. We have no other chance,” Hayganuş, an Armenian citizen, said in reference to the tough rhetoric employed by Erdoğan in response to a draft bill on Armenian genocide allegations that came before the House of Representatives in the United States in 2010.
Regulations
Until now, many foreigners have done “visa runs” to neighboring countries, exiting Turkey after their 90-day visa ends and then immediately re-entering with a new 90-day visa. However, the new law prepared by the Labor and Social Security Ministry will only allow foreign citizens entering the country with a tourist visa to stay in Turkey for three months, after which time they will be obliged to wait for another three months abroad before they can return.
Authorities have provided one convenience for foreign workers, however, in recognition of Armenian, Kyrgyz and Gagauz home laborers. Such house workers will pay the same premiums as a Turkish citizen and will be allowed to continue working even if a Turkish citizen demands the same job.
“Those employed in house labor will continue working by paying premiums like a Turkish citizen,” Labor and Social Security Minister Faruk Çelik said.
As many Armenian, Kyrgyz and Gagauz residents in Turkey work in such services as home labor and patient care, they will also be able to take advantage of this provision.
Foreign citizens who arrive in Turkey by means of a tourist visa and later obtain a work permit will be allowed to extend their stay in the country for a year or more, Çelik added.
Foreign workers, however, will then be obliged to pay a hefty premium of 400 Turkish Liras as well, while they will also be barred from obtaining employment in a sector where Turkish citizens demand work.
Prime Minister Tayyip Eroğan last year expressed that some 170,000 Armenians live in Turkey. The Armenian Foreign Ministry, however, said only 15,000 Armenian citizens currently reside in Turkey.
Armenians in Turkey on the other hand, seem worried.
“As Armenian [citizens], we always lived in fear of being sent back. Such a return would mean chaos for my family. I can neither find food nor take a leave for three months and return back, or find a job,” said Hayganuş, who has been taking care of an elderly woman in Istanbul.
January/27/2012
23 Ocak 2012 Pazartesi
Minorities appeal for return of 35 properties
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The Foundations Directorate chair says they are now returning properties that were expropriated from minorities, yet adds it that is out of question to hand back those which are classified as ‘registered foundations’
A recent ruling by an Istanbul court imposed an interim injunction over Sansaryan Han in Istanbul, which was formerly owned by the Armenian Patriarchate.
Turkey’s Armenian, Greek and Syriac minorities have lodged an official appeal for the return of 35 estates owned by 14 foundations following the enactment of the Foundations Law last year.
“We have come [a long way] since the days when a permit was required to even drive a single nail into a wall. We are now returning properties that were usurped from the hands of [minority communities] back to their real owners,” Adnan Ertem, the head of the Prime Ministry Foundations General Directorate, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Representatives of Turkey’s minority communities have filed 1,500 appeals to date since the legislation for the new Foundations Law was enacted in two parts – first in 2008 and second in August 2011 – but the Foundations General Directorate has approved a mere 181 of them so far, Ertem said.
“If there are claims about the expropriation of the [estates in question] by public institutions, then [minorities] can appeal to the judiciary. There is no need to pass a law for this,” Ertem said, adding that it was out of question to hand back estates classified as “Registered Foundations” and whose ownership had passed to the Foundations General Directorate after they were left without an owner.
Minority communities have a grace period to apply for the return of their properties until August 2012 as part of the law passed last year. No appeals have yet been issued for any properties outside of Istanbul, however.
In the meantime, the country’s Syriac Christian community has also been waging an uphill legal battle to retrieve their ancient monasteries and foundation lands in eastern and southeastern Turkey.
Five lawsuits filed by the Forestry and Waterworks Ministry, the Land Registry and Cadastre Directorate General, the Treasury and residents from neighboring villages against the managers of the Syriac Mor Gabriel Foundation on the grounds that the historical monastery is occupying their lands have also made their way to the European Court of Human Rights.
As more and more villagers began settling on the lands in question, the 1,700-year-old Mor Gabriel Monastery (Deyr-ul Umur), the Syriacs’ most revered place of worship, was gradually encircled by farming 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.
Although Syriacs are often regarded as a minority, they are exempt from the terms of the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, which only recognized Armenian, Greek and Jewish minorities in the country.
The issue of returning Syriac monasteries is a matter that is beyond the directorate, Ertem said, adding that the Syriac community in Istanbul had plans to establish a church there and that they were ready to give the green light provided the community can find a tract of foundation land.
Ertem also said they were working on the return of the Armenian Surp Haç Tıbrevank Clerical School in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district.
“We are trying to get hold of an Ottoman-era document indicating that the foundation was owned by the [Armenian] community. The community is unable to present the document,” he said.
January/23/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The Foundations Directorate chair says they are now returning properties that were expropriated from minorities, yet adds it that is out of question to hand back those which are classified as ‘registered foundations’
A recent ruling by an Istanbul court imposed an interim injunction over Sansaryan Han in Istanbul, which was formerly owned by the Armenian Patriarchate.
Turkey’s Armenian, Greek and Syriac minorities have lodged an official appeal for the return of 35 estates owned by 14 foundations following the enactment of the Foundations Law last year.
“We have come [a long way] since the days when a permit was required to even drive a single nail into a wall. We are now returning properties that were usurped from the hands of [minority communities] back to their real owners,” Adnan Ertem, the head of the Prime Ministry Foundations General Directorate, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Representatives of Turkey’s minority communities have filed 1,500 appeals to date since the legislation for the new Foundations Law was enacted in two parts – first in 2008 and second in August 2011 – but the Foundations General Directorate has approved a mere 181 of them so far, Ertem said.
“If there are claims about the expropriation of the [estates in question] by public institutions, then [minorities] can appeal to the judiciary. There is no need to pass a law for this,” Ertem said, adding that it was out of question to hand back estates classified as “Registered Foundations” and whose ownership had passed to the Foundations General Directorate after they were left without an owner.
Minority communities have a grace period to apply for the return of their properties until August 2012 as part of the law passed last year. No appeals have yet been issued for any properties outside of Istanbul, however.
In the meantime, the country’s Syriac Christian community has also been waging an uphill legal battle to retrieve their ancient monasteries and foundation lands in eastern and southeastern Turkey.
Five lawsuits filed by the Forestry and Waterworks Ministry, the Land Registry and Cadastre Directorate General, the Treasury and residents from neighboring villages against the managers of the Syriac Mor Gabriel Foundation on the grounds that the historical monastery is occupying their lands have also made their way to the European Court of Human Rights.
As more and more villagers began settling on the lands in question, the 1,700-year-old Mor Gabriel Monastery (Deyr-ul Umur), the Syriacs’ most revered place of worship, was gradually encircled by farming 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.
Although Syriacs are often regarded as a minority, they are exempt from the terms of the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, which only recognized Armenian, Greek and Jewish minorities in the country.
The issue of returning Syriac monasteries is a matter that is beyond the directorate, Ertem said, adding that the Syriac community in Istanbul had plans to establish a church there and that they were ready to give the green light provided the community can find a tract of foundation land.
Ertem also said they were working on the return of the Armenian Surp Haç Tıbrevank Clerical School in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district.
“We are trying to get hold of an Ottoman-era document indicating that the foundation was owned by the [Armenian] community. The community is unable to present the document,” he said.
January/23/2012
11 Ocak 2012 Çarşamba
Patriarchate applies for return of ‘dark’ building
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - VERCIHAN ZIFLIOĞLU
An Istanbul court imposes an interim injunction on a historical Armenian building, although the property was not registered on the 1936 declaration. Used as police headquarters in 40’s ,Sansaryan Han isalso known to be a symbol of torture
The Turkish-Armenian Patriarchate has filed a lawsuit in an unprecedented move to retrieve a historical Armenian building in Istanbul, the Sansaryan Han, despite the fact the building had not been registered on the 1936 declaration.
“Newly passed foundation laws gave us the opportunity to file this suit. The Patriarchate knew it owned the foundation. All that remained was to officially declare this,” Simon İş, the lawyer representing the Patriarchate in court, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
The court ruled to impose an interim injunction on the building located in Istanbul’s Eminönü district. Among the foundation properties owned by the shopping center is the Sansaryan School in the northeastern province of Erzurum, where Turkey’s founder Atatürk had assembled the Erzurum Congress of 1919.
“We are awaiting the return of the building, and we remain hopeful,” said İş, although he chose not to comment on whether another initiative might be undertaken to retrieve the building in Erzurum as well.
The Turkish government enacted a measure effective Aug. 27, 2011, to return properties seized from minority foundations through a proclamation that was declared in 1936. Minority groups gave the government a proclamation in 1936 detailing their realty properties. Over the years, however, these properties were not registered under the minority foundations’ names and some were even sold to third parties.
“The Turkish-Armenian Patriarchate filed a suit in 1930 and received confirmation that the Sansaryan Foundation belonged to them. Later, however, the foundation unlawfully slid out of the Patriarchate’s control. It was first used as the Istanbul Police Headquarters and then the Istanbul Commercial Court until this year,” İş said.
Sansaryan Han was refashioned into the Istanbul Police Headquarters in 1944 and eventually gained notoriety as a bastion of ill-treatment by the police, as many people, including a number of prominent poets and writers, were tortured there.
It took years of painstaking research to attain the documents presented to court, İş said.
İş said they had conducted research in the Turkish Land Registry Directorate (TKM) for a long time and translated the documents in question from Ottoman to contemporary Turkish. The conclusions emanating from this research confirm the claims raised by the Patriarchate, he said.
“We presented to [judicial authorities] historical documents, as well as documents pertaining to the court that ruled in favor of the Patriarchate in 1930, along with all these other files,” İş said, adding that the court’s decision to impose an interim injunction over the building was appropriate.
BOX
Built in 1895, Sansaryan Han was refashioned into the Istanbul Police Headquarters in 1944 and eventually gained notoriety as a bastion of ill-treatment by the police. Many people, including a number of prominent poets and writers,such as Nazın Hikmet and Sabahattin Ali were tortured there. The building serves a s a courthouse today.
January/12/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - VERCIHAN ZIFLIOĞLU
An Istanbul court imposes an interim injunction on a historical Armenian building, although the property was not registered on the 1936 declaration. Used as police headquarters in 40’s ,Sansaryan Han isalso known to be a symbol of torture
The Turkish-Armenian Patriarchate has filed a lawsuit in an unprecedented move to retrieve a historical Armenian building in Istanbul, the Sansaryan Han, despite the fact the building had not been registered on the 1936 declaration.
“Newly passed foundation laws gave us the opportunity to file this suit. The Patriarchate knew it owned the foundation. All that remained was to officially declare this,” Simon İş, the lawyer representing the Patriarchate in court, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
The court ruled to impose an interim injunction on the building located in Istanbul’s Eminönü district. Among the foundation properties owned by the shopping center is the Sansaryan School in the northeastern province of Erzurum, where Turkey’s founder Atatürk had assembled the Erzurum Congress of 1919.
“We are awaiting the return of the building, and we remain hopeful,” said İş, although he chose not to comment on whether another initiative might be undertaken to retrieve the building in Erzurum as well.
The Turkish government enacted a measure effective Aug. 27, 2011, to return properties seized from minority foundations through a proclamation that was declared in 1936. Minority groups gave the government a proclamation in 1936 detailing their realty properties. Over the years, however, these properties were not registered under the minority foundations’ names and some were even sold to third parties.
“The Turkish-Armenian Patriarchate filed a suit in 1930 and received confirmation that the Sansaryan Foundation belonged to them. Later, however, the foundation unlawfully slid out of the Patriarchate’s control. It was first used as the Istanbul Police Headquarters and then the Istanbul Commercial Court until this year,” İş said.
Sansaryan Han was refashioned into the Istanbul Police Headquarters in 1944 and eventually gained notoriety as a bastion of ill-treatment by the police, as many people, including a number of prominent poets and writers, were tortured there.
It took years of painstaking research to attain the documents presented to court, İş said.
İş said they had conducted research in the Turkish Land Registry Directorate (TKM) for a long time and translated the documents in question from Ottoman to contemporary Turkish. The conclusions emanating from this research confirm the claims raised by the Patriarchate, he said.
“We presented to [judicial authorities] historical documents, as well as documents pertaining to the court that ruled in favor of the Patriarchate in 1930, along with all these other files,” İş said, adding that the court’s decision to impose an interim injunction over the building was appropriate.
BOX
Built in 1895, Sansaryan Han was refashioned into the Istanbul Police Headquarters in 1944 and eventually gained notoriety as a bastion of ill-treatment by the police. Many people, including a number of prominent poets and writers,such as Nazın Hikmet and Sabahattin Ali were tortured there. The building serves a s a courthouse today.
January/12/2012
Dink murder suspect says life is under threat
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
During the ongoing murder case of journalist Hrant Dink, suspect Yasin Hayal says that he has been used by the Turkish Republic and claims his life is in danger
During the 24th hearing of the Hrant Dink case, suspect Yasin Hayal claimed he was being threatened by prison guards and requested they be interrogated.
“I have been used by the Turkish Republic, and now they want to eliminate me. My life is in danger and the state will be responsible if anything happens to me,” suspect Hayal said in court.
Hayal further alleged that many figures ranging from Erhan Tuncel to Ramazan Akyürek had taken advantage of him and exploited his poverty. “Tuncel persuaded me that our lives would be much better,” he said.
“I never knew Tuncel was a state agent. I respected him because he was the head of Alperen Ocakları [an extreme right-wing group]. I met him in 2002 and he introduced me to a lot of figures, including police officers. I do not recall any names, however. I was involved directly with Tuncel, and you ought to ask him about the names,” Hayal said.
Hayal also indicated they had a meeting in the Black Sea province of Trabzon with some people who had arrived from Istanbul, and it was here that Ogün Samast was selected as the triggerman.
Phone records
Meanwhile, the phone records provided to the court by Turkey’s Telecommunications Directorate (TİB) included the numbers of certain individuals who have been in contact with case suspects, said one of the defendant’s lawyers in the case of murdered Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
“It is not true that there was no one connected to the suspects being tried in your court in the records sent by the TİB, containing some 6,235 interviews and 9,300 numbers. The existence of a direct connection between case suspects and certain phone numbers in the records has been established,” said Fethiye Çetin, one of the Dink family’s lawyers, during the 24th hearing of the trial yesterday.
Five persons bearing a connection to the suspects and who were present at the crime scene have been identified through examining the records, Çetin said, adding that the connection between case suspects and another 14 persons who were missing from the crime scene but were called from there had also been determined.
Tuncel’s lawyer, Erdoğan Soruklu, also agreed with the Dink lawyers and said some of the phone records were deleted.
The prosecutor’s office has accepted the lawyers’ demand to examine the phone records of individuals allegedly connected to the case suspects in detail and subsequently ruled to request the relevant information from the TİB. Still, prosecutor Hikmet Usta denied the lawyers’ claims and said they previously directed all the records to counterterrorism police and all records were analyzed.
Usta further claimed Dink was not killed due to his Armenian identity; the prosecutor said his murder was part of a political murder tradition related to a terror organization within the state.
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
During the ongoing murder case of journalist Hrant Dink, suspect Yasin Hayal says that he has been used by the Turkish Republic and claims his life is in danger
During the 24th hearing of the Hrant Dink case, suspect Yasin Hayal claimed he was being threatened by prison guards and requested they be interrogated.
“I have been used by the Turkish Republic, and now they want to eliminate me. My life is in danger and the state will be responsible if anything happens to me,” suspect Hayal said in court.
Hayal further alleged that many figures ranging from Erhan Tuncel to Ramazan Akyürek had taken advantage of him and exploited his poverty. “Tuncel persuaded me that our lives would be much better,” he said.
“I never knew Tuncel was a state agent. I respected him because he was the head of Alperen Ocakları [an extreme right-wing group]. I met him in 2002 and he introduced me to a lot of figures, including police officers. I do not recall any names, however. I was involved directly with Tuncel, and you ought to ask him about the names,” Hayal said.
Hayal also indicated they had a meeting in the Black Sea province of Trabzon with some people who had arrived from Istanbul, and it was here that Ogün Samast was selected as the triggerman.
Phone records
Meanwhile, the phone records provided to the court by Turkey’s Telecommunications Directorate (TİB) included the numbers of certain individuals who have been in contact with case suspects, said one of the defendant’s lawyers in the case of murdered Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
“It is not true that there was no one connected to the suspects being tried in your court in the records sent by the TİB, containing some 6,235 interviews and 9,300 numbers. The existence of a direct connection between case suspects and certain phone numbers in the records has been established,” said Fethiye Çetin, one of the Dink family’s lawyers, during the 24th hearing of the trial yesterday.
Five persons bearing a connection to the suspects and who were present at the crime scene have been identified through examining the records, Çetin said, adding that the connection between case suspects and another 14 persons who were missing from the crime scene but were called from there had also been determined.
Tuncel’s lawyer, Erdoğan Soruklu, also agreed with the Dink lawyers and said some of the phone records were deleted.
The prosecutor’s office has accepted the lawyers’ demand to examine the phone records of individuals allegedly connected to the case suspects in detail and subsequently ruled to request the relevant information from the TİB. Still, prosecutor Hikmet Usta denied the lawyers’ claims and said they previously directed all the records to counterterrorism police and all records were analyzed.
Usta further claimed Dink was not killed due to his Armenian identity; the prosecutor said his murder was part of a political murder tradition related to a terror organization within the state.
Pamuk has gone, says his artist lover
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
News of Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk’s two-and-a-half-year relationship with Turkish-Armenian artist Karolin Fişekçi has emerged amid rumors of an ongoing affair between the author and Kiran Desai, a prominent writer of Indian origin
Turkey’s Nobel laureate, Orhan Pamuk, has apparently left the country for Latin America but will eventually return, according to his lover, Karolin Fişekçi, who has become an object of intense media scrutiny since news of their relationship came to light.
“I do not fear losing Orhan. I am trying to explore and experience him. To possess is to capture. It is an objective concept; for that reason, I try not to possess Orhan. I let him be free,” Fişekçi, a Turkish-Armenian artist, told the Hürriyet Daily News in a recent interview.
Fişekçi said her relationship with Pamuk was going through a traumatic period, but refused to comment any further.
She has been heavily criticized in the media and her identity as an artist has come under fire in recent days, she said.
“They say I only exist with Orhan and my name as an artist will be all but forgotten in five years. It is not my relationship with Orhan that brought me into being,” she said.
Her relationship and work draw reactions
Regarded by some as a provocative artist due to the heavy use of sexual themes in her works, Fişekçi said she nonetheless had a conservative family with whom she continues to share the same house. Both the public statements she made about her relationship with Pamuk and her frequent employment of sexual imagery in her works drew reactions, she said.
“As a woman, this repressive environment forces me to become an anarchist. Perhaps that is what makes me what I am,” Fişekçi said, adding that she did not care about rumors regarding an ongoing competition between Salman Rushdie and Pamuk about having relationships with young women. “Relationships are not planned, they are lived.”
News of the Nobel laureate’s two-and-a-half-year relationship with Fişekçi broke out amid rumors of an ongoing affair between Pamuk and Kiran Desai, a prominent writer of Indian origin.
Fişekçi said she did not think it was important that Pamuk had an illegitimate child from his German ex-lover, Professor Catharina Dufft, adding that she would continue supporting the man she loved.
“I like the shocking aspect of sexuality. I like to shock my family, I like temptation,” she said.
They had not yet met each other’s families, Fişekçi said, but refused to answer whether they had any plans to get married.
“I like mature men but I feel under pressure. For that reason, I undertake self-therapy by painting,” she said in response to a question about what it was like to be embroiled in a relationship with the winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. Fişekçi, however, said she had not read Pamuk’s works before she met him.
“I am prejudiced against bestsellers. My preference lies with world literature. I hadn’t read Orhan’s works for this reason. I began reading them after we met, and I loved ‘My Name is Red’ the most,” she said.
January/11/2012
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
News of Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk’s two-and-a-half-year relationship with Turkish-Armenian artist Karolin Fişekçi has emerged amid rumors of an ongoing affair between the author and Kiran Desai, a prominent writer of Indian origin
Turkey’s Nobel laureate, Orhan Pamuk, has apparently left the country for Latin America but will eventually return, according to his lover, Karolin Fişekçi, who has become an object of intense media scrutiny since news of their relationship came to light.
“I do not fear losing Orhan. I am trying to explore and experience him. To possess is to capture. It is an objective concept; for that reason, I try not to possess Orhan. I let him be free,” Fişekçi, a Turkish-Armenian artist, told the Hürriyet Daily News in a recent interview.
Fişekçi said her relationship with Pamuk was going through a traumatic period, but refused to comment any further.
She has been heavily criticized in the media and her identity as an artist has come under fire in recent days, she said.
“They say I only exist with Orhan and my name as an artist will be all but forgotten in five years. It is not my relationship with Orhan that brought me into being,” she said.
Her relationship and work draw reactions
Regarded by some as a provocative artist due to the heavy use of sexual themes in her works, Fişekçi said she nonetheless had a conservative family with whom she continues to share the same house. Both the public statements she made about her relationship with Pamuk and her frequent employment of sexual imagery in her works drew reactions, she said.
“As a woman, this repressive environment forces me to become an anarchist. Perhaps that is what makes me what I am,” Fişekçi said, adding that she did not care about rumors regarding an ongoing competition between Salman Rushdie and Pamuk about having relationships with young women. “Relationships are not planned, they are lived.”
News of the Nobel laureate’s two-and-a-half-year relationship with Fişekçi broke out amid rumors of an ongoing affair between Pamuk and Kiran Desai, a prominent writer of Indian origin.
Fişekçi said she did not think it was important that Pamuk had an illegitimate child from his German ex-lover, Professor Catharina Dufft, adding that she would continue supporting the man she loved.
“I like the shocking aspect of sexuality. I like to shock my family, I like temptation,” she said.
They had not yet met each other’s families, Fişekçi said, but refused to answer whether they had any plans to get married.
“I like mature men but I feel under pressure. For that reason, I undertake self-therapy by painting,” she said in response to a question about what it was like to be embroiled in a relationship with the winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. Fişekçi, however, said she had not read Pamuk’s works before she met him.
“I am prejudiced against bestsellers. My preference lies with world literature. I hadn’t read Orhan’s works for this reason. I began reading them after we met, and I loved ‘My Name is Red’ the most,” she said.
January/11/2012
5 Ocak 2012 Perşembe
Court rules in favor of Armenian hospital
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
An Istanbul court has ruled in favor of the Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital-Foundation to impose an interim injunction over foundation lands that had been expropriated by the state and transferred over to Zeytinburnu Municipality in 1985.
“The AKP [Justice and Development Party] blazed a trail in Republican history with the [passing of] the Foundations Law. The prime minister issued a directive for the return of our properties. An AKP mayor is now going against a law legislated by the head of the party, and more significantly, by a prime minister,” Bedros Şirinoğlu, the head of the foundation, told the Hürriyet Daily News on Jan. 3.
The court decided to impose the interim junction over a 43,160-square-meter estate occupied by Istanbul’s Zeytinburnu Municipality in accordance with the new Foundations Law.
People who want to buy the tracts in question had begun visiting the hospital, leading the foundation to file the suit to impose the interim injunction, Ali Elbeyoğlu, the lawyer for the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, told the Daily News.
Zeytinburnu Municipality was planning to build a stadium over the grounds in question but has now suspended the project due to the court’s ruling, the municipality’s press adviser, İsmail Uluhan, told the Daily News but did not elaborate further.
Şirinoğlu said they had filed the suit without even first attempting to contact the municipality due to the new Foundations Law and added they were planning to construct Istanbul’s third Armenian hospital over the territory in dispute.
The land was originally bought during the 19th century by Calouste Gülbenkyan, the founder of Lisbon’s Gülbenkyan Museum. Gülbenkyan then donated the land to the foundation to provide a continuous income for the hospital.
“We would have had a rough time unless the Foundations Law had gone into effect,” Elbeyoğlu said, adding that the municipality had been accruing unlawful profits through the estate since it was expropriated in 1985.
January/05/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
An Istanbul court has ruled in favor of the Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital-Foundation to impose an interim injunction over foundation lands that had been expropriated by the state and transferred over to Zeytinburnu Municipality in 1985.
“The AKP [Justice and Development Party] blazed a trail in Republican history with the [passing of] the Foundations Law. The prime minister issued a directive for the return of our properties. An AKP mayor is now going against a law legislated by the head of the party, and more significantly, by a prime minister,” Bedros Şirinoğlu, the head of the foundation, told the Hürriyet Daily News on Jan. 3.
The court decided to impose the interim junction over a 43,160-square-meter estate occupied by Istanbul’s Zeytinburnu Municipality in accordance with the new Foundations Law.
People who want to buy the tracts in question had begun visiting the hospital, leading the foundation to file the suit to impose the interim injunction, Ali Elbeyoğlu, the lawyer for the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, told the Daily News.
Zeytinburnu Municipality was planning to build a stadium over the grounds in question but has now suspended the project due to the court’s ruling, the municipality’s press adviser, İsmail Uluhan, told the Daily News but did not elaborate further.
Şirinoğlu said they had filed the suit without even first attempting to contact the municipality due to the new Foundations Law and added they were planning to construct Istanbul’s third Armenian hospital over the territory in dispute.
The land was originally bought during the 19th century by Calouste Gülbenkyan, the founder of Lisbon’s Gülbenkyan Museum. Gülbenkyan then donated the land to the foundation to provide a continuous income for the hospital.
“We would have had a rough time unless the Foundations Law had gone into effect,” Elbeyoğlu said, adding that the municipality had been accruing unlawful profits through the estate since it was expropriated in 1985.
January/05/2012
3 Ocak 2012 Salı
Identity conflict between Anatolia Christian groups
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The true identity of the Rum (Greek Anatolian)-Ortodox community in Turkey fuels a debate, on whether Arabic speaking Christians, whom were registered on records as ‘Rum-Orthodox’ in 1939 are part the community or not. Some say that although they speak Arabic at home, they consider themselves as Orthodox-Rum
The recognition of a Christian community in Antioch in the southern province of Hatay as “Rum” (Anatolian Greeks) is fuelling debate within minority circles as to who exactly constitutes the country’s true Rum-Orthodox population.
“When Hatay [joined] the motherland [Turkey] in 1939, Arab-Christians were registered on records as ‘Rum-Orthodox’ so as to make the Arab population look smaller. As such, the problem has persisted until this day,” S.A., the manager of a Rum school in Istanbul, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Official figures indicate the presence of about 1,500 Rums in Turkey, but Christians from Antioch, known in Turkish as Antakya, who claim to be of Rum-Orthodox descent dispute these numbers and put the figure as high as 10,000.
“It is easy to be defined as Rum, but I would like to inquire as to what they exactly understand of being a Rum,” Mihalis Vasiliadis, the chief editor of the Rum daily Apoyevmatini, told the Daily News.
Antiochian Christians lacking means have taken refuge at the Rum church due to their Orthodox convictions, Vasiliadis said, adding they were often employed in church and cemetery maintenance.
“Their children started receiving education in our schools merely because it says Rum-Orthodox on their birth records. My statements ought not to be regarded as racism, but the state cannot determine what constitutes Rum,” he said.
Despite the opposition of other Rums, Antiochian Christians, and the younger generation in particular, insist on their Rum-Orthodox identity, even though Arabic is the language they speak at home. The community has even gained a priest in the Fener Rum Patriarchy, while they can also be baptized in Rum churches due to their Orthodox faith.
“I had a lot of difficulty learning a new language. My family used to speak Arabic at home. But we are Orthodox-Rums, and this situation has nothing to do with registry records,” Kutsiye Eudoksia Karadaş, 32, told the Daily News.
A graduate of the Central Rum High School, Karadaş said she had received her primary education in Turkish schools in Antioch, and she had registered in a Rum school after her family migrated to Istanbul.
“I am an Orthodox-Rum from Antioch. I disagree with the Arab-Christian debates regarding our identity,” Simeon Yılmaz, a physics teacher in the Fener Rum High School and the manager of the Hagia Dimitri Foundation in Istanbul’s Şişli district, told the Daily News.
What matters is religion, not language, Yılmaz said, adding the entire Rum population in Turkey stood at around 12,000, including the Christian population in Antioch.
“We now have teachers and a priest. In the past, there was a community that hailed from Antioch with its own customs and traditions, but the new generation has kept up pace,” Andon Parisyanos, a long time educator in Istanbul’s Rum schools, told the Daily News.
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The true identity of the Rum (Greek Anatolian)-Ortodox community in Turkey fuels a debate, on whether Arabic speaking Christians, whom were registered on records as ‘Rum-Orthodox’ in 1939 are part the community or not. Some say that although they speak Arabic at home, they consider themselves as Orthodox-Rum
The recognition of a Christian community in Antioch in the southern province of Hatay as “Rum” (Anatolian Greeks) is fuelling debate within minority circles as to who exactly constitutes the country’s true Rum-Orthodox population.
“When Hatay [joined] the motherland [Turkey] in 1939, Arab-Christians were registered on records as ‘Rum-Orthodox’ so as to make the Arab population look smaller. As such, the problem has persisted until this day,” S.A., the manager of a Rum school in Istanbul, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Official figures indicate the presence of about 1,500 Rums in Turkey, but Christians from Antioch, known in Turkish as Antakya, who claim to be of Rum-Orthodox descent dispute these numbers and put the figure as high as 10,000.
“It is easy to be defined as Rum, but I would like to inquire as to what they exactly understand of being a Rum,” Mihalis Vasiliadis, the chief editor of the Rum daily Apoyevmatini, told the Daily News.
Antiochian Christians lacking means have taken refuge at the Rum church due to their Orthodox convictions, Vasiliadis said, adding they were often employed in church and cemetery maintenance.
“Their children started receiving education in our schools merely because it says Rum-Orthodox on their birth records. My statements ought not to be regarded as racism, but the state cannot determine what constitutes Rum,” he said.
Despite the opposition of other Rums, Antiochian Christians, and the younger generation in particular, insist on their Rum-Orthodox identity, even though Arabic is the language they speak at home. The community has even gained a priest in the Fener Rum Patriarchy, while they can also be baptized in Rum churches due to their Orthodox faith.
“I had a lot of difficulty learning a new language. My family used to speak Arabic at home. But we are Orthodox-Rums, and this situation has nothing to do with registry records,” Kutsiye Eudoksia Karadaş, 32, told the Daily News.
A graduate of the Central Rum High School, Karadaş said she had received her primary education in Turkish schools in Antioch, and she had registered in a Rum school after her family migrated to Istanbul.
“I am an Orthodox-Rum from Antioch. I disagree with the Arab-Christian debates regarding our identity,” Simeon Yılmaz, a physics teacher in the Fener Rum High School and the manager of the Hagia Dimitri Foundation in Istanbul’s Şişli district, told the Daily News.
What matters is religion, not language, Yılmaz said, adding the entire Rum population in Turkey stood at around 12,000, including the Christian population in Antioch.
“We now have teachers and a priest. In the past, there was a community that hailed from Antioch with its own customs and traditions, but the new generation has kept up pace,” Andon Parisyanos, a long time educator in Istanbul’s Rum schools, told the Daily News.
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