Armenian not allowed to attend father's funeral
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Vercihan ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
An Armenian who was arrested after giving a newspaper interview in 2008 has not been allowed to attend his father’s funeral even though the law gives him seven days’ leave from prison in such cases.
The funeral has been kept waiting for at least a week in hopes that permission might be granted for Sarkis Hatspanian to travel. Hatspanian is a French citizen of Armenian origin. He was arrested and imprisoned in Armenia after he participated in the interview.
Prisoners are supposed to be allowed seven days’ monitored leave in the event of the death of a close relative, according to Armenian law experts and human-rights associations. Hatspanian’s family said he has been deprived of this right despite the efforts of the French Consulate.
“I wanted Sarkis to pay his last respects to our father. Unfortunately, there is no democracy in Armenia,” his brother Murat Hatspanian, who lives in Istanbul, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “The [Armenian authorities] grant permission to anyone. Why not my brother? This is not fair. There are political reasons behind the permission not being granted.”
Born in Hatay, Hatspanian was an active member of an outlawed communist organization in Turkey in the 1970s, along with the late journalist Hrant Dink, a close friend. Dink was assassinated in Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007.
According to Avedik Iskhanyan, head of the Armenia Helsinki Committee, an application had been made for Hatspanian to be granted permission for the seven-day leave, but the group’s efforts had proved fruitless. “We gave a guarantee that he would be back,” he told the Daily News. “Moreover, he would not be on his own. He would be under monitoring with an attendant next to him. That is unfair.”
Violation of law
Levon Zurabian, coordinator of the Armenian National Congress Headquarters, said not giving Hatspanian his seven days’ leave is a violation of Armenian law. “Hatspanian could not benefit from the seven-day leave that all prisoners benefit from because the laws are too vague,” Zurabian said. “The administration uses this vagueness to its own advantage. The decision is political.”
Hatspanian was imprisoned because of a November 2008 interview published in daily Haygagan Jamanag (Armenian Times), a newspaper known for supporting Armenia’s first president, Levon Ter-Petrossian. Armenia was preparing for presidential elections at the time. In the interview, Hatspanian said there might be people who were planning to assassinate Armenian President Serge Sarkisian.
“They were already looking for an excuse to arrest him. The interview played right into their hands,” the newspaper’s Hayk Kevorkyan told the Daily News. He added that there are currently at least 15 political prisoners in Armenia.
Turkish intellectuals have recently launched an online petition protesting Hazspanian’s imprisonment. The petition – published at gercek-inatcidir.blogspot.com – was launched by Sait Çetinoğlu, an author and editor at Belge International Publishing, and received more than 30 signatures in its first day.
A letter was also written to President Sarkisian demanding Hatspanian’s release.
12 Şubat 2010 Cuma
10 Şubat 2010 Çarşamba
Young artist's reunited ropes show Turks, Armenians as inseparable
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
One woman from the Armenian diaspora has been creating art to break taboos, and is showing her work in Istanbul at the BM Suma Han-Contemporary Art Center. 'I am an inseparable part of this land,' says the artist, Silvina Der MeguerditchianSilvina Der Meguerditchian's exhibition at BM Suma Han-Contemporary Art Center.
A young Armenian artist from Buenos Aires, but with roots in Anatolia, is displaying her taboo-breaking art at the BM Suma Han-Contemporary Art Center in Istanbul’s Karaköy neighborhood through March 4.
Silvina Der Meguerditchian, a promising artist in the field of modern art, came from her home in Berlin to Istanbul for the exhibition, which seems to have left its mark on this year’s art agenda.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, Der Meguerditchian described the aim of her exhibition, saying, “With this exhibition, I wanted to express that I am an inseparable part of this land.” She said the iron curtain between the Turkish and Armenian people should be removed, adding, “We need to establish dialogue and take steps toward the future.”
Stating her happiness for opening such an exhibition in Turkey, Der Meguerditchian said, “As an artist from the [Armenian] diaspora, if I can freely organize such an exhibit here without denying the events in the past; this is an important step for Turkey.”
Turkish family saves her grandmother
In the entrance of the exhibition hall, visitors see historic photos placed in weavings. The photos in the exhibit tell the life of Der Meguerditchian’s grandmothers and grandfathers in Anatolia. The artist named the exhibition “Aferin Yavrum” (Well done honey), referring to her grandmother.
Der Meguerditchian said her grandmother taught her to knit when she was a little child. “When I did it well, my grandmother used to tell me ‘Well done honey’ in Turkish. This is why I named the exhibition this.”
Dedicating the exhibition to the memory of her grandmother, Der Meguerditchian said, “Wherever she is in the universe, I know that she sees me and tells me ‘Well done honey’ since I came to the land where I belong and opened this exhibition – even if I can’t hear her.”
She said until the end of her life, her grandmother had never forgotten a family that saved her from death, adding: “My grandmother lost all members of her family in 1915, and a Turkish family saved her from death. To not forget her identity, my grandmother wrote the names of all family members on a piece of paper and hid it. She just barely found her sister, whom she thought was dead, 50 years later, sometime before her death.”
Berlin was the breaking point
Der Meguerditchian grew up in a community of Armenians in Buenos Aires. She said she stayed away from Turks, but the first break through was when she went to Berlin in 1986. “I was 18 and knew nobody in Berlin. I felt lonely. I suddenly saw a kebab house on the street, and its signboard was Turkish. I entered there without any hesitation,” she said.
Sometime later, Der Meguerditchian returned to her family in Buenos Aires. “I wanted to get the experience with Turks like I always heard about from others,” she said, adding that she returned to Berlin at the age of 20. Der Meguerditchian took the first step to confront herself when her family came to visit her in Berlin. “My father and mother were watching Turkish television in Berlin. They were making Turkish friends when they went outside. I started asking myself questions when I saw this,” she said, adding that she made many Turkish friends during that period.
After all these events, she came to Istanbul for the first time in 2005 and defined the city as “Love that can never be given up.”
Her son’s music teacher is a Turk
Der Meguerditchian said she found a Turkish teacher to teach the Turkish instrument kanun to her 6-year-old son Avedis. She said it was a hard decision for her, adding: “To find myself, I seek answers to my questions and try to get rid of my prejudices. This is a difficult process. Even though it was weird for me that a Turk taught lessons to my son at first, I perceived that it would be a big step for me to remove my prejudices.”
The most beautiful and emotional room of the exhibition is the one where tens of meters of ropes fall from the walls reuniting on the ground. Talking about this work titled “You-Me,” Der Meguerditchian concluded by saying, “Here, I tried to explain how peoples of both countries have become a whole throughout hundreds of years and cannot be separated.”
BOX
About the artist
Der Meguerditchian, 37, lives in Berlin and is among the world’s most promising names in the field of contemporary art. Earning awards from many European countries, particularly Germany, she has artwork in many significant modern art collections in Argentina, Armenia, Portugal and the United States. She focuses on the concepts of identity and memory in her works.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
One woman from the Armenian diaspora has been creating art to break taboos, and is showing her work in Istanbul at the BM Suma Han-Contemporary Art Center. 'I am an inseparable part of this land,' says the artist, Silvina Der MeguerditchianSilvina Der Meguerditchian's exhibition at BM Suma Han-Contemporary Art Center.
A young Armenian artist from Buenos Aires, but with roots in Anatolia, is displaying her taboo-breaking art at the BM Suma Han-Contemporary Art Center in Istanbul’s Karaköy neighborhood through March 4.
Silvina Der Meguerditchian, a promising artist in the field of modern art, came from her home in Berlin to Istanbul for the exhibition, which seems to have left its mark on this year’s art agenda.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, Der Meguerditchian described the aim of her exhibition, saying, “With this exhibition, I wanted to express that I am an inseparable part of this land.” She said the iron curtain between the Turkish and Armenian people should be removed, adding, “We need to establish dialogue and take steps toward the future.”
Stating her happiness for opening such an exhibition in Turkey, Der Meguerditchian said, “As an artist from the [Armenian] diaspora, if I can freely organize such an exhibit here without denying the events in the past; this is an important step for Turkey.”
Turkish family saves her grandmother
In the entrance of the exhibition hall, visitors see historic photos placed in weavings. The photos in the exhibit tell the life of Der Meguerditchian’s grandmothers and grandfathers in Anatolia. The artist named the exhibition “Aferin Yavrum” (Well done honey), referring to her grandmother.
Der Meguerditchian said her grandmother taught her to knit when she was a little child. “When I did it well, my grandmother used to tell me ‘Well done honey’ in Turkish. This is why I named the exhibition this.”
Dedicating the exhibition to the memory of her grandmother, Der Meguerditchian said, “Wherever she is in the universe, I know that she sees me and tells me ‘Well done honey’ since I came to the land where I belong and opened this exhibition – even if I can’t hear her.”
She said until the end of her life, her grandmother had never forgotten a family that saved her from death, adding: “My grandmother lost all members of her family in 1915, and a Turkish family saved her from death. To not forget her identity, my grandmother wrote the names of all family members on a piece of paper and hid it. She just barely found her sister, whom she thought was dead, 50 years later, sometime before her death.”
Berlin was the breaking point
Der Meguerditchian grew up in a community of Armenians in Buenos Aires. She said she stayed away from Turks, but the first break through was when she went to Berlin in 1986. “I was 18 and knew nobody in Berlin. I felt lonely. I suddenly saw a kebab house on the street, and its signboard was Turkish. I entered there without any hesitation,” she said.
Sometime later, Der Meguerditchian returned to her family in Buenos Aires. “I wanted to get the experience with Turks like I always heard about from others,” she said, adding that she returned to Berlin at the age of 20. Der Meguerditchian took the first step to confront herself when her family came to visit her in Berlin. “My father and mother were watching Turkish television in Berlin. They were making Turkish friends when they went outside. I started asking myself questions when I saw this,” she said, adding that she made many Turkish friends during that period.
After all these events, she came to Istanbul for the first time in 2005 and defined the city as “Love that can never be given up.”
Her son’s music teacher is a Turk
Der Meguerditchian said she found a Turkish teacher to teach the Turkish instrument kanun to her 6-year-old son Avedis. She said it was a hard decision for her, adding: “To find myself, I seek answers to my questions and try to get rid of my prejudices. This is a difficult process. Even though it was weird for me that a Turk taught lessons to my son at first, I perceived that it would be a big step for me to remove my prejudices.”
The most beautiful and emotional room of the exhibition is the one where tens of meters of ropes fall from the walls reuniting on the ground. Talking about this work titled “You-Me,” Der Meguerditchian concluded by saying, “Here, I tried to explain how peoples of both countries have become a whole throughout hundreds of years and cannot be separated.”
BOX
About the artist
Der Meguerditchian, 37, lives in Berlin and is among the world’s most promising names in the field of contemporary art. Earning awards from many European countries, particularly Germany, she has artwork in many significant modern art collections in Argentina, Armenia, Portugal and the United States. She focuses on the concepts of identity and memory in her works.
6 Şubat 2010 Cumartesi
DIPLOMACY
TURKEY • NATIONAL Saturday, February 06 2010 19:54 GMT+2
Your time is 19:57:30
Mystery shrouds iconic restoration in Tarabya
Friday, February 5, 2010
Vercihan Ziflioğlu
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The giant tarps covering the Büyük Tarabya Hotel and the cranes around it are piquing curiosity. Experts are confident that an illegal new building is being constructed out of sight. Both Bayraktarlar Holding, which recently purchased this hotel on the shore of the Bosphorus, and the Boğaziçi Zoning Directorate refuse to comment on the current status of the building
Restoration on a historic hotel has experts worried that one of the city’s most valuable cultural assets is being ruined. For three years, huge tarps have clung to the hillside neighborhood of Tarabya, which offers one of Istanbul’s best panoramic views of the Bosphorus, sparking rumors about what exactly is being built behind the curtain.
The location where this work is being done was home to the Tokatlayan Hotel, the city’s second biggest hotel in the 19th century after the Pera Palace and one of Istanbul’s first tourism buildings. A family with Armenian heritage owned the hotel before it was destroyed in a fire of unknown origin in 1954. The State Retirement Fund constructed the Büyük Tarabya Hotel in its place in 1966.
In recent years, the fund has put the building up for sale through a bidding process that was won by Bayraktarlar Holding. The renovation of the building was named the “Tarabya Project” and then work was cloaked behind the giant tarps.
Will it be a mall?
The Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review has been trying to contact Feridun Duman, project manager for Bayraktar Holding, for a year and a half to ask about the ongoing work, but has always been turned down with the excuse that his schedule is too busy. Officials from the holding have only said that there have been changes in the project and that they will release a press statement in the months to come.
Entering the construction site is not allowed. Some have alleged that part of the Büyük Tarabya Hotel has been demolished and a new building is silently being constructed on the site.
“Cracks were formed on surrounding buildings because of the construction. We have learned that the firm that is handling the construction wanted to buy the small buildings around the hotel to include in the project,” said Süleyman, a neighborhood resident who preferred to be identified only by his first name. “The construction workers say this will be a shopping mall.”
Tarık, 80, another neighborhood resident who also preferred to withhold his surname, said he has spent most of his life in Tarabya. “The most magnificent location on the Bosphorus is being slaughtered by such a structure,” he said. “It has illegal [extra] floors too.”
Architect Sinan Genim, a member of Istanbul’s Second Preservation Board in the 1990s and head of the board for the Foundation for Preserving Monuments and the Environment since 1997, said he believes the allegations are inappropriate. “It is no good to talk about it at this point,” he said. “It is true that [the building] is a mass that does not become the Bosphorus, but what has been done is done. I do not agree that an unlawful act is being committed.”
Boğaziçi Zoning Directorate
Oktay Ekinci, former general president of the Chamber of Architects, disagreed with Genim. “I cannot say anything on historical artifacts, but there is a special article in the law for the Bosphorus concerning the construction of new buildings. This article allows only repairs for the buildings on the coastline with the exception of old artifacts,” Ekinci told the Daily News. “However, the Büyük Tarabya Hotel has been demolished and now a new building is under construction.”
When the Retirement Fund sold the building, it also sold the zoning rights, Ekinci added. “So, the state has delivered the zoning rights it has provided them to a private organization by its own hand,” he said.
The Daily News sought a statement from the Boğaziçi (Bosphorus) Zoning Directorate on the matter but the directorate refused to comment. The Istanbul Directorate of Survey and Monuments said only that the subject is a matter for the preservation boards.
‘Expert opinion not valued’
Professor Afife Batur, an architectural history expert and a scholar at the Architecture Faculty of Istanbul Technical University, said she also believes a new building will soon rise behind the tarps. Claiming the ongoing construction is unlawful and is not being inspected, Batur said: “We were hoping this building would be demolished someday, but now a new one is being constructed. It is unbelievable.”
Noting that experts were against the construction of the Büyük Tarabya Hotel in the 1960s, she added, “It looks like nobody in this country values the opinions of experts.”
Fatma Sedes, an architect and renovation expert, also pointed out that since Tarabya is located at one of the tightest spots along the Bosphorus and extends over the water, the hotel is a potential danger to seagoing traffic and could cause an accident.
TURKEY • NATIONAL Saturday, February 06 2010 19:54 GMT+2
Your time is 19:57:30
Mystery shrouds iconic restoration in Tarabya
Friday, February 5, 2010
Vercihan Ziflioğlu
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The giant tarps covering the Büyük Tarabya Hotel and the cranes around it are piquing curiosity. Experts are confident that an illegal new building is being constructed out of sight. Both Bayraktarlar Holding, which recently purchased this hotel on the shore of the Bosphorus, and the Boğaziçi Zoning Directorate refuse to comment on the current status of the building
Restoration on a historic hotel has experts worried that one of the city’s most valuable cultural assets is being ruined. For three years, huge tarps have clung to the hillside neighborhood of Tarabya, which offers one of Istanbul’s best panoramic views of the Bosphorus, sparking rumors about what exactly is being built behind the curtain.
The location where this work is being done was home to the Tokatlayan Hotel, the city’s second biggest hotel in the 19th century after the Pera Palace and one of Istanbul’s first tourism buildings. A family with Armenian heritage owned the hotel before it was destroyed in a fire of unknown origin in 1954. The State Retirement Fund constructed the Büyük Tarabya Hotel in its place in 1966.
In recent years, the fund has put the building up for sale through a bidding process that was won by Bayraktarlar Holding. The renovation of the building was named the “Tarabya Project” and then work was cloaked behind the giant tarps.
Will it be a mall?
The Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review has been trying to contact Feridun Duman, project manager for Bayraktar Holding, for a year and a half to ask about the ongoing work, but has always been turned down with the excuse that his schedule is too busy. Officials from the holding have only said that there have been changes in the project and that they will release a press statement in the months to come.
Entering the construction site is not allowed. Some have alleged that part of the Büyük Tarabya Hotel has been demolished and a new building is silently being constructed on the site.
“Cracks were formed on surrounding buildings because of the construction. We have learned that the firm that is handling the construction wanted to buy the small buildings around the hotel to include in the project,” said Süleyman, a neighborhood resident who preferred to be identified only by his first name. “The construction workers say this will be a shopping mall.”
Tarık, 80, another neighborhood resident who also preferred to withhold his surname, said he has spent most of his life in Tarabya. “The most magnificent location on the Bosphorus is being slaughtered by such a structure,” he said. “It has illegal [extra] floors too.”
Architect Sinan Genim, a member of Istanbul’s Second Preservation Board in the 1990s and head of the board for the Foundation for Preserving Monuments and the Environment since 1997, said he believes the allegations are inappropriate. “It is no good to talk about it at this point,” he said. “It is true that [the building] is a mass that does not become the Bosphorus, but what has been done is done. I do not agree that an unlawful act is being committed.”
Boğaziçi Zoning Directorate
Oktay Ekinci, former general president of the Chamber of Architects, disagreed with Genim. “I cannot say anything on historical artifacts, but there is a special article in the law for the Bosphorus concerning the construction of new buildings. This article allows only repairs for the buildings on the coastline with the exception of old artifacts,” Ekinci told the Daily News. “However, the Büyük Tarabya Hotel has been demolished and now a new building is under construction.”
When the Retirement Fund sold the building, it also sold the zoning rights, Ekinci added. “So, the state has delivered the zoning rights it has provided them to a private organization by its own hand,” he said.
The Daily News sought a statement from the Boğaziçi (Bosphorus) Zoning Directorate on the matter but the directorate refused to comment. The Istanbul Directorate of Survey and Monuments said only that the subject is a matter for the preservation boards.
‘Expert opinion not valued’
Professor Afife Batur, an architectural history expert and a scholar at the Architecture Faculty of Istanbul Technical University, said she also believes a new building will soon rise behind the tarps. Claiming the ongoing construction is unlawful and is not being inspected, Batur said: “We were hoping this building would be demolished someday, but now a new one is being constructed. It is unbelievable.”
Noting that experts were against the construction of the Büyük Tarabya Hotel in the 1960s, she added, “It looks like nobody in this country values the opinions of experts.”
Fatma Sedes, an architect and renovation expert, also pointed out that since Tarabya is located at one of the tightest spots along the Bosphorus and extends over the water, the hotel is a potential danger to seagoing traffic and could cause an accident.
31 Ocak 2010 Pazar
'Patriarch' and 'co-patriarch' chaos among Turkey's Armenian's
'Patriarch' and 'co-patriarch' chaos among Turkey's Armenian's
Sunday, January 31, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Elections for the Armenian patriarch in Turkey have been cast into confusion with two separate applications filed to hold the polls. While the patriarchate's clerical board intends to elect a 'co-patriarch,' an 'Entrepreneur Committee' of community foundation directors is insisting on electing a completely new patriarch
Mesrop II.
Upcoming elections to select a new patriarch for Turkey’s Armenians have become increasingly enveloped in confusion as two separate community applications to hold the polls were recently filed with the Istanbul Governor's Office.
The patriarchate’s clerical board recently decided to elect a co-patriarch for the Armenian community due to the deteriorating heath condition of current Patriarch Mesrop II. The elected co-patriarch would then become the patriarch following Mesrop II’s death.
At the same time, the Entrepreneur Committee, a body consisting of the directors of the community’s foundations, has initiated proceedings to elect a completely new patriarch. This means that two separate applications to elect the community’s religious leader have now been filed with the Istanbul Governor.
After learning of the committee’s application, the clerical board released a statement condemning the filing of election papers, as the double application has cast a shadow over the co-patriarch elections tentatively scheduled to be held May 12.
Mesrop II was elected in October 1998 as the 84th Patriarch of Turkey’s Armenians by the community of 50,000. In addition to fulfilling his clerical and communal duties for the past 12 years, Mesrop II has also played an active role in bringing the problems of the Armenian community to Turkey’s agenda.
Mesrop II fell suspiciously ill following the Jan. 19, 2007, assassination of Hrant Dink; the patriarchate has since declaring his illness to be dementia. His duties have been assumed by the clerical board under Archbishop Aram Ateşyan.
Intra-communal debate on the matter has led to calls for the election of a co-patriarch. According to the canon law of the Armenian Apostolic Church, an elected patriarch holds his title until death, meaning that it is impossible to elect a new patriarch until the passing of the incumbent one.
Possible legal problems
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review about the situation, Arsen Aşık, one of the former directors of the committee, said the community was going through a very sensitive time, adding that he approved of the committee’s actions.
“Mesrop II is in a condition in which he cannot fulfill his duties. Let us assume that a co-patriarch is elected and then a legal problem occurs. At that point, the co-patriarch might say, ‘I do not have authority’ and isolate himself [from the situation],” Aşık said.
Sarkis Elbe, one of the current members of the foundation, also approved of the committee’s actions but expressed some wariness about the general situation. “Nobody knows what is going on behind closed doors,” he said, referring to the clerical board’s decision to elect a co-patriarch.
‘Mesrop II is the community’s choice’
Sevan Ataoğlu, a young member of the community, disagreed with Elbe and Aşık, saying he is against the idea of electing a completely new patriarch and adding that the community wants to see Mesrop II as full patriarch until his death.
“I believe the government is interfering with the Entrepreneur Committee. That is why they are so determined,” Ataoğlu said, claiming both the state and the committee had a secret candidate in mind for the position.
“There may be government advice [but] not interference,” Elbe said in response to such claims. “Such rumors were seen during the previous elections too; they do not seem that believable.”
Sunday, January 31, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Elections for the Armenian patriarch in Turkey have been cast into confusion with two separate applications filed to hold the polls. While the patriarchate's clerical board intends to elect a 'co-patriarch,' an 'Entrepreneur Committee' of community foundation directors is insisting on electing a completely new patriarch
Mesrop II.
Upcoming elections to select a new patriarch for Turkey’s Armenians have become increasingly enveloped in confusion as two separate community applications to hold the polls were recently filed with the Istanbul Governor's Office.
The patriarchate’s clerical board recently decided to elect a co-patriarch for the Armenian community due to the deteriorating heath condition of current Patriarch Mesrop II. The elected co-patriarch would then become the patriarch following Mesrop II’s death.
At the same time, the Entrepreneur Committee, a body consisting of the directors of the community’s foundations, has initiated proceedings to elect a completely new patriarch. This means that two separate applications to elect the community’s religious leader have now been filed with the Istanbul Governor.
After learning of the committee’s application, the clerical board released a statement condemning the filing of election papers, as the double application has cast a shadow over the co-patriarch elections tentatively scheduled to be held May 12.
Mesrop II was elected in October 1998 as the 84th Patriarch of Turkey’s Armenians by the community of 50,000. In addition to fulfilling his clerical and communal duties for the past 12 years, Mesrop II has also played an active role in bringing the problems of the Armenian community to Turkey’s agenda.
Mesrop II fell suspiciously ill following the Jan. 19, 2007, assassination of Hrant Dink; the patriarchate has since declaring his illness to be dementia. His duties have been assumed by the clerical board under Archbishop Aram Ateşyan.
Intra-communal debate on the matter has led to calls for the election of a co-patriarch. According to the canon law of the Armenian Apostolic Church, an elected patriarch holds his title until death, meaning that it is impossible to elect a new patriarch until the passing of the incumbent one.
Possible legal problems
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review about the situation, Arsen Aşık, one of the former directors of the committee, said the community was going through a very sensitive time, adding that he approved of the committee’s actions.
“Mesrop II is in a condition in which he cannot fulfill his duties. Let us assume that a co-patriarch is elected and then a legal problem occurs. At that point, the co-patriarch might say, ‘I do not have authority’ and isolate himself [from the situation],” Aşık said.
Sarkis Elbe, one of the current members of the foundation, also approved of the committee’s actions but expressed some wariness about the general situation. “Nobody knows what is going on behind closed doors,” he said, referring to the clerical board’s decision to elect a co-patriarch.
‘Mesrop II is the community’s choice’
Sevan Ataoğlu, a young member of the community, disagreed with Elbe and Aşık, saying he is against the idea of electing a completely new patriarch and adding that the community wants to see Mesrop II as full patriarch until his death.
“I believe the government is interfering with the Entrepreneur Committee. That is why they are so determined,” Ataoğlu said, claiming both the state and the committee had a secret candidate in mind for the position.
“There may be government advice [but] not interference,” Elbe said in response to such claims. “Such rumors were seen during the previous elections too; they do not seem that believable.”
28 Ocak 2010 Perşembe
Foreign support to Armenia media stirs debate
Foreign support to Armenia media stirs debate
Thursday, January 28, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily NewsFinancial support from international foundations and foreign embassies to the Armenian media has sparked a debate, with some saying such efforts would give journalists a chance to work more freely. Critics, however, insist change must come from within the country’s own dynamics.
Foreign support for Armenian media has grown in recent years, following a regional pattern. “Hedq” (Trace) one of the best-known online portals, moved into print format last September with the support of the British Embassy.
Boris Navasaritan, president of the Yerevan Press Club, said he thinks journalists who receive international support can work more freely. “Unfortunately, the rulers in Armenia have an oppressor mentality. However, the world is changing rapidly. It is not possible for Armenia to [resist] change,” Navasaritan told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review during a recent visit to Istanbul.
Levon Barsghian, president of the Journalists Club Asparez in the northwestern Armenian city of Gyumri, said he agrees with Navasaritan, but added he believes the issue of foreign support should be tackled carefully.
“We thank all institutions that offer support for the freedom of speech and democracy,” he said. “But the political perspective of this support should be given attention, too. The only goal of such support must be about freedom of speech for the Armenian press. Opinions, political views and ideologies should not be forced upon anyone.”
Change coming from inside
Lucia Najslova, chief editor for Zahranicna, a foreign policy magazine in Slovakia, said the momentum for media reform has to come from Armenians themselves. “An ‘imposed’ change will most probably not be a lasting one, nor will it be genuinely embraced by the majority of the people. Change can, however, be assisted by those who went through similar experiences. It is wiser to learn from the errors of your fellows than from your own.”
Najslova compared the Armenian media with those in Eastern European countries. “In the past 20 years, during the restoration of democracy in the former Czechoslovakia, we certainly did receive a lot of help from foreigners who had good intentions. Without them, our liberalization would have been much more painful and longer. But there were also those who had no idea about the experience of the country they came to 'civilize.' We experienced a number of entertaining moments, being put into positions in which we supposedly had yet to learn how to dine using cutlery.”
According to Navasartian, one of the most modern printing houses in Armenia was founded in the early 1990s with the support of the Eurasia Foundation, which had support from the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, as well as other governments, private foundations, corporations and individuals. Then, the Open Society Institute, funded by billionaire investor George Soros, and Internews, another global nonprofit organization, opened offices in Yerevan.
“Armenians’ enthusiasm in embracing foreign investors entering the media sector should not be surprising,” Aslı Tunç, dean of the communication faculty at Istanbul’s Bilgi University, told the Daily News. “I believe that this is a strategic move for Washington to create a competitive media market in Armenia. Those efforts cannot make any country’s media independent, but training programs and financing civil society organizations might increase the level of journalism standards in the long run.”
Thursday, January 28, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily NewsFinancial support from international foundations and foreign embassies to the Armenian media has sparked a debate, with some saying such efforts would give journalists a chance to work more freely. Critics, however, insist change must come from within the country’s own dynamics.
Foreign support for Armenian media has grown in recent years, following a regional pattern. “Hedq” (Trace) one of the best-known online portals, moved into print format last September with the support of the British Embassy.
Boris Navasaritan, president of the Yerevan Press Club, said he thinks journalists who receive international support can work more freely. “Unfortunately, the rulers in Armenia have an oppressor mentality. However, the world is changing rapidly. It is not possible for Armenia to [resist] change,” Navasaritan told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review during a recent visit to Istanbul.
Levon Barsghian, president of the Journalists Club Asparez in the northwestern Armenian city of Gyumri, said he agrees with Navasaritan, but added he believes the issue of foreign support should be tackled carefully.
“We thank all institutions that offer support for the freedom of speech and democracy,” he said. “But the political perspective of this support should be given attention, too. The only goal of such support must be about freedom of speech for the Armenian press. Opinions, political views and ideologies should not be forced upon anyone.”
Change coming from inside
Lucia Najslova, chief editor for Zahranicna, a foreign policy magazine in Slovakia, said the momentum for media reform has to come from Armenians themselves. “An ‘imposed’ change will most probably not be a lasting one, nor will it be genuinely embraced by the majority of the people. Change can, however, be assisted by those who went through similar experiences. It is wiser to learn from the errors of your fellows than from your own.”
Najslova compared the Armenian media with those in Eastern European countries. “In the past 20 years, during the restoration of democracy in the former Czechoslovakia, we certainly did receive a lot of help from foreigners who had good intentions. Without them, our liberalization would have been much more painful and longer. But there were also those who had no idea about the experience of the country they came to 'civilize.' We experienced a number of entertaining moments, being put into positions in which we supposedly had yet to learn how to dine using cutlery.”
According to Navasartian, one of the most modern printing houses in Armenia was founded in the early 1990s with the support of the Eurasia Foundation, which had support from the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, as well as other governments, private foundations, corporations and individuals. Then, the Open Society Institute, funded by billionaire investor George Soros, and Internews, another global nonprofit organization, opened offices in Yerevan.
“Armenians’ enthusiasm in embracing foreign investors entering the media sector should not be surprising,” Aslı Tunç, dean of the communication faculty at Istanbul’s Bilgi University, told the Daily News. “I believe that this is a strategic move for Washington to create a competitive media market in Armenia. Those efforts cannot make any country’s media independent, but training programs and financing civil society organizations might increase the level of journalism standards in the long run.”
27 Ocak 2010 Çarşamba
Dashnak official warns of war if Azeri, Armenia talks fail
Dashnak official warns of war if Azeri, Armenia talks fail
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Vercihan ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
A deadlock in peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan might lead to new conflicts in the region, warned a senior official from the far-right Armenian Revolutionary Federation, or Dashnaktsutyun Party.
While praising the international negotiators for their active role in talks, Giro Manoian said that neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan now desire to engage a new war. His warning came a day after the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia held their fifth meeting for a peace agreement in the Russian resort city of Sochi, as Moscow pushes the sides to resolve their longstanding conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an enclave in Azerbaijan that has been occupied by Armenian forces since the end of a six-year conflict that left about 30,000 people dead and 1 million displaced before a truce was reached in 1994. The region’s unilateral independence is not recognized by the international community. The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been negotiating on the issue under the OSCE, but little progress has been made in the talks.
When reminded of the positive picture drawn on the solution to the Karabakh problem in previous months, Manoian said he believed that was done to mislead the public. He also said that Turkey perceived the Karabakh problem differently than Russia, the United States and other Western nations. “When a solution to the Karabakh problem is mentioned, Turkey perceives it as returning the whole Karabakh to Azerbaijan. However, Russia and the United States are aware of the sensitivity of the problem,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an e-mail interview.
Armenia’s Constitutional Court recently published a decision affirming the constitutionality of the protocol, angering Ankara because the decision stipulated that the agreements must not violate a part of Armenia’s declaration of independence that calls for recognition of the deaths of Armenians in 1915 as “genocide.”
According to Manoian, Turkey has tried to use the court’s ruling for its own good. “[Turkey] is not genuine on normalizing ties with Armenia. It is trying to build an image of a country that moves toward consensus. That is all.”
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Vercihan ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
A deadlock in peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan might lead to new conflicts in the region, warned a senior official from the far-right Armenian Revolutionary Federation, or Dashnaktsutyun Party.
While praising the international negotiators for their active role in talks, Giro Manoian said that neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan now desire to engage a new war. His warning came a day after the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia held their fifth meeting for a peace agreement in the Russian resort city of Sochi, as Moscow pushes the sides to resolve their longstanding conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an enclave in Azerbaijan that has been occupied by Armenian forces since the end of a six-year conflict that left about 30,000 people dead and 1 million displaced before a truce was reached in 1994. The region’s unilateral independence is not recognized by the international community. The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been negotiating on the issue under the OSCE, but little progress has been made in the talks.
When reminded of the positive picture drawn on the solution to the Karabakh problem in previous months, Manoian said he believed that was done to mislead the public. He also said that Turkey perceived the Karabakh problem differently than Russia, the United States and other Western nations. “When a solution to the Karabakh problem is mentioned, Turkey perceives it as returning the whole Karabakh to Azerbaijan. However, Russia and the United States are aware of the sensitivity of the problem,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an e-mail interview.
Armenia’s Constitutional Court recently published a decision affirming the constitutionality of the protocol, angering Ankara because the decision stipulated that the agreements must not violate a part of Armenia’s declaration of independence that calls for recognition of the deaths of Armenians in 1915 as “genocide.”
According to Manoian, Turkey has tried to use the court’s ruling for its own good. “[Turkey] is not genuine on normalizing ties with Armenia. It is trying to build an image of a country that moves toward consensus. That is all.”
23 Ocak 2010 Cumartesi
Speculation ends on Van's Holy Cross Church
Speculation ends on Van's Holy Cross Church
Friday, January 22, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The Culture and Tourism Ministry ends speculation about the historical Surp Haç (Holy Cross) Church on Akdamar Island in Van. Officials from the ministry say the church will be opened for prayer and a cross will be placed on the roof by September 2010
Renovation of the historical Surp Haç (Holy Cross) Church on Akdamar Island in the eastern district of Van helped begin the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia, but the church remains a topic of considerable debate.
The Armenian church was renovated and opened as a museum in 2007 by former Culture Minister Atilla Koç; since then, debate has centered on whether a cross would be placed atop the building’s dome and whether the church would once again be opened for prayer.
Buildings designated as museums are not allowed to host religious services under Turkish law.
Current Culture Minister Ertuğrul Günay has told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that the ministry is making the final legal arrangements to allow the church to open for prayer once a year.
Last week, however, daily Milliyet and other Turkish newspapers announced that the ministry was no longer considering opening Surp Haç for prayer. The announcement naturally attracted the interest of Armenian media and the Armenian diaspora as well.
‘The information is old; preparations are at the final level’
The Daily News spoke to ministry officials to get the latest developments about the historical church. Denying last week’s news story, the officials said the church would be opened for prayer in September 2010 with a cross on the building’s roof. According to the ministry sources, Milliyet’s story was based on old information; in fact, they said, the legal preparations for opening the church to prayer are continuing rapidly.
Disappointment caused by museum status
Günay said there are obstacles to churches in addition to Surp Haç being opened for prayer, adding that the ministry is handling the legal arrangements very carefully to prevent similar difficulties in the future.
The church has symbolic importance in the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia. Although it is commonly believed that Armenian-Turkish dialogue began with the World Cup Qualifier between the two countries’ national teams in 2008, the actual process began with the initial renovation of Surp Haç.
Former minister Koç contacted Gagik Gürciyan, the deputy culture minister of Armenia at that time, to provide experts from Armenia to come to Turkey to inspect the church. Despite the closed borders between the two countries, Turkish and Armenian experts have engaged in a coordinated effort aimed at restoring Surp Haç.
Leaving the church without a cross and opening it as a museum, however, disappointed the Armenian world. During the restoration, a replica of the original cross was prepared by experts according to the traditions of the Apostolic Church. That cross was brought to Istanbul and delivered to Mesrop II, patriarch of Turkish Armenians.
The cross is still at the Istanbul patriarchate, waiting to be placed atop Surp Haç.
Friday, January 22, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The Culture and Tourism Ministry ends speculation about the historical Surp Haç (Holy Cross) Church on Akdamar Island in Van. Officials from the ministry say the church will be opened for prayer and a cross will be placed on the roof by September 2010
Renovation of the historical Surp Haç (Holy Cross) Church on Akdamar Island in the eastern district of Van helped begin the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia, but the church remains a topic of considerable debate.
The Armenian church was renovated and opened as a museum in 2007 by former Culture Minister Atilla Koç; since then, debate has centered on whether a cross would be placed atop the building’s dome and whether the church would once again be opened for prayer.
Buildings designated as museums are not allowed to host religious services under Turkish law.
Current Culture Minister Ertuğrul Günay has told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that the ministry is making the final legal arrangements to allow the church to open for prayer once a year.
Last week, however, daily Milliyet and other Turkish newspapers announced that the ministry was no longer considering opening Surp Haç for prayer. The announcement naturally attracted the interest of Armenian media and the Armenian diaspora as well.
‘The information is old; preparations are at the final level’
The Daily News spoke to ministry officials to get the latest developments about the historical church. Denying last week’s news story, the officials said the church would be opened for prayer in September 2010 with a cross on the building’s roof. According to the ministry sources, Milliyet’s story was based on old information; in fact, they said, the legal preparations for opening the church to prayer are continuing rapidly.
Disappointment caused by museum status
Günay said there are obstacles to churches in addition to Surp Haç being opened for prayer, adding that the ministry is handling the legal arrangements very carefully to prevent similar difficulties in the future.
The church has symbolic importance in the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia. Although it is commonly believed that Armenian-Turkish dialogue began with the World Cup Qualifier between the two countries’ national teams in 2008, the actual process began with the initial renovation of Surp Haç.
Former minister Koç contacted Gagik Gürciyan, the deputy culture minister of Armenia at that time, to provide experts from Armenia to come to Turkey to inspect the church. Despite the closed borders between the two countries, Turkish and Armenian experts have engaged in a coordinated effort aimed at restoring Surp Haç.
Leaving the church without a cross and opening it as a museum, however, disappointed the Armenian world. During the restoration, a replica of the original cross was prepared by experts according to the traditions of the Apostolic Church. That cross was brought to Istanbul and delivered to Mesrop II, patriarch of Turkish Armenians.
The cross is still at the Istanbul patriarchate, waiting to be placed atop Surp Haç.
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