Ottoman dynasty praises bridge name
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Ottoman family members have welcomed the naming of Istanbul’s third cross-Bosphorus bridge as the "Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge."
“It is good, a suitable name for our country,” said Orhan Osmanoğlu, the third-generation grandson of Sultan Abdülhamid II, during a telephone interview with the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday.
The sultan, known as "Selim the Grim" in English, was famous for his conquests in the Eastern world, and Turkey’s contemporary border with what is now Iran was determined following the 1514 Battle of Çaldıran against Şah İsmail of the Safavids.
Osmanoğlu pointed out the importance of the name in the sense of enhancing Turkey’s image. “A powerful and leading Turkey should be at peace with its past and own it,” he said.
Osmanoğlu suggested a name for the possible next bridge after Fatih Sultan Mehmed and Yavuz Sultan Selim bridges. “I hope that the name of the fourth bridge will be Kanuni Sultan Süleyman [Selim’s son].”
He said that the Ottoman family members were not invited to the ground-breaking ceremony for the third bridge, which was held yesterday. However, he noted that they would come to the bridge’s inauguration ceremony in 2015, if the government accepted and invited them.
Seven members of the Ottoman family, who live in Turkey and abroad, came together in Istanbul for the first time in the history of the Republic of Turkey yesterday for the "conquest celebrations," which were organized by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
Sultan Reşad’s grandson Şehzade (meaning sultan’s son) Cengiz Osmanoğlu (74), Nilüfer Sultan from the United Kingdom, and Leyla Sultan from Austria attended the celebrations.
“Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has made a big contribution to this meeting. We had asked him to gather family members together in such a meeting and he indulged our request – thanks to him,” said Osmanoğlu, noting that attending the Istanbul conquest celebrations had a special meaning for them.
“It is very good to see that we are not orphans, and we are protected. Şehzade Cengiz Osmanoğlu is very affected by attending this meeting,” he said.
After the Republic of Turkey was found in 1923, the members of the Ottoman family were sent into exile. Excluding the members that returned to Turkey, there are 24 şehzade and 15 sultans across the United States, the European Union, and the Middle East.
May/30/2013
30 Mayıs 2013 Perşembe
Ex-Turkish Culture Minister hits out at 'loss of history for profits'
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Former Culture Minister and the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) İzmir deputy Ertuğrul Günay has harshly criticized the demolition of Taksim’s Gezi Park, as well as the harsh police intervention against the protesters.
“Due to such incidents, I could not continue my duties. Istanbul is losing its historic structure under the pressure of unjust profits,” Günay said, adding that the project set to be implemented in Taksim Square was not the right thing to do.
“First they said they would build artillery barracks [in the place of Gezi Park]. I repeatedly said building such a structure would not be correct in terms of aesthetics. What’s more, a shopping mall will be built there instead of barracks,” Günay told the Hürriyet Daily News.
“Those saying that they are on the conservative side ignore the people’s need for green areas,” he said, adding that green spaces were a need for everyone regardless of their economic condition.
‘They don't understand God or the conqueror’
“Those attempting to cut 80-year-old trees to build a shopping mall understand neither Mehmed the Conqueror, nor the commandments of God,” he said, referring to the coincidence of the demolition process with the anniversary of Istanbul’s conquest.
When asked why he was still in office as an AKP deputy despite all his disagreements with the party, Günay separated the party from "profit seekers."
"I don’t have a disagreement with the party’s grass roots. These problems are caused by profit-seekers. I joined the party as it defends democracy,” Günay said.
The former minister also posted some similar tweets that reviewed his six years within the AKP, saying that he always listened to his conscience and never remained silent in the face of injustices.
May/30/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Former Culture Minister and the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) İzmir deputy Ertuğrul Günay has harshly criticized the demolition of Taksim’s Gezi Park, as well as the harsh police intervention against the protesters.
“Due to such incidents, I could not continue my duties. Istanbul is losing its historic structure under the pressure of unjust profits,” Günay said, adding that the project set to be implemented in Taksim Square was not the right thing to do.
“First they said they would build artillery barracks [in the place of Gezi Park]. I repeatedly said building such a structure would not be correct in terms of aesthetics. What’s more, a shopping mall will be built there instead of barracks,” Günay told the Hürriyet Daily News.
“Those saying that they are on the conservative side ignore the people’s need for green areas,” he said, adding that green spaces were a need for everyone regardless of their economic condition.
‘They don't understand God or the conqueror’
“Those attempting to cut 80-year-old trees to build a shopping mall understand neither Mehmed the Conqueror, nor the commandments of God,” he said, referring to the coincidence of the demolition process with the anniversary of Istanbul’s conquest.
When asked why he was still in office as an AKP deputy despite all his disagreements with the party, Günay separated the party from "profit seekers."
"I don’t have a disagreement with the party’s grass roots. These problems are caused by profit-seekers. I joined the party as it defends democracy,” Günay said.
The former minister also posted some similar tweets that reviewed his six years within the AKP, saying that he always listened to his conscience and never remained silent in the face of injustices.
May/30/2013
Chaldeans embark on journey back to Turkey
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The European Chaldean community has acted on the call of Turkey’s Culture Minister Ömer Çelik to return to Turkey.
After a series of negotiations conducted in France and Belgium, it was determined that 27 families would return to Herbole village in the southeastern province of Şırnak’s Silopi district as part of the first stage of the return process. If the required social and economic conditions are met, the number returning will increase.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News, Aksu-Herbole village headman and reorganization committee head Petrus Karatay said there were about 4,000 people who migrated from Herbole to various European countries. Karatay said they were forced to leave the village due to the great obstacles they experienced.
“Syriacs and Chaldeans were exposed to injustice, cruelty, exclusion and insults. In recent years, the locals have displayed some positive improvements parallel to the progress in state authorities and the Kurdish movement. Of course there are still problems awaiting solutions. If the resolution process has positive results, we hope that our remaining problems will be solved as well,” Karatay said.
Karatay said Syriacs and Chaldeans had some property problems. “This is a group determined to maintain its old habits on this matter, but they cannot find the support they once found.”
May/30/2013
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The European Chaldean community has acted on the call of Turkey’s Culture Minister Ömer Çelik to return to Turkey.
After a series of negotiations conducted in France and Belgium, it was determined that 27 families would return to Herbole village in the southeastern province of Şırnak’s Silopi district as part of the first stage of the return process. If the required social and economic conditions are met, the number returning will increase.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News, Aksu-Herbole village headman and reorganization committee head Petrus Karatay said there were about 4,000 people who migrated from Herbole to various European countries. Karatay said they were forced to leave the village due to the great obstacles they experienced.
“Syriacs and Chaldeans were exposed to injustice, cruelty, exclusion and insults. In recent years, the locals have displayed some positive improvements parallel to the progress in state authorities and the Kurdish movement. Of course there are still problems awaiting solutions. If the resolution process has positive results, we hope that our remaining problems will be solved as well,” Karatay said.
Karatay said Syriacs and Chaldeans had some property problems. “This is a group determined to maintain its old habits on this matter, but they cannot find the support they once found.”
May/30/2013
28 Mayıs 2013 Salı
MIDEAST > 4th man ‘kidnapped’ with Syrian bishops
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
A fourth person was also kidnapped alongside two Syrian bishops and a driver before being released, a member of the Syrian National Council (SNC) has claimed, adding that the bishops were still alive.
“There was a fourth person with the bishops in addition to the driver. The only witness to the incident was Fuad Eliya,” Jamil Diarbekirli, who is also a member of the Syriac Democratic Organization and the nephew of the Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan bishop, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Close friend of bishops
Aleppo Greek Orthodox Bishop Boulos Yaziji and Syriac Orthodox Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim were kidnapped on April 22 by armed men while en route from the Turkish border. Diarbekirli said he was told that the bishops were in good health and they are being held in a village near Aleppo.
There have been numerous speculations on the kidnapping, Diarbekirli said. “Fuad and the driver were told that they were free to go but when Fuad insisted on staying with the bishops he was threatened with death; he was forced to leave. The driver left the scene immediately but was killed three hours later, not by the men who kidnapped the group.” He said Eliya was in his 70s and a close friend of the metropolitan bishops, adding that they were still in touch with him.
‘Muslims also suffer’
When Diarbekirli was asked whether the Muslim Brotherhood was behind the kidnapping, he said this possibility was unlikely.
He also called on the kidnappers to release them.
“Not only Christians but also Muslims are suffering because of this incident. I wish that the bishops would be released.”
Diarbekirli also crticized poor western support for the Chirstians suffering from the crisis in Syria.
May/29/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
A fourth person was also kidnapped alongside two Syrian bishops and a driver before being released, a member of the Syrian National Council (SNC) has claimed, adding that the bishops were still alive.
“There was a fourth person with the bishops in addition to the driver. The only witness to the incident was Fuad Eliya,” Jamil Diarbekirli, who is also a member of the Syriac Democratic Organization and the nephew of the Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan bishop, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Close friend of bishops
Aleppo Greek Orthodox Bishop Boulos Yaziji and Syriac Orthodox Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim were kidnapped on April 22 by armed men while en route from the Turkish border. Diarbekirli said he was told that the bishops were in good health and they are being held in a village near Aleppo.
There have been numerous speculations on the kidnapping, Diarbekirli said. “Fuad and the driver were told that they were free to go but when Fuad insisted on staying with the bishops he was threatened with death; he was forced to leave. The driver left the scene immediately but was killed three hours later, not by the men who kidnapped the group.” He said Eliya was in his 70s and a close friend of the metropolitan bishops, adding that they were still in touch with him.
‘Muslims also suffer’
When Diarbekirli was asked whether the Muslim Brotherhood was behind the kidnapping, he said this possibility was unlikely.
He also called on the kidnappers to release them.
“Not only Christians but also Muslims are suffering because of this incident. I wish that the bishops would be released.”
Diarbekirli also crticized poor western support for the Chirstians suffering from the crisis in Syria.
May/29/2013
22 Mayıs 2013 Çarşamba
State spares 1 million lira budget for Mor Gabriel Monastery
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Midyat Governor’s Office has allocated a budget of 1 million Turkish Liras for the restoration of the road leading to the Syriacs’ Mor Gabriel Monastery, a move viewed by the Syriac community as contradictory as the monastery was previously labeled an “occupier” and its lands were transferred to the Treasury.
The road works will be rolled out on the initiative of Midyat Governor Oğuzhan Bingöl, and supported by Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek and Interior Minister Muammer Güler.
David Vergili, a spokesman for the Brussels-based European Syriac Union (ESU), one of the most influential Syriac organizations in the diaspora, said the state tried to slide over the crucial problems by keeping people busy with formalist and cosmetic activities.
“The demand for the return of the all the lands of Mor Gabriel is stated in both the EU’s annual report and the U.S. International Religious Freedom Report,” Vergili said.
“The progress of the law cases and the state’s attitude is evident. Both the state and the parties of that subject agreed on the fact that the lands belong to the monastery. But they are making things difficult by making various proposals, such as renting the lands. This is against morality and human rights,” he said.
Mor Gabriel Foundation Head Kuryakos Ergün argues that the road construction works and the case should be considered individually. Ergün said thousands of people paid visit to the monastery.
“The road is in a very poor condition. The Midyat Governor works so hard for the construction of the road since he came to office. It can be regarded as a positive first step, but we would be gladder if our cases result in our favor,” Ergün said.
Chair of the Midyat-based Syriac Associations Federation Evgin Türker also regarded the decision as a positive step, adding that they had made some contacts with Ankara on that matter and the governor Bingöl’s efforts yielded some results. “But still there is a contradiction here. Even though the governor has a good will and is sensitive to our problems, he is still a part of the bureaucracy. Our procedures are ongoing and we are regarded as occupants in our own lands,” Türker said.
Mor Gabriel is a 1,700-year-old historic monastery located in the southeastern province of Mardin’s Midyat district. In 2008, the Forestry Ministry, the Land Registry Cadastre Office and the villages of Yayvantepe, Çandarlı and Eğlence sued the monastery for allegedly occupying their fields. The lawsuit was finalized last year, recognizing the monastery as an “occupier.” The case was then brought to the European Court of Human Rights. The future of the monastery currently hinges on the ECHR’s decision.
May/22/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Midyat Governor’s Office has allocated a budget of 1 million Turkish Liras for the restoration of the road leading to the Syriacs’ Mor Gabriel Monastery, a move viewed by the Syriac community as contradictory as the monastery was previously labeled an “occupier” and its lands were transferred to the Treasury.
The road works will be rolled out on the initiative of Midyat Governor Oğuzhan Bingöl, and supported by Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek and Interior Minister Muammer Güler.
David Vergili, a spokesman for the Brussels-based European Syriac Union (ESU), one of the most influential Syriac organizations in the diaspora, said the state tried to slide over the crucial problems by keeping people busy with formalist and cosmetic activities.
“The demand for the return of the all the lands of Mor Gabriel is stated in both the EU’s annual report and the U.S. International Religious Freedom Report,” Vergili said.
“The progress of the law cases and the state’s attitude is evident. Both the state and the parties of that subject agreed on the fact that the lands belong to the monastery. But they are making things difficult by making various proposals, such as renting the lands. This is against morality and human rights,” he said.
Mor Gabriel Foundation Head Kuryakos Ergün argues that the road construction works and the case should be considered individually. Ergün said thousands of people paid visit to the monastery.
“The road is in a very poor condition. The Midyat Governor works so hard for the construction of the road since he came to office. It can be regarded as a positive first step, but we would be gladder if our cases result in our favor,” Ergün said.
Chair of the Midyat-based Syriac Associations Federation Evgin Türker also regarded the decision as a positive step, adding that they had made some contacts with Ankara on that matter and the governor Bingöl’s efforts yielded some results. “But still there is a contradiction here. Even though the governor has a good will and is sensitive to our problems, he is still a part of the bureaucracy. Our procedures are ongoing and we are regarded as occupants in our own lands,” Türker said.
Mor Gabriel is a 1,700-year-old historic monastery located in the southeastern province of Mardin’s Midyat district. In 2008, the Forestry Ministry, the Land Registry Cadastre Office and the villages of Yayvantepe, Çandarlı and Eğlence sued the monastery for allegedly occupying their fields. The lawsuit was finalized last year, recognizing the monastery as an “occupier.” The case was then brought to the European Court of Human Rights. The future of the monastery currently hinges on the ECHR’s decision.
May/22/2013
21 Mayıs 2013 Salı
Turkey's state-run channel broadcasts Western Armenian song for the first time
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
A Western Armenian song video has been aired for the first time ever in the history of the state-owned Turkish TV channel TRT.
The song, “Tzyuni Patil” (Snow Flake) by Armenian musician Erlin Tomaoğlu, was first broadcast on TRT on May 11.
The song depicts the story of a snowflake dreaming of melting into water and flowing from mountains and waterfalls.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News about her album “Dariner Vertch” (After Years), Tomaoğlu expressed her thanks to TRT for broadcasting the music video, allowing it a chance to go before Turkish audiences.
A few years ago, TRT broadcast another Armenian music video, but it was in the Eastern Armenian dialect. Western Armenian, which is on the list of UNESCO’s endangered languages, is a rich dialect used by most of the worldwide Armenian community except in Armenia and Iran. When asked whether she was thinking of reaching a wider audience, Tomaoğlu said: “The TRT broadcast was a significant step, but it is not enough alone. My contacts with other TV channels for the broadcast of the video are ongoing. This bears importance in going beyond our community and reaching larger masses. We also have a concert planned for the winter months; I would like to meet Turkish audiences at that concert.”
The language of love and friendship
Tomaoğlu, who is a music teacher at a historic Armenian school in Istanbul, said she began listening to Western Armenian songs with tapes from abroad during her childhood. “Within time, Eastern Armenian songs took the place of Western ones,” she said. Apart from Armenian songs, Tomaoğlu also sings Turkish songs, as well. A Turkish single named “Senden Sonra” (After You) was released in 2011. “My biggest dream is to meet audiences both in Turkey and the world. I know that songs keep languages alive and form a language of love and friendship,” she said.
May/20/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
A Western Armenian song video has been aired for the first time ever in the history of the state-owned Turkish TV channel TRT.
The song, “Tzyuni Patil” (Snow Flake) by Armenian musician Erlin Tomaoğlu, was first broadcast on TRT on May 11.
The song depicts the story of a snowflake dreaming of melting into water and flowing from mountains and waterfalls.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News about her album “Dariner Vertch” (After Years), Tomaoğlu expressed her thanks to TRT for broadcasting the music video, allowing it a chance to go before Turkish audiences.
A few years ago, TRT broadcast another Armenian music video, but it was in the Eastern Armenian dialect. Western Armenian, which is on the list of UNESCO’s endangered languages, is a rich dialect used by most of the worldwide Armenian community except in Armenia and Iran. When asked whether she was thinking of reaching a wider audience, Tomaoğlu said: “The TRT broadcast was a significant step, but it is not enough alone. My contacts with other TV channels for the broadcast of the video are ongoing. This bears importance in going beyond our community and reaching larger masses. We also have a concert planned for the winter months; I would like to meet Turkish audiences at that concert.”
The language of love and friendship
Tomaoğlu, who is a music teacher at a historic Armenian school in Istanbul, said she began listening to Western Armenian songs with tapes from abroad during her childhood. “Within time, Eastern Armenian songs took the place of Western ones,” she said. Apart from Armenian songs, Tomaoğlu also sings Turkish songs, as well. A Turkish single named “Senden Sonra” (After You) was released in 2011. “My biggest dream is to meet audiences both in Turkey and the world. I know that songs keep languages alive and form a language of love and friendship,” she said.
May/20/2013
White Russians in Turkey demand return of church
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The recent Galataport project, which foresees to place a modern port faclitiy by Istanbul’s Bosphorus, has raised concerns among Russians in Turkey, who want to protect a historic church there
Send to friend » Share on linkedin Plans for the Galataport project have stirred Istanbul’s Russian community to take legal action to preserve their historical Hagia Elia church. Courtesy of PAE Fukaraperver Association
The latest plans for the Galataport project have stirred Istanbul’s Russian community to take legal action to preserve their historical Hagia Elia church, which faces the risk of being demolished.
The Istanbul Salıpazarı Port, known as Galataport, which is located in Karaköy and owned by Turkey’s Maritime Organization, is set to be privatized. The current port and its surrounding area are expected to be improved after the privatization. Construction has already been underway for the last two years on many new hotels in the area, due to high expectations about the Galataport project. As part of these construction activities, the Hagia Elia Church located in Karaköy is currently at risk of demolition.
Turkey’s Russian community settled in Turkey after having fled from the Bolshevik regime in 1921. While some of them migrated to various Western countries, a considerable number of them stayed in Istanbul. According to data by the PAE Fukaraperver Association, which represents the Russian émigrés, the total number of Russians in Turkey is about 100,000. Russians own three churches and a monk’s house, which is currently used as a commercial building in Istanbul. Hagia Elia Church is situated on the roof of a structure where monks used to reside, a style of architecture rarely seen in Anatolia.
Seeking support from Greek church
Also, the PAE Fukaraperver Association recently paid a visit to Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew to request his support for the preservation of the church.
The authorities of the association will meet the Russian consul in Istanbul today and then meet Laki Vingas, who is in charge of minority foundations at the Foundations Directorate General on May 22. The association authorities said they would continue their struggle to preserve the church, which has been closed since 1972.
Turkey’s Doğuş Holding placed the highest offer on May 16 for the privatization of Galataport, with a $702 million bid, winning the right to operate the port area for 30 years, PAE Fukaraperver Association head Vasilisa Denisenko said they were closely following the Galataport tender and would struggle to prevent this project’s plans with regard to their buildings and church.
“So far we have led invisible lives and have not told our problems since we did not want to come into prominence; we have tried to stand on our own feet,” Denisenko said. When asked about their expectations from Ankara within this period, when ways for a solution to problems regarding minorities are sought, Denisenko said their only expectation was the preservation of their church. The PAE Fukaraperver Association’s deputy head, Kazmir Pamir, said the three churches and the monk’s house belonged to the Russian Monastery at Ayanaroz Monastery Complex in Greece, adding that they were only representing the church and the Fener Greek Patriarchate was the one in charge of the churches.
“As the association, we send a part of the income we obtain from the buildings’ rents to Ayanoroz, while we are providing financial aid for those in need with the rest,” Pamir said.
Pamir said their problems were not only related to the demolition of the church, they were also facing difficulties regarding religious officials who perform their rituals. “We have only one priest, who has been serving for 65 years.
May/21/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The recent Galataport project, which foresees to place a modern port faclitiy by Istanbul’s Bosphorus, has raised concerns among Russians in Turkey, who want to protect a historic church there
Send to friend » Share on linkedin Plans for the Galataport project have stirred Istanbul’s Russian community to take legal action to preserve their historical Hagia Elia church. Courtesy of PAE Fukaraperver Association
The latest plans for the Galataport project have stirred Istanbul’s Russian community to take legal action to preserve their historical Hagia Elia church, which faces the risk of being demolished.
The Istanbul Salıpazarı Port, known as Galataport, which is located in Karaköy and owned by Turkey’s Maritime Organization, is set to be privatized. The current port and its surrounding area are expected to be improved after the privatization. Construction has already been underway for the last two years on many new hotels in the area, due to high expectations about the Galataport project. As part of these construction activities, the Hagia Elia Church located in Karaköy is currently at risk of demolition.
Turkey’s Russian community settled in Turkey after having fled from the Bolshevik regime in 1921. While some of them migrated to various Western countries, a considerable number of them stayed in Istanbul. According to data by the PAE Fukaraperver Association, which represents the Russian émigrés, the total number of Russians in Turkey is about 100,000. Russians own three churches and a monk’s house, which is currently used as a commercial building in Istanbul. Hagia Elia Church is situated on the roof of a structure where monks used to reside, a style of architecture rarely seen in Anatolia.
Seeking support from Greek church
Also, the PAE Fukaraperver Association recently paid a visit to Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew to request his support for the preservation of the church.
The authorities of the association will meet the Russian consul in Istanbul today and then meet Laki Vingas, who is in charge of minority foundations at the Foundations Directorate General on May 22. The association authorities said they would continue their struggle to preserve the church, which has been closed since 1972.
Turkey’s Doğuş Holding placed the highest offer on May 16 for the privatization of Galataport, with a $702 million bid, winning the right to operate the port area for 30 years, PAE Fukaraperver Association head Vasilisa Denisenko said they were closely following the Galataport tender and would struggle to prevent this project’s plans with regard to their buildings and church.
“So far we have led invisible lives and have not told our problems since we did not want to come into prominence; we have tried to stand on our own feet,” Denisenko said. When asked about their expectations from Ankara within this period, when ways for a solution to problems regarding minorities are sought, Denisenko said their only expectation was the preservation of their church. The PAE Fukaraperver Association’s deputy head, Kazmir Pamir, said the three churches and the monk’s house belonged to the Russian Monastery at Ayanaroz Monastery Complex in Greece, adding that they were only representing the church and the Fener Greek Patriarchate was the one in charge of the churches.
“As the association, we send a part of the income we obtain from the buildings’ rents to Ayanoroz, while we are providing financial aid for those in need with the rest,” Pamir said.
Pamir said their problems were not only related to the demolition of the church, they were also facing difficulties regarding religious officials who perform their rituals. “We have only one priest, who has been serving for 65 years.
May/21/2013
White Russians in Turkey demand return of church
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The latest plans for the Galataport project have stirred Istanbul’s Russian community to take legal action to preserve their historical Hagia Elia church, which faces the risk of being demolished.
The Istanbul Salıpazarı Port, known as Galataport, which is located in Karaköy and owned by Turkey’s Maritime Organization, is set to be privatized. The current port and its surrounding area are expected to be improved after the privatization. Construction has already been underway for the last two years on many new hotels in the area, due to high expectations about the Galataport project. As part of these construction activities, the Hagia Elia Church located in Karaköy is currently at risk of demolition.
Turkey’s Russian community settled in Turkey after having fled from the Bolshevik regime in 1921. While some of them migrated to various Western countries, a considerable number of them stayed in Istanbul. According to data by the PAE Fukaraperver Association, which represents the Russian émigrés, the total number of Russians in Turkey is about 100,000. Russians own three churches and a monk’s house, which is currently used as a commercial building in Istanbul. Hagia Elia Church is situated on the roof of a structure where monks used to reside, a style of architecture rarely seen in Anatolia.
Seeking support from Greek church
Also, the PAE Fukaraperver Association recently paid a visit to Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew to request his support for the preservation of the church.
The authorities of the association will meet the Russian consul in Istanbul today and then meet Laki Vingas, who is in charge of minority foundations at the Foundations Directorate General on May 22. The association authorities said they would continue their struggle to preserve the church, which has been closed since 1972.
Turkey’s Doğuş Holding placed the highest offer on May 16 for the privatization of Galataport, with a $702 million bid, winning the right to operate the port area for 30 years, PAE Fukaraperver Association head Vasilisa Denisenko said they were closely following the Galataport tender and would struggle to prevent this project’s plans with regard to their buildings and church.
“So far we have led invisible lives and have not told our problems since we did not want to come into prominence; we have tried to stand on our own feet,” Denisenko said. When asked about their expectations from Ankara within this period, when ways for a solution to problems regarding minorities are sought, Denisenko said their only expectation was the preservation of their church. The PAE Fukaraperver Association’s deputy head, Kazmir Pamir, said the three churches and the monk’s house belonged to the Russian Monastery at Ayanaroz Monastery Complex in Greece, adding that they were only representing the church and the Fener Greek Patriarchate was the one in charge of the churches.
“As the association, we send a part of the income we obtain from the buildings’ rents to Ayanoroz, while we are providing financial aid for those in need with the rest,” Pamir said.
Pamir said their problems were not only related to the demolition of the church, they were also facing difficulties regarding religious officials who perform their rituals. “We have only one priest, who has been serving for 65 years.
May/21/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
The latest plans for the Galataport project have stirred Istanbul’s Russian community to take legal action to preserve their historical Hagia Elia church, which faces the risk of being demolished.
The Istanbul Salıpazarı Port, known as Galataport, which is located in Karaköy and owned by Turkey’s Maritime Organization, is set to be privatized. The current port and its surrounding area are expected to be improved after the privatization. Construction has already been underway for the last two years on many new hotels in the area, due to high expectations about the Galataport project. As part of these construction activities, the Hagia Elia Church located in Karaköy is currently at risk of demolition.
Turkey’s Russian community settled in Turkey after having fled from the Bolshevik regime in 1921. While some of them migrated to various Western countries, a considerable number of them stayed in Istanbul. According to data by the PAE Fukaraperver Association, which represents the Russian émigrés, the total number of Russians in Turkey is about 100,000. Russians own three churches and a monk’s house, which is currently used as a commercial building in Istanbul. Hagia Elia Church is situated on the roof of a structure where monks used to reside, a style of architecture rarely seen in Anatolia.
Seeking support from Greek church
Also, the PAE Fukaraperver Association recently paid a visit to Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew to request his support for the preservation of the church.
The authorities of the association will meet the Russian consul in Istanbul today and then meet Laki Vingas, who is in charge of minority foundations at the Foundations Directorate General on May 22. The association authorities said they would continue their struggle to preserve the church, which has been closed since 1972.
Turkey’s Doğuş Holding placed the highest offer on May 16 for the privatization of Galataport, with a $702 million bid, winning the right to operate the port area for 30 years, PAE Fukaraperver Association head Vasilisa Denisenko said they were closely following the Galataport tender and would struggle to prevent this project’s plans with regard to their buildings and church.
“So far we have led invisible lives and have not told our problems since we did not want to come into prominence; we have tried to stand on our own feet,” Denisenko said. When asked about their expectations from Ankara within this period, when ways for a solution to problems regarding minorities are sought, Denisenko said their only expectation was the preservation of their church. The PAE Fukaraperver Association’s deputy head, Kazmir Pamir, said the three churches and the monk’s house belonged to the Russian Monastery at Ayanaroz Monastery Complex in Greece, adding that they were only representing the church and the Fener Greek Patriarchate was the one in charge of the churches.
“As the association, we send a part of the income we obtain from the buildings’ rents to Ayanoroz, while we are providing financial aid for those in need with the rest,” Pamir said.
Pamir said their problems were not only related to the demolition of the church, they were also facing difficulties regarding religious officials who perform their rituals. “We have only one priest, who has been serving for 65 years.
May/21/2013
17 Mayıs 2013 Cuma
Ministry: Kidnapped bishops alive
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Bishops kidnapped on Turkey’s Syrian border are still alive and efforts are ongoing to secure their release, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has said.
Officials from Foreign Ministry’s Press Information told Hürriyet Daily News they were making calls for their release but avoided giving further details about what sources they were in contact with. Officials added that the ministry would continue its efforts until the bishops were found.
Aleppo’s Greek Orthodox Bishop Boulos Yaziji and Syriac Orthodox Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim were kidnapped on April 22 by armed men en route from the Turkish border. Fadi Hurigil, head of the Antakya Orthodox Church Foundation, said Yaziji seemed nervous when he was leaving the church. The kidnapping of the bishops has raised fears among Christians as they become increasingly vulnerable to attack and abductions in the country.
May/17/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Bishops kidnapped on Turkey’s Syrian border are still alive and efforts are ongoing to secure their release, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has said.
Officials from Foreign Ministry’s Press Information told Hürriyet Daily News they were making calls for their release but avoided giving further details about what sources they were in contact with. Officials added that the ministry would continue its efforts until the bishops were found.
Aleppo’s Greek Orthodox Bishop Boulos Yaziji and Syriac Orthodox Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim were kidnapped on April 22 by armed men en route from the Turkish border. Fadi Hurigil, head of the Antakya Orthodox Church Foundation, said Yaziji seemed nervous when he was leaving the church. The kidnapping of the bishops has raised fears among Christians as they become increasingly vulnerable to attack and abductions in the country.
May/17/2013
16 Mayıs 2013 Perşembe
RIGHTS > Greek foundation to get back EU Ministry office
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The Foundations Directorate General has decided to return the historical Ayia Foka Greek Elementary School, which currently serves as the EU Ministry’s office, to Turkey’s Greek community.
Transferred to the Treasury in 1972, the school’s foundation in Istanbul’s Ortaköy district has been in a legal struggle for years. The case was also taken to the European Court of Human Rights.
Laki Vingas, who is in charge of minority foundations at the Foundations Directorate General, told the Hürriyet Daily News that the decision had been announced to him just after a meeting on the legal entities of minority foundations held in Ankara.
“The foundation’s administration will decide how to use the property,” Vingas said, adding that the decision is very pleasing.
Vingas also said the return of the school building had symbolic importance. “The building’s symbolic importance comes from the fact that it is used as a ministry office,” he said.
Case to be withdrawn from ECHR
The press agents of the EU Ministry said they had been informed about the decision but it had not been officially announced to them yet. “The process is being closely followed; we will implement the requirements of the law,” a press agent said, referring to the previous remarks of EU Minister Egemen Bağış.
Ayia Foka Foundation head Strato Dolçinyadis also said they were very pleased with the decision and would withdraw the case they had filed to the ECHR on that matter.
Dolçinyadis said they had been in a legal struggle to take back the building since 1987. “If it is deemed suitable, we are planning to rent the building to the EU Ministry,” Dolçinyadis said upon the question of how they would use the building. Greek Foundations Association (Rumvader) deputy head Andon Parizyanos also said they welcomed the decision with a great pleasure. Like Vingas, Parizyanos also said the foundation administration would decide how to use the building.
The school, located on the coastline of the Ortaköy district, had been closed and transferred to the Treasury by the government in 1972. The historical building has served as a police station, municipality building and the EU Ministry’s office respectively.
May/16/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The Foundations Directorate General has decided to return the historical Ayia Foka Greek Elementary School, which currently serves as the EU Ministry’s office, to Turkey’s Greek community.
Transferred to the Treasury in 1972, the school’s foundation in Istanbul’s Ortaköy district has been in a legal struggle for years. The case was also taken to the European Court of Human Rights.
Laki Vingas, who is in charge of minority foundations at the Foundations Directorate General, told the Hürriyet Daily News that the decision had been announced to him just after a meeting on the legal entities of minority foundations held in Ankara.
“The foundation’s administration will decide how to use the property,” Vingas said, adding that the decision is very pleasing.
Vingas also said the return of the school building had symbolic importance. “The building’s symbolic importance comes from the fact that it is used as a ministry office,” he said.
Case to be withdrawn from ECHR
The press agents of the EU Ministry said they had been informed about the decision but it had not been officially announced to them yet. “The process is being closely followed; we will implement the requirements of the law,” a press agent said, referring to the previous remarks of EU Minister Egemen Bağış.
Ayia Foka Foundation head Strato Dolçinyadis also said they were very pleased with the decision and would withdraw the case they had filed to the ECHR on that matter.
Dolçinyadis said they had been in a legal struggle to take back the building since 1987. “If it is deemed suitable, we are planning to rent the building to the EU Ministry,” Dolçinyadis said upon the question of how they would use the building. Greek Foundations Association (Rumvader) deputy head Andon Parizyanos also said they welcomed the decision with a great pleasure. Like Vingas, Parizyanos also said the foundation administration would decide how to use the building.
The school, located on the coastline of the Ortaköy district, had been closed and transferred to the Treasury by the government in 1972. The historical building has served as a police station, municipality building and the EU Ministry’s office respectively.
May/16/2013
Dink murder was an organized crime, not an individual action, Turkish high court rules
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu from Istanbul contributed to this report.
The murder case of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink has gone to square one with the Supreme Court of Appeals decision on May 15 overturning previous decisions absolving suspects of any connection to armed criminal organizations, ruling instead that they are members of such groups.
The ruling opens the way to the retrial of suspects on charges related to the formation of an armed crime organization. The court stated that the “organization” was formed “with the purpose of committing a crime.”
However, Dink’s legal team will object to the decision that defines the current formation as “an organization formed to commit crimes” instead of an “armed terrorist organization,” according to lawyer Bahri Belen, who told the Hürriyet Daily News that the decision failed to note the suspects’ political nature.
“The Supreme Court says there is an organization, but not of a political nature,” Belen said. “It is important to define the organization. The Supreme Court decision holds murder similar to a debt and checks gang, whereas there is a long process that starts with the McDonalds bombing to the Dink murder. The legal definition is wrong, since this is an act of terror, committed not by an ordinary criminal organization, but by a political organization.”
The court decision points at a "contract" for the crime rather than an organization, Deputy MP Bekir Bozdağ said during an Ankara meeting.
Yasin Hayal, who was convicted of instigating the Dink murder, was also convicted of detonating a bomb outside a Trabzon McDonalds in 2004.
Belen said the upcoming new legal procedures following their objection and additional indictments would proceed faster than the initial stages.
The court also decided to hear a case into accusations that Hayal threatened Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, in addition to overturning his conviction of membership in a criminal organization.
The acquittal of Hayal’s brother, Osman Hayal, on charges of aiding murder was also overturned due to incomplete investigations, according to the court.
The court also overruled six charges against Erhan Tuncel for deliberately inflicting injury in the Trabzon bombing, demanding the increased charge of attempted murder. Tuncel was also tried in the Dink murder as a suspected instigator and was also employed by Engin Dinç, who was later called on to testify during the Dink murder trial.
The court also overruled acquittals for Silah Hacısalihoğlu, Zerney Abidin Yavuz and Tuncay Uzundal on charges related to membership in an armed terror organization, while approving a sentence against Ahmet İskender for aiding murder.
Dink was assassinated in Istanbul in January 2007 by Ogün Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist, in front of the offices of Agos, the weekly for which he was the editor-in-chief.
After two years of proceedings, Samast was convicted on July 25, 2011, of premeditated murder and illegal possession of a firearm by Istanbul’s Juvenile Court for Serious Crimes and sentenced to 22 years and 10 months in prison. Following a five-year trial, the court ruled on Jan. 17, 2012, that it saw no “deep state” role in the plotting of the assassination, despite serious claims that a number of civil servants were involved.
May/15/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu from Istanbul contributed to this report.
The murder case of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink has gone to square one with the Supreme Court of Appeals decision on May 15 overturning previous decisions absolving suspects of any connection to armed criminal organizations, ruling instead that they are members of such groups.
The ruling opens the way to the retrial of suspects on charges related to the formation of an armed crime organization. The court stated that the “organization” was formed “with the purpose of committing a crime.”
However, Dink’s legal team will object to the decision that defines the current formation as “an organization formed to commit crimes” instead of an “armed terrorist organization,” according to lawyer Bahri Belen, who told the Hürriyet Daily News that the decision failed to note the suspects’ political nature.
“The Supreme Court says there is an organization, but not of a political nature,” Belen said. “It is important to define the organization. The Supreme Court decision holds murder similar to a debt and checks gang, whereas there is a long process that starts with the McDonalds bombing to the Dink murder. The legal definition is wrong, since this is an act of terror, committed not by an ordinary criminal organization, but by a political organization.”
The court decision points at a "contract" for the crime rather than an organization, Deputy MP Bekir Bozdağ said during an Ankara meeting.
Yasin Hayal, who was convicted of instigating the Dink murder, was also convicted of detonating a bomb outside a Trabzon McDonalds in 2004.
Belen said the upcoming new legal procedures following their objection and additional indictments would proceed faster than the initial stages.
The court also decided to hear a case into accusations that Hayal threatened Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, in addition to overturning his conviction of membership in a criminal organization.
The acquittal of Hayal’s brother, Osman Hayal, on charges of aiding murder was also overturned due to incomplete investigations, according to the court.
The court also overruled six charges against Erhan Tuncel for deliberately inflicting injury in the Trabzon bombing, demanding the increased charge of attempted murder. Tuncel was also tried in the Dink murder as a suspected instigator and was also employed by Engin Dinç, who was later called on to testify during the Dink murder trial.
The court also overruled acquittals for Silah Hacısalihoğlu, Zerney Abidin Yavuz and Tuncay Uzundal on charges related to membership in an armed terror organization, while approving a sentence against Ahmet İskender for aiding murder.
Dink was assassinated in Istanbul in January 2007 by Ogün Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist, in front of the offices of Agos, the weekly for which he was the editor-in-chief.
After two years of proceedings, Samast was convicted on July 25, 2011, of premeditated murder and illegal possession of a firearm by Istanbul’s Juvenile Court for Serious Crimes and sentenced to 22 years and 10 months in prison. Following a five-year trial, the court ruled on Jan. 17, 2012, that it saw no “deep state” role in the plotting of the assassination, despite serious claims that a number of civil servants were involved.
May/15/2013
14 Mayıs 2013 Salı
Patriarch trusts in God, state against assassination
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew said he is protected by “God first and then the state” in regards to allegations that he was the target of an assassination plot.
Bartholomew responded to the claims listed in an investigation launched by an Ankara prosecutor claiming that the Istanbul-based patriarch would be the target of an assassination attempt on May 29, the 560th anniversary of Istanbul’s conquest by Mehmed the Conqueror.
“I have no worries,” Bartholomew wrote to the Hürriyet Daily News in a written statement. “ I protected by God first, and then the state.”
Fener Greek Patriarchate spokesman Dositheos Anagnostopulos also said the police had taken the necessary measures and everybody should be calm.
“The claims are not definite yet, but we feel safe,” he said.
Last week, private broadcaster NTV said the investigation was launched after a letter was sent from the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri, claiming that the patriarch would be the target of an assassination attempt. One man was detained and police forces are searching for two others. The suspects recently arrived in Istanbul from Kayseri, police sources said. S.A., the detained suspect, denied the claims and said he was in Istanbul to visit his relatives and had no intention or plan to murder Bartholomew. A file opened by a Kayseri prosecutor has been handed over to the Ankara public prosecutor.
May/14/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew said he is protected by “God first and then the state” in regards to allegations that he was the target of an assassination plot.
Bartholomew responded to the claims listed in an investigation launched by an Ankara prosecutor claiming that the Istanbul-based patriarch would be the target of an assassination attempt on May 29, the 560th anniversary of Istanbul’s conquest by Mehmed the Conqueror.
“I have no worries,” Bartholomew wrote to the Hürriyet Daily News in a written statement. “ I protected by God first, and then the state.”
Fener Greek Patriarchate spokesman Dositheos Anagnostopulos also said the police had taken the necessary measures and everybody should be calm.
“The claims are not definite yet, but we feel safe,” he said.
Last week, private broadcaster NTV said the investigation was launched after a letter was sent from the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri, claiming that the patriarch would be the target of an assassination attempt. One man was detained and police forces are searching for two others. The suspects recently arrived in Istanbul from Kayseri, police sources said. S.A., the detained suspect, denied the claims and said he was in Istanbul to visit his relatives and had no intention or plan to murder Bartholomew. A file opened by a Kayseri prosecutor has been handed over to the Ankara public prosecutor.
May/14/2013
RIGHTS > Wise Persons hear minority woes
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The Wise Persons Commission’s Marmara region sub-group met with representatives of minority communities on May 11 at the Feriköy Surp Vartananzs Armenian Church Şirinoğlu Hall.
During the meeting, many subjects were discussed including issues of identity and citizenship, the Lausanne Treaty, discriminatory expressions in course books, damaged cultural assets of Anatolia, the new constitutional process, changes to some street names such as Talat Paşa, Ergenekon, and Kurtuluş, the districts inhabited by minority populations, the exclusion of films representing minorities as hostile enemies from archives, and the church and school problems faced by the Syriac community.
Members of the minorities also voiced concerns that the bid for democracy and equality could potentially be interrupted, as it had been in the past.
At the meeting, daily Apoyevmatini’s Editor-in-Chief Mihalis Vasiliadis referred to a Turkish proverb, “A fool may throw a stone into a well, which a hundred wise men cannot pull out. We will see how many wise persons could pull out the stone,” he said.
Huge gap between state, minorities
Vasiliadis also said there was a huge gap between the state and minority communities, asking whether there was an effort to narrow this gap. He also shared his daily life experiences to illustrate how hard it is to be a minority in Turkey.
Vasiliadis also demanded support from one of the commission members, renowned actress Hülya Koçyiğt, for the exclusion of films that have hostile expressions or symbols against minorities.
Meanwhile, Harutyun Şanlı said the course books including hostile remarks towards minorities should be withdrawn as soon as possible. Şanlı said the period of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government had become a turning point for minority communities. “Though our state authorities are as close as a phone line, there are still some red lines in between,” he said.
Şanlı also recalled the Foundations Law, which was enacted about two years ago, “First they returned our own lands to us, but then the municipality said they needed a green area in Istanbul,” Şanlı said.
Also, Laki Vingas, who is in charge of minority foundations in the Foundations Directorate General, said the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan did not touch upon the minority communities in his speeches.
“For 90 years, we have claimed our rights, and been regarded as strangers. They always expected us to obey. We demand our reputation, not some rights sold on credit,” Vingas said.
There were also some tense moments during the meeting. The representatives of minority communities objected to the meeting’s description as a “meeting with non-Muslim minorities,” while the members of the Peace and Democracy party (BDP) reacted against the delegation head Deniz Ülke Arıboğan’s use of expressions such as “PKK terror” and “Kurdish terror.”
The commission, which was founded with the aim of providing a peaceful atmosphere in the resolution process of the Kurdish issue, is expected to submit a report to the government on June 14.
May/14/2013
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The Wise Persons Commission’s Marmara region sub-group met with representatives of minority communities on May 11 at the Feriköy Surp Vartananzs Armenian Church Şirinoğlu Hall.
During the meeting, many subjects were discussed including issues of identity and citizenship, the Lausanne Treaty, discriminatory expressions in course books, damaged cultural assets of Anatolia, the new constitutional process, changes to some street names such as Talat Paşa, Ergenekon, and Kurtuluş, the districts inhabited by minority populations, the exclusion of films representing minorities as hostile enemies from archives, and the church and school problems faced by the Syriac community.
Members of the minorities also voiced concerns that the bid for democracy and equality could potentially be interrupted, as it had been in the past.
At the meeting, daily Apoyevmatini’s Editor-in-Chief Mihalis Vasiliadis referred to a Turkish proverb, “A fool may throw a stone into a well, which a hundred wise men cannot pull out. We will see how many wise persons could pull out the stone,” he said.
Huge gap between state, minorities
Vasiliadis also said there was a huge gap between the state and minority communities, asking whether there was an effort to narrow this gap. He also shared his daily life experiences to illustrate how hard it is to be a minority in Turkey.
Vasiliadis also demanded support from one of the commission members, renowned actress Hülya Koçyiğt, for the exclusion of films that have hostile expressions or symbols against minorities.
Meanwhile, Harutyun Şanlı said the course books including hostile remarks towards minorities should be withdrawn as soon as possible. Şanlı said the period of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government had become a turning point for minority communities. “Though our state authorities are as close as a phone line, there are still some red lines in between,” he said.
Şanlı also recalled the Foundations Law, which was enacted about two years ago, “First they returned our own lands to us, but then the municipality said they needed a green area in Istanbul,” Şanlı said.
Also, Laki Vingas, who is in charge of minority foundations in the Foundations Directorate General, said the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan did not touch upon the minority communities in his speeches.
“For 90 years, we have claimed our rights, and been regarded as strangers. They always expected us to obey. We demand our reputation, not some rights sold on credit,” Vingas said.
There were also some tense moments during the meeting. The representatives of minority communities objected to the meeting’s description as a “meeting with non-Muslim minorities,” while the members of the Peace and Democracy party (BDP) reacted against the delegation head Deniz Ülke Arıboğan’s use of expressions such as “PKK terror” and “Kurdish terror.”
The commission, which was founded with the aim of providing a peaceful atmosphere in the resolution process of the Kurdish issue, is expected to submit a report to the government on June 14.
May/14/2013
13 Mayıs 2013 Pazartesi
An architect building bridges between religions
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu / vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Kevork Özkaragöz, an Armenian architect who has designed many religious monuments for different religions and sects, refers to the opinions of the religious communities when developing his projects.
A member of an Armenian family renowned for their stonemasonry, Özkaragöz moved from Malatya to Istanbul with his family when he was 6 years old.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News about his projects, Özkaragöz said those likening him the chief Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan were exaggerating his skills.
“During the Ottoman period, there was not a tradition of highlighting a certain ethnicity or religion. Such a situation was never seen in architecture and other art forms,” Özkaragöz said.
“Also, the Balyan family [an Armenian dynasty of famous architects during Ottoman period] did not come to the forefront with their identity. As architects, we never attach a special importance to religious structures in our projects. Each architectural project bears importance since they are the structures presented to a city’s community. However, religious structures sometimes require more concentration and effort due to some features peculiar to them,” he said.
The structures built by Özkaragöz in recent years include Mahmut Şevket Paşa Hacı Bektaş Cemevi (an Alevi house of worship) in Istanbul’s Okmeydanı district, Plevne Mosque in Balıkesir’s Gönen district and the final prayer chapel in his hometown, Malatya.
Last year, the final prayer chapel – in a historical Armenian cemetery in Malatya – was demolished by municipal teams, which stirred a lot of debate in society. Due to the objections, the chapel was rebuilt on the grounds that the teams had “misunderstood the order.”
“While designing the Cemevi, I obtained the opinions of elderly persons in the Alevi community. I obtained data on Alevi culture and beliefs from studies published on the subject. And when designing the mosque, I tried to get to know the functions of a mosque by chatting with imams. I especially observed Istanbul’s mosques from the perspective of a designer. I refreshed my knowledge of mosques by examining mosques’ stages of development in art history books. I also examined Vedat Dalokay Islamabad Mosque and Behruz Çinici TCMM mosque, which were built in the Republican period,” he said.
“Existence, oneness and love of God form the basis of religions, while they center upon human beings.I believe each faith has a different form of worship and different needs. I can develop my designs by taking all these [differences] into account with the aid of my cultural background. I am very pleased when a religious structure comes into being and people can worship in them,” Özkaragöz said.
Çamlıca Mosque project
Özkaragöz also criticized the recent plans to build new mosques in distinct parts of Istanbul such as Çamlıca Hill and Taksim Square.
“It is not possible to regard Taksim as a modern square area, since the functional diversities among a series of buildings make it hard to see it as a square,” he said.
“Reorganizing ‘Topçu Kışlası’ [Artillery Barracks] will make the already complicated issue even more confusing. The distinct square areas in the world’s significant cities are noted with the homogeneously distributed buildings surrounding them. If Taksim is organized in such a way, of course a place of worship can be designed there, as we see some examples of it in some major cities of the world. A mosque built on a hill has no place in the traditions of the Bosphorus. All the mosques were built considering the coasts and scale of the Bosphorus. The historical peninsula is the most significant silhouette representing Istanbul. The mosque planned to be built on Çamlıca Hill must not compete to get a role in the historical peninsula. Also, a mosque designed in such an area would create some difficulties in the region due to its size and capacity,” Özkaragöz said.
May/11/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu / vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Kevork Özkaragöz, an Armenian architect who has designed many religious monuments for different religions and sects, refers to the opinions of the religious communities when developing his projects.
A member of an Armenian family renowned for their stonemasonry, Özkaragöz moved from Malatya to Istanbul with his family when he was 6 years old.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News about his projects, Özkaragöz said those likening him the chief Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan were exaggerating his skills.
“During the Ottoman period, there was not a tradition of highlighting a certain ethnicity or religion. Such a situation was never seen in architecture and other art forms,” Özkaragöz said.
“Also, the Balyan family [an Armenian dynasty of famous architects during Ottoman period] did not come to the forefront with their identity. As architects, we never attach a special importance to religious structures in our projects. Each architectural project bears importance since they are the structures presented to a city’s community. However, religious structures sometimes require more concentration and effort due to some features peculiar to them,” he said.
The structures built by Özkaragöz in recent years include Mahmut Şevket Paşa Hacı Bektaş Cemevi (an Alevi house of worship) in Istanbul’s Okmeydanı district, Plevne Mosque in Balıkesir’s Gönen district and the final prayer chapel in his hometown, Malatya.
Last year, the final prayer chapel – in a historical Armenian cemetery in Malatya – was demolished by municipal teams, which stirred a lot of debate in society. Due to the objections, the chapel was rebuilt on the grounds that the teams had “misunderstood the order.”
“While designing the Cemevi, I obtained the opinions of elderly persons in the Alevi community. I obtained data on Alevi culture and beliefs from studies published on the subject. And when designing the mosque, I tried to get to know the functions of a mosque by chatting with imams. I especially observed Istanbul’s mosques from the perspective of a designer. I refreshed my knowledge of mosques by examining mosques’ stages of development in art history books. I also examined Vedat Dalokay Islamabad Mosque and Behruz Çinici TCMM mosque, which were built in the Republican period,” he said.
“Existence, oneness and love of God form the basis of religions, while they center upon human beings.I believe each faith has a different form of worship and different needs. I can develop my designs by taking all these [differences] into account with the aid of my cultural background. I am very pleased when a religious structure comes into being and people can worship in them,” Özkaragöz said.
Çamlıca Mosque project
Özkaragöz also criticized the recent plans to build new mosques in distinct parts of Istanbul such as Çamlıca Hill and Taksim Square.
“It is not possible to regard Taksim as a modern square area, since the functional diversities among a series of buildings make it hard to see it as a square,” he said.
“Reorganizing ‘Topçu Kışlası’ [Artillery Barracks] will make the already complicated issue even more confusing. The distinct square areas in the world’s significant cities are noted with the homogeneously distributed buildings surrounding them. If Taksim is organized in such a way, of course a place of worship can be designed there, as we see some examples of it in some major cities of the world. A mosque built on a hill has no place in the traditions of the Bosphorus. All the mosques were built considering the coasts and scale of the Bosphorus. The historical peninsula is the most significant silhouette representing Istanbul. The mosque planned to be built on Çamlıca Hill must not compete to get a role in the historical peninsula. Also, a mosque designed in such an area would create some difficulties in the region due to its size and capacity,” Özkaragöz said.
May/11/2013
An architect building bridges between religions
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Kevork Özkaragöz is known for his monument designs that have taken on different religions over the course of time. Architect says it pleases him to share his designs with the worshipping crowds
Send to friend » Share on linkedin Armenian architect Kevork Özkaragöz desgined many monuments, including mosques and churches, for various religions, forming bridges between faiths.
Kevork Özkaragöz, an Armenian architect who has designed many religious monuments for different religions and sects, refers to the opinions of the religious communities when developing his projects.
A member of an Armenian family renowned for their stonemasonry, Özkaragöz moved from Malatya to Istanbul with his family when he was 6 years old.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News about his projects, Özkaragöz said those likening him the chief Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan were exaggerating his skills.
“During the Ottoman period, there was not a tradition of highlighting a certain ethnicity or religion. Such a situation was never seen in architecture and other art forms,” Özkaragöz said.
“Also, the Balyan family [an Armenian dynasty of famous architects during Ottoman period] did not come to the forefront with their identity. As architects, we never attach a special importance to religious structures in our projects. Each architectural project bears importance since they are the structures presented to a city’s community. However, religious structures sometimes require more concentration and effort due to some features peculiar to them,” he said.
The structures built by Özkaragöz in recent years include Mahmut Şevket Paşa Hacı Bektaş Cemevi (an Alevi house of worship) in Istanbul’s Okmeydanı district, Plevne Mosque in Balıkesir’s Gönen district and the final prayer chapel in his hometown, Malatya.
Last year, the final prayer chapel – in a historical Armenian cemetery in Malatya – was demolished by municipal teams, which stirred a lot of debate in society. Due to the objections, the chapel was rebuilt on the grounds that the teams had “misunderstood the order.”
“While designing the Cemevi, I obtained the opinions of elderly persons in the Alevi community. I obtained data on Alevi culture and beliefs from studies published on the subject. And when designing the mosque, I tried to get to know the functions of a mosque by chatting with imams. I especially observed Istanbul’s mosques from the perspective of a designer. I refreshed my knowledge of mosques by examining mosques’ stages of development in art history books. I also examined Vedat Dalokay Islamabad Mosque and Behruz Çinici TCMM mosque, which were built in the Republican period,” he said.
“Existence, oneness and love of God form the basis of religions, while they center upon human beings.I believe each faith has a different form of worship and different needs. I can develop my designs by taking all these [differences] into account with the aid of my cultural background. I am very pleased when a religious structure comes into being and people can worship in them,” Özkaragöz said.
Çamlıca Mosque project
Özkaragöz also criticized the recent plans to build new mosques in distinct parts of Istanbul such as Çamlıca Hill and Taksim Square.
“It is not possible to regard Taksim as a modern square area, since the functional diversities among a series of buildings make it hard to see it as a square,” he said.
“Reorganizing ‘Topçu Kışlası’ [Artillery Barracks] will make the already complicated issue even more confusing. The distinct square areas in the world’s significant cities are noted with the homogeneously distributed buildings surrounding them. If Taksim is organized in such a way, of course a place of worship can be designed there, as we see some examples of it in some major cities of the world. A mosque built on a hill has no place in the traditions of the Bosphorus. All the mosques were built considering the coasts and scale of the Bosphorus. The historical peninsula is the most significant silhouette representing Istanbul. The mosque planned to be built on Çamlıca Hill must not compete to get a role in the historical peninsula. Also, a mosque designed in such an area would create some difficulties in the region due to its size and capacity,” Özkaragöz said.
May/11/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Kevork Özkaragöz is known for his monument designs that have taken on different religions over the course of time. Architect says it pleases him to share his designs with the worshipping crowds
Send to friend » Share on linkedin Armenian architect Kevork Özkaragöz desgined many monuments, including mosques and churches, for various religions, forming bridges between faiths.
Kevork Özkaragöz, an Armenian architect who has designed many religious monuments for different religions and sects, refers to the opinions of the religious communities when developing his projects.
A member of an Armenian family renowned for their stonemasonry, Özkaragöz moved from Malatya to Istanbul with his family when he was 6 years old.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News about his projects, Özkaragöz said those likening him the chief Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan were exaggerating his skills.
“During the Ottoman period, there was not a tradition of highlighting a certain ethnicity or religion. Such a situation was never seen in architecture and other art forms,” Özkaragöz said.
“Also, the Balyan family [an Armenian dynasty of famous architects during Ottoman period] did not come to the forefront with their identity. As architects, we never attach a special importance to religious structures in our projects. Each architectural project bears importance since they are the structures presented to a city’s community. However, religious structures sometimes require more concentration and effort due to some features peculiar to them,” he said.
The structures built by Özkaragöz in recent years include Mahmut Şevket Paşa Hacı Bektaş Cemevi (an Alevi house of worship) in Istanbul’s Okmeydanı district, Plevne Mosque in Balıkesir’s Gönen district and the final prayer chapel in his hometown, Malatya.
Last year, the final prayer chapel – in a historical Armenian cemetery in Malatya – was demolished by municipal teams, which stirred a lot of debate in society. Due to the objections, the chapel was rebuilt on the grounds that the teams had “misunderstood the order.”
“While designing the Cemevi, I obtained the opinions of elderly persons in the Alevi community. I obtained data on Alevi culture and beliefs from studies published on the subject. And when designing the mosque, I tried to get to know the functions of a mosque by chatting with imams. I especially observed Istanbul’s mosques from the perspective of a designer. I refreshed my knowledge of mosques by examining mosques’ stages of development in art history books. I also examined Vedat Dalokay Islamabad Mosque and Behruz Çinici TCMM mosque, which were built in the Republican period,” he said.
“Existence, oneness and love of God form the basis of religions, while they center upon human beings.I believe each faith has a different form of worship and different needs. I can develop my designs by taking all these [differences] into account with the aid of my cultural background. I am very pleased when a religious structure comes into being and people can worship in them,” Özkaragöz said.
Çamlıca Mosque project
Özkaragöz also criticized the recent plans to build new mosques in distinct parts of Istanbul such as Çamlıca Hill and Taksim Square.
“It is not possible to regard Taksim as a modern square area, since the functional diversities among a series of buildings make it hard to see it as a square,” he said.
“Reorganizing ‘Topçu Kışlası’ [Artillery Barracks] will make the already complicated issue even more confusing. The distinct square areas in the world’s significant cities are noted with the homogeneously distributed buildings surrounding them. If Taksim is organized in such a way, of course a place of worship can be designed there, as we see some examples of it in some major cities of the world. A mosque built on a hill has no place in the traditions of the Bosphorus. All the mosques were built considering the coasts and scale of the Bosphorus. The historical peninsula is the most significant silhouette representing Istanbul. The mosque planned to be built on Çamlıca Hill must not compete to get a role in the historical peninsula. Also, a mosque designed in such an area would create some difficulties in the region due to its size and capacity,” Özkaragöz said.
May/11/2013
8 Mayıs 2013 Çarşamba
LOCAL > May Day victim girl barely finds hospital
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Dilan Alp, a 17-year-old girl who was severely wounded in the clashes during Istanbul’s May Day demonstrations, has been transferred to a third hospital after being discharged from the first two, while her family remains concerned about her health.
Alp was first discharged from Medikal Park Hospital’s intensive care unit on the grounds that she had recovered enough on May 6. Her family then took Alp to the Private Bağcılar Işık Medical Center, but she was also transferred from there to another hospital on the grounds that the facilities of the medical center were not sufficient.
Alp was struck in the head by a gas canister fired by police during May Day demonstrations close to Istanbul’s Taksim Square. Haluk Ağabeyoğlu, a friend of Dilan’s father Ali Ekber Alp, said Dilan had been hurriedly and unexpectedly discharged from hospital.
“While Dilan was in the intensive care unit, it was suddenly said that she would be discharged. Her father was shocked,” Ağabeyoğlu said.
Authorities from Medikal Park Hospital refuted the claims, arguing that the doctors decided to discharge her, as the treatment was completed.
Ağabeyoğlu, however, said these statements did not reflect the truth. “Despite their financial difficulties, the family was struggling to keep Dilan at the hospital, as her condition was critical. Her father Ali Ekber was fired from his job 15 months ago without receiving his social rights,” he said. “We are talking about a very young girl. The unjust smear against Dilan needs to be urgently cleared up.”
May/07/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Dilan Alp, a 17-year-old girl who was severely wounded in the clashes during Istanbul’s May Day demonstrations, has been transferred to a third hospital after being discharged from the first two, while her family remains concerned about her health.
Alp was first discharged from Medikal Park Hospital’s intensive care unit on the grounds that she had recovered enough on May 6. Her family then took Alp to the Private Bağcılar Işık Medical Center, but she was also transferred from there to another hospital on the grounds that the facilities of the medical center were not sufficient.
Alp was struck in the head by a gas canister fired by police during May Day demonstrations close to Istanbul’s Taksim Square. Haluk Ağabeyoğlu, a friend of Dilan’s father Ali Ekber Alp, said Dilan had been hurriedly and unexpectedly discharged from hospital.
“While Dilan was in the intensive care unit, it was suddenly said that she would be discharged. Her father was shocked,” Ağabeyoğlu said.
Authorities from Medikal Park Hospital refuted the claims, arguing that the doctors decided to discharge her, as the treatment was completed.
Ağabeyoğlu, however, said these statements did not reflect the truth. “Despite their financial difficulties, the family was struggling to keep Dilan at the hospital, as her condition was critical. Her father Ali Ekber was fired from his job 15 months ago without receiving his social rights,” he said. “We are talking about a very young girl. The unjust smear against Dilan needs to be urgently cleared up.”
May/07/2013
7 Mayıs 2013 Salı
Halki may be used as library, Metropolit says
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Heybeliada Halki Seminary, the religious school that has remained closed for 42 years, could be used as a library for research, conferences and studies if the government will not reopen it as an educational institution, Metropolit Elpidophoros Lambrianidis has told the Daily News.
The statement came one day before an extraordinary Easter celebration on the Heybeliada Island close to Istanbul.
“Since our respected government has not made the decision to officially reopen our school as an educational institution, we decided to do so in another way,” Lambrianidis told the Daily News over the weekend.
“We will open the school as a monastic brotherhood, as a meeting place, a place for research in the library, place for conferences, hospitality, and study,” he added.
“Everybody is welcome to join us, whatever his/her nation, religion or language might be,” he said.
Agias Triados Church, a part of the Halki Seminary, witnessed a landmark Easter ceremony with consulate generals from 14 countries gathering at the school.
“This idea was born last year, when some Consul Generals of Orthodox countries came to Heybeliada and did the same thing, with lower numbers of participation, of course. The success of last year gave rise to the idea of extending the event this year, by inviting more people,” said Lambrianidis.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Cabinet ministers have repeatedly said that the seminary could be opened but no bold steps on the issue have been taken yet.
The opening of the seminary has turned into an international issue with the U.S. State Secretary John Kerry calling on Turkey to reopen the school in his visit to Istanbul last month.
A draft resolution calling on Turkey to facilitate the reopening without condition or further delay has been submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month.
The issue was discussed during talks in Ankara on Feb. 25 during which German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish PM Erdoğan met with various spiritual leaders, according to sources.
May/07/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu
vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Heybeliada Halki Seminary, the religious school that has remained closed for 42 years, could be used as a library for research, conferences and studies if the government will not reopen it as an educational institution, Metropolit Elpidophoros Lambrianidis has told the Daily News.
The statement came one day before an extraordinary Easter celebration on the Heybeliada Island close to Istanbul.
“Since our respected government has not made the decision to officially reopen our school as an educational institution, we decided to do so in another way,” Lambrianidis told the Daily News over the weekend.
“We will open the school as a monastic brotherhood, as a meeting place, a place for research in the library, place for conferences, hospitality, and study,” he added.
“Everybody is welcome to join us, whatever his/her nation, religion or language might be,” he said.
Agias Triados Church, a part of the Halki Seminary, witnessed a landmark Easter ceremony with consulate generals from 14 countries gathering at the school.
“This idea was born last year, when some Consul Generals of Orthodox countries came to Heybeliada and did the same thing, with lower numbers of participation, of course. The success of last year gave rise to the idea of extending the event this year, by inviting more people,” said Lambrianidis.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Cabinet ministers have repeatedly said that the seminary could be opened but no bold steps on the issue have been taken yet.
The opening of the seminary has turned into an international issue with the U.S. State Secretary John Kerry calling on Turkey to reopen the school in his visit to Istanbul last month.
A draft resolution calling on Turkey to facilitate the reopening without condition or further delay has been submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month.
The issue was discussed during talks in Ankara on Feb. 25 during which German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish PM Erdoğan met with various spiritual leaders, according to sources.
May/07/2013
6 Mayıs 2013 Pazartesi
LOCAL > Turkey’s longest-serving inmate enjoying freedom
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News-Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Tahir Canan, recenlty released from prison after serving 32 years in jail, a record jail-term in Turkey, is trying to adjust his new free life. A convict of the 1980 military coup, Canan will seek a payback in the European Court of Human Rights from those ‘unjustly stole my years’
Turkey’s longest sentence serving convict, Tahir Canan is adjusting to his newfound freedom, ending his ordeal of 32 years behind bars.
A symbolic convict of the 1980 military coup, Canan was released on April 30 in accordance with the fourth judicial package, ending his ordeal of 32 years in prison. He was sentenced to 36 years in prison on charges of murdering two right-wing advocates in 1978.
“From now on, I will start my life like a newborn child,” the 60-year-old Canan told the Hürriyet Daily News, three days after his release, “I have to survive; otherwise, I would have to destroy myself.”
Until his release, Canan never saw his youngest son, who is now 20 years old. His wife Gülnigar Canan raised their four children by herself. Only a day after his release, Canan directly headed to the demonstration protesting against conflicts between the government and unions on Labor Day. “The outer world has changed a lot in 32 years, while I was behind bars,” he added. “However, the external world has also turned into a concrete jungle and humans have become mechanized.”
In 1978, Canan was sentenced to 36 years on charges of murder and being a member of the Turkish Revolutionary Communist Party. After 13 years, he was released on probation. A year later, he married Gülnigar Canan, his second wife. However, he was charged for “having children distribute political statements” in Malatya, and given a sentence of 12 years and six months.
“I was a left-winger, and everyone would know me. When two right-wingers were killed, police detained me without evidence. I was released on probation during the 1990s. Then I headed to Malatya and began selling towels. And they detained me again since I am an ex-convict. They stole my years, my life and my family from me,” he added.
The file of Canan currently awaits a decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Canan and his family spoke to Hürriyet Daily News during their visit to Istanbul.
“They unjustly stole my years, and must pay its account,” Canan said. I was subjected to the greatest tortures. They tore my hair and moustache. They gave me electric shocks. My friends were victimized to the point of unidentified murders. I will become their voice outside,” Canan said.
His wife Gülnigar Canan said, “I was 31 when my husband was arrested. I raised four children while he was away. I faced many hardships as a woman living alone.” His 20-year-old son, İmran Kaya Canan, who is currently a student at Ankara University, said it was very strange to call someone “dad” after all these years.
“Rebuilding a father-son relation is very hard. I shaped my relation with my father according to prison conditions. Now I must adapt to this. Now there aren’t thick walls and bars between us. But there are years stolen from us,” he said.
‘Unidentified murders must be questioned’
Canan said he was exposed to both physical and psychological violence during his first years in prison. “I was subjected to every kind of torture. I stayed in a cell for three years. They are now behaving as if freedom was bestowed on me thanks to the fourth judicial package. But the judiciary only maneuvered. I was thinking that I was forgotten in these 32 years. I tried to make contacts with press but they did not listen to me. The state also forgot me,” he said. Canan also criticized the ongoing Ergenekon coup plot case. “Only the coup aspect is being questioned within the case. Why don’t they question what happened to those victimized in unidentified murders? Weren’t they the citizens of this country? Many of my friends were killed by unidentified persons. My survival is a bare coincidence. I will struggle for the rights of [my dead friends],” he said.
İmran Kaya Candan said he faced many difficulties especially in his childhood years. “Only a few of my friends know our family’s situation. Friends can be very cruel at those ages, so I hid all my experiences,” he said.
Gülnigar Canan said they suffered a great deal during her husband’s prison years. “When İmran was a newborn baby, and my other son was still a little child, we paid a visit to their dad. They received our nursing bottle and diapers. They detained my elder son when he raised his voice. When he was outside, he was covered in bruises. I experienced such great fears,” she said.
May/06/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News-Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Tahir Canan, recenlty released from prison after serving 32 years in jail, a record jail-term in Turkey, is trying to adjust his new free life. A convict of the 1980 military coup, Canan will seek a payback in the European Court of Human Rights from those ‘unjustly stole my years’
Turkey’s longest sentence serving convict, Tahir Canan is adjusting to his newfound freedom, ending his ordeal of 32 years behind bars.
A symbolic convict of the 1980 military coup, Canan was released on April 30 in accordance with the fourth judicial package, ending his ordeal of 32 years in prison. He was sentenced to 36 years in prison on charges of murdering two right-wing advocates in 1978.
“From now on, I will start my life like a newborn child,” the 60-year-old Canan told the Hürriyet Daily News, three days after his release, “I have to survive; otherwise, I would have to destroy myself.”
Until his release, Canan never saw his youngest son, who is now 20 years old. His wife Gülnigar Canan raised their four children by herself. Only a day after his release, Canan directly headed to the demonstration protesting against conflicts between the government and unions on Labor Day. “The outer world has changed a lot in 32 years, while I was behind bars,” he added. “However, the external world has also turned into a concrete jungle and humans have become mechanized.”
In 1978, Canan was sentenced to 36 years on charges of murder and being a member of the Turkish Revolutionary Communist Party. After 13 years, he was released on probation. A year later, he married Gülnigar Canan, his second wife. However, he was charged for “having children distribute political statements” in Malatya, and given a sentence of 12 years and six months.
“I was a left-winger, and everyone would know me. When two right-wingers were killed, police detained me without evidence. I was released on probation during the 1990s. Then I headed to Malatya and began selling towels. And they detained me again since I am an ex-convict. They stole my years, my life and my family from me,” he added.
The file of Canan currently awaits a decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Canan and his family spoke to Hürriyet Daily News during their visit to Istanbul.
“They unjustly stole my years, and must pay its account,” Canan said. I was subjected to the greatest tortures. They tore my hair and moustache. They gave me electric shocks. My friends were victimized to the point of unidentified murders. I will become their voice outside,” Canan said.
His wife Gülnigar Canan said, “I was 31 when my husband was arrested. I raised four children while he was away. I faced many hardships as a woman living alone.” His 20-year-old son, İmran Kaya Canan, who is currently a student at Ankara University, said it was very strange to call someone “dad” after all these years.
“Rebuilding a father-son relation is very hard. I shaped my relation with my father according to prison conditions. Now I must adapt to this. Now there aren’t thick walls and bars between us. But there are years stolen from us,” he said.
‘Unidentified murders must be questioned’
Canan said he was exposed to both physical and psychological violence during his first years in prison. “I was subjected to every kind of torture. I stayed in a cell for three years. They are now behaving as if freedom was bestowed on me thanks to the fourth judicial package. But the judiciary only maneuvered. I was thinking that I was forgotten in these 32 years. I tried to make contacts with press but they did not listen to me. The state also forgot me,” he said. Canan also criticized the ongoing Ergenekon coup plot case. “Only the coup aspect is being questioned within the case. Why don’t they question what happened to those victimized in unidentified murders? Weren’t they the citizens of this country? Many of my friends were killed by unidentified persons. My survival is a bare coincidence. I will struggle for the rights of [my dead friends],” he said.
İmran Kaya Candan said he faced many difficulties especially in his childhood years. “Only a few of my friends know our family’s situation. Friends can be very cruel at those ages, so I hid all my experiences,” he said.
Gülnigar Canan said they suffered a great deal during her husband’s prison years. “When İmran was a newborn baby, and my other son was still a little child, we paid a visit to their dad. They received our nursing bottle and diapers. They detained my elder son when he raised his voice. When he was outside, he was covered in bruises. I experienced such great fears,” she said.
May/06/2013
2 Mayıs 2013 Perşembe
Legal status of minorities to be negotiated in Ankara
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu/vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The legal status of Catholic foundations and other minority institutions in Turkey will be negotiated at a conference in Ankara on May 13.
Led by Laki Vingas, who is in charge of minority foundations in the General Directorate of Foundations, the conference will begin at 10.30 a.m. on May 13 at Ankara University Political Science Faculty’s Human Rights Center. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Interior Minister Muammer Güler, EU Minister Egemen Bağış and Foundation Director General Adnan Ertem were invited to the meeting.
Many institutions belonging to religious or ethnic minorities such as churches, cemeteries, and hospitals are deprived of legal entity rights including the Fener Greek Patriarchate, Turkey’s Armenian Patriarchate, Jewish Chief Rabbi’s Office, and various Catholic institutions. Vingas said the issue of legal entity was one of the leading problems they often came across.
“Over my five years in office, I observed that the institutions could not work effectively due to the issue of legal status, and cannot comply with today’s conditions,” Vingas said. “Formerly we used to have difficulties in going to Ankara and expressing our problems there. Now such a problem does not exist,” Vingas said about the location of the meeting.
“Patriarchates, chief rabbis, and Catholic churches do not have legal status. There are political relations with Vatican; but still, Turkey does not recognize churches,” Vingas added.
“We are talking about institutions that have at least 150 years of history. Not only religious institutions, also nursing homes, hospitals, and cemeteries lack legal entity rights. We receive complaints from Adana and Adıyaman with regards to cemeteries, but we cannot do anything. We want to immediately discuss the problem and try to offer solutions through dialogue,” Vingas said. Vingas is currently attempting to bring together all the foundations under a federation.
May/02/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu/vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The legal status of Catholic foundations and other minority institutions in Turkey will be negotiated at a conference in Ankara on May 13.
Led by Laki Vingas, who is in charge of minority foundations in the General Directorate of Foundations, the conference will begin at 10.30 a.m. on May 13 at Ankara University Political Science Faculty’s Human Rights Center. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Interior Minister Muammer Güler, EU Minister Egemen Bağış and Foundation Director General Adnan Ertem were invited to the meeting.
Many institutions belonging to religious or ethnic minorities such as churches, cemeteries, and hospitals are deprived of legal entity rights including the Fener Greek Patriarchate, Turkey’s Armenian Patriarchate, Jewish Chief Rabbi’s Office, and various Catholic institutions. Vingas said the issue of legal entity was one of the leading problems they often came across.
“Over my five years in office, I observed that the institutions could not work effectively due to the issue of legal status, and cannot comply with today’s conditions,” Vingas said. “Formerly we used to have difficulties in going to Ankara and expressing our problems there. Now such a problem does not exist,” Vingas said about the location of the meeting.
“Patriarchates, chief rabbis, and Catholic churches do not have legal status. There are political relations with Vatican; but still, Turkey does not recognize churches,” Vingas added.
“We are talking about institutions that have at least 150 years of history. Not only religious institutions, also nursing homes, hospitals, and cemeteries lack legal entity rights. We receive complaints from Adana and Adıyaman with regards to cemeteries, but we cannot do anything. We want to immediately discuss the problem and try to offer solutions through dialogue,” Vingas said. Vingas is currently attempting to bring together all the foundations under a federation.
May/02/2013
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