Forgotten community seeks to join elections with new party
Monday, May 16, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
Historical communities of Islamisized Armenians, who live on the Black Sea coast in northeastern Turkey, are getting ready to found a new political party. The party’s founder, İsmet Şahin, is a former deputy candidate from Istanbul’s second region who ran on the ranks of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, until he was left out of the candidate list. The new party’s name will be publicly announced following the general elections on June 12. Şahin also served in BDP’s ranks in previous elections.
“We will become a party that produces global solutions for societal problems and protects the general interests of all oppressed people. Our party will remain completely outside the left-right paradigm,” Şahin, who is a prominent member of the Hemşin community, told Hürriyet Daily News.
The Hemşin were originally Armenians who fled to the Pontus region along the eastern Black Sea as Arab troops occupied their homeland in 790. In 1480 the Ottomans conquered the area and in 1600 instituted the “devşirme,” in which suitable young boys were taken from Christian families to be educated. The Christians in the region often converted to Islam to get rid of the “devşirme” and other taxes that were applied to them.
“CHP and AKP are nationalists; BDP is becoming corrupt”
A total of seven Turkish-Armenians ran for seats in the parliament with the AKP, the CHP and the BDP, but all of them were left off the candidate list.
“It would have been naive to expect positive results. The AKP still uses the Armenian identity as a form of curse in tete a tete debates,” said Şahin, who accused the ruling AKP and the main opposition CHP of nationalism, and then added that the Armenian community of Istanbul is still an inconsequential factor in Turkey’s political and social structure.
“The presence of even a single Armenian deputy in parliament would remind Turkey of its history; it would force Turkey to face up to its own history. Turkey does not have the courage to face up to its history,” said Şahin.
“The BDP presents the Kurds and Turks as brothers in arms that fought against common enemies to protect the Republic, with the aim of gaining recognition from the state. The BDP is getting corrupt. Instead of aligning itself with other oppressed peoples, the BDP chose to go for an exclusively Kurdish constituency. In the past they had announced their support for me because I was from within the party and because I am a Hamshenite,” said Şahin, adding that he found it meaningless for other people to lay so much stress on his Hamshenite identity.
“In recent years, more and more people have begun claiming they are discovering their Armenian identity, and I do not find this sincere. Hamshenites have always identified themselves as Hamshenites. If you ask whether they are Turks, you would elicit a negative response. If you ask whether they are Armenians, again you would elicit a negative response. They would only tell you they are Hamshenites,” said Şahin.
16 Mayıs 2011 Pazartesi
10 Mayıs 2011 Salı
CHP visited Fener Greek, Turkish Armenian patriarchies
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - HURRIYET DAILY NEWS
The Republican People’s Party, or CHP, Deputy President, Osman Korutürk pay a visit to Fener Greek and Armenian patriarchies of Turkey. His visit to Armenian Patriarchy of Turkey took longer than anticipated. On the matter of the Armenian deputy who had declared candidacy from CHP yet been excluded out of the list, Korutürk said, ‘We do not separate people according to their ethnic identities, 4,300 people applied’
The main opposition reaches out to minorities ahead of elections.
The Republican People’s Party, or CHP, Deputy President and Foreign Politics Representative Osman Korutürk and General Secretary Bihlun Tamaylıgil paid a visit to Fener Greek Patriarchy and the Armenian Patriarchy of Turkey on Monday.
While the officials’ visit to Fener Greek Patriarchy took half an hour, their visit to the Armenians Patriarchy of Turkey took approximately an hour and half. They were met by the Acting Patriarch Archishop Aram Ateşyan at the Turkish Armenian Patriarchy and the meeting was held closed to the press.
Answering the questions of Hürriyet Daily News after the meeting, Korutürk touching upon the incidents of 1915, said: “Both of the sides experienced agonies, it would be unjust to say they are one-sided. As two rival parties the CHP, and Justice and Development Party, or AKP, we brought on the agenda the proposal of establishing a history commission. Nevertheless, the proposal was not approved in Armenia.”
Answering the question why Arev Cebeci putting candidacy from CHP on behalf of the Armenian community could not be elected, Korutürk said they do not separate people according to their identities. “More than 4,300 people applied and 550 of them won. We do not have an Armenian deputy in Parliament on behalf of our party. However, we have Armenian-origin citizens taking positions in the administration of CHP and local levels.”
Explaining why the visit to the Armenian Patriarchy of Turkey took a longer span of time, Korutürk said: “They had a long agenda to discuss. We have comprehensive projects, family insurance, agriculture projects and economic projects. These projects would change the country throughout.”
Saying that minorities are crucial for CHP, Korutürk said they stand by all of the rights recognized to minorities within the frame of Lozan Treaty.
One of the presidents of Istanbul Armenian Foundation Bedros Marzubanyan showing at the meeting said the recent statements of CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu upset the Armenian community. “Some people said Kılıçdaroğlu’s mother is an Armenian from Dersim and he tried to prove his mother is not an Armenian. I would like to ask him whether being an Armenian is really such a bad thing after all.”
Despite that they are welcome as the door is open to everybody, said Marzubanyan. “CHP is the closest rival of the government. Therefore, learning their opinions is to our advantage,” he said.
“There should have been at least two Armenian parliamentarians both in government and in the opposition. It is said on each occasion Turkey is a mosaic. If the parliament is a place where this mosaic is represented, and that is the case, as far as I know, then the pieces missing from the mosaic must be completed. We have deputy mayors and village headmen, but now we want to send a representative to parliament,” said Marzubanyan, who highlighted the fact that the 50,000-strong Armenians in Turkey did not have a single representative in parliament.
Another participant in the meeting, Apik Özfırıncı, said the visit was part of the election campaign in Turkey and the patriarchate had demonstrated its hospitality.
“As we stated earlier, we listen to both sides and our doors are wide open to both of them. The decision will undoubtedly stem from the ballot box,” said Hrant Hasbaşyan whose affinity with the ruling AKP is well known due to the Turkish-Armenian community’s gains on issues relating to minority foundations.
Bedros Şirinoğlu, the president of the Yedikule Surp Pırgiç Hospital Foundation, which ranks in second place in the protocol following the patriarchate, did not attend the meeting. Şirinoğlu, who is also known for his disposition toward the AKP, had told Daily News in a previous interview that he was ready to serve as a parliamentarian, if he was offered a position.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - HURRIYET DAILY NEWS
The Republican People’s Party, or CHP, Deputy President, Osman Korutürk pay a visit to Fener Greek and Armenian patriarchies of Turkey. His visit to Armenian Patriarchy of Turkey took longer than anticipated. On the matter of the Armenian deputy who had declared candidacy from CHP yet been excluded out of the list, Korutürk said, ‘We do not separate people according to their ethnic identities, 4,300 people applied’
The main opposition reaches out to minorities ahead of elections.
The Republican People’s Party, or CHP, Deputy President and Foreign Politics Representative Osman Korutürk and General Secretary Bihlun Tamaylıgil paid a visit to Fener Greek Patriarchy and the Armenian Patriarchy of Turkey on Monday.
While the officials’ visit to Fener Greek Patriarchy took half an hour, their visit to the Armenians Patriarchy of Turkey took approximately an hour and half. They were met by the Acting Patriarch Archishop Aram Ateşyan at the Turkish Armenian Patriarchy and the meeting was held closed to the press.
Answering the questions of Hürriyet Daily News after the meeting, Korutürk touching upon the incidents of 1915, said: “Both of the sides experienced agonies, it would be unjust to say they are one-sided. As two rival parties the CHP, and Justice and Development Party, or AKP, we brought on the agenda the proposal of establishing a history commission. Nevertheless, the proposal was not approved in Armenia.”
Answering the question why Arev Cebeci putting candidacy from CHP on behalf of the Armenian community could not be elected, Korutürk said they do not separate people according to their identities. “More than 4,300 people applied and 550 of them won. We do not have an Armenian deputy in Parliament on behalf of our party. However, we have Armenian-origin citizens taking positions in the administration of CHP and local levels.”
Explaining why the visit to the Armenian Patriarchy of Turkey took a longer span of time, Korutürk said: “They had a long agenda to discuss. We have comprehensive projects, family insurance, agriculture projects and economic projects. These projects would change the country throughout.”
Saying that minorities are crucial for CHP, Korutürk said they stand by all of the rights recognized to minorities within the frame of Lozan Treaty.
One of the presidents of Istanbul Armenian Foundation Bedros Marzubanyan showing at the meeting said the recent statements of CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu upset the Armenian community. “Some people said Kılıçdaroğlu’s mother is an Armenian from Dersim and he tried to prove his mother is not an Armenian. I would like to ask him whether being an Armenian is really such a bad thing after all.”
Despite that they are welcome as the door is open to everybody, said Marzubanyan. “CHP is the closest rival of the government. Therefore, learning their opinions is to our advantage,” he said.
“There should have been at least two Armenian parliamentarians both in government and in the opposition. It is said on each occasion Turkey is a mosaic. If the parliament is a place where this mosaic is represented, and that is the case, as far as I know, then the pieces missing from the mosaic must be completed. We have deputy mayors and village headmen, but now we want to send a representative to parliament,” said Marzubanyan, who highlighted the fact that the 50,000-strong Armenians in Turkey did not have a single representative in parliament.
Another participant in the meeting, Apik Özfırıncı, said the visit was part of the election campaign in Turkey and the patriarchate had demonstrated its hospitality.
“As we stated earlier, we listen to both sides and our doors are wide open to both of them. The decision will undoubtedly stem from the ballot box,” said Hrant Hasbaşyan whose affinity with the ruling AKP is well known due to the Turkish-Armenian community’s gains on issues relating to minority foundations.
Bedros Şirinoğlu, the president of the Yedikule Surp Pırgiç Hospital Foundation, which ranks in second place in the protocol following the patriarchate, did not attend the meeting. Şirinoğlu, who is also known for his disposition toward the AKP, had told Daily News in a previous interview that he was ready to serve as a parliamentarian, if he was offered a position.
9 Mayıs 2011 Pazartesi
Armenians split over who belongs to the 'diaspora'
Monday, May 9, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Minister Hagopyan arrived in Turkey on Thursday to participate in the Global Summit of Women, a conference held in Istanbul.
The granting of an award to Armenian intellectuals from Istanbul by Armenia’s diaspora minister has sparked a global debate among the prominent members of the Armenian community over what constitutes the “diaspora.”
Some of the figures who received awards Sunday objected to being considered part of the diaspora since they reside in their ancestors’ native lands.
“It is unacceptable to define people residing in their homelands as ‘diaspora,’” historian Ara Sarafyan, the director of the Gomidas Institute in London, told the Hürriyet Daily News on Monday, criticizing both the Armenian government and the people who received the awards.
“First of all, I would like to ask why those people who accepted the awards while maintaining their critical stance avoided pointing out during the ceremony the fact that they did not constitute a diaspora because [their ancestors] had been living in their own homelands for thousands of years,” Sarafyan said.
“I would [also] like to ask just how much Armenia recognizes and understands the Armenians of Istanbul who represent the milestone of worldwide Armenian culture,” he added.
Vahakn Karakashian, the editor-in-chief of Horizon newspaper in Canada, agreed that the 50,000-strong Armenian community in Istanbul should not be considered part of the diaspora, adding that Armenians have historical treasures in the area. But Karakashian said Diaspora Minister Hranush Hagopyan’s initiative to award the Istanbul Armenians was still very well placed and worthy of recognition.
“It seems Armenia is making an effort to build some bridges. Our intellectuals’ criticism must be regarded as but only a small reprimand,” said writer, academic and linguist Sevan Nishanyan, a Turkish Armenian, who also affirmed Hagopyan’s positive intentions.
“We can say that Istanbul Armenians are a de facto diaspora, but if they were Diyarbakır or Malatya Armenians, no one could argue that they are diaspora,” said Harout Ekmanian, a journalist from Aleppo, Syria. “However, I wonder if the attitude of Istanbul Armenians toward the word ‘diaspora’ might also be a result of the demonization of the Armenian diaspora in the daily discourse for decades in Turkey.”
Minister Hagopyan arrived in Turkey on Thursday to participate in the Global Summit of Women, a conference held in Istanbul. She presented 15 intellectuals from Istanbul with gold medals at a special reception hosted by the Turkish Armenian Patriarchate on the last day of her visit.
“It could have been any minister from Armenia, but I would not have preferred a diaspora minister to have come to Turkey. Where I live now is where I have lived for thousands of years; I am no diaspora. This is a terrible irony,” Mıgırdiç Margosyan, one of the award recipients, told the Daily News shortly before the ceremony.
“We are where we need to be, and we continue paying our debt to this land,” said Garo Mafyan, a highly influential figure in Turkish pop music, making the same argument as Margosyan.
Journalist Ekmanian also criticized the diaspora minister for the limited scope of her role. “Apparently, her only duty is limited to giving medals, honoring diaspora notables and organizing conferences and summer camps that could only be used as materials for the state TV evening news, with no long-term benefit for the diaspora participants or the Armenian state,” Ekmanian said.
A freelance journalist from Armenia, Ani Hovhannesiyan, also said she understood quite well the attitude of the Istanbul Armenians but thought the criticism was overblown.
I hope Turkey’s political stance toward the diaspora is not a factor behind this attitude,” she said.
Monday, May 9, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Minister Hagopyan arrived in Turkey on Thursday to participate in the Global Summit of Women, a conference held in Istanbul.
The granting of an award to Armenian intellectuals from Istanbul by Armenia’s diaspora minister has sparked a global debate among the prominent members of the Armenian community over what constitutes the “diaspora.”
Some of the figures who received awards Sunday objected to being considered part of the diaspora since they reside in their ancestors’ native lands.
“It is unacceptable to define people residing in their homelands as ‘diaspora,’” historian Ara Sarafyan, the director of the Gomidas Institute in London, told the Hürriyet Daily News on Monday, criticizing both the Armenian government and the people who received the awards.
“First of all, I would like to ask why those people who accepted the awards while maintaining their critical stance avoided pointing out during the ceremony the fact that they did not constitute a diaspora because [their ancestors] had been living in their own homelands for thousands of years,” Sarafyan said.
“I would [also] like to ask just how much Armenia recognizes and understands the Armenians of Istanbul who represent the milestone of worldwide Armenian culture,” he added.
Vahakn Karakashian, the editor-in-chief of Horizon newspaper in Canada, agreed that the 50,000-strong Armenian community in Istanbul should not be considered part of the diaspora, adding that Armenians have historical treasures in the area. But Karakashian said Diaspora Minister Hranush Hagopyan’s initiative to award the Istanbul Armenians was still very well placed and worthy of recognition.
“It seems Armenia is making an effort to build some bridges. Our intellectuals’ criticism must be regarded as but only a small reprimand,” said writer, academic and linguist Sevan Nishanyan, a Turkish Armenian, who also affirmed Hagopyan’s positive intentions.
“We can say that Istanbul Armenians are a de facto diaspora, but if they were Diyarbakır or Malatya Armenians, no one could argue that they are diaspora,” said Harout Ekmanian, a journalist from Aleppo, Syria. “However, I wonder if the attitude of Istanbul Armenians toward the word ‘diaspora’ might also be a result of the demonization of the Armenian diaspora in the daily discourse for decades in Turkey.”
Minister Hagopyan arrived in Turkey on Thursday to participate in the Global Summit of Women, a conference held in Istanbul. She presented 15 intellectuals from Istanbul with gold medals at a special reception hosted by the Turkish Armenian Patriarchate on the last day of her visit.
“It could have been any minister from Armenia, but I would not have preferred a diaspora minister to have come to Turkey. Where I live now is where I have lived for thousands of years; I am no diaspora. This is a terrible irony,” Mıgırdiç Margosyan, one of the award recipients, told the Daily News shortly before the ceremony.
“We are where we need to be, and we continue paying our debt to this land,” said Garo Mafyan, a highly influential figure in Turkish pop music, making the same argument as Margosyan.
Journalist Ekmanian also criticized the diaspora minister for the limited scope of her role. “Apparently, her only duty is limited to giving medals, honoring diaspora notables and organizing conferences and summer camps that could only be used as materials for the state TV evening news, with no long-term benefit for the diaspora participants or the Armenian state,” Ekmanian said.
A freelance journalist from Armenia, Ani Hovhannesiyan, also said she understood quite well the attitude of the Istanbul Armenians but thought the criticism was overblown.
I hope Turkey’s political stance toward the diaspora is not a factor behind this attitude,” she said.
'We are no diaspora,' prominent Turkish Armenians say
Sunday, May 8, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Hranuysh Hagopyan (second from L), Armenia’s diaspora minister, walks with acting Patriarch Aram Ateşyan after an award ceremony in Istanbul on Sunday. DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK.
Prominent Turkish Armenians who received awards Sunday from Armenia’s diaspora minister said they cannot be seen as members of a diaspora because they live on the land where their ancestors have lived for thousands of years.
“I would prefer not to have a diaspora minister in Turkey,” author Mıgırdıç Margosyan told the Hürriyet Daily News before receiving his gold medal from Armenian minister Hranuysh Hagopyan.
“I’ve been living on the land that [we have] been living on for thousands of years. I am not in the diaspora. This is a terrible irony,” Margosyan said. The writer also directed his criticism toward the Turkish government, saying the lack of a Turkish state official at the ceremony was disappointing.
After attending the Global Summit of Women in Istanbul, Hagopyan handed out medals to 15 Turkish Armenians, including Margosyan, composers Garo Mafyan and Cenk Taşkan and Alis Manukyan, the first Armenian female vocalist in Turkey’s State Opera and Ballet.
“We are living in the lands where we have to live. And we continue to pay our debt to these lands,” Mafyan, who is arguably the best-known popular music composer, told the Daily News. He added that he is ready to do everything he can to make sure dialogue continues between Turkey and Armenia.
“It is [still] very important to receive an award from Armenia for contributing to Turkish popular music,” he said.
Speaking after the award ceremony, acting Patriarch Aram Ateşyan said Hagopyan’s being invited to Turkey is a source of hope for Turkey’s Armenians. “All foreign heads of state and ministers visit the Armenian Patriarchate and the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate,” Ateşyan said. “We are proud to host a minister from Armenia. We wish for friendship and dialogue between the two peoples.”
The Daily News has meanwhile learned that a top-level delegation from the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, will visit the Armenian Patriarchate and the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate on Tuesday. It was unclear as the Daily News went to press Sunday whether CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu would be joining the visit.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Hranuysh Hagopyan (second from L), Armenia’s diaspora minister, walks with acting Patriarch Aram Ateşyan after an award ceremony in Istanbul on Sunday. DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK.
Prominent Turkish Armenians who received awards Sunday from Armenia’s diaspora minister said they cannot be seen as members of a diaspora because they live on the land where their ancestors have lived for thousands of years.
“I would prefer not to have a diaspora minister in Turkey,” author Mıgırdıç Margosyan told the Hürriyet Daily News before receiving his gold medal from Armenian minister Hranuysh Hagopyan.
“I’ve been living on the land that [we have] been living on for thousands of years. I am not in the diaspora. This is a terrible irony,” Margosyan said. The writer also directed his criticism toward the Turkish government, saying the lack of a Turkish state official at the ceremony was disappointing.
After attending the Global Summit of Women in Istanbul, Hagopyan handed out medals to 15 Turkish Armenians, including Margosyan, composers Garo Mafyan and Cenk Taşkan and Alis Manukyan, the first Armenian female vocalist in Turkey’s State Opera and Ballet.
“We are living in the lands where we have to live. And we continue to pay our debt to these lands,” Mafyan, who is arguably the best-known popular music composer, told the Daily News. He added that he is ready to do everything he can to make sure dialogue continues between Turkey and Armenia.
“It is [still] very important to receive an award from Armenia for contributing to Turkish popular music,” he said.
Speaking after the award ceremony, acting Patriarch Aram Ateşyan said Hagopyan’s being invited to Turkey is a source of hope for Turkey’s Armenians. “All foreign heads of state and ministers visit the Armenian Patriarchate and the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate,” Ateşyan said. “We are proud to host a minister from Armenia. We wish for friendship and dialogue between the two peoples.”
The Daily News has meanwhile learned that a top-level delegation from the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, will visit the Armenian Patriarchate and the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate on Tuesday. It was unclear as the Daily News went to press Sunday whether CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu would be joining the visit.
4 Mayıs 2011 Çarşamba
Turkish documentary tells 'human story' of Armenian diaspora
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Turkey's state-run television channel has produced a documentary on the life of diaspora Armenians in Argentina and France. The big-budget film, 'Dostluğu Hatırlamak' (Remembering Friendship) does not feature historical problems between Turks and Armenians. 'Outside of politics, I convey the longings of ordinary people,' says director Sevinç Yeşiltaş
Sevinç Yeşiltaş speaks about her documentary 'Dostluğu Hatırlamak.'
A new, big-budget documentary on the life of diaspora Armenians will debut this weekend on the state-run Turkish Radio and Television, or TRT, which provided funding for the film.
Shot over a year in Armenian communities in Buenos Aires and in Valance, France, “Dostluğu Hatırlamak” (Remembering Friendship) reflects director Sevinç Yeşiltaş’s desire to tell a different story about Armenians.
“Before making the film, I watched all documentaries featuring the historical problems in the TRT archive. I wanted my production to tell the human story, not the historical one,” Yeşiltaş told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
“In order to talk about historical problems, I need to be a historian and I am not. I wanted to tell the story of ordinary people, outside of politics,” she said.
Yeşiltaş was able to film scenes in Buenos Aires thanks to her personal connections, but found it too difficult to gain access to Armenian communities in Aleppo and Beirut. “I was told those [Armenians] in Aleppo and Beirut had harsher attitudes toward Turkey. I gave up trying to film there as I was not able to find necessary connections,” she said.
Ordinary people’s longing for their land
The wife of a priest the director met in Valance was from the Southeast Anatolian province of Şanlıurfa, Yeşiltaş said. “They wanted to give me a family heirloom needlepoint as a gift. I told them I couldn’t accept it but they insisted. They held me and cried,” she said.
During the filming process, Yeşiltaş said, she realized during how much Turks and Armenians resembled one another.
“As Turkish people, we see the diaspora as a whole, as different from us, but the worries of ordinary [Armenian] people are the same as ours,” she said. “These people living thousands of kilometers away from us speak Turkish and sing Turkish songs. They miss the land where they were born. I saw how much we resembled each other.”
Noting that the Anatolian traditions continued in both Buenos Aires and Valance, Yeşiltaş added: “As a professional documentary maker, I could not believe how [emotionally] affected I was while making this film.”
Following the filming, it took Yeşiltaş six months to complete the documentary, which she said was quickly approved by TRT.
“There was no reason [for them] to reject it. TRT asked me to make a documentary on Armenians. I would not have made it if there were restrictions on what I could film,” she said.
“I told a human story, not a political one. My friends sometimes asked me if I hesitated to make a documentary on such a political issue but I thought that there was no reason to hesitate. I filmed the longings of ordinary people with the opportunity TRT provided for me,” Yeşiltaş added.
“It is such a sensitive issue that you need to tell it in the most accurate and simplest way. This will remove hostility and open the way for dialogue,” she said.
The documentary is made up of two parts, each 70 minutes long. In addition to the showings on TRT, it will be screened at domestic and international festivals.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Turkey's state-run television channel has produced a documentary on the life of diaspora Armenians in Argentina and France. The big-budget film, 'Dostluğu Hatırlamak' (Remembering Friendship) does not feature historical problems between Turks and Armenians. 'Outside of politics, I convey the longings of ordinary people,' says director Sevinç Yeşiltaş
Sevinç Yeşiltaş speaks about her documentary 'Dostluğu Hatırlamak.'
A new, big-budget documentary on the life of diaspora Armenians will debut this weekend on the state-run Turkish Radio and Television, or TRT, which provided funding for the film.
Shot over a year in Armenian communities in Buenos Aires and in Valance, France, “Dostluğu Hatırlamak” (Remembering Friendship) reflects director Sevinç Yeşiltaş’s desire to tell a different story about Armenians.
“Before making the film, I watched all documentaries featuring the historical problems in the TRT archive. I wanted my production to tell the human story, not the historical one,” Yeşiltaş told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
“In order to talk about historical problems, I need to be a historian and I am not. I wanted to tell the story of ordinary people, outside of politics,” she said.
Yeşiltaş was able to film scenes in Buenos Aires thanks to her personal connections, but found it too difficult to gain access to Armenian communities in Aleppo and Beirut. “I was told those [Armenians] in Aleppo and Beirut had harsher attitudes toward Turkey. I gave up trying to film there as I was not able to find necessary connections,” she said.
Ordinary people’s longing for their land
The wife of a priest the director met in Valance was from the Southeast Anatolian province of Şanlıurfa, Yeşiltaş said. “They wanted to give me a family heirloom needlepoint as a gift. I told them I couldn’t accept it but they insisted. They held me and cried,” she said.
During the filming process, Yeşiltaş said, she realized during how much Turks and Armenians resembled one another.
“As Turkish people, we see the diaspora as a whole, as different from us, but the worries of ordinary [Armenian] people are the same as ours,” she said. “These people living thousands of kilometers away from us speak Turkish and sing Turkish songs. They miss the land where they were born. I saw how much we resembled each other.”
Noting that the Anatolian traditions continued in both Buenos Aires and Valance, Yeşiltaş added: “As a professional documentary maker, I could not believe how [emotionally] affected I was while making this film.”
Following the filming, it took Yeşiltaş six months to complete the documentary, which she said was quickly approved by TRT.
“There was no reason [for them] to reject it. TRT asked me to make a documentary on Armenians. I would not have made it if there were restrictions on what I could film,” she said.
“I told a human story, not a political one. My friends sometimes asked me if I hesitated to make a documentary on such a political issue but I thought that there was no reason to hesitate. I filmed the longings of ordinary people with the opportunity TRT provided for me,” Yeşiltaş added.
“It is such a sensitive issue that you need to tell it in the most accurate and simplest way. This will remove hostility and open the way for dialogue,” she said.
The documentary is made up of two parts, each 70 minutes long. In addition to the showings on TRT, it will be screened at domestic and international festivals.
3 Mayıs 2011 Salı
An exhibition focusing on past
Monday, May 2, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
Artist Erhan Arık has turned an inspiring dream into a photographic exhibition titled 'Horovel,' showing images of Turkish and Armenian human portraits from border villages. The exhibition opens on Friday at Tütün Deposu in Istanbul’s Tophane district and will have a great influence on visitors
Erhan Arık's exhibition ‘Horovel’ includes human portraits from Turkey and Armenia.
Armenians try to remember bitter memories while the people in Turkey try to forget them, said artist Erhan Arık who has turned an inspiring dream into a photographic exhibition titled “Horovel,” showing images of Turkish and Armenian human portraits from border villages. The exhibition opens on Friday at Tütün Deposu in Istanbul’s Tophane district and will have a great influence on visitors.
Born in the southeastern Turkish province of Ardahan, Arık took photos in 13 border villages in Turkey and 10 border villages in Armenia over a period of six months and examined the historical memory. “Armenians were enemies to me; even their bread should have been taken from their hands. We were living in an Armenian house. Even though the house was owned by Armenians, I though we had the right to seize their property,” Arık told the Hürriyet Daily News.
He said a dream transformed his perception. “After Armenians left, I was born and grew up in this village house in Ardahan just like the other members of my family. We were using the oven section of the house as a barn. When I was 25, I saw a man in my dream and he said, ‘This house was ours, my children were playing in this room, my wife was cooking in this oven, but you turned it into a barn.’ I was impressed by this dream and decided to research Armenians.”
Arık said the dream might look like a utopia to some people but it really impressed him and showed him a different way. “My father is a Muslim and I told this dream to him. He was influenced by it, too, and cleaned the barn. Now we go to this house in summer only.”
Remembering – being remembered
While taking the photos Arık realized how people resemble each other in Turkey and Armenia. “Yes they look like each other physically but their thoughts and feelings are different. Those in Armenia try to remember bitter memories while the people in Turkey try to forget them,” he said. The images from Turkey and Armenia are exhibited in separate rooms for this reason.
“In this way I can explain two different memories to the audience. There is pain and tears in one part of the memory, and emptiness and silence in the other,” he said.
Arık defined the events as a tragedy. “You can name this pain however you like. Even if only one person died or only one person was forced to leave their homeland, as a human, this should be questioned.”
Arık said Turkish people were seized by hatred caused by prejudices and resistance created by official history. “It is very hard to progress unless you confront pain. There is real pain and we need to share it.”
Speaking about the exhibition’s name, “Horovel,” Arık said, “One day while speaking to Pakrad Öztukyan of daily Agos newspaper, he asked me if I knew the meaning of ‘horovel.’ I did not know it and he said, ‘Your father is a farmer, go and ask him.’ My father told me the songs farmers sing when working the field are called ‘horovel.’ ‘It is an old Turkish word,’ he said. But I learned ‘horovel’ was an Armenian word; my father hesitated to tell me about this fact.”
“In the exhibition, I question myself, my faith in the past and the pain people experienced on this land,” he said.
The exhibition “Horovel” will run through June 4. Besides photos, a documentary film made by Arık will also be shown during the exhibition.
Monday, May 2, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
Artist Erhan Arık has turned an inspiring dream into a photographic exhibition titled 'Horovel,' showing images of Turkish and Armenian human portraits from border villages. The exhibition opens on Friday at Tütün Deposu in Istanbul’s Tophane district and will have a great influence on visitors
Erhan Arık's exhibition ‘Horovel’ includes human portraits from Turkey and Armenia.
Armenians try to remember bitter memories while the people in Turkey try to forget them, said artist Erhan Arık who has turned an inspiring dream into a photographic exhibition titled “Horovel,” showing images of Turkish and Armenian human portraits from border villages. The exhibition opens on Friday at Tütün Deposu in Istanbul’s Tophane district and will have a great influence on visitors.
Born in the southeastern Turkish province of Ardahan, Arık took photos in 13 border villages in Turkey and 10 border villages in Armenia over a period of six months and examined the historical memory. “Armenians were enemies to me; even their bread should have been taken from their hands. We were living in an Armenian house. Even though the house was owned by Armenians, I though we had the right to seize their property,” Arık told the Hürriyet Daily News.
He said a dream transformed his perception. “After Armenians left, I was born and grew up in this village house in Ardahan just like the other members of my family. We were using the oven section of the house as a barn. When I was 25, I saw a man in my dream and he said, ‘This house was ours, my children were playing in this room, my wife was cooking in this oven, but you turned it into a barn.’ I was impressed by this dream and decided to research Armenians.”
Arık said the dream might look like a utopia to some people but it really impressed him and showed him a different way. “My father is a Muslim and I told this dream to him. He was influenced by it, too, and cleaned the barn. Now we go to this house in summer only.”
Remembering – being remembered
While taking the photos Arık realized how people resemble each other in Turkey and Armenia. “Yes they look like each other physically but their thoughts and feelings are different. Those in Armenia try to remember bitter memories while the people in Turkey try to forget them,” he said. The images from Turkey and Armenia are exhibited in separate rooms for this reason.
“In this way I can explain two different memories to the audience. There is pain and tears in one part of the memory, and emptiness and silence in the other,” he said.
Arık defined the events as a tragedy. “You can name this pain however you like. Even if only one person died or only one person was forced to leave their homeland, as a human, this should be questioned.”
Arık said Turkish people were seized by hatred caused by prejudices and resistance created by official history. “It is very hard to progress unless you confront pain. There is real pain and we need to share it.”
Speaking about the exhibition’s name, “Horovel,” Arık said, “One day while speaking to Pakrad Öztukyan of daily Agos newspaper, he asked me if I knew the meaning of ‘horovel.’ I did not know it and he said, ‘Your father is a farmer, go and ask him.’ My father told me the songs farmers sing when working the field are called ‘horovel.’ ‘It is an old Turkish word,’ he said. But I learned ‘horovel’ was an Armenian word; my father hesitated to tell me about this fact.”
“In the exhibition, I question myself, my faith in the past and the pain people experienced on this land,” he said.
The exhibition “Horovel” will run through June 4. Besides photos, a documentary film made by Arık will also be shown during the exhibition.
1 Mayıs 2011 Pazar
Armenian archive digitalization might not shed light on 1915, scholars say
Sunday, May 1, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Armenia’s National Archives will begin posting hundreds of thousands of documents online this month, yet some researches have cautioned against optimists who say the primary sources will shed light on the events of 1915.
"Armenia was not a center of anything in 1915,” historian Ara Sarafyan, the director of the London-based Gomidas Institute, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “The administrative center of the Russian military and civil governments was in Tbilisi. That is the place to look for original records. Armenia has bits and pieces but I doubt members of the Turkish Historical Society [which hotly disputes Armenian genocide claims] even know where to begin looking."
Nonetheless, Amatuni Virabyan, the director of the National Archives of Armenia, said the documents will include many from 1915 – the year in which Armenians claim the Ottomans committed a genocide against their kin during World War I.
“The biggest reason we are transferring our archive to digital format is to present it to the attention of international researchers; the complete collection will be online by 2015,” said Virabyan, adding that their archives were already open to anyone, including a number of researchers who have already come to visit from Turkey.
Kemal Çiçek, an expert on the Armenian Desk of the state-established Turkish Historical Society, said Turkish historians and researchers were working on the Armenian archives but added that the documents there contained little information about 1915.
“It is not important that Armenia has opened their archives. The documents they have are not originals but copies brought from Russia. Let the Tashnak archives at the Jerusalem Patriarchate and Boston be opened. The mentioned archives will reveal the cooperation Tashnaks had with Great Britain, the United States and other allies [during World War I],” he said in reference to Turkish claims that rebel Ottoman Armenians were colluding with the empire’s war-time enemies.
Sarafyan also suggested 1915-related material was to be found in Jerusalem. “Armenian archives related to the genocide issue are in Jerusalem. It is where a great deal of the Istanbul Patriarchate's records can also be found today regarding the genocide issue. These materials have been cited by some Armenian historians who had privileged access to these records in the past. They are therefore relevant because of their actual content and the fact they have already been cited by some authors.”
The Gomidas Institute academic also suggested Armenian scholars conduct research at important Turkish archives such as the military archives or the Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives.
“Who in Armenia [has worked on] those archives? I am not aware of anyone from Armenia working in Turkey. If you want to see good research on the genocide issue based on the Prime Ministry archives, look at the work of Hilmar Kaiser, Fuat Dündar or Uğur Üngör. Frankly, the level of scholarship on the Armenian genocide is very poor in Armenia," said Sarafyan, who has been working at the State Archives of the Turkish Prime Ministry.
‘Boston archives limited’
But Sarafyan also disputed Çiçek’s assertion that the Boston archives could shed light on genocide claims.
“The Boston materials are archives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, or ARF. Turkish historians who claim they are relevant to 1915 are fishing,” he said. “They do not know what is in there, but it suits them to make such claims. ARF archives in Boston are limited in terms of the information on 1915. Their organization in the Ottoman Empire was paralyzed by the Ottoman government, who also had informants within Armenian ranks. However it would be good to see what these archives hold.”
The Zoryan Institute collected the private papers of people related to the events of 1915 in Boston in the 1980s, said Sarafyan.
"A lot of people gave Zoryan their private papers but they have been kept under lock and key. As a historian and an Armenian, I have always stated the inaccessibility of these records, especially as they have been collected from private individuals, is a disgrace,” he said.
The National Archives of Armenia can be viewed online starting in May at www.armarchives.am.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Armenia’s National Archives will begin posting hundreds of thousands of documents online this month, yet some researches have cautioned against optimists who say the primary sources will shed light on the events of 1915.
"Armenia was not a center of anything in 1915,” historian Ara Sarafyan, the director of the London-based Gomidas Institute, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “The administrative center of the Russian military and civil governments was in Tbilisi. That is the place to look for original records. Armenia has bits and pieces but I doubt members of the Turkish Historical Society [which hotly disputes Armenian genocide claims] even know where to begin looking."
Nonetheless, Amatuni Virabyan, the director of the National Archives of Armenia, said the documents will include many from 1915 – the year in which Armenians claim the Ottomans committed a genocide against their kin during World War I.
“The biggest reason we are transferring our archive to digital format is to present it to the attention of international researchers; the complete collection will be online by 2015,” said Virabyan, adding that their archives were already open to anyone, including a number of researchers who have already come to visit from Turkey.
Kemal Çiçek, an expert on the Armenian Desk of the state-established Turkish Historical Society, said Turkish historians and researchers were working on the Armenian archives but added that the documents there contained little information about 1915.
“It is not important that Armenia has opened their archives. The documents they have are not originals but copies brought from Russia. Let the Tashnak archives at the Jerusalem Patriarchate and Boston be opened. The mentioned archives will reveal the cooperation Tashnaks had with Great Britain, the United States and other allies [during World War I],” he said in reference to Turkish claims that rebel Ottoman Armenians were colluding with the empire’s war-time enemies.
Sarafyan also suggested 1915-related material was to be found in Jerusalem. “Armenian archives related to the genocide issue are in Jerusalem. It is where a great deal of the Istanbul Patriarchate's records can also be found today regarding the genocide issue. These materials have been cited by some Armenian historians who had privileged access to these records in the past. They are therefore relevant because of their actual content and the fact they have already been cited by some authors.”
The Gomidas Institute academic also suggested Armenian scholars conduct research at important Turkish archives such as the military archives or the Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives.
“Who in Armenia [has worked on] those archives? I am not aware of anyone from Armenia working in Turkey. If you want to see good research on the genocide issue based on the Prime Ministry archives, look at the work of Hilmar Kaiser, Fuat Dündar or Uğur Üngör. Frankly, the level of scholarship on the Armenian genocide is very poor in Armenia," said Sarafyan, who has been working at the State Archives of the Turkish Prime Ministry.
‘Boston archives limited’
But Sarafyan also disputed Çiçek’s assertion that the Boston archives could shed light on genocide claims.
“The Boston materials are archives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, or ARF. Turkish historians who claim they are relevant to 1915 are fishing,” he said. “They do not know what is in there, but it suits them to make such claims. ARF archives in Boston are limited in terms of the information on 1915. Their organization in the Ottoman Empire was paralyzed by the Ottoman government, who also had informants within Armenian ranks. However it would be good to see what these archives hold.”
The Zoryan Institute collected the private papers of people related to the events of 1915 in Boston in the 1980s, said Sarafyan.
"A lot of people gave Zoryan their private papers but they have been kept under lock and key. As a historian and an Armenian, I have always stated the inaccessibility of these records, especially as they have been collected from private individuals, is a disgrace,” he said.
The National Archives of Armenia can be viewed online starting in May at www.armarchives.am.
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