New Islamist Kurdish party to enter politics
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News -Vercihan Ziflioğlu
A new Kurdish party, which describes itself as Islamist, is set to enter Turkey’s political scene in October.
The new party is likely to set some controversy in motion, as one of its prominent figures is Sıdkı Zilan, a lawyer whose clients in the past have included members of Hizbullah, a militant Sunni group based in southeastern Turkey that is unrelated to Lebanese Hezbollah.
“We want to enact whatever is necessary [to bring to life] an entity that is inclusive, Islamic and in favor of dialogue. We do not have any institutional ties with Hizbullah. I do believe, however, there will be people fancying us from the AKP [Justice and Development Party], the HAS Party [People’s Voice Party], the SP [Felicity Party], the BDP [Peace and Democracy Party] and the Hizbullah community,” Sıdkı Zilan told the Hürriyet Daily News.
It was decided to establish a conservative, Islamic-oriented party because there currently are no political parties which represent the Islamic community among Turkey’s four Kurdish parties, namely the BDP, the Rights and Liberties Party (HAK-PAR), Participatory Democracy Party (KADEP) and the Freedom and Socialism Party (ÖSP), according to Zilan.
“Naturally, there [is] a need for an establishment that will both give voice to the Islamic solution and support the Kurdish and the Kurdistan front,” he said.
To a large extent, the Turkish state and the ruling AKP view the Kurdish problem through the prism of public security, he said, adding they were a party to the Kurdish problem even in the absence of a political party anyhow.
“The state is beset with problems of violence and public security originating from the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party]. The PKK was not the essence of the matter; perhaps it is a consequence. We will have achieved our goal to some degree if we can contribute to the acceptance and comprehension of this [fact],” he added. The PKK is recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
May/08/2012
8 Mayıs 2012 Salı
6 Mayıs 2012 Pazar
EUROPE > Armenia heads to polls amid claims of foul play
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News -Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Armenians are poised to cast their votes on May 6 in a parliamentary election that looks set to become a battle for supremacy between the governing party and its current coalition partner, led by an ultra-rich former arm wrestling champion.
Opinion polls suggest that President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party, which currently controls the majority of seats in Parliament, is ahead of its ally in the outgoing coalition – the Prosperous Armenia Party, led by millionaire tycoon and former arm wrestler Gagik Tsarukian. Authorities have pledged an unprecedentedly clean contest for the 131-seat National Assembly in the mountainous country of 3.3 million people. The general perception among the public, however, tells a different story. “If elections were fair and democratic, and the people were to choose freely, then Sarkisian’s party surely would not be their [preference.] They [the Republican Party] will do their utmost to ensure a majority in Parliament,” told Edgar Vartanian, a political scientist from the Armenian Center for National and International Studies.
Sarkisian’s government’s efforts to kick-start diplomatic relations with Turkey in 2008, which subsequently failed to reach fruition, have not made it to the election agenda either, as the issue could negatively impact the campaign, Vartanian added. Alexander Iskandarian, the director of the Caucasus Institute, countered these claims however, saying Sarkisian’s government would fail to attain a parliamentary majority, and a coalition government will emerge.
May/05/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News -Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Armenians are poised to cast their votes on May 6 in a parliamentary election that looks set to become a battle for supremacy between the governing party and its current coalition partner, led by an ultra-rich former arm wrestling champion.
Opinion polls suggest that President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party, which currently controls the majority of seats in Parliament, is ahead of its ally in the outgoing coalition – the Prosperous Armenia Party, led by millionaire tycoon and former arm wrestler Gagik Tsarukian. Authorities have pledged an unprecedentedly clean contest for the 131-seat National Assembly in the mountainous country of 3.3 million people. The general perception among the public, however, tells a different story. “If elections were fair and democratic, and the people were to choose freely, then Sarkisian’s party surely would not be their [preference.] They [the Republican Party] will do their utmost to ensure a majority in Parliament,” told Edgar Vartanian, a political scientist from the Armenian Center for National and International Studies.
Sarkisian’s government’s efforts to kick-start diplomatic relations with Turkey in 2008, which subsequently failed to reach fruition, have not made it to the election agenda either, as the issue could negatively impact the campaign, Vartanian added. Alexander Iskandarian, the director of the Caucasus Institute, countered these claims however, saying Sarkisian’s government would fail to attain a parliamentary majority, and a coalition government will emerge.
May/05/2012
Armenian voters ‘back’ Sarkozy
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Armenian voters in France lean strongly toward Nicholas Sarkozy in the upcoming presidential elections on May 6, according to Garo Yalick, a deputy of Armenian origin from Sarkozy’s ruling UMP.
“Both Sarkozy and Hollande say they will bring the draft law [criminalizing the denial of Armenian genocide allegations] before Parliament again if they are elected. Hollande says [he will do this] within three years, while Sarkozy says [he will do it] this September, as soon as he gets elected.
We are in some doubt over Hollande, as there is not a glimpse of light in Hollande’s group that would [indicate] support for this issue,” Yalick told the Hürriyet Daily News.
All socialist parties across the European Union (EU) are tracing back on the issue of Armenian genocide allegations, according to Marseilles deputy Galick, who is also serving as an advisor to Valerie Boyer, who had played a leading role in bringing the draft law before the French Parliament.
Even though the more nationalistic Dashnakszutyun Party lends its support to Hollande, France’s primary socialist candidate has still failed to inspire full confidence among the country’s Armenian constituency, according to Yalick.
May/04/2012
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Armenian voters in France lean strongly toward Nicholas Sarkozy in the upcoming presidential elections on May 6, according to Garo Yalick, a deputy of Armenian origin from Sarkozy’s ruling UMP.
“Both Sarkozy and Hollande say they will bring the draft law [criminalizing the denial of Armenian genocide allegations] before Parliament again if they are elected. Hollande says [he will do this] within three years, while Sarkozy says [he will do it] this September, as soon as he gets elected.
We are in some doubt over Hollande, as there is not a glimpse of light in Hollande’s group that would [indicate] support for this issue,” Yalick told the Hürriyet Daily News.
All socialist parties across the European Union (EU) are tracing back on the issue of Armenian genocide allegations, according to Marseilles deputy Galick, who is also serving as an advisor to Valerie Boyer, who had played a leading role in bringing the draft law before the French Parliament.
Even though the more nationalistic Dashnakszutyun Party lends its support to Hollande, France’s primary socialist candidate has still failed to inspire full confidence among the country’s Armenian constituency, according to Yalick.
May/04/2012
Catholic Armenians fight to regain school
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Turkey’s Catholic Armenians are waging a legal battle to retrieve the property rights for an Armenian Catholic school that was confiscated by the Foundations Directorate General, despite the fact that it had not been proclaimed under the 1936 Declaration.
“We paid for the building’s purchase, and we are in possession of its title deed. We also have the document [showing] the back-then Istanbul governor’s approval for the purchase, but we are paying rent nonetheless,” Rita Nurnur, head of the Armenian school’s foundation, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Meeting with Charter Commission
Nurnur said that they had already met with European Union (EU) Minister Egemen Bağış over the matter and that Parliament’s Constitution Commission had also taken up the issue at the start of this week. The number of students attending the school fell to as low as 35 due to the fear that it would be shut down.
Adnan Ertem, the head of the Foundations Directorate General, has provided much support for their cause, according to Rita Nurnur. “He encouraged us to file a new suit as the foundation, [and] the process is still underway.”
“The process is quite thorny even if the Foundations Directorate General does its best, as the [foundation] was not registered on the 1936 Declaration. The [decision] to return [the property] has been overturned for now. It is clear the foundation is facing a rights violation. It needs to push forward with its legal battle,” Laki Vingas, a representative for all minority foundations in the Foundations Directorate General, told Daily News.
Turkey’s minorities declared their properties in 1936 upon the government’s request, but many of those properties did not remain registered under the names of minority foundations, and many were even sold to third parties in the following years.
May/04/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Turkey’s Catholic Armenians are waging a legal battle to retrieve the property rights for an Armenian Catholic school that was confiscated by the Foundations Directorate General, despite the fact that it had not been proclaimed under the 1936 Declaration.
“We paid for the building’s purchase, and we are in possession of its title deed. We also have the document [showing] the back-then Istanbul governor’s approval for the purchase, but we are paying rent nonetheless,” Rita Nurnur, head of the Armenian school’s foundation, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Meeting with Charter Commission
Nurnur said that they had already met with European Union (EU) Minister Egemen Bağış over the matter and that Parliament’s Constitution Commission had also taken up the issue at the start of this week. The number of students attending the school fell to as low as 35 due to the fear that it would be shut down.
Adnan Ertem, the head of the Foundations Directorate General, has provided much support for their cause, according to Rita Nurnur. “He encouraged us to file a new suit as the foundation, [and] the process is still underway.”
“The process is quite thorny even if the Foundations Directorate General does its best, as the [foundation] was not registered on the 1936 Declaration. The [decision] to return [the property] has been overturned for now. It is clear the foundation is facing a rights violation. It needs to push forward with its legal battle,” Laki Vingas, a representative for all minority foundations in the Foundations Directorate General, told Daily News.
Turkey’s minorities declared their properties in 1936 upon the government’s request, but many of those properties did not remain registered under the names of minority foundations, and many were even sold to third parties in the following years.
May/04/2012
30 Nisan 2012 Pazartesi
City Theaters’ ex-head castigates regulations
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Ayşenil Şamlıoğlu, former general art director of the Istanbul City Theaters, says those who think differently from management have been marginalized and portrayed as people estranged from their own values and society. ‘A revolution is slowly coming to pass in every sense,’ according to Şamlıoğlu
Istanbul Municipal Theaters’ former general art director Ayşenil Şamlıoğlu has bitterly criticized the recent overhaul of the regulations governing the theaters, breaking her silence on the issue for the first time since her resignation.
“This intervention cut off not only my own oxygen line, but Turkey’s. A revolution is slowly coming to pass in every sense. A new structure synthesizing the East and the West is being woven,” Şamlıoğlu, whose career in art spans a total of 38 years, told the Hürriyet Daily News. Every field in Turkey is being subjected to a transformation, Şamlıoğlu said, adding that this process of “revolution” will ultimately reach fruition. “What kind of a Turkey will we see when this process reaches completion? It scares me,” she said.
Şamlıoğlu also denied that there was any possibility that she might resist the new changes, because she has been completely ignored. Making art under such circumstances is impossible, she said. “When I took office [as art director], I suggested a study of the regulations. It did not even make it onto anyone’s agenda. A law on the theater would have been the most ideal [option]. We are still governed by the constitution [devised by] the 1982 coup,” she said, adding that the new regulations had come about very abruptly.
Former administrators became target
The former administrators of the City Theaters became targets of the right-wing press when they instituted a minimum age of 16 to attend certain plays, according to Şamlıoğlu. “They ran headlines reading ‘Immoral plays.’ They depicted [us] as targets. There have been no explicit [scenes] on stage, no pornographic works. Our repertoire was not like that. I do not understand what they take us for. We have been accused of immorality.”
Şamlıoğlu also said those who think differently from the management are being marginalized, and they have been portrayed as people estranged from their own values and society. “Are they the sole owners of this country’s culture and values? Not us? What has carried me to the present is the strength I gather from my values.”
Previously the Finance Ministry’s approval was required for all staff recruitment at the City Theaters, but recently a change had been made requiring only the approval of the municipal council, Şamlıoğlu explained. “Just as we were thinking we would be cut some slack on many issues, [they] dropped this new [set of] regulations on us. How was I to know those who were watching us dreamed of ruling over us instead?” said Şamlıoğlu.
According to the new regulations, the general art director, the theater manager, a department head, a civil servant and three members appointed by the mayor will together constitute a literary council that will determine the plays to be staged in the City Theaters, and the general art director will stage a repertoire based on this council’s choices. Under the former regulations this council was defined solely as an advisory body to the management council.
Taking charge of archive
“If they truly want to take charge of something, then they ought to take charge of the theater’s archives. They have destroyed a 98-year-old tradition. Part of the archives was sent to SEKA [Turkey’s Cellulose and Paper Mills Inc.] while the rest was plundered and is being sold in second-hand bookstores. Even the resumés of deceased or retired artists have not been archived. Everyone in civilized countries works within their own field of expertise. That is why they are civilized.”
April/28/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Ayşenil Şamlıoğlu, former general art director of the Istanbul City Theaters, says those who think differently from management have been marginalized and portrayed as people estranged from their own values and society. ‘A revolution is slowly coming to pass in every sense,’ according to Şamlıoğlu
Istanbul Municipal Theaters’ former general art director Ayşenil Şamlıoğlu has bitterly criticized the recent overhaul of the regulations governing the theaters, breaking her silence on the issue for the first time since her resignation.
“This intervention cut off not only my own oxygen line, but Turkey’s. A revolution is slowly coming to pass in every sense. A new structure synthesizing the East and the West is being woven,” Şamlıoğlu, whose career in art spans a total of 38 years, told the Hürriyet Daily News. Every field in Turkey is being subjected to a transformation, Şamlıoğlu said, adding that this process of “revolution” will ultimately reach fruition. “What kind of a Turkey will we see when this process reaches completion? It scares me,” she said.
Şamlıoğlu also denied that there was any possibility that she might resist the new changes, because she has been completely ignored. Making art under such circumstances is impossible, she said. “When I took office [as art director], I suggested a study of the regulations. It did not even make it onto anyone’s agenda. A law on the theater would have been the most ideal [option]. We are still governed by the constitution [devised by] the 1982 coup,” she said, adding that the new regulations had come about very abruptly.
Former administrators became target
The former administrators of the City Theaters became targets of the right-wing press when they instituted a minimum age of 16 to attend certain plays, according to Şamlıoğlu. “They ran headlines reading ‘Immoral plays.’ They depicted [us] as targets. There have been no explicit [scenes] on stage, no pornographic works. Our repertoire was not like that. I do not understand what they take us for. We have been accused of immorality.”
Şamlıoğlu also said those who think differently from the management are being marginalized, and they have been portrayed as people estranged from their own values and society. “Are they the sole owners of this country’s culture and values? Not us? What has carried me to the present is the strength I gather from my values.”
Previously the Finance Ministry’s approval was required for all staff recruitment at the City Theaters, but recently a change had been made requiring only the approval of the municipal council, Şamlıoğlu explained. “Just as we were thinking we would be cut some slack on many issues, [they] dropped this new [set of] regulations on us. How was I to know those who were watching us dreamed of ruling over us instead?” said Şamlıoğlu.
According to the new regulations, the general art director, the theater manager, a department head, a civil servant and three members appointed by the mayor will together constitute a literary council that will determine the plays to be staged in the City Theaters, and the general art director will stage a repertoire based on this council’s choices. Under the former regulations this council was defined solely as an advisory body to the management council.
Taking charge of archive
“If they truly want to take charge of something, then they ought to take charge of the theater’s archives. They have destroyed a 98-year-old tradition. Part of the archives was sent to SEKA [Turkey’s Cellulose and Paper Mills Inc.] while the rest was plundered and is being sold in second-hand bookstores. Even the resumés of deceased or retired artists have not been archived. Everyone in civilized countries works within their own field of expertise. That is why they are civilized.”
April/28/2012
27 Nisan 2012 Cuma
Armenian, Turkish locals in court over land rights
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
An Armenian community mounts a legal battle to retrieve their land in the eastern province of Batman, saying the land was illegaly given to others. However, the new locals of the land claim they bought the land
An Armenian community that was forced to vacate their villages in the southeastern province of Batman 25 years ago due to politically motivated violence in the region has mounted a legal battle to retrieve disputed land.
“They could not retrieve their homes and land when they decided to return back. The Directorate of Land and Cadastre has forged illegal documents on behalf of those who occupied [the properties],” lawyer Şeyhmus Kabaday, who represents the villagers in court, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Acar village headman M. Şirin Ekmen claimed otherwise, however, when speaking on the occupant villagers’ behalf.
“We, too, are in possession of documents, and we will also present them to the court. The [inhabitants of] Acar bought 1,300 acres of territory from İsa Demirci, a prominent Armenian villager, in 1986. We have the documents,” Ekmen said.
Some 3,000 acres of territory are at stake in the lawsuit filed by the villagers, who left their land and homes behind to emigrate to Istanbul in 1987 due to the regional violence spurred by clashes between government forces and militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), unsolved murders and the Kurdish issue.
“They say they have deeds, [but] the signatures are fake, and there are no originals. They are all photocopies. My clients, on the other hand, are still in possession of their title deeds, and we have presented them to court,” lawyer Kabaday said.
The next hearing is scheduled for May 4 at the cadastre court in Batman’s Sason district for the lands located in the villages of Acar, Heybetli, Balbaşı and Çağıl.
‘Rights to be retrieved’
Speaking to the Daily News, a high-ranking state offcer said beneficiaries would retrieve their rights if they filed a suit.
“[The Directorate of] Land and Cadastre entered places where it held no authority. We have been pursuing the matter for the past three years,” he said.
“If such repression existed as claimed, then these people would not have continued living here. People emigrated due to concerns about terrorism. Now we are collecting input for the archives,” he said.
Some of the Armenians who left their land currently live under Muslim identities, the official added.
The damages incurred on people who abandoned their villages due to fear of terrorism will be
compensated in accordance with Article 5233, which was legislated in 2004, if their claims can be verified, he said, adding that villagers from Acar had already appealed to them. “We are the aggrieved party. We [the inhabitants of] 38 households hit the road due to fear for our lives, and we could never return back. We want to return back to our village, but we are concerned about our security,” Osman (Hovsep) Demirci, one of the litigants, told the Daily News.
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News - Vercihan Ziflioğlu
An Armenian community mounts a legal battle to retrieve their land in the eastern province of Batman, saying the land was illegaly given to others. However, the new locals of the land claim they bought the land
An Armenian community that was forced to vacate their villages in the southeastern province of Batman 25 years ago due to politically motivated violence in the region has mounted a legal battle to retrieve disputed land.
“They could not retrieve their homes and land when they decided to return back. The Directorate of Land and Cadastre has forged illegal documents on behalf of those who occupied [the properties],” lawyer Şeyhmus Kabaday, who represents the villagers in court, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Acar village headman M. Şirin Ekmen claimed otherwise, however, when speaking on the occupant villagers’ behalf.
“We, too, are in possession of documents, and we will also present them to the court. The [inhabitants of] Acar bought 1,300 acres of territory from İsa Demirci, a prominent Armenian villager, in 1986. We have the documents,” Ekmen said.
Some 3,000 acres of territory are at stake in the lawsuit filed by the villagers, who left their land and homes behind to emigrate to Istanbul in 1987 due to the regional violence spurred by clashes between government forces and militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), unsolved murders and the Kurdish issue.
“They say they have deeds, [but] the signatures are fake, and there are no originals. They are all photocopies. My clients, on the other hand, are still in possession of their title deeds, and we have presented them to court,” lawyer Kabaday said.
The next hearing is scheduled for May 4 at the cadastre court in Batman’s Sason district for the lands located in the villages of Acar, Heybetli, Balbaşı and Çağıl.
‘Rights to be retrieved’
Speaking to the Daily News, a high-ranking state offcer said beneficiaries would retrieve their rights if they filed a suit.
“[The Directorate of] Land and Cadastre entered places where it held no authority. We have been pursuing the matter for the past three years,” he said.
“If such repression existed as claimed, then these people would not have continued living here. People emigrated due to concerns about terrorism. Now we are collecting input for the archives,” he said.
Some of the Armenians who left their land currently live under Muslim identities, the official added.
The damages incurred on people who abandoned their villages due to fear of terrorism will be
compensated in accordance with Article 5233, which was legislated in 2004, if their claims can be verified, he said, adding that villagers from Acar had already appealed to them. “We are the aggrieved party. We [the inhabitants of] 38 households hit the road due to fear for our lives, and we could never return back. We want to return back to our village, but we are concerned about our security,” Osman (Hovsep) Demirci, one of the litigants, told the Daily News.
19 Nisan 2012 Perşembe
Armenians regain historical school in Istanbul
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News / Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Turkey’s Foundations General Directorate made a landmark decision to return the Armenian Surp Haç Tıbrevank Foundation in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district back to the Armenian community yesterday.
“We managed to ensure the foundation’s return after a very long struggle. We are very happy. Tıbrevank will now freely continue where it had left off,” Laki Vingas, a council member of the Foundations Directorate General, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Surp Haç Tıbrevank’s clerical school was shut down in 1940. It then lost its foundation status in 1985.
The Surp Haç High School’s headmaster Hayk Nişan told the Daily News the re-opening of the clerical school was not on their agenda.
“Our only goal is to educate our students as is necessary. This school faithfully abided by the [regulations] of the Education Ministry until this [day],” said Nişan.
The decision was made right after a meeting held in the Foundations General Council yesterday.
“We are grateful to our prime minister and the Foundations General Directorate for their decisions,” Nişan added.
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News / Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Turkey’s Foundations General Directorate made a landmark decision to return the Armenian Surp Haç Tıbrevank Foundation in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district back to the Armenian community yesterday.
“We managed to ensure the foundation’s return after a very long struggle. We are very happy. Tıbrevank will now freely continue where it had left off,” Laki Vingas, a council member of the Foundations Directorate General, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Surp Haç Tıbrevank’s clerical school was shut down in 1940. It then lost its foundation status in 1985.
The Surp Haç High School’s headmaster Hayk Nişan told the Daily News the re-opening of the clerical school was not on their agenda.
“Our only goal is to educate our students as is necessary. This school faithfully abided by the [regulations] of the Education Ministry until this [day],” said Nişan.
The decision was made right after a meeting held in the Foundations General Council yesterday.
“We are grateful to our prime minister and the Foundations General Directorate for their decisions,” Nişan added.
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