Patriarchate against Hagia Sophia opening
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The Fener Greek-Orthodox Patriarchate supports the continued use of the historical Hagia Sophia in Trabzon as a museum, not as a mosque.
“As is known, Trabzon is not urgently in need of a mosque, and it is also known that there is no Orthodox community there. The best way is to keep the church as a museum,” Dositheos Anagnostopulos, the Patriarchate’s press officer told the Hürriyet Daily News in a phone interview yesterday.
The Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate holds annual ceremonies in the Sümela Monastery in Trabzon province with a special permit issued by the Ministry of Culture.
Asked whether the Patriarchate would demand to hold ceremonies in Hagia Sophia as well, Anagnostopulos said that if the ministry permitted it and the Orthodox community desired it, this would be their duty, not only a desire.
The Foundations Directorate had announced Feb. 4 that the Hagia Sophia in Trabzon would soon be opened up for prayers.
Foundations Directorate Head Adnan Ertem said five of the seven Hagia Sophias nationwide were currently functioning as mosques, but two were still inactive, adding that the culture minister was the “occupying force” in the decision to reopen Trabzon’s Hagia Sophia.
“We have won the court case regarding the situation,” Ertem said. “We are planning to open the place for prayers again after the necessary processes are completed.”
The Hagia Sophia Museum was first dedicated as an Orthodox patriarchal basilica in 360 A.D. Until the year of 1453 it served as the Greek Patriarchal cathedral of Constantinople. Following the city’s conquest by the Ottoman Empire, the building was converted into a mosque in 1453 and remained so until 1931, when it was closed to the public for four years. It was reopened by the republican authorities in 1935 as a museum.
February/07/2013
7 Şubat 2013 Perşembe
6 Şubat 2013 Çarşamba
Syriac Church sends text to keep records of Syrians
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Istanbul Syriac Church sent messages to its members, calling them to help maintain proper records of refugees by turning in names and numbers of refugees they host in their homes.
The church should be alerted on all Syriacs who have escaped the war-torn Syria to take refuge in their relatives’ homes in Turkey, and names should be given to church officials to ensure better records.
President of the Meryem Ana Church Foundation in Istanbul, Sait Susin, said the practice aimed to achieve a better estimation of the number of refugees currently in Istanbul. “We will shape the campaign according to the numbers we gathered through this,” Susin said. Around 250 refugees are being hosted in Istanbul, Susin added. “They stay in Turkey for a short time before they move on to other countries,” Susin said. “They mostly ask us to help them about visas, and accommodation. We help them for accommodation with our limited resources, but we cannot do much about visas.” Around 25 refugees are staying in a Mardin monastery, according to Susin, with over 85 refugees being stuck at security posts in Turkish airports, wanting to get in.
15,000 Syriacs live in Turkey, with 10,000 of them residing in Istanbul. The remaining numbers live in eastern and southeastern provinces.
February/06/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Istanbul Syriac Church sent messages to its members, calling them to help maintain proper records of refugees by turning in names and numbers of refugees they host in their homes.
The church should be alerted on all Syriacs who have escaped the war-torn Syria to take refuge in their relatives’ homes in Turkey, and names should be given to church officials to ensure better records.
President of the Meryem Ana Church Foundation in Istanbul, Sait Susin, said the practice aimed to achieve a better estimation of the number of refugees currently in Istanbul. “We will shape the campaign according to the numbers we gathered through this,” Susin said. Around 250 refugees are being hosted in Istanbul, Susin added. “They stay in Turkey for a short time before they move on to other countries,” Susin said. “They mostly ask us to help them about visas, and accommodation. We help them for accommodation with our limited resources, but we cannot do much about visas.” Around 25 refugees are staying in a Mardin monastery, according to Susin, with over 85 refugees being stuck at security posts in Turkish airports, wanting to get in.
15,000 Syriacs live in Turkey, with 10,000 of them residing in Istanbul. The remaining numbers live in eastern and southeastern provinces.
February/06/2013
5 Şubat 2013 Salı
‘Urban plan won’t affect minorities’
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Urban transformation projects will not affect minority land rights, says Laki Vingas, a council member of the Directorate General of Foundations.
“It is not possible for the new laws on the urban transformation to harm the minority foundations,” Vingas told Hürriyet Daily News recently.
His remarks came in the wake of a parliamentary question submitted by the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy Erkan Akçay about Vingas’ position in the Directorate General of Foundations.
Akçay asked for Vingas’ dismissal from his post in the Directorate on the grounds that he is also a member of the administrative body of the Panaiya Greek Orthodox Church located in Istanbul’s Yeniköy neighborhood.
Akçay said despite being responsible for the Minority Foundations in the Directorate General of Foundations, Vingas is also a manager at the Panaiya Greek Orthodox Church and applied to the Directorate for the registration of six real estate tracts belonging to the Church.
Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç confirmed that Yeniköy’s Panayia Greek Orthodox Church is being represented by Vingas at the Foundations Council and that Vingas applied for the registration of six pieces of real estate on behalf of the church, in his response to the parliamentary question. Arınç also said the situation is not against the law.
Vingas told the Daily News that his situation is in line with laws and regulation. “I am not doing anything against the law and regulations. I took the position in the church foundation by an election,” he said.
“I believe I am doing my job in the most correct way. I am not offended by such questions. I am not doing anything against the law,” he added.
Vingas has represented around 166 minority foundations in the Directorate since 2009 and is the first person among the minorities being appointed to this post.
February/04/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Urban transformation projects will not affect minority land rights, says Laki Vingas, a council member of the Directorate General of Foundations.
“It is not possible for the new laws on the urban transformation to harm the minority foundations,” Vingas told Hürriyet Daily News recently.
His remarks came in the wake of a parliamentary question submitted by the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy Erkan Akçay about Vingas’ position in the Directorate General of Foundations.
Akçay asked for Vingas’ dismissal from his post in the Directorate on the grounds that he is also a member of the administrative body of the Panaiya Greek Orthodox Church located in Istanbul’s Yeniköy neighborhood.
Akçay said despite being responsible for the Minority Foundations in the Directorate General of Foundations, Vingas is also a manager at the Panaiya Greek Orthodox Church and applied to the Directorate for the registration of six real estate tracts belonging to the Church.
Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç confirmed that Yeniköy’s Panayia Greek Orthodox Church is being represented by Vingas at the Foundations Council and that Vingas applied for the registration of six pieces of real estate on behalf of the church, in his response to the parliamentary question. Arınç also said the situation is not against the law.
Vingas told the Daily News that his situation is in line with laws and regulation. “I am not doing anything against the law and regulations. I took the position in the church foundation by an election,” he said.
“I believe I am doing my job in the most correct way. I am not offended by such questions. I am not doing anything against the law,” he added.
Vingas has represented around 166 minority foundations in the Directorate since 2009 and is the first person among the minorities being appointed to this post.
February/04/2013
3 Şubat 2013 Pazar
Syriacs establish military council in Syria
The Syriac community in Syria has established the “Syriac Military Council” to combat problems Syriacs face due to the conflicts in the country, the Council said in an official declaration issued Jan. 8.
The Syriac Military Council will operate particularly in the areas where Syriacs are densely populated, including Aleppo, Damascus, Al-Hasakah, Latakia and Homs.
Ashour Youssef, a member of the Council, said it would engage in military activities in order to make Syriacs stay in Syria. “We did not found the Council with aims of creating hostility or targeting a certain community. On the contrary, we aim to reflect our will for living in a peaceful and democratic atmosphere with the other communities,” Youssef said.
“The developments in Syria are directly influencing Syrians. The clashes have also harmed the Syriacs, limiting their life spaces. Syriacs are mostly affected by the clashes in Damascus, Aleppo, and Al-Hasakah provinces. They are trying to take shelter in more secure regions since their military and security forces are ineffective,” Youssef said.
“Especially in Aleppo and Al-Hasakah, people are being abducted for ransom. Our military council will target the factors that directly threaten our people and preserve the areas where Syriacs live. Also, it will engage in activities that would support Syriacs in Syria’s military and political platforms, and struggle for a change of regime along with the other communities,” Youssef said.
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The Syriac community in Syria has established the “Syriac Military Council” to combat problems Syriacs face due to the conflicts in the country, the Council said in an official declaration issued Jan. 8.
The Syriac Military Council will operate particularly in the areas where Syriacs are densely populated, including Aleppo, Damascus, Al-Hasakah, Latakia and Homs.
Ashour Youssef, a member of the Council, said it would engage in military activities in order to make Syriacs stay in Syria. “We did not found the Council with aims of creating hostility or targeting a certain community. On the contrary, we aim to reflect our will for living in a peaceful and democratic atmosphere with the other communities,” Youssef said.
“The developments in Syria are directly influencing Syrians. The clashes have also harmed the Syriacs, limiting their life spaces. Syriacs are mostly affected by the clashes in Damascus, Aleppo, and Al-Hasakah provinces. They are trying to take shelter in more secure regions since their military and security forces are ineffective,” Youssef said.
“Especially in Aleppo and Al-Hasakah, people are being abducted for ransom. Our military council will target the factors that directly threaten our people and preserve the areas where Syriacs live. Also, it will engage in activities that would support Syriacs in Syria’s military and political platforms, and struggle for a change of regime along with the other communities,” Youssef said.
February/02/2013
Armenian elections in doubt after attack
The Armenian presidential election is on the verge of postponement after a presidential candidate was wounded by unknown gunmen in the capital of Yerevan on Jan. 31.
Paruyr Hayrikyan, whose life was not in danger after the shooting, decided on Feb. 1 to run in elections. According to Armenia’s Constitution, the election could be postponed by two weeks if a candidate is unable to campaign or run. In the event of a candidate’s death, a new election is called, to be held within 40 days.
“This is an attack against the peace and prosperity of Armenia,” David Shahnazarian, the Central Office Representative for the Armenian National Congress (ANC) and the former president of the National Security Council in Armenia, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
“It is obvious that this attempt has political ties and aims to manipulate the country’s internal affairs,” he said.
“Hayrikyan is not in a life-threatening situation. The Constitution approves of postponing elections in such cases but no decision has been taken yet. This will be decided regarding Hayrikyan’s health condition,” he said.
Hayrikyan, 63, is the leader of a moderate opposition party, the National Self-determination Union, and ran for president in 2003.
The attack raises fears of a return to the violence that marred the 2008 presidential elections. Violent clashes broke out between opposition protesters and police that year, killing 10 people.
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The Armenian presidential election is on the verge of postponement after a presidential candidate was wounded by unknown gunmen in the capital of Yerevan on Jan. 31.
Paruyr Hayrikyan, whose life was not in danger after the shooting, decided on Feb. 1 to run in elections. According to Armenia’s Constitution, the election could be postponed by two weeks if a candidate is unable to campaign or run. In the event of a candidate’s death, a new election is called, to be held within 40 days.
“This is an attack against the peace and prosperity of Armenia,” David Shahnazarian, the Central Office Representative for the Armenian National Congress (ANC) and the former president of the National Security Council in Armenia, told the Hürriyet Daily News.
“It is obvious that this attempt has political ties and aims to manipulate the country’s internal affairs,” he said.
“Hayrikyan is not in a life-threatening situation. The Constitution approves of postponing elections in such cases but no decision has been taken yet. This will be decided regarding Hayrikyan’s health condition,” he said.
Hayrikyan, 63, is the leader of a moderate opposition party, the National Self-determination Union, and ran for president in 2003.
The attack raises fears of a return to the violence that marred the 2008 presidential elections. Violent clashes broke out between opposition protesters and police that year, killing 10 people.
February/01/2013
Armenians in US gripe hate crimes
Vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Two Armenian groups in the United States staged a protest on Jan. 31 over the recent killings of Armenian women in Turkey.
The Washington, D.C.-based Armenian Student Association (ASA) and DC Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) staged the protest near the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
The protest came in the wake of four separate attacks on elderly Armenian women in Istanbul in the last two months, three of them staged in the Samatya neighborhood.
“The assault on helpless elderly Armenian women in Istanbul, one resulting in death and another in a lost eye, are heartbreaking,” radio broadcaster and writer David Barsamian wrote to Hürriyet Daily News. “The attacks must be seen in the context of racism.”
The attacks has fueled questions of racial motivations, but there are yet to be official confirmations to that end. On Feb. 1, daily Habertürk released a description of the alleged assailant involved in the four attacks.
Canadian pianist and Armenian Weekly writer Raffi Bedrosyan has called the attacks hate crimes, said: “Despite statements by police authorities, Istanbul are robbery-related, there is no doubt that they are racist hate crimes targeting defenseless Armenians as a message of intimidation.”
Vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
The Washington, D.C.-based Armenian Student Association (ASA) and DC Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) staged the protest near the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
The protest came in the wake of four separate attacks on elderly Armenian women in Istanbul in the last two months, three of them staged in the Samatya neighborhood.
“The assault on helpless elderly Armenian women in Istanbul, one resulting in death and another in a lost eye, are heartbreaking,” radio broadcaster and writer David Barsamian wrote to Hürriyet Daily News. “The attacks must be seen in the context of racism.”
The attacks has fueled questions of racial motivations, but there are yet to be official confirmations to that end. On Feb. 1, daily Habertürk released a description of the alleged assailant involved in the four attacks.
Canadian pianist and Armenian Weekly writer Raffi Bedrosyan has called the attacks hate crimes, said: “Despite statements by police authorities, Istanbul are robbery-related, there is no doubt that they are racist hate crimes targeting defenseless Armenians as a message of intimidation.”
February/01/2013
1 Şubat 2013 Cuma
Life of famous musician brought to light
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
After renowned Turkish musician and pianist Ferdi Özbeğen passed away due to respiratory failure on Jan. 28, unknown details of his life have begun to emerge. Recently, research was initiated to find his personal records at the Mıhitaryan Armenian School in Istanbul, where he received his primary education.
Özbeğen’s biography, “Şöhret Dediğin: Ferdi Özbeğen’in Hayatı (The Thing Called Fame: the Life of Ferdi Özbeğen),”was written by Ali Rıza Türker and published this month.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News, the Mıhitaryan School’s Priest, Hagopos Çopuryan, said Özbeğen was the son of a Catholic-Armenian mother and Turkish father and his original name was Ferdinand. Çopuryan said the school records would be scanned in order to learn the details of his life story. “The archives [of the school] are so broad that we have to go over all the records to reach [Özbeğen’s] personal records,” Çopuryan said.
Çopuryan said until the Provisional Commission on Minorities (ATK) began operating in the 1970s, the Mıhitaryan School was preferred by many groups of society in addition to Armenians due to its high educational quality. “Today, one can receive an education at our school only if one of their parents is of Armenian origin; however, such a distinction was not made until 1976,” Çopuryan said.
In his biography, Özbeğen describes his mother, Afet (Anita), as “a daughter of an Armenian-Catholic family from Ankara. Her first husband was an Egyptian, and he was much older than my mother. Since my mother was a Catholic, I went to Mıhitaryan Catholic School for a while.”
February/01/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
After renowned Turkish musician and pianist Ferdi Özbeğen passed away due to respiratory failure on Jan. 28, unknown details of his life have begun to emerge. Recently, research was initiated to find his personal records at the Mıhitaryan Armenian School in Istanbul, where he received his primary education.
Özbeğen’s biography, “Şöhret Dediğin: Ferdi Özbeğen’in Hayatı (The Thing Called Fame: the Life of Ferdi Özbeğen),”was written by Ali Rıza Türker and published this month.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News, the Mıhitaryan School’s Priest, Hagopos Çopuryan, said Özbeğen was the son of a Catholic-Armenian mother and Turkish father and his original name was Ferdinand. Çopuryan said the school records would be scanned in order to learn the details of his life story. “The archives [of the school] are so broad that we have to go over all the records to reach [Özbeğen’s] personal records,” Çopuryan said.
Çopuryan said until the Provisional Commission on Minorities (ATK) began operating in the 1970s, the Mıhitaryan School was preferred by many groups of society in addition to Armenians due to its high educational quality. “Today, one can receive an education at our school only if one of their parents is of Armenian origin; however, such a distinction was not made until 1976,” Çopuryan said.
In his biography, Özbeğen describes his mother, Afet (Anita), as “a daughter of an Armenian-Catholic family from Ankara. Her first husband was an Egyptian, and he was much older than my mother. Since my mother was a Catholic, I went to Mıhitaryan Catholic School for a while.”
February/01/2013
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