Turkish, Armenian intellectuals to meet for closer dialogue
Thursday, April 1, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
According to Ragıp Zarakolu, many of the forums about the events of 1915 have only started to take place in Turkey since the year 2005, which he called “the year zero for Turkey. Photo: Hasan ALTINIŞIK
Intellectuals from Turkey and Armenia are set to gather in the Turkish capital on the anniversary of the 1915 killings of Armenians during the last days of the Ottoman Empire.
The meeting is set to occur at a time when the historic normalization process between the two countries has stalled.
Turkish and Armenian intellectuals will meet in Ankara on April 24 and 25 to discuss the events of 1915 and attempt to improve dialogue between the two nations in an event organized by the Ankara Freedom of Thought Initiative.
“We believe the problem between the two nations will be solved only by dialogue,” Sait Çetin, a writer, human-rights activists and one of the organizers of the forum, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
“Matters that concern us in the first degree are being discussed in the capitals of the world because we cannot manage to talk [about them] ourselves. The sincerity of the West is arguable, and Turkey has an attitude of denial,” Çetin added in a March 22 e-mail interview.
Participants in the forum will talk about the events leading up to the 1915 killings, which Armenians refer to as “genocide,” as well as their political implications. Topics of discussion are set to include “The Armenian issue from a historical perspective,” “From [the Committee of] Union and Progress to Kemalism - official ideological denial and termination of the issue,” “The Turkification of the capital” and “The Armenian issue: How to handle it?”
Writer Temel Demirer underscored the importance of such dialogue in order to ensure a more peaceful future, saying that the official ideology in Turkey has tried to cover history up. “We, as Turkish intellectuals, want to face the truth,” he told the Daily News in a phone interview.
When asked about possible reactions, Demirer added: “I do not blame people who say the genocide did not happen. If there is such a thing called freedom of speech, everybody should show respect to each others’ freedom of expression.”
Çetin said the event had originally been planned to take place Jan. 19, the anniversary of the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, but the group had difficulty finding a suitable location in Ankara for that date.
“Actually, it is good that [the meeting] coincided on this date,” he said, referring to April 24, the date on which Armenians commemorate the “genocide.”
“We are going to present a perspective as different as we can for Ankara and Yerevan on the solution of the historical problems,” Çetin added.
‘Genocide’ resolution
The normalization process between Turkey and Armenia hit a new obstacle after a U.S. House of Representatives committee endorsed a resolution calling on U.S. President Barack Obama to label the 1915 killings of Armenians as “genocide.”
Ragıp Zarakolu, a founding member of the Human Rights Association and the owner of Belge International Publishing, said that the voting in the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 4 had the atmosphere of a football match.
“Such a tragic event becomes a political issue because the Turks and Armenians cannot solve it among themselves,” he said.
According to Zarakolu, many of the forums about the events of 1915 have only started to take place in Turkey since the year 2005, which he called “the year zero for Turkey. It is the year many taboo topics started to be discussed. It was impossible before that.”
The forum will to take place in the hall of the Construction Engineers’ Chamber on Necatibey Street in Ankara.
In addition to Çetin, Demirer and Zarakolu, the 20 scheduled attendees include Sevan Nişanyan, an academic, linguist and writer; Professor Baskın Oran, a political scientist; and Khatcig Mouradian from the U.S.-based Armenian Weekly.
According to Çetin, the discussions at the forum will not be limited the events of 1915, but will also include what happened before and after, as well as contemporary reflections on the subject.
1 Nisan 2010 Perşembe
First book of art translated into Armenian
First book of art translated into Armenian
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Turkey and Armenia have initiated a common project. A theater play by Hasan Erkek has been translated into Armenian by the Armenian Publishers Union with the help of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. 'Eşik' (Cradle) is the first book that breaks the trend of translations only touching on historical problems between the neighboring countries
Hasan Erke, writer of 'Eşik.'
The Armenian Publishers Union and the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism have collaborated on a special project. Armenian readers will now be able to read a book on art rather than ones that examine historical problems between the two countries.
The book will be promoted at a ceremony in May at the Armenian Publishers Union. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism participated through subsidizing the translation through the Opening Turkish Literature to the World, or TEDA, a project, which works to publish Turkish cultural, artistic and literary works in foreign languages.
The writer of the book, titled “Eşik” (Cradle), Anadolu University State Conservatory member and the Playwrights and Interpreters Association Chairman Hasan Erkek said his book was published in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia. “I hope this coincidence will make a contribution to peace among these three countries. I believe that we will progress more by developing a culture of empathy through art rather than harsh political statements.”
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, the Armenian translator of the book, Meline Anumyan, who is a member of the Hracya Acaryan University Turkish literature department and the Armenian Society Radio Turkish broadcast editor, said, “I am very pleased to translate a book on art rather than history and politics.”
First contact in Istanbul
“Eşik” is a theater play. Depicting various periods of human life, the play tells about these stages in a very effective way through a young girl who grows into a woman. The play has been viewed by more than 60,000 people in different Turkish cities, according to Erkek. In addition to Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia, the book, which has many national awards, was published in France in 2001 with the title “Le Seuil” and initiated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The idea of publishing the book in Armenia came up in 2008. The Armenian Publishers Union President Vahan Khachatryan, who was the guest of honor at the International Istanbul TÜYAP Book Fair, met Erkek during the fair.
“It was a very nice meeting. I thought we would be able to collaborate, and I sent him my book,” said Erkek. “They decided to publish the book. TEDA gave a small budget for the project, and ‘Eşik’ met Armenian readers thanks to it. It makes me happy that my play reaches more people.”
View of Armenia in Turkish literature
During the time of the Soviet Republics, Turkish literature was followed in Armenia through Russian translations. Although the country gained its independence in 1991, the first translations into Armenian only gained speed during the last two years. The firsts were Fethiye Çetin’s “Anneannem” (My Grandmother) and Nobel laureate writer Orhan Pamuk’s “Kar” (Snow). In her book, Çetin tells the story of her grandmother, who was an Armenian, but became a Muslim and changed her name after 1915.
Right before he won the Nobel Prize, Pamuk gained empathy in Armenia and among the diaspora, saying, “one million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds have been murdered on this land.” But in his book, Erkek did not make any reference to the Armenian problem or give place to an Armenian hero. “I don’t know why they wanted to translate ‘Eşik’,” he said. “Maybe its poetic language, characters or folk songs had an influence.”
Themes same with Hovhannes Tumanian
Even though Erkek did not comment on why his book was appreciated in Armenia, Anumyan said: “Erkek’s style has similarities with the immortal poet of Armenian literature Hovhannes Tumanian’s themes. We thought this feature of the book would be familiar to our readers.”
Anumyan said more works from Turkish literature would be translated into Armenian. Erkek also said similar work could be done in Turkey. “Such things are necessary for both societies to know each other better. I hope my book will be the first step for common projects,” he said.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Turkey and Armenia have initiated a common project. A theater play by Hasan Erkek has been translated into Armenian by the Armenian Publishers Union with the help of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. 'Eşik' (Cradle) is the first book that breaks the trend of translations only touching on historical problems between the neighboring countries
Hasan Erke, writer of 'Eşik.'
The Armenian Publishers Union and the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism have collaborated on a special project. Armenian readers will now be able to read a book on art rather than ones that examine historical problems between the two countries.
The book will be promoted at a ceremony in May at the Armenian Publishers Union. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism participated through subsidizing the translation through the Opening Turkish Literature to the World, or TEDA, a project, which works to publish Turkish cultural, artistic and literary works in foreign languages.
The writer of the book, titled “Eşik” (Cradle), Anadolu University State Conservatory member and the Playwrights and Interpreters Association Chairman Hasan Erkek said his book was published in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia. “I hope this coincidence will make a contribution to peace among these three countries. I believe that we will progress more by developing a culture of empathy through art rather than harsh political statements.”
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, the Armenian translator of the book, Meline Anumyan, who is a member of the Hracya Acaryan University Turkish literature department and the Armenian Society Radio Turkish broadcast editor, said, “I am very pleased to translate a book on art rather than history and politics.”
First contact in Istanbul
“Eşik” is a theater play. Depicting various periods of human life, the play tells about these stages in a very effective way through a young girl who grows into a woman. The play has been viewed by more than 60,000 people in different Turkish cities, according to Erkek. In addition to Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia, the book, which has many national awards, was published in France in 2001 with the title “Le Seuil” and initiated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The idea of publishing the book in Armenia came up in 2008. The Armenian Publishers Union President Vahan Khachatryan, who was the guest of honor at the International Istanbul TÜYAP Book Fair, met Erkek during the fair.
“It was a very nice meeting. I thought we would be able to collaborate, and I sent him my book,” said Erkek. “They decided to publish the book. TEDA gave a small budget for the project, and ‘Eşik’ met Armenian readers thanks to it. It makes me happy that my play reaches more people.”
View of Armenia in Turkish literature
During the time of the Soviet Republics, Turkish literature was followed in Armenia through Russian translations. Although the country gained its independence in 1991, the first translations into Armenian only gained speed during the last two years. The firsts were Fethiye Çetin’s “Anneannem” (My Grandmother) and Nobel laureate writer Orhan Pamuk’s “Kar” (Snow). In her book, Çetin tells the story of her grandmother, who was an Armenian, but became a Muslim and changed her name after 1915.
Right before he won the Nobel Prize, Pamuk gained empathy in Armenia and among the diaspora, saying, “one million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds have been murdered on this land.” But in his book, Erkek did not make any reference to the Armenian problem or give place to an Armenian hero. “I don’t know why they wanted to translate ‘Eşik’,” he said. “Maybe its poetic language, characters or folk songs had an influence.”
Themes same with Hovhannes Tumanian
Even though Erkek did not comment on why his book was appreciated in Armenia, Anumyan said: “Erkek’s style has similarities with the immortal poet of Armenian literature Hovhannes Tumanian’s themes. We thought this feature of the book would be familiar to our readers.”
Anumyan said more works from Turkish literature would be translated into Armenian. Erkek also said similar work could be done in Turkey. “Such things are necessary for both societies to know each other better. I hope my book will be the first step for common projects,” he said.
31 Mart 2010 Çarşamba
Azerbaijani and Kurdish artists convey peace messages after Nevruz
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Azerbaijan’s kemancha virtuoso İmamyar Hasanov and the well-known Kurdish tambour artist from Iran, Ali Akbar Moradi, visit Istanbul and call for peace and friendship. ‘Azerbaijani people know that conflicts with Armenia are political, and they are fed up with it,’ says Hasanov. Mentioning the Kurdish problem, Moradi says, ‘War is of no use for anyone’
İmamyar Hasanov (R) and Ali Akbar Moradi
İmamyar Hasanov, an Azerbaijani kemancha virtuoso, and Ali Akbar Moradi, the most famous tambour artist of the Kurdish diaspora from Iran, were in Istanbul last week for the first International Istanbul Nevruz Celebrations.
Hasanov and Moradi’s often play sold-out concerts around the world. However, because approval for the festival, which was sponsored by the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency and the Kağıthane Municipality, was announced only a few weeks before the event and some debate occurred over the use of a Kurdish word on the show’s poster, there was not efficient promotion for the concerts.
Hasanov and Moradi, who expressed pleasure for coming to Turkey and attending the Nevruz celebrations against all odds, spoke to Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review before leaving Turkey. Even though Hasanov, 34, said he wanted to be away from politics, he spoke about the political discussions that sometimes occur between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “We used to live in peace at the time of the Soviet Socialist Republics Union. What happened, happened after it dissolved. All events are political. Azerbaijani people are fed up with these discussions.”
As for the Kurdish problem in Turkey, Moradi said, “War is of no use for anyone.”
Music has nothing to do with people’s fights
Hasanov is a member of a family of musicians and began to play kemancha at the age of 6. Kemancha, which is known as a traditional three-stringed instrument, is played by people in Turkey, the Caucasus and the Middle East.
“Kemancha is the common culture of this geography. It is played by Armenians, Iranians and Uzbeks,” said Hasanov, adding that there are debates over the origin of instruments and music. “I find these debates to be nonsense. The language of music is universal and only expresses friendship and origin. It has nothing to do with discrimination and people’s conflicts.”
Hasanov also spoke about the origin of the folk song “Sarı Gelin” (Yellow Bride), which has caused debate within Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan from time to time. “I performed this anonymous song, too, and never thought of its origin. If a melody penetrates my soul, it is enough for me to perform it.”
Concert with Armenian artists
Hasanov’s biggest dream is to take the stage with the world’s most famous duduk player, Djivan Gasparyan. A duduk is an Armenian double reed woodwind instrument. Gasparyan holds four gold medals from UNESCO due to his contributions to world culture, has made music for 39 Hollywood films and won the World Music Expo, or WOMEX, which is regarded as the biggest prize of the music world, in 2002 for his contributions to music.
Hasanov said he might take the stage not only with Gasparyan, but also with Armenian and Azerbaijani artists to make calls for friendship and peace. “I believe in friendship and peace. I am sure the universal language of music will bring us together on a common ground. If I get an invitation and support for this project, I am always ready.”
Humanity is the most important thing
Moradi, who carefully listened to Hasanov’s explanations, said he agreed with his calls for friendship and peace. When asked what he thought about the Kurdish problem in Turkey, the tambour (a stringed instrument) virtuoso answered, “The most important thing in the world is humanity. Identities and belongings do not make any sense. I long for a borderless, problem- and conflict-free world. I have nothing to do with politics.”
Moradi said he had dedicated his life to music and the friendship of people. “Tambour is my life. It is my first and last friend, and it understands me in this world.”
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Azerbaijan’s kemancha virtuoso İmamyar Hasanov and the well-known Kurdish tambour artist from Iran, Ali Akbar Moradi, visit Istanbul and call for peace and friendship. ‘Azerbaijani people know that conflicts with Armenia are political, and they are fed up with it,’ says Hasanov. Mentioning the Kurdish problem, Moradi says, ‘War is of no use for anyone’
İmamyar Hasanov (R) and Ali Akbar Moradi
İmamyar Hasanov, an Azerbaijani kemancha virtuoso, and Ali Akbar Moradi, the most famous tambour artist of the Kurdish diaspora from Iran, were in Istanbul last week for the first International Istanbul Nevruz Celebrations.
Hasanov and Moradi’s often play sold-out concerts around the world. However, because approval for the festival, which was sponsored by the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency and the Kağıthane Municipality, was announced only a few weeks before the event and some debate occurred over the use of a Kurdish word on the show’s poster, there was not efficient promotion for the concerts.
Hasanov and Moradi, who expressed pleasure for coming to Turkey and attending the Nevruz celebrations against all odds, spoke to Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review before leaving Turkey. Even though Hasanov, 34, said he wanted to be away from politics, he spoke about the political discussions that sometimes occur between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “We used to live in peace at the time of the Soviet Socialist Republics Union. What happened, happened after it dissolved. All events are political. Azerbaijani people are fed up with these discussions.”
As for the Kurdish problem in Turkey, Moradi said, “War is of no use for anyone.”
Music has nothing to do with people’s fights
Hasanov is a member of a family of musicians and began to play kemancha at the age of 6. Kemancha, which is known as a traditional three-stringed instrument, is played by people in Turkey, the Caucasus and the Middle East.
“Kemancha is the common culture of this geography. It is played by Armenians, Iranians and Uzbeks,” said Hasanov, adding that there are debates over the origin of instruments and music. “I find these debates to be nonsense. The language of music is universal and only expresses friendship and origin. It has nothing to do with discrimination and people’s conflicts.”
Hasanov also spoke about the origin of the folk song “Sarı Gelin” (Yellow Bride), which has caused debate within Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan from time to time. “I performed this anonymous song, too, and never thought of its origin. If a melody penetrates my soul, it is enough for me to perform it.”
Concert with Armenian artists
Hasanov’s biggest dream is to take the stage with the world’s most famous duduk player, Djivan Gasparyan. A duduk is an Armenian double reed woodwind instrument. Gasparyan holds four gold medals from UNESCO due to his contributions to world culture, has made music for 39 Hollywood films and won the World Music Expo, or WOMEX, which is regarded as the biggest prize of the music world, in 2002 for his contributions to music.
Hasanov said he might take the stage not only with Gasparyan, but also with Armenian and Azerbaijani artists to make calls for friendship and peace. “I believe in friendship and peace. I am sure the universal language of music will bring us together on a common ground. If I get an invitation and support for this project, I am always ready.”
Humanity is the most important thing
Moradi, who carefully listened to Hasanov’s explanations, said he agreed with his calls for friendship and peace. When asked what he thought about the Kurdish problem in Turkey, the tambour (a stringed instrument) virtuoso answered, “The most important thing in the world is humanity. Identities and belongings do not make any sense. I long for a borderless, problem- and conflict-free world. I have nothing to do with politics.”
Moradi said he had dedicated his life to music and the friendship of people. “Tambour is my life. It is my first and last friend, and it understands me in this world.”
26 Mart 2010 Cuma
Armenians shoulder Laleli’s dwindling suitcase
Armenians shoulder Laleli’s dwindling suitcase
Thursday, March 25, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
The Emniyet Bus Station in Istanbul’s Aksaray neighborhood is the nexus for the suitcase trade between Turkey and Armenia. Every Wednesday, 15 buses go to Armenia one after another. Many Armenians make their living relying on the trade, but those who can’t afford the $50-$70 return journey risk overstaying their visas and becoming an ‘undocumented worker’
In the back alleys of Istanbul’s Aksaray district, the Emniyet Bus Station looks as if it has long been abandoned. A more careful glance, however, uncovers notices in Armenian and Georgian plastered on windows of bus company offices.
The station was mainly used by Russian and Romanian passengers in the early 1990s for shuttle trade, but lately it has been serving those from Armenia and Georgia who pack their suitcases with items to sell at street markets back home.
Every week, scores of buses depart for Turkey’s eastern neighbors, charging passengers between $50 and $70 depending on the final destination. Wednesdays are especially brisk with the majority of buses heading to Armenia via Georgia departing that day.
The Istanbul-Yerevan journey would take 22 hours, but because the Turkish-Armenian border remains closed, the actual travel time is 36 hours. For those who can afford the luxury of air travel, there are constraints; flights depart from Istanbul’s Atatürk International Airport bound for Yerevan twice a week.
Traders in Laleli, a neighborhood in Aksaray famous as a shuttle trade hub, insisted on speaking on the condition of anonymity out of a growing anxiety that the trade is coming to a halt.
On one of the ordinary days at the terminal last week, passengers reached the bus station early in the morning, followed by porters carrying heavy luggage. Suitcases and cardboard boxes were weighed; bargains were made and the cargo was loaded up. Passengers making the journey have a luggage allowance of 200 kilograms.
Falling into the ‘undocumented’ gap
One passenger, speaking to Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on condition of anonymity, said Armenians generally come to the city with between $2,000 and $5,000. Those who come with less money typically cannot find enough money to return to Armenia when their visas expire and consequently become one of the “undocumented workers” who were threatened with deportation by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during comments made last week.
A.H., a 44-year-old nurse identified only by her initials, worked in hospitals for many years in Armenia. "I have worked in Turkey doing domestic work for others and have saved money,” she said. “Now it’s time take off.”
H.B. is from Gyumri, an Armenian city not far from the eastern Turkish province of Kars, and said he makes his living off suitcase trade.
“Why are the politicians plaguing poor people like us? Why are the borders closed? Why are we not allowed to pass freely? It sometimes feels like I have all the weight of the world on my shoulders.”
Kohar Gasparian, 50, said he runs a luxurious boutique in Yerevan. “I come because textiles are cheap and of good quality here,” he told the Daily News.
Almost all spoke fluent Turkish and many of the passengers, bus company employees and drivers know each another.
Bus driver Mehmet Kapıcıoğlu said he has been driving passengers to Armenia for 14 years. “The journey takes 36 hours, sometimes 38 hours. Some passengers cover the distance without food and water because they have no money. Seeing that is really painful.”
Ali, declining to give his surname, said he had been working at the bus station for 12 years and is fluent in Armenian. “I’ve learned it by talking with passengers as the years go by,” he said, adding that Armenians have been crucial in reviving Laleli’s otherwise-fading shuttle trade.
“From the mid-1990s until last year, there used to be 30 bus trips per day from Turkey to Armenia. This year, the number decreased by half,” he said.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
The Emniyet Bus Station in Istanbul’s Aksaray neighborhood is the nexus for the suitcase trade between Turkey and Armenia. Every Wednesday, 15 buses go to Armenia one after another. Many Armenians make their living relying on the trade, but those who can’t afford the $50-$70 return journey risk overstaying their visas and becoming an ‘undocumented worker’
In the back alleys of Istanbul’s Aksaray district, the Emniyet Bus Station looks as if it has long been abandoned. A more careful glance, however, uncovers notices in Armenian and Georgian plastered on windows of bus company offices.
The station was mainly used by Russian and Romanian passengers in the early 1990s for shuttle trade, but lately it has been serving those from Armenia and Georgia who pack their suitcases with items to sell at street markets back home.
Every week, scores of buses depart for Turkey’s eastern neighbors, charging passengers between $50 and $70 depending on the final destination. Wednesdays are especially brisk with the majority of buses heading to Armenia via Georgia departing that day.
The Istanbul-Yerevan journey would take 22 hours, but because the Turkish-Armenian border remains closed, the actual travel time is 36 hours. For those who can afford the luxury of air travel, there are constraints; flights depart from Istanbul’s Atatürk International Airport bound for Yerevan twice a week.
Traders in Laleli, a neighborhood in Aksaray famous as a shuttle trade hub, insisted on speaking on the condition of anonymity out of a growing anxiety that the trade is coming to a halt.
On one of the ordinary days at the terminal last week, passengers reached the bus station early in the morning, followed by porters carrying heavy luggage. Suitcases and cardboard boxes were weighed; bargains were made and the cargo was loaded up. Passengers making the journey have a luggage allowance of 200 kilograms.
Falling into the ‘undocumented’ gap
One passenger, speaking to Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on condition of anonymity, said Armenians generally come to the city with between $2,000 and $5,000. Those who come with less money typically cannot find enough money to return to Armenia when their visas expire and consequently become one of the “undocumented workers” who were threatened with deportation by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during comments made last week.
A.H., a 44-year-old nurse identified only by her initials, worked in hospitals for many years in Armenia. "I have worked in Turkey doing domestic work for others and have saved money,” she said. “Now it’s time take off.”
H.B. is from Gyumri, an Armenian city not far from the eastern Turkish province of Kars, and said he makes his living off suitcase trade.
“Why are the politicians plaguing poor people like us? Why are the borders closed? Why are we not allowed to pass freely? It sometimes feels like I have all the weight of the world on my shoulders.”
Kohar Gasparian, 50, said he runs a luxurious boutique in Yerevan. “I come because textiles are cheap and of good quality here,” he told the Daily News.
Almost all spoke fluent Turkish and many of the passengers, bus company employees and drivers know each another.
Bus driver Mehmet Kapıcıoğlu said he has been driving passengers to Armenia for 14 years. “The journey takes 36 hours, sometimes 38 hours. Some passengers cover the distance without food and water because they have no money. Seeing that is really painful.”
Ali, declining to give his surname, said he had been working at the bus station for 12 years and is fluent in Armenian. “I’ve learned it by talking with passengers as the years go by,” he said, adding that Armenians have been crucial in reviving Laleli’s otherwise-fading shuttle trade.
“From the mid-1990s until last year, there used to be 30 bus trips per day from Turkey to Armenia. This year, the number decreased by half,” he said.
Children of undocumented Armenians may be educated in Turkey
Children of undocumented Armenians may be educated in Turkey
Thursday, March 25, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Children of undocumented Armenian workers, often educated in illegal underground schools, may soon have hope for better days and better classrooms. Two top leaders, one from the ruling party and one from the Armenian patriarchate, say there are plans in the works to make it easier for these children to enroll as students in legitimate schools
In a seeming dramatic reversal, a top official has hinted at providing education for children of undocumented Armenians, just days after Turkey’s prime minister talked of “sending them back to their own country.”
Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç’s comments about education hit the headlines of daily Hürriyet on Thursday, leaving some Armenians saying they feel like they are being used as “political tools,” while others praised the move.
“This is a political maneuver,” said an Armenian who has been working in Turkey for 14 years as an undocumented household servant and declined to give her name. “The mentality that raised the possibility of sending us back [to Armenia] now talks about our children’s right to have an education here.”
Another undocumented Armenian working at the marketplace in Istanbul’s Kumkapı neighborhood praised the move, with reservations. “This is a much-delayed decision. My child is 15 years old now,” she said, noting that none of her children have been able to attend school. “But better late than never.”
The conflicting statements coming from top Turkish officials are confusing, to say the least, say many undocumented Armenians living in the country. “I felt like a political tool last week,” another said, referring to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statements about sending undocumented workers back to Armenia.
“A week later and they are now talking about [education]. Let’s see what will happen next week,” she said, also speaking on condition of anonymity.
Promises from top official
Hürriyet reported Thursday that Archbishop Aram Ateşyan, the head of the spiritual council of the Patriarchate of Armenians in Turkey, had met with Deputy Prime Minister Arınç. Ateşyan said Arınç promised to act on the education issue.
Arınç told the newspaper that providing education would not only be good for the children of undocumented Armenians in Turkey, but for Armenians who are “in Turkey for a reason.”
“Turkey would not be harmed if those children studied in schools too,” he said. “Personally, I believe that children [of undocumented Armenians] should be able to go to school, if we look at the issue from a humanitarian perspective.”
According to Arınç, the prime minister had also expressed some support for the idea that children of non-Muslims who are living in Turkey “for a reason” should be able to study at existing schools for minorities. Arınç said Erdoğan had entrusted the issue to Education Minister Nimet Çubukçu.
In December, the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review featured a story on Armenian children receiving education at illegal schools in Istanbul and asked for a response from Ateşyan, who refused to comment. Meetings similar to the one between Arınç and Ateşyan have subsequently been held behind closed doors, the Daily News has learned.
Leading names from the Armenian community in Istanbul have reportedly met recently with government officials, but issued no statement. A similar meeting will be held between an Armenian businessman from Istanbul and Prime Minister Erdoğan on Monday, the Daily News has learned.
No reply from Education Ministry
The manager of an Armenian school in Istanbul, however, told Daily News that the school had applied to the Education Ministry in November – along with the managers of 18 Armenian minority schools – but could not get a reply on the issue.
Even the sibling of an individual who worked for some time for the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization’s Armenian office was in the same situation when he was in Istanbul, the manager said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “[He] applied for two years [continuously],” the manger said. “He was considered a tourist in Turkey. The permission [for his child] was given only when his duty was almost over.”
Another school manager, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, characterized Arınç’s statements as the acknowledgement of a right.
“It is not a gift,” she said. “Children have been deprived of their right to an education. This is a human rights problem.”
Thursday, March 25, 2010
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Children of undocumented Armenian workers, often educated in illegal underground schools, may soon have hope for better days and better classrooms. Two top leaders, one from the ruling party and one from the Armenian patriarchate, say there are plans in the works to make it easier for these children to enroll as students in legitimate schools
In a seeming dramatic reversal, a top official has hinted at providing education for children of undocumented Armenians, just days after Turkey’s prime minister talked of “sending them back to their own country.”
Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç’s comments about education hit the headlines of daily Hürriyet on Thursday, leaving some Armenians saying they feel like they are being used as “political tools,” while others praised the move.
“This is a political maneuver,” said an Armenian who has been working in Turkey for 14 years as an undocumented household servant and declined to give her name. “The mentality that raised the possibility of sending us back [to Armenia] now talks about our children’s right to have an education here.”
Another undocumented Armenian working at the marketplace in Istanbul’s Kumkapı neighborhood praised the move, with reservations. “This is a much-delayed decision. My child is 15 years old now,” she said, noting that none of her children have been able to attend school. “But better late than never.”
The conflicting statements coming from top Turkish officials are confusing, to say the least, say many undocumented Armenians living in the country. “I felt like a political tool last week,” another said, referring to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statements about sending undocumented workers back to Armenia.
“A week later and they are now talking about [education]. Let’s see what will happen next week,” she said, also speaking on condition of anonymity.
Promises from top official
Hürriyet reported Thursday that Archbishop Aram Ateşyan, the head of the spiritual council of the Patriarchate of Armenians in Turkey, had met with Deputy Prime Minister Arınç. Ateşyan said Arınç promised to act on the education issue.
Arınç told the newspaper that providing education would not only be good for the children of undocumented Armenians in Turkey, but for Armenians who are “in Turkey for a reason.”
“Turkey would not be harmed if those children studied in schools too,” he said. “Personally, I believe that children [of undocumented Armenians] should be able to go to school, if we look at the issue from a humanitarian perspective.”
According to Arınç, the prime minister had also expressed some support for the idea that children of non-Muslims who are living in Turkey “for a reason” should be able to study at existing schools for minorities. Arınç said Erdoğan had entrusted the issue to Education Minister Nimet Çubukçu.
In December, the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review featured a story on Armenian children receiving education at illegal schools in Istanbul and asked for a response from Ateşyan, who refused to comment. Meetings similar to the one between Arınç and Ateşyan have subsequently been held behind closed doors, the Daily News has learned.
Leading names from the Armenian community in Istanbul have reportedly met recently with government officials, but issued no statement. A similar meeting will be held between an Armenian businessman from Istanbul and Prime Minister Erdoğan on Monday, the Daily News has learned.
No reply from Education Ministry
The manager of an Armenian school in Istanbul, however, told Daily News that the school had applied to the Education Ministry in November – along with the managers of 18 Armenian minority schools – but could not get a reply on the issue.
Even the sibling of an individual who worked for some time for the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization’s Armenian office was in the same situation when he was in Istanbul, the manager said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “[He] applied for two years [continuously],” the manger said. “He was considered a tourist in Turkey. The permission [for his child] was given only when his duty was almost over.”
Another school manager, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, characterized Arınç’s statements as the acknowledgement of a right.
“It is not a gift,” she said. “Children have been deprived of their right to an education. This is a human rights problem.”
22 Mart 2010 Pazartesi
Turkish, Armenian scholars examine 'common grief' in memories
Turkish, Armenian scholars examine 'common grief' in memories
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Vercihan ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Associate Professor Leyla Neyzi from Sabancı University’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Emrah Gürel photo
Scholars from Turkey and Armenia have launched a joint project to record the countries’ perceptions of each other and examine how the events of 1915 are remembered in the collective mind of each society.
While a Turkish scholar said the grief that Armenians suffered throughout the deportation period during the last days of Ottoman Empire was still a topic of discussion in Anatolia, an Armenian counterpart said her colleagues do not have slightest doubt that what occurred in 1915 was “genocide.”
“There is still a nostalgic and warm point of view [in Anatolia] toward the lives of the Turkish and Armenian peoples before 1915,” Associate Professor Leyla Neyzi from Sabancı University’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in Istanbul told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review earlier this week. “Stories of being neighbors are still alive and the local memory is extremely strong.”
The perception project was launched at the “Adult Education and Oral History Contributing to Armenian-Turkish Reconciliation” forum in Yereven last year. Turkish and Armenian scholars met in Yerevan without any governmental support and discussed the historical facts concerning Turkish-Armenian relations, especially the events of 1915.
The positions of the Armenian scholars do not differ from the Armenian state’s official view on the controversial period. “Many of the Armenian interviewees have roots in Anatolia and they have listened to a lot of stories about Turks from their elders and many of them are sad stories about the genocide,” said Professor Hranush Kharatian-Araqelian from the Archaeology and Ethnology Department of the National Academy of Sciences in Armenia told the Daily News in an e-mail interview.
Book to be published
The work of Kharatian-Araqelian and Neyzi will be released in an upcoming book, “Speaking to One Another: Personal Memories of the Past in Armenia and Turkey.” The book will be printed in Turkish, Armenian and English with the support of the German-based Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association, or DVV.
The work will feature memories, stories and photographs of interviewees. The people’s faces will be blurred and their names and addresses kept secret for security reasons.
Although Neyzi said the project was well coordinated and successful, Kharatian-Araqelian disagreed, saying: “The works were sufficient but not perfect. Leyla is an extremely successful academic and a good researcher, but it is my impression that she also shares the dominant point of view of Turkish public opinion. Let her forgive me if I am wrong.”
Kharatian-Araqelian also said she would like to extend her part of the research throughout Anatolia, saying she would like to speak with Circassians and Kurds in addition to Turks.
“Works focusing on historical memories, which form societies’ identities and function as their backbones, do not exist. Besides national history, there are also memories both peoples pass on from generation to generation and they must be recorded,” Neyzi said.
Although history has been silenced in the Turkish public sphere, according to Neyzi, she said personal history in Turkey remains very much alive. “The Kurds also feel shame because of the grief experienced during the deportation as much as the Turks.”
Ordinary citizens in Turkey want to speak out on what has happened in history, Neyzi said. “The precondition of achieving peace is facing the grief.”
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Vercihan ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Associate Professor Leyla Neyzi from Sabancı University’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Emrah Gürel photo
Scholars from Turkey and Armenia have launched a joint project to record the countries’ perceptions of each other and examine how the events of 1915 are remembered in the collective mind of each society.
While a Turkish scholar said the grief that Armenians suffered throughout the deportation period during the last days of Ottoman Empire was still a topic of discussion in Anatolia, an Armenian counterpart said her colleagues do not have slightest doubt that what occurred in 1915 was “genocide.”
“There is still a nostalgic and warm point of view [in Anatolia] toward the lives of the Turkish and Armenian peoples before 1915,” Associate Professor Leyla Neyzi from Sabancı University’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in Istanbul told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review earlier this week. “Stories of being neighbors are still alive and the local memory is extremely strong.”
The perception project was launched at the “Adult Education and Oral History Contributing to Armenian-Turkish Reconciliation” forum in Yereven last year. Turkish and Armenian scholars met in Yerevan without any governmental support and discussed the historical facts concerning Turkish-Armenian relations, especially the events of 1915.
The positions of the Armenian scholars do not differ from the Armenian state’s official view on the controversial period. “Many of the Armenian interviewees have roots in Anatolia and they have listened to a lot of stories about Turks from their elders and many of them are sad stories about the genocide,” said Professor Hranush Kharatian-Araqelian from the Archaeology and Ethnology Department of the National Academy of Sciences in Armenia told the Daily News in an e-mail interview.
Book to be published
The work of Kharatian-Araqelian and Neyzi will be released in an upcoming book, “Speaking to One Another: Personal Memories of the Past in Armenia and Turkey.” The book will be printed in Turkish, Armenian and English with the support of the German-based Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association, or DVV.
The work will feature memories, stories and photographs of interviewees. The people’s faces will be blurred and their names and addresses kept secret for security reasons.
Although Neyzi said the project was well coordinated and successful, Kharatian-Araqelian disagreed, saying: “The works were sufficient but not perfect. Leyla is an extremely successful academic and a good researcher, but it is my impression that she also shares the dominant point of view of Turkish public opinion. Let her forgive me if I am wrong.”
Kharatian-Araqelian also said she would like to extend her part of the research throughout Anatolia, saying she would like to speak with Circassians and Kurds in addition to Turks.
“Works focusing on historical memories, which form societies’ identities and function as their backbones, do not exist. Besides national history, there are also memories both peoples pass on from generation to generation and they must be recorded,” Neyzi said.
Although history has been silenced in the Turkish public sphere, according to Neyzi, she said personal history in Turkey remains very much alive. “The Kurds also feel shame because of the grief experienced during the deportation as much as the Turks.”
Ordinary citizens in Turkey want to speak out on what has happened in history, Neyzi said. “The precondition of achieving peace is facing the grief.”
19 Mart 2010 Cuma
PM’s remarks worry Armenian migrants in Turkey
Thursday, March 18, 2010
ISTANBUL - Daily News with wires / Vercihan Ziflioğlu contributed to this report from Istanbul.
The Turkish prime minister’s recent suggestion that undocumented citizens of Armenia may have to be deported has raised fears among Armenian workers living in Turkey.
Many migrants send the money they earn in Turkey to their families in Armenia, supporting that country’s economy.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s comments to journalists in London on Tuesday came after a U.S. Congressional committee and the Swedish parliament accepted claims of “genocide” regarding the incidents of 1915. The prime minister claimed that there are 100,000 undocumented Armenians working in Turkey and that Ankara has so far tolerated them.
“So what will I do tomorrow? If necessary, I will tell them ‘come on, back to your country’... I’m not obliged to keep them in my country. Those actions [on genocide resolutions] unfortunately have a negative impact on our sincere attitudes,” Agence France-Presse quoted him as saying.
According to a study by the Eurasia Partnership Foundation, there are anywhere between 6,000 and 70,000 people from Armenia residing in Turkey. A journalist from the weekly Agos estimated the number of Armenians working in Turkey at between 12,000 and 14,000, based on Ministry of Labor statistics.
Speaking to daily Radikal, Karina, an Armenian citizen working in Istanbul’s Kumkapı district, said she is worried about the statement. Karina, who declined to give her surname, has been living with a tourist visa in Turkey for the past five years. “Deportation will be bad for me economically and socially,” she said.
Making a living
Others speaking to daily Radikal also said they had to work in Turkey to make a living.
Armen, who also refrained from giving his surname, said he has a life in Turkey and does not want to leave that behind. “Even if the police come to me with a knife in their hands, I will not leave here,” he said. “I am married. My children are with me and we are all right here.”
According to recent research, there are around 800 children who were born in Turkey to Armenian parents who live undocumented in the country. These children are in a legal limbo, citizens of neither nation.
“If I am deported, I will find a way to return to Turkey,” said Giyma Harutunyan, who has been living in Turkey for the past five years.
Yura Sarkisyan, 70, who is involved in the “shuttle trade,” told Radikal: “It is the politicians who make this thing complicated. There is no good in bringing up events that happened a long time ago. We do not want to leave. We are thankful to all the Turkish people.”
Some undocumented Armenians, however, said they would leave if they were no longer wanted in Turkey. A.N., 37, identified only by her initials, said she loved Turkey and has lived here for four years now, daily Hürriyet reported Thursday. “But if they want, we will leave. We are here because the chance to find a job in Armenia is small. This is our country’s fault,” said A.N., who works as a salesperson in Istanbul’s Aksaray district.
M.H., 43, also identified only by her initials, has worked as babysitter for four years in Turkey. She said plans to go back to Armenia within one or two years. “People should not suffer due to politics. We have a life here,” she said.
The other side of the coin
T.Z., 28, identified only by her initials, told Hürriyet she was a student of Russian literature before she came to Turkey. “I work in a textile firm here,” she said. “My husband lives in Armenia. I want him to come here, too.”
T.Z. said the prime minister’s statements irked her. “Hundreds of thousands of Turks are working in Europe illegally,” she said. “Turkey should not forget that.”
Haygazun Alvrstyan, an academic from Yerevan State University, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Thursday that Erdoğan’s statements are a disturbing reminder of history. “[They again want] Armenians to be deported. It is a shame that this statement is made by a prime minister,” he said.
The academic added that there are only about 10,000 Armenian citizens in Turkey, saying Erdoğan is exaggerating the figure in order to “coerce the European Union and the U.S. not to approve resolutions on genocide claims.”
Siranuys Dvyoan, a professor in Armenia, said undocumented workers are not just Armenia’s problem, noting that Turks work in various countries in a similar fashion. “Turkey is trying to display Armenia as a poor country in the world,” she said.
Tevan Poghosyan, from the Yerevan-based International Center of Human Development, said Erdoğan is trying to distract attention from the genocide issue.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
ISTANBUL - Daily News with wires / Vercihan Ziflioğlu contributed to this report from Istanbul.
The Turkish prime minister’s recent suggestion that undocumented citizens of Armenia may have to be deported has raised fears among Armenian workers living in Turkey.
Many migrants send the money they earn in Turkey to their families in Armenia, supporting that country’s economy.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s comments to journalists in London on Tuesday came after a U.S. Congressional committee and the Swedish parliament accepted claims of “genocide” regarding the incidents of 1915. The prime minister claimed that there are 100,000 undocumented Armenians working in Turkey and that Ankara has so far tolerated them.
“So what will I do tomorrow? If necessary, I will tell them ‘come on, back to your country’... I’m not obliged to keep them in my country. Those actions [on genocide resolutions] unfortunately have a negative impact on our sincere attitudes,” Agence France-Presse quoted him as saying.
According to a study by the Eurasia Partnership Foundation, there are anywhere between 6,000 and 70,000 people from Armenia residing in Turkey. A journalist from the weekly Agos estimated the number of Armenians working in Turkey at between 12,000 and 14,000, based on Ministry of Labor statistics.
Speaking to daily Radikal, Karina, an Armenian citizen working in Istanbul’s Kumkapı district, said she is worried about the statement. Karina, who declined to give her surname, has been living with a tourist visa in Turkey for the past five years. “Deportation will be bad for me economically and socially,” she said.
Making a living
Others speaking to daily Radikal also said they had to work in Turkey to make a living.
Armen, who also refrained from giving his surname, said he has a life in Turkey and does not want to leave that behind. “Even if the police come to me with a knife in their hands, I will not leave here,” he said. “I am married. My children are with me and we are all right here.”
According to recent research, there are around 800 children who were born in Turkey to Armenian parents who live undocumented in the country. These children are in a legal limbo, citizens of neither nation.
“If I am deported, I will find a way to return to Turkey,” said Giyma Harutunyan, who has been living in Turkey for the past five years.
Yura Sarkisyan, 70, who is involved in the “shuttle trade,” told Radikal: “It is the politicians who make this thing complicated. There is no good in bringing up events that happened a long time ago. We do not want to leave. We are thankful to all the Turkish people.”
Some undocumented Armenians, however, said they would leave if they were no longer wanted in Turkey. A.N., 37, identified only by her initials, said she loved Turkey and has lived here for four years now, daily Hürriyet reported Thursday. “But if they want, we will leave. We are here because the chance to find a job in Armenia is small. This is our country’s fault,” said A.N., who works as a salesperson in Istanbul’s Aksaray district.
M.H., 43, also identified only by her initials, has worked as babysitter for four years in Turkey. She said plans to go back to Armenia within one or two years. “People should not suffer due to politics. We have a life here,” she said.
The other side of the coin
T.Z., 28, identified only by her initials, told Hürriyet she was a student of Russian literature before she came to Turkey. “I work in a textile firm here,” she said. “My husband lives in Armenia. I want him to come here, too.”
T.Z. said the prime minister’s statements irked her. “Hundreds of thousands of Turks are working in Europe illegally,” she said. “Turkey should not forget that.”
Haygazun Alvrstyan, an academic from Yerevan State University, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Thursday that Erdoğan’s statements are a disturbing reminder of history. “[They again want] Armenians to be deported. It is a shame that this statement is made by a prime minister,” he said.
The academic added that there are only about 10,000 Armenian citizens in Turkey, saying Erdoğan is exaggerating the figure in order to “coerce the European Union and the U.S. not to approve resolutions on genocide claims.”
Siranuys Dvyoan, a professor in Armenia, said undocumented workers are not just Armenia’s problem, noting that Turks work in various countries in a similar fashion. “Turkey is trying to display Armenia as a poor country in the world,” she said.
Tevan Poghosyan, from the Yerevan-based International Center of Human Development, said Erdoğan is trying to distract attention from the genocide issue.
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