Turkey’s Greeks take action for seminary
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Frustrated by the long wait for the reopening of the Halki Seminary on an Istanbul island, the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate readies to take the issue to legal platforms. There is no legal obstacle to reopening, the seminary sources say
Founded on the island of Halki (Heybeliada), the second-largest of the Princes’ Islands in the Sea of Marmara, Halki Seminary has been closed since early 1970s. The Patriarchate is planning first to apply first the Education Ministry for the reopening.
The Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate is preparing to take the issue of the reopening of Halki Seminary, located on Istanbul’s Heybeliada Island, to the legal platforms, sources have told Hürriyet Daily News.
The Greek minority in Turkey has long awaited the opening of the seminary, which was the main center of Orthodox Greek theological education for more than a century before Turkish authorities closed it in 1971, under a law designed to bring universities under state control. The issue was also on the agenda when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met U.S. President Barack Obama in Seoul on March 25. Obama congratulated Erdoğan for “the efforts that he has made within Turkey to protect religious minorities.”
However, having yet to receive a decision on the reopening despite the government’s positive stance, the patriarchate has decided to take the issue to legal platforms. According to information gathered from patriarchate sources, if the Halki Seminary has still not officially been reopened by the end of the year, steps will be taken to pursue the issue at the court. There is no legal obstacle to the seminary’s being reopened, sources say. The patriarchate will first apply to the Ministry of Education next term, and if they still receive no positive answer on the reopening, a lawsuit will be filed.
Tired of hearing only words
Stating that they were being deprived of the right to education, even though they are citizens of the Turkish Republic, patriarchate sources said they were disturbed that the issue of mosques in Greece has been brought up often recently.
“To demand the opening of a mosque revives reciprocity. We are humiliated; they are trying our patience. We are also the citizens of this state and we are sick and tired of friendly words and promises,” sources said.
In his latest statements about the Halki seminary, Patriarch Bartholomew said he had “become tired and had run out of patience … They are constantly making promises, creating the impression that the seminary is about to open, but there is no progress. The [Justice and Development Party] AKP government has returned some of our foundations, and some of our clergymen have been given Turkish citizenship without any trouble. That’s okay. But still, I would like to ask these questions: Is it really that hard to reopen the Halki Seminary? Why do they let politics interfere with this issue?”
“We haven’t filed a lawsuit before, even though we could have, because we believed in solving our problems on more friendly terms with Turkey. But unfortunately no progress has been made. Until the end of this year, we will fight for our rights with all our patience,” said patriarchate sources. The reopening of the Halki Seminary is critical in order for Turkey to gain international prestige, sources added. “This step will also be a sign of [Turkey’s] commitment to the democratization process.”
In 1971, with the introduction of the Higher Education Law, the Halki Seminary was taken under state supervision. The Fener Greek Patriarchate did not accept this decision, so the theology department of the seminary was closed. After continuing to provide education at the high school level for a while, the seminary was shut down by the patriarchate.
June/28/2012
28 Haziran 2012 Perşembe
26 Haziran 2012 Salı
Heirs of the Mimar Sinan apply to the Euro court
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News -Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Alleged heirs of the Mimar Sinan applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after exhausting all domestic legal avenues in regards to a lack of revenue payment from the Mimar-ı Sultani Sinanuddin Atik Yusuf Bin Abdullah Foundation, which was established by Mimar Sinan, the chief architect of Ottoman sultans. With the ECHR application, made by those who received gifts of real property through a will, the case has caught the attention of the international arena and the claimants have asked for an appointment with the president.
The family won two cases in 1936 and 1961 and some Supreme Court decisions had previously been made about the payment of revenue, the prosecution’s counsel Ayhan Tuncer told the Hürriyet Daily News. According to Tuncer, the foundation was chaired by the family and all revenue was controlled by them as well. The revenues of the foundation’s 130 real estate properties were disposed off by the General Directorate of Foundations. “The last payment was made 47 years ago and the sum of the accumulative revenue is 2.3 billion Turkish Liras,” he said.
Mustafa İlker Yönel, a descendent of Sinan, said the prosecution had nothing to prove and registers of persons and their pedigree was evident. “Everybody has freedom of thought and I indulgently accept that, but we have nothing to prove,” Yönel said in response to the suspicions that have been raised against them.
Sinan was born in the village of Ağırnas in the eastern city of Kayseri, where the Armenian and Greek populations were concentrated during the Ottoman Empire. The famed Ottoman architect’s birthplace is the reason why there are still discussions about Sinan’s ethnic origin and whether it is possible that he was Armenian or Greek. Academic studies on him have been published both in Turkey and abroad.
Origins
According to Yönel Sinan did not reside in Kayseri. “Although Yusuf Bin Abdullah was born in Kayseri, he was in Istanbul for many years, thus Istanbul is our hometown,” he said.
Among the properties of the foundation are shops in the Kapalıçarşı (the Grand Bazaar), as well as real estate in the Istanbul district of Fatih, the city of Tekirdağ, and the eastern city of Tokat, Yönel said.
The General Directorate of Foundations assented to the payment of revenue in 2008, but nothing has been actualized.
They lease properties out for less than the actual rent, Yönel said. There are some buildings on the lands which complicate the case and, as a result, Yönel said the state should get involved with case.
June/26/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News -Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Alleged heirs of the Mimar Sinan applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after exhausting all domestic legal avenues in regards to a lack of revenue payment from the Mimar-ı Sultani Sinanuddin Atik Yusuf Bin Abdullah Foundation, which was established by Mimar Sinan, the chief architect of Ottoman sultans. With the ECHR application, made by those who received gifts of real property through a will, the case has caught the attention of the international arena and the claimants have asked for an appointment with the president.
The family won two cases in 1936 and 1961 and some Supreme Court decisions had previously been made about the payment of revenue, the prosecution’s counsel Ayhan Tuncer told the Hürriyet Daily News. According to Tuncer, the foundation was chaired by the family and all revenue was controlled by them as well. The revenues of the foundation’s 130 real estate properties were disposed off by the General Directorate of Foundations. “The last payment was made 47 years ago and the sum of the accumulative revenue is 2.3 billion Turkish Liras,” he said.
Mustafa İlker Yönel, a descendent of Sinan, said the prosecution had nothing to prove and registers of persons and their pedigree was evident. “Everybody has freedom of thought and I indulgently accept that, but we have nothing to prove,” Yönel said in response to the suspicions that have been raised against them.
Sinan was born in the village of Ağırnas in the eastern city of Kayseri, where the Armenian and Greek populations were concentrated during the Ottoman Empire. The famed Ottoman architect’s birthplace is the reason why there are still discussions about Sinan’s ethnic origin and whether it is possible that he was Armenian or Greek. Academic studies on him have been published both in Turkey and abroad.
Origins
According to Yönel Sinan did not reside in Kayseri. “Although Yusuf Bin Abdullah was born in Kayseri, he was in Istanbul for many years, thus Istanbul is our hometown,” he said.
Among the properties of the foundation are shops in the Kapalıçarşı (the Grand Bazaar), as well as real estate in the Istanbul district of Fatih, the city of Tekirdağ, and the eastern city of Tokat, Yönel said.
The General Directorate of Foundations assented to the payment of revenue in 2008, but nothing has been actualized.
They lease properties out for less than the actual rent, Yönel said. There are some buildings on the lands which complicate the case and, as a result, Yönel said the state should get involved with case.
June/26/2012
25 Haziran 2012 Pazartesi
Turkish film makers go to Yerevan fest
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The International Golden Apricot Film Festival will celebrate its ninth anniversary in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. The festival has supported Turkish-Armenian film projects for the last four years and hosted internationally known Turkish directors such as Fatih Akın and Semih Kaplanoğlu. This year’s festival will be held between July 8 and 15. One day before the festival the traditional blessing of the new apricot harvest will be held in Yerevan churches. The International Golden Apricot artistic director, Susanna Harutyunyan recently spoke to the Hürriyet Daily News. Harutyunyan said this year a guest of honor would be Spanish film director Victor Erice. Harutyunyan said they would show films by five Turkish and five Armenian directors in the festival’s Turkey-Armenia Cinema Platform section.
This year director Özcan Alper, who is well known for his film “Sonbahar” (Autumn), and documentarist Enis Rıza will be guests of honor from Turkey at the festival. Harutyunyan said the festival would invite and host Turkish journalists for the first time this year. During the festival, 150 films will be shown and they will have a special program of Turkish films. Harutyunyan said Armenian viewers had an interest in Turkish films and added: “Directors are always welcome to present their films to the audience and directors from Turkey attract quite a lot of attention from the Armenian public. A good example was ‘Once Upon a Time in Anatolia’ last year.” Harutyunyan said they were collaborating with the International Istanbul Film Festival and the nongovernmental organization Anadolu Kültür (Anatolian Culture) from Turkey.
June/25/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The International Golden Apricot Film Festival will celebrate its ninth anniversary in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. The festival has supported Turkish-Armenian film projects for the last four years and hosted internationally known Turkish directors such as Fatih Akın and Semih Kaplanoğlu. This year’s festival will be held between July 8 and 15. One day before the festival the traditional blessing of the new apricot harvest will be held in Yerevan churches. The International Golden Apricot artistic director, Susanna Harutyunyan recently spoke to the Hürriyet Daily News. Harutyunyan said this year a guest of honor would be Spanish film director Victor Erice. Harutyunyan said they would show films by five Turkish and five Armenian directors in the festival’s Turkey-Armenia Cinema Platform section.
This year director Özcan Alper, who is well known for his film “Sonbahar” (Autumn), and documentarist Enis Rıza will be guests of honor from Turkey at the festival. Harutyunyan said the festival would invite and host Turkish journalists for the first time this year. During the festival, 150 films will be shown and they will have a special program of Turkish films. Harutyunyan said Armenian viewers had an interest in Turkish films and added: “Directors are always welcome to present their films to the audience and directors from Turkey attract quite a lot of attention from the Armenian public. A good example was ‘Once Upon a Time in Anatolia’ last year.” Harutyunyan said they were collaborating with the International Istanbul Film Festival and the nongovernmental organization Anadolu Kültür (Anatolian Culture) from Turkey.
June/25/2012
Armenian school to be turned into hotel
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News / Vercihan Ziflioğlu
A historical Armenian school, Mesrobyan School in Istanbul’s Gedikpaşa district, is being transformed into a hotel.
Gedikpaşa Surp Hovhannes Church Foundation head Harutyun Şanlı, who is also the general secretary of the Armenian Foundations Solidarity Platform, spoke to the Hürriyet Daily News and said the main reason they took this step with courage was the moderate policies the government had adopted in recent years.
“Before 2008, we could not even hammer a nail on the property we owned, but since 2008, everything has changed. With the new Foundation Law passed last year, we can reclaim our property and have the ownership returned to us,” he said.
Historical building
The building that is to be transformed into a hotel dated back to the beginning of the 1900s, said Şanlı, adding that the building served as a school until 1983 but had to be closed down because there were no students left.
The place which is located on the historical peninsula of Istanbul was then used as a shoe manufacturing shop for years.
The revenue generated by the hotel will be transferred to Armenian establishments in Istanbul and will be used to support people in need.
Şanlı said they believed the hotel would be in high demand because of its vicinity to the historical peninsula.
“I hope that the administration will soon decide also about the Tokatlıyan Hotel in Beyoğlu which is in ruins so that this hotel is transformed back into the glorious hotel it used to be.”
If Tokatlıyan is also renovated like the hotel in Gedikpaşa, then the Armenian community would be free of financial problems, Şanlı said.
“Now, we have difficulty raising funds for our churches, schools and families in need. We are trying to make ends meet with donations and funds raised at certain events,” he said.
Tokatlıyan Hotel
Tokatlıyan Hotel on İstiklal Street in Beyoğlu hosted several leaders when it operated, first and foremost Atatürk, and the high society of the world.
Because the administration of the Tokatlıyan Foundation, which is the richest foundation of the Armenian community, has not changed for the past 30 years and because they have rejected all projects, the community has sued the administration of the foundation.
Considered by scholars to be a significant architectural achievement, the Tokatlıyan-Pera is one of the best examples of fin-de-siècle architecture in Turkey.
The hotel belongs to the Üç Horan Armenian Church Foundation, one of the richest foundations of Turkey’s Armenian community.
The foundation’s administration, which has remained unchanged for 30 years, has chosen not to adopt any of the numerous renovation proposals that have been submitted over the years.
June/25/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News / Vercihan Ziflioğlu
A historical Armenian school, Mesrobyan School in Istanbul’s Gedikpaşa district, is being transformed into a hotel.
Gedikpaşa Surp Hovhannes Church Foundation head Harutyun Şanlı, who is also the general secretary of the Armenian Foundations Solidarity Platform, spoke to the Hürriyet Daily News and said the main reason they took this step with courage was the moderate policies the government had adopted in recent years.
“Before 2008, we could not even hammer a nail on the property we owned, but since 2008, everything has changed. With the new Foundation Law passed last year, we can reclaim our property and have the ownership returned to us,” he said.
Historical building
The building that is to be transformed into a hotel dated back to the beginning of the 1900s, said Şanlı, adding that the building served as a school until 1983 but had to be closed down because there were no students left.
The place which is located on the historical peninsula of Istanbul was then used as a shoe manufacturing shop for years.
The revenue generated by the hotel will be transferred to Armenian establishments in Istanbul and will be used to support people in need.
Şanlı said they believed the hotel would be in high demand because of its vicinity to the historical peninsula.
“I hope that the administration will soon decide also about the Tokatlıyan Hotel in Beyoğlu which is in ruins so that this hotel is transformed back into the glorious hotel it used to be.”
If Tokatlıyan is also renovated like the hotel in Gedikpaşa, then the Armenian community would be free of financial problems, Şanlı said.
“Now, we have difficulty raising funds for our churches, schools and families in need. We are trying to make ends meet with donations and funds raised at certain events,” he said.
Tokatlıyan Hotel
Tokatlıyan Hotel on İstiklal Street in Beyoğlu hosted several leaders when it operated, first and foremost Atatürk, and the high society of the world.
Because the administration of the Tokatlıyan Foundation, which is the richest foundation of the Armenian community, has not changed for the past 30 years and because they have rejected all projects, the community has sued the administration of the foundation.
Considered by scholars to be a significant architectural achievement, the Tokatlıyan-Pera is one of the best examples of fin-de-siècle architecture in Turkey.
The hotel belongs to the Üç Horan Armenian Church Foundation, one of the richest foundations of Turkey’s Armenian community.
The foundation’s administration, which has remained unchanged for 30 years, has chosen not to adopt any of the numerous renovation proposals that have been submitted over the years.
June/25/2012
19 Haziran 2012 Salı
Elective courses may be ice-breaker for all’
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Teaching Armenian and Syriac in Turkish public schools could help make a contribution to Turkey’s peace, members of the minority communities have said in the wake of a decision to introduce elective Kurdish to schools in the next academic year.
Some community members say Armenian and Syriac elective classes in the state schools could be an icebreaker with the Turkish community, while others say crypto-Armenians - an umbrella term to describe Turkish people of full of partial ethnic Armenian origin who generally conceal their Armenian identity from wider Turkish society - could also learn their culture.
“Even though it is not enough, the step taken by the Turkish government [to offer the Kurdish classes] was remarkable,” said Etyen Mahçupiyan, a columnist for daily Zaman. “Elective mother tongue classes will help provide consensus.”
Zakarya Mildanoğlu, an editor for Armenian-Turkish weekly Agos, said there were already schools providing instruction about the Armenian language, but that elective classes could allow crypto-Armenians to learn their own language, he said.
Şabo Boyacı, the founder of a Syriac website, said he was forced to send his child to public school due to the absence of a Syriac school.
“My kids are having difficulties learning their mother tongue and learning their own culture. An elective in our mother tongue has provided a glimmer of hope for us. On the one hand, our children will learn their own language and, on the other, Turkish children will learn the different languages and cultures of Anatolia. This contributes to dialogue and rapprochement,” he said.
But Garo Paylan, an administrator from Yeşilköy Armenian Elementary School, said consensus was impossible “until the way people look at differences in Turkey are changed.”
The Turkish government will introduce Kurdish elective lessons in public schools in the next educational year as part of the ruling party’s effort to find a solution to the Kurdish question.
“Kurdish will be learned and taught as an elective lesson if there are a sufficient number of students [demanding it]. This is a historic step,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said June 13.
June/19/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Teaching Armenian and Syriac in Turkish public schools could help make a contribution to Turkey’s peace, members of the minority communities have said in the wake of a decision to introduce elective Kurdish to schools in the next academic year.
Some community members say Armenian and Syriac elective classes in the state schools could be an icebreaker with the Turkish community, while others say crypto-Armenians - an umbrella term to describe Turkish people of full of partial ethnic Armenian origin who generally conceal their Armenian identity from wider Turkish society - could also learn their culture.
“Even though it is not enough, the step taken by the Turkish government [to offer the Kurdish classes] was remarkable,” said Etyen Mahçupiyan, a columnist for daily Zaman. “Elective mother tongue classes will help provide consensus.”
Zakarya Mildanoğlu, an editor for Armenian-Turkish weekly Agos, said there were already schools providing instruction about the Armenian language, but that elective classes could allow crypto-Armenians to learn their own language, he said.
Şabo Boyacı, the founder of a Syriac website, said he was forced to send his child to public school due to the absence of a Syriac school.
“My kids are having difficulties learning their mother tongue and learning their own culture. An elective in our mother tongue has provided a glimmer of hope for us. On the one hand, our children will learn their own language and, on the other, Turkish children will learn the different languages and cultures of Anatolia. This contributes to dialogue and rapprochement,” he said.
But Garo Paylan, an administrator from Yeşilköy Armenian Elementary School, said consensus was impossible “until the way people look at differences in Turkey are changed.”
The Turkish government will introduce Kurdish elective lessons in public schools in the next educational year as part of the ruling party’s effort to find a solution to the Kurdish question.
“Kurdish will be learned and taught as an elective lesson if there are a sufficient number of students [demanding it]. This is a historic step,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said June 13.
June/19/2012
14 Haziran 2012 Perşembe
Elective Kurdish classes stir new debate on substructure
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News-Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The introduction of Kurdish elective lessons in public schools opens up debates such as the lack of teaching staff while other minorities also demand similar offers
Turkey’s first undergraduate Kurdish program was started in 2011 in the southeastern province Mardin’s Artuklu University and the first Kurdish teachers will graduate in 2015.
Following the introduction of Kurdish elective lessons in public schools next academic year by the Turkish government, educators have raised questions regarding the lack of teaching staff and school books.
Learning one’s mother tongue is every individual’s right and cannot be made optional, said Altan Açıkdilli, founder of the Anatolia Culture and Research Association (AKADER) which has been conducting Kurdish, Laz and Zaza language courses for the last two years.
“Do we learn Turkish in elective courses? Then why do we learn other [national] mother tongues at the school in elective courses,” said Açıkdilli.
“However, a lack of language teachers [and] grammar and practice books is another problem that should be discussed,” he said.
Other minorities
Anthropologist Özdoğan Boz a member of the Circassians Association also offered his support to the elective courses but added that the absence of teaching materials and teachers was a problem.
“We can transfer teachers from Caucuses but the legal barriers of Turkey will stop us without a doubt. I do not know what kind of attitude will be maintained but we also will demand the right to have elective classes.”Meanwhile, Chairman of the Laz Cultural Association, lawyer Memedali Barış Beşli, said that when the mother tongue issue comes to the table only Kurds are remembered. “It is not fair to ignore the other communities while trying to build a peace with Kurds,” Beşli said.
He said the Laz, an ethnic group native to the Black Sea coastal regions of Turkey, demand education in their mother tongue as well. “We can practice on the Laz language books which were published during the rule of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Mesopotamia Culture and Solidarity Association (MEZODER) head Turgut Alaca said the same step was expected for 20, 000 Syriacs living in Turkey.
“Families in southeast Turkey teach the Syriac language to their kids in their houses, but when children start school they forget their mother tongue.” Alaca said.
More quotas
New departments in universities could be established to support the government’s new language courses, Gökhan Çetinsaya, the President of the Higher Education Council of Turkey (YÖK) said. Çetinsaya also said a quota of nearly 10,000 university students was allocated for language teaching.
Meanwhile, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) leader Selahattin Demirtaş said they wanted Turkish citizens to learn Kurdish.
“The Kurdish elective classes are significant in that they psychologically cross a barrier [stemming from prohibition]. But we also want those who live in the western parts of Turkey to learn Kurdish,” he said.
June/14/2012
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News-Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The introduction of Kurdish elective lessons in public schools opens up debates such as the lack of teaching staff while other minorities also demand similar offers
Turkey’s first undergraduate Kurdish program was started in 2011 in the southeastern province Mardin’s Artuklu University and the first Kurdish teachers will graduate in 2015.
Following the introduction of Kurdish elective lessons in public schools next academic year by the Turkish government, educators have raised questions regarding the lack of teaching staff and school books.
Learning one’s mother tongue is every individual’s right and cannot be made optional, said Altan Açıkdilli, founder of the Anatolia Culture and Research Association (AKADER) which has been conducting Kurdish, Laz and Zaza language courses for the last two years.
“Do we learn Turkish in elective courses? Then why do we learn other [national] mother tongues at the school in elective courses,” said Açıkdilli.
“However, a lack of language teachers [and] grammar and practice books is another problem that should be discussed,” he said.
Other minorities
Anthropologist Özdoğan Boz a member of the Circassians Association also offered his support to the elective courses but added that the absence of teaching materials and teachers was a problem.
“We can transfer teachers from Caucuses but the legal barriers of Turkey will stop us without a doubt. I do not know what kind of attitude will be maintained but we also will demand the right to have elective classes.”Meanwhile, Chairman of the Laz Cultural Association, lawyer Memedali Barış Beşli, said that when the mother tongue issue comes to the table only Kurds are remembered. “It is not fair to ignore the other communities while trying to build a peace with Kurds,” Beşli said.
He said the Laz, an ethnic group native to the Black Sea coastal regions of Turkey, demand education in their mother tongue as well. “We can practice on the Laz language books which were published during the rule of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Mesopotamia Culture and Solidarity Association (MEZODER) head Turgut Alaca said the same step was expected for 20, 000 Syriacs living in Turkey.
“Families in southeast Turkey teach the Syriac language to their kids in their houses, but when children start school they forget their mother tongue.” Alaca said.
More quotas
New departments in universities could be established to support the government’s new language courses, Gökhan Çetinsaya, the President of the Higher Education Council of Turkey (YÖK) said. Çetinsaya also said a quota of nearly 10,000 university students was allocated for language teaching.
Meanwhile, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) leader Selahattin Demirtaş said they wanted Turkish citizens to learn Kurdish.
“The Kurdish elective classes are significant in that they psychologically cross a barrier [stemming from prohibition]. But we also want those who live in the western parts of Turkey to learn Kurdish,” he said.
June/14/2012
8 Haziran 2012 Cuma
Decision to knock down bell tower stirs debate
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The decision to demolish a bell tower built on a protected cultural heritage site next to a historic Syriac monastery in the southeastern province of Mardin has stirred fresh controversy.
The tower and a small building, located next to the Mor Dimet Monestry in Mardin’s İzbırak (Raz in Syriac) village, were reportedly built by Priest Yakup, who moved to the village 12 years ago after being excommunicated by the Syriac Christian Church in Damascus.
The Council of Monuments has ruled for the demolishment of the premises, as they were built on a protected zone without permission.
“When he was excommunicated, the priest - in a way - built his own sacred place,” a prominent member of the Syriac community in Mardin told the Hürriyet Daily News on condition of anonymity. “The council and the Mor Gabriel Foundation [which owns Mor Dimet] should have stopped the construction.”
The Council of Monuments was not available for immediate comment. Priest Yakup told the Daily News over the phone that he had built a “guesthouse.” “I built this 12 years ago, no one told me it was a protected area, they even gave me cement for the construction,” he said, adding that he even had a title deed for the building. “The monastery is in ruins, it does not have a bell tower and it cannot carry one, that’s why I built one,” said Yakup. “But the building is a guesthouse. This village used to be a Syriac village, but there are no Syriacs now. I built this guesthouse for those who come from Europe to visit their homeland.”
Kuryakos Ergün, chairman of Mor Gabriel Foundation, said they were trying to stop the demolition decision, although the decision was “right.” The Mor Dimet Monastery, built in the 5th century AC, is already closed to worshipping, Ergün added.
June/08/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The decision to demolish a bell tower built on a protected cultural heritage site next to a historic Syriac monastery in the southeastern province of Mardin has stirred fresh controversy.
The tower and a small building, located next to the Mor Dimet Monestry in Mardin’s İzbırak (Raz in Syriac) village, were reportedly built by Priest Yakup, who moved to the village 12 years ago after being excommunicated by the Syriac Christian Church in Damascus.
The Council of Monuments has ruled for the demolishment of the premises, as they were built on a protected zone without permission.
“When he was excommunicated, the priest - in a way - built his own sacred place,” a prominent member of the Syriac community in Mardin told the Hürriyet Daily News on condition of anonymity. “The council and the Mor Gabriel Foundation [which owns Mor Dimet] should have stopped the construction.”
The Council of Monuments was not available for immediate comment. Priest Yakup told the Daily News over the phone that he had built a “guesthouse.” “I built this 12 years ago, no one told me it was a protected area, they even gave me cement for the construction,” he said, adding that he even had a title deed for the building. “The monastery is in ruins, it does not have a bell tower and it cannot carry one, that’s why I built one,” said Yakup. “But the building is a guesthouse. This village used to be a Syriac village, but there are no Syriacs now. I built this guesthouse for those who come from Europe to visit their homeland.”
Kuryakos Ergün, chairman of Mor Gabriel Foundation, said they were trying to stop the demolition decision, although the decision was “right.” The Mor Dimet Monastery, built in the 5th century AC, is already closed to worshipping, Ergün added.
June/08/2012
5 Haziran 2012 Salı
Syriacs seek to regain Turkish citizenship
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News -Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The Mor Gabriel Monastery,The Syriacs’ most revered place of worship located in the southeastern city of Mardin has been the subject of a legal case since 2008.
Many Syriac Christians who have emigrated from Turkey to European countries are seeking to regain their Turkish citizenship.
The Brussels-based European Syriac Union (ESU) yesterday presented a report to the European Commission Directorate-General for Enlargement, demanding Turkish citizenship for the Syriacs who were deprived of their nationality without notice. Speaking to Hürriyet Daily News about the report, ESU Spokesman David Vergili said the report highlighted the problems Syriac immigrants face.
“There are many Syriacs who lost their citizenship and hence the ownership of their properties in Turkey,” Vergili said, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News over the phone. “Properties belonging to Syriac families who moved to Europe have been confiscated by the Turkish Treasury; we are talking about thousands of acres here.”
Vergili noted that the group does not have an exact idea how much land falls into this category, adding that thousands of Syriacs were deprived of their Turkish nationality after leaving Turkey.
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 consequently left for abroad. The current Syriac population in Turkey is estimated to be in the thousands.
The report also noted the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) policies towards Turkey’s minority groups. Vergili said the steps taken by the government were “important but not enough.”
“The AK Party has the majority in Parliament, but it still is ungenerous towards the Christian minorities in Turkey,” said Vergili.
Syriacs in Turkey still do not have legal guarantees, because they are not one of the minorities mentioned in the Lausanne Treaty, Vergili said, recalling the legal case regarding the Mor Gabriel Monastery, located in southeast. Vergili said the report also made note of attacks against Syriac villages and institutions, as well as the bureaucratic problems that Syriacs in Turkey faced.
June/05/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News -Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The Mor Gabriel Monastery,The Syriacs’ most revered place of worship located in the southeastern city of Mardin has been the subject of a legal case since 2008.
Many Syriac Christians who have emigrated from Turkey to European countries are seeking to regain their Turkish citizenship.
The Brussels-based European Syriac Union (ESU) yesterday presented a report to the European Commission Directorate-General for Enlargement, demanding Turkish citizenship for the Syriacs who were deprived of their nationality without notice. Speaking to Hürriyet Daily News about the report, ESU Spokesman David Vergili said the report highlighted the problems Syriac immigrants face.
“There are many Syriacs who lost their citizenship and hence the ownership of their properties in Turkey,” Vergili said, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News over the phone. “Properties belonging to Syriac families who moved to Europe have been confiscated by the Turkish Treasury; we are talking about thousands of acres here.”
Vergili noted that the group does not have an exact idea how much land falls into this category, adding that thousands of Syriacs were deprived of their Turkish nationality after leaving Turkey.
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 consequently left for abroad. The current Syriac population in Turkey is estimated to be in the thousands.
The report also noted the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) policies towards Turkey’s minority groups. Vergili said the steps taken by the government were “important but not enough.”
“The AK Party has the majority in Parliament, but it still is ungenerous towards the Christian minorities in Turkey,” said Vergili.
Syriacs in Turkey still do not have legal guarantees, because they are not one of the minorities mentioned in the Lausanne Treaty, Vergili said, recalling the legal case regarding the Mor Gabriel Monastery, located in southeast. Vergili said the report also made note of attacks against Syriac villages and institutions, as well as the bureaucratic problems that Syriacs in Turkey faced.
June/05/2012
Red Crescent assists Fener Patriarchate
ISTANBUL - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay), for the first time in its history, provided 200 boxes of food and clothing aid to the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate yesterday.
Avedis Hilkat, a board member at the Turkish Red Crescent’s Adalar office, Ahmet Lütfü Akar, head of the Turkish Red Crescent, Ömer Taşlı, director-general of the Turkish Red Crescent and Taşkın Hoşver, Marmara Regional disaster manager, met with Fener Rum Patriarch Bartholomeos.
“The target of the aid is not just Armenians, Rums or Syriacs; we also provide aid to immigrants, and needy and indigent people around the patriarchates. Humanity is our target,” Hilkat told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Next aid
The Turkish Red Crescent has been keeping an eye on the aid recipients, recording their addresses and names, and the Jewish Rabbinate will be given aid next week, Hilkat said.
“The boxes will be placed in storage, wherever the Patriarchate decides to keep them,” Hilkat said. Similar boxes left at the Armenian Patriarchate last year had caused unrest among Turkey’s Armenian community for security reasons.
The Red Crescent has also provided aid to Turkey’s Armenian Patriarchate and Syriac Metropolitan in years past.
The organization provided food and clothing aid to 3,500 immigrants and needy families living near the Kumkapı district of Istanbul, with the help of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, in December 2011.
The organization has also rendered aid to one-hundred disadvantaged students at a private Armenian school last month.
June/05/2012
ISTANBUL - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay), for the first time in its history, provided 200 boxes of food and clothing aid to the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate yesterday.
Avedis Hilkat, a board member at the Turkish Red Crescent’s Adalar office, Ahmet Lütfü Akar, head of the Turkish Red Crescent, Ömer Taşlı, director-general of the Turkish Red Crescent and Taşkın Hoşver, Marmara Regional disaster manager, met with Fener Rum Patriarch Bartholomeos.
“The target of the aid is not just Armenians, Rums or Syriacs; we also provide aid to immigrants, and needy and indigent people around the patriarchates. Humanity is our target,” Hilkat told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Next aid
The Turkish Red Crescent has been keeping an eye on the aid recipients, recording their addresses and names, and the Jewish Rabbinate will be given aid next week, Hilkat said.
“The boxes will be placed in storage, wherever the Patriarchate decides to keep them,” Hilkat said. Similar boxes left at the Armenian Patriarchate last year had caused unrest among Turkey’s Armenian community for security reasons.
The Red Crescent has also provided aid to Turkey’s Armenian Patriarchate and Syriac Metropolitan in years past.
The organization provided food and clothing aid to 3,500 immigrants and needy families living near the Kumkapı district of Istanbul, with the help of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey, in December 2011.
The organization has also rendered aid to one-hundred disadvantaged students at a private Armenian school last month.
June/05/2012
4 Haziran 2012 Pazartesi
Istanbul’s Greeks open publishing house
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News-Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The Greek minority in Istanbul’s Karaköy has established a new publishing house 50 years after the community last published a book.
We will publish books in both Turkish and Greek, but most of them will be in Turkish. We will try to introduce Greek translations first hand,” Haris Rigas, one of editors at ISTOS publishing house, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Greeks used to publish books, but they stopped doing so in the 1960s when relations between Turkey and Greece soured over the Cyprus problem, said Rigas and Seçkin Erdi, ISTOS’ other editor.
“Many Greeks left Turkey at the time; the number of Greeks declined and so did the cultural and social life,” said Rigas. “The last book was published in Istanbul 50 years ago. Our first book will be Fener Greek Patriarchate Press Secretaries Dosiethos Anagnastopulos’ book, which is on the trauma of immigrants who went to Greece because of the political tension.”
Rigas said they were taking weekly Agos and Aras Publishing House, which are both operated by the Armenian community, as examples.
“On one hand we will have to fight against nationalism, on the other hand, we will have translating and editing problems, as well economical difficulties, but we will not hesitate,” he said.
June/04/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News-Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The Greek minority in Istanbul’s Karaköy has established a new publishing house 50 years after the community last published a book.
We will publish books in both Turkish and Greek, but most of them will be in Turkish. We will try to introduce Greek translations first hand,” Haris Rigas, one of editors at ISTOS publishing house, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Greeks used to publish books, but they stopped doing so in the 1960s when relations between Turkey and Greece soured over the Cyprus problem, said Rigas and Seçkin Erdi, ISTOS’ other editor.
“Many Greeks left Turkey at the time; the number of Greeks declined and so did the cultural and social life,” said Rigas. “The last book was published in Istanbul 50 years ago. Our first book will be Fener Greek Patriarchate Press Secretaries Dosiethos Anagnastopulos’ book, which is on the trauma of immigrants who went to Greece because of the political tension.”
Rigas said they were taking weekly Agos and Aras Publishing House, which are both operated by the Armenian community, as examples.
“On one hand we will have to fight against nationalism, on the other hand, we will have translating and editing problems, as well economical difficulties, but we will not hesitate,” he said.
June/04/2012
Turkish envoy meets Armenian religious leader in Germany
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News-Vercihan Ziflioğlu
An Armenian religious leader living in Germany, Archbishop Karekin Bekjian, says he has been visited by Turkey’s ambassador to Germany regarding his candidacy to become the next patriarch of Turkey’s Armenians.
Bekjian said he had spoken to Ambassador Hüseyin Avni Karslıoğlu regarding his candidacy.
“He asked questions about my patriarchal candidacy. In previous months, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who also visited Germany, wanted to pay a visit, but we could not hold the meeting due to some other pre-scheduled activities,” Bekjian recently told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Bekjian is seen as one of the strongest candidates for the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey. Current Patriarch Mesrop II cannot perform his duties due to a disease called frontal lobe dementia.
Even though the Armenian community wishes to choose its own patriarch by holding an election, Turkey’s Interior Ministry appointed an acting patriarch, Aram Ateşyan, two years ago – marking a first in the patriarchate’s history.
Bekjian said he informed Karslıoğlu about the 40,000 Armenians who have migrated to Germany from Turkey.
The archbishop also expressed his appreciation for Ankara’s decision last month to return the Surp Haç (Holy Cross) Tıbrevank religious school – which is now serving as a high school – to the Armenian community. Surp Haç Tıbrevank’s clerical school was shut down in 1940 and then lost its foundation status in 1985. Bekjian was one of the last teachers to serve in the school.
Asked if he considered the ambassador’s visit a “political step,” Bekjian said no political matters were spoken of during the visit.
“The Armenian community is accepted as a religious minority in Turkey and the institution that leads the community is the patriarchate; they are in charge of these matters,” he said.
Bekjian said the ambassador had told him that the Turkish state was responsible for all its citizens, regardless of their ethnicity.
“We have to admit the reality that world has changed. There are some painful matters, everyone has things to tell. We have to keep an eye on the next generations. Oriental Churches are the ones closest to the origins of Christianity; you experience this richness and this belongs to all of us,” Karslıoğlu reportedly told Bekjian.
June/04/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News-Vercihan Ziflioğlu
An Armenian religious leader living in Germany, Archbishop Karekin Bekjian, says he has been visited by Turkey’s ambassador to Germany regarding his candidacy to become the next patriarch of Turkey’s Armenians.
Bekjian said he had spoken to Ambassador Hüseyin Avni Karslıoğlu regarding his candidacy.
“He asked questions about my patriarchal candidacy. In previous months, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who also visited Germany, wanted to pay a visit, but we could not hold the meeting due to some other pre-scheduled activities,” Bekjian recently told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Bekjian is seen as one of the strongest candidates for the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey. Current Patriarch Mesrop II cannot perform his duties due to a disease called frontal lobe dementia.
Even though the Armenian community wishes to choose its own patriarch by holding an election, Turkey’s Interior Ministry appointed an acting patriarch, Aram Ateşyan, two years ago – marking a first in the patriarchate’s history.
Bekjian said he informed Karslıoğlu about the 40,000 Armenians who have migrated to Germany from Turkey.
The archbishop also expressed his appreciation for Ankara’s decision last month to return the Surp Haç (Holy Cross) Tıbrevank religious school – which is now serving as a high school – to the Armenian community. Surp Haç Tıbrevank’s clerical school was shut down in 1940 and then lost its foundation status in 1985. Bekjian was one of the last teachers to serve in the school.
Asked if he considered the ambassador’s visit a “political step,” Bekjian said no political matters were spoken of during the visit.
“The Armenian community is accepted as a religious minority in Turkey and the institution that leads the community is the patriarchate; they are in charge of these matters,” he said.
Bekjian said the ambassador had told him that the Turkish state was responsible for all its citizens, regardless of their ethnicity.
“We have to admit the reality that world has changed. There are some painful matters, everyone has things to tell. We have to keep an eye on the next generations. Oriental Churches are the ones closest to the origins of Christianity; you experience this richness and this belongs to all of us,” Karslıoğlu reportedly told Bekjian.
June/04/2012
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