Assyrian tells his bittersweet story about military service in Turkey    

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğluvercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr

 

Sweden-based Assyrian Fehmi Bargello (C) is seen with two Assyrian priests in Midyat district of Mardin province in southeaster Turkey. ‘Even if I had difficulty in military service, I had also met sincere people there,’ Bargello says.

Sweden-based Assyrian Fehmi Bargello wrote his story about the difficulties while performing his military service in Turkey with a book titled “Gabro” (Gabriel).

The book, which covers an issue that was not much written about before, has been published in Sweden and it will be also published in Turkey by Aram Publishing house in Turkish.

“I would like to make a remark, a note for the next generation,” Bargello told the Hürriyet Daily News when asked why he wanted to write this story now.

Bargello was born in Turkey’s eastern city of Mardin’s Midyat district and had done his military service for 20 months in the early 1970’s. First he went to Kayseri as a rifleman then he went to the Turkish border city of Ağrı.

Word of hate avoided

He said that he refrained from using any word of hate in his book and added: “I wouldn’t like to bother anybody, I just tell the truth which I have experienced. I love Anatolian people without any discrimination of their religion and ethnicity.”

Bargello said that he did not hide his identity and religion either in military service nor in the society in Turkey and that he had was subjected to “discrimination and humiliation” for that.

“They hit me, I had a really difficult period during my military service,” he said.

He said that it was understood that he was not circumcised during a “cleanliness control” and his mates called him names after that.

“They were humiliating me and I was really afraid of them,” he said, adding that if it were not for his two friends that were there for him, he could have tried to escape. Besides sad stories he also experienced tragicomic moments described in the book. One day he was given the duty to buy tuna fish, which was tricky for him.

“Could you imagine that I hadn’t even seen the sea then,” he said, adding that he thought they were talking about “tons” of fish, with the two words spelt the same in Turkish. “I asked them how can I carry tons of fish all by myself!” On another lighter note on the book, he said he pretended to be sick to avoid carrying a musical instrument, remembering that he had not seen any instrument before.

“Even if I had difficulty in military service, I had also met sincere people there,” recalled Bargello, before summarizing his thoughts on his book: “I am trying to tell the whole story of mine without any censorship. They hit me, humiliated me, even cursed at me but I have no any hatred inside of me.”

November/14/2013

Selamet Han rented for boutique hotel    

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğluvercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr

 

Bedros Şirinoğlu says the historical Selamet Han has been rented.

After being returned to the Armenian community, a historic building in Istanbul was rented out to be used as a hotel.

Yedikule Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital-Foundation, which regained the historical Selamet Han in Istanbul’s Sirkeci district in February 2011, decided to rent the building.

Yedikule Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital-Foundation Chairman Bedros Şirinoğlu declared the historical han has been rented and added, “The han will serve as a boutique hotel and restaurant. We will use our income for the hospital and nursing home.”

Şirinoğlu thanked to the government for the return of the foundation.

The Selamet Han, located in the Eminönü district of Istanbul, was built by architect Hovsep Aznavur and donated in 1954 to the Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital by businessman Calouste Gülbenkyan, the founder of the Gülbenkyan Museum in Lisbon. The property was confiscated in 1974.

A historic decree of revisions signed by the Turkish government in 2011 paved the way for the return of assets and property previously seized by the state from non-Muslim foundations.

Minority foundations have thus far applied for the return of 410 assets, of which 96 have been given back.

November/12/2013

Report shows hard prison conditions for LGBTs, people with disabilities    

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğluvercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr

 

 

Hürriyet photo

A recent report has shown that prison conditions in Turkey are poor for LGBT individuals, people with disabilities and the elderly.

The Civil Society in the Penal System Foundation (CİSST) compiled its report titled “Project of Inmates with Special Needs,” after one year of research in three prisons, Ümraniye, Bakırköy and Maltepe, in Istanbul.

Project Coordinator Mustafa Eren told the Hürriyet Daily News that this was the first research of its kind on inmates with special needs.

He added that some NGOs had begun working to try to improve the conditions after the project was released.

According to the report, LGBT individuals are kept apart from other inmates in prisons and isolated in social activities in Turkish prisons. The official figures say there are 48 LGBT members imprisoned, but the number only states those whose sexual orientations are “proven” with an official report when admitted to the jail.

The report also says prison conditions are not suitable for inmates with disabilities. For paralyzed inmates and those who are in wheelchairs, there is not enough equipment, such as special beds to avoid bruises or exercising materials. They also face difficulties when entering through the security gates.

Eren also complained that the Justice Ministry only gave limited permission to CİSST for its work.

“We wanted to see the prison cells, the main living areas of the inmates,” he said.

November/11/2013

My mother was Armenian, journalist group chair reveals

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News/Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr

The chair of a journalist association in Turkey revealed in his latest book that his mother, Hoşana, was an Armenian raised by an Alevi family, receiving reactions from some of his relatives

The revelation by journalist Ahmet Abakay (R) that his mother Hoşana was Armenian brings strong reactions from his some family members.            
 

The head of a journalists’ association in Turkey, has revealed that his mother was an Armenian, who was left “in front of an Alevi family’s door” by Armenians during the 1915 incidents in his recently published book, adding that his relatives had reacted strongly to this revelation.

Ahmet Abakay, a journalist and the head of the Contemporary Journalists’ Association, told his mother Hoşana’s story in his book entitled “Hoşana’s last words,” (Hoşana’nın son Sözü) in which he said that he was told by his mother that she was an Armenian only weeks before she died.

“My mother told me about her story 13 years ago and soon after, she died. I could write this only 10 years later, because I hesitated. I hardly wrote it, bursting into tears when writing all of the chapters and I was stuck. I did not imagine that it could get that sentimental for me to write it. My mother was left at some people’s door like an innocent kitten and that idea filled me with grief,” Abakay told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday, adding that his mother was one of the Armenian babies left to the Turkish families, with fears for their lives due to the saddening 1915 incidents.

Secret for 82 years

Abakay said his mother Hoşana told him her story, which she kept secret for her entire 82-year-long life, with one condition; that he should not tell it to anyone as long as she was alive.

“My mother made me promise not to tell her story to my wife, daughter or her sisters, as long as she was alive. I told this issue to my inner circle after I lost my mother, to learn whether there are other secrets that we are not told. But my sister told me not to reveal this on the grounds that I am a journalist and she recalled what happened to Hrant Dink [Armenian-Turkish journalist murdered by a gunman in broad daylight in 2007 in Istanbul]. A majority of my relatives could not accept their [new] identity,” Abakay said. Some relatives denied the story, while others claimed that his mother was too old to be aware of what she was saying. Abakay said he received fierce reactions from some of his family members over his revelation in his book.

“My uncle’s children told me ‘how dare you call our aunt Armenian and insult our family’s honor. You will remove the Armenian part from your book, otherwise we will pull it off the shelves,’” said Abakay.

Abakay said his mother used to talk about one of her sisters left with Armenians in the past, but she had never talked about it in detail. Later on he learnt that she was from the southeastern province of Erzurum’s Aşkale district. “I want to research my identity but I doubt whether I can go any further. Now, I am content that I have received my identity back.” 

October/12/2013

Academics show Elysée example in Turkey-Armenia relations

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News/  Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr

A group of intellectuals claimed the Elysée Treaty could be taken as an example to repair Turkey and Armenia’s diplomatic ties.  A group of intellectuals claimed the Elysée Treaty could be taken as an example to repair Turkey and Armenia’s diplomatic ties.

Istanbul Şehir University hosted a two-day conference titled “Turkish-Armenian Relations in the Light of the French-German Experience” on the 50th Anniversary of the Elysée Treaty.

Academic Ferhat Kentel of Istanbul Şehir University said: “The Germans and the French wrote their history together. Why shouldn’t we do it as well? We should bear in mind that Turks and Armenians shared a common area in Anatolia.”

Academic Muzaffer Şenel says nations are ready to reconcile, and even though states have their red lines, people could urge their states.

“The wars between France and Germany were the main reason of centuries of war and destruction in Europe, but the Elysée Treaty in 1963 put an end to the enmity,” he said.

“We aim to have people pose some questions: What can we do in order for coexisting and reconciliation, taking the Elysée Treaty as an example?” Şenel said. “Yes, there is a bitter history but how can we turn this bitter history into a part of culture of living together?”

Şenel added that they consider carrying the project to Armenia if there is a demand, and voiced the Şehir University’s hope to host Armenian students as part of exchange programs.    

 

November/09/2013

egulation on mixed-student houses would be ‘unconstitutional’

 

Vercihan Ziflioğlu / Sevim Songün - ISTANBUL

Any regulation over the private houses where female and male students stay together would be unconstitutional, according to legal experts

 

Prime Minister Erdoğan says if legal regulations are necessary to prevent female and male students from staying at the same house, they will be passed. DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK

As the government’s recent statements on the “legal, psychological and sociological” sides of mixed-sex student accommodation continue to draw reactions, legal experts stress that the right to privacy is guaranteed by the Constitution and international conventions signed by Turkey.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made clear on Nov. 5 that the government was ready to pass legal regulations to prevent both state accommodation and private housing from being mixed-sex for university students, saying it was “against society’s values.”

“How appropriate would it be for a young woman and man to stay in a private house together? Can you tolerate this for your daughter? If a legal regulation is necessary, we will do it,” said Erdoğan upon a reporter’s question regarding whether he was referring to private houses or just dormitories.

Turgut Tarhanlı, a professor in the faculty of law at Istanbul Bilgi University, said interventions into the private lives of people without legitimate reasons, such as crime investigations, would not only be unlawful but also a violation of rights.

“The present laws allow such interventions with a legitimate reason, such as in cases of criminal elements or public security or even moral cases. But the methods of these interventions should be within the scope of a democratic state and criteria of pluralism,” Tarhanlı told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday. “The prime minister mentioned something beyond such an intervention, which would result in an intervention violating rights. Article 20 of the Turkish Constitution would then have to be removed. And that would be very ironic for a country preparing a new Constitution,” he added.

‘Students blacklisted’

Article 20 of the Constitution states: “Everyone has the right to demand respect for their private and family life. The privacy of private life and family life is indispensable.” Tarhanlı also said the move would not comply with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which states: “Everyone has the right to respect his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.”

Öztürk Türkdoğan, the head of the Human Rights Association (İHD), said Erdoğan’s remarks revealed that students were being “blacklisted” for their private lives. “We must question how this information [that female and male students stay in the same house] is submitted to the prime minister. These are clearly violations of private life. They remind us of the Sept. 11 [military coup] practices,” Türkdoğan told the Daily News.

He said Erdoğan’s remarks would cause social pressure on young people when they try to rent a house in rural areas or pave the way for the intervention into people’s lifestyles. “It is very dangerous to make politics over young people,” he said.

“Women are attempted to be described with ‘honor’ and this is also dangerous when it is taken into consideration that the government has not yet solved ‘honor’ crimes” Türkdoğan added.

Erdoğan’s remarks received broad and mixed reactions from social media and even journalists who have previously supported his conservative stance.

Journalist Nazlı Ilıcak said she was ashamed of his recent remarks, as someone who openly declared that she had voted for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). “The state cannot intervene into the relations between two people, this is unlawful. Such a law cannot be passed by Parliament. It would create huge polarizations and I believe that the president would veto such a law,” Ilıcak, a columnist for daily Sabah, told the Daily News.

Another Sabah columnist, Mehmet Barlas, who is known for his support for Erdoğan, said during a TV program that “conservatism could be very dangerous when it is backed by the state.”

Meanwhile, Adana Gov. Hüseyin Avni Coş said yesterday that what was necessary was being done in the city upon the prime minister’s instructions.

November/07/2013

Asma al-Assad’s interpreter seeks shelter in Armenia

YEREVAN - Hürriyet Daily News/ Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr

 

An interpreter for the wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Mihran Bertizlian, took shelter in Armenia four months ago. AFP photo            

An interpreter for the wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Mihran Bertizlian, took shelter in Armenia four months ago in order to secure his family’s safety.

Asma al-Assad’s interpreter, who is a Syrian citizen of Armenian origin, told the Hürriyet Daily News in Armenia’s capital Yerevan that even though he tried not to flee Syria, he had to take shelter temporarily to guarantee the safety of his family.

“I could not take even the smallest belongings with me when I was leaving my house. I miss my house, Syria’s air and water, and even its beggars on the streets,” Bertizlian said, adding that like most of the Syrian Armenians, they wished that the war would end soon and they could return home. “I am here temporarily. I do not feel that I belong to Armenia.”

Stating that Bashar al-Assad was a well-educated person, he argued that he had been "tricked" and “did not know what games were being played in the lion’s den,” adding that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was also “another piece of the checkers.” Bertizlian said al-Assad had to do more for democracy but in comparison to his father, Hafez al-Assad, he and his wife Asma had portrayed a different profile in public. “I feel deeply sorry for what has been happening,” the interpreter said.

Bertizlian said it was predictable before that relations between Turkey and Syria would “not end positively,” as relations between the countries had only developed in a short span of time before the civil war hit Turkey’s neighbor.

“Relations between Syria and Iraq also developed very fast, but then Syria shut down the border gate with Iraq all of a sudden. An inscription stating that we were allowed to visit the entire Arab world except Iraq was then included in our passports,” Bertizlian said.

Commenting on Erdoğan’s earlier visit to the al-Assads when relations were better, he said the meeting had been very positive and friendly and shared an anecdote with the Daily News.

“There were 12 interpreters doing translations into different languages. Prime Minister Erdoğan was being introduced to the interpreters, and I was forth in the line. He came toward me, I said my name was Mihran, and even before I could say my last name he asked me, ‘Are you Armenian?’ He told me that he was happy to meet me. He was really frank,” said Bertizlian.    

September/07/2013