Hagia Sophia, Halki mark religious freedom panels

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

Turkey’s minority foundations representative Laki Vingas speaks at panel Dec 4.

An international conference on “religious freedom in Turkey,” was held in Berlin, focusing on the Hagia Sophia and Halki Seminary issues, which have remained problematic for decades.

The two day long conference’s theme was “Tearing Down Walls: Achieving Religious Equality in Turkey.”

“Equality, state neutrality and pluralism” were issues evaluated by politicians, diplomats, religious leaders, human rights lawyers, scholars, journalists, and religious minority representatives from Turkey. The former U.S. Secretary of State, United States Senator Hillary Clinton also joined the conference by video.

The Directorate General of Turkey’s Minority Foundations Representative Laki Vingas made a speech on minority issues in Turkey. Vingas emphasized the “legal personality problems” for both the Fener Greek and the Armenian Patriarchate in Turkey.

“In light of our historical experiences as Turkey’s minorities, we need projects that can be implemented in macro dimensions for us to become equal, free citizens who can express what we think in a free environment,” Vingas said.

He also brought the Halki Seminary issue to the agenda, saying Halki Seminary has been closed for 42 years, which he said, “damaged the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as well as the Orthodox world and Turkey.”

Halki Seminary was opened in 1844 and served as a school for theology for years. However, as a result of a 1971 Constitutional Court ruling, all private institutions of higher education either became state universities or were closed down.

Halki’s Board of Trustees refused to become part of Istanbul University. Consequently, the seminary section of Halki was closed down.

The high school section is still open, but no longer has students.During the conference, another hot topic was the centuries-old Hagia Sophia and the debate on whether it should be converted to a mosque or not.

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç had previously expressed his hope to see Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia Museum converted into a mosque.

December/06/2013

RIGHTS > Documentary reveals letter implying gas usage in Dersim

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

 

Nezahat Gündoğan is one of the directors of ‘Hay way Zaman,’ which includes a letter implying gas usage in Dersim. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL           

A document suggesting that the Turkish military may have used chemical gas during an operation in Dersim in 1938 has been revealed in a new documentary film.

A senior soldier’s letter saying he asked for burning and suffocating gas bombs from National Defense authority is presented as one of the documents shedding light on the operation, as part of the documentary “Hay way Zaman” (Unblocking Memory), filmed by Turkish couple Nezahat and Kazım Gündoğan.

“I asked for fire from the Air Regiment Commander and burning and suffocating gas bombs from the National Defense authority,” high-ranking military official Abdullah Alpdoğan wrote in a letter dated March 1937. The letter was sent to the Interior Ministry, the Prime Ministry and the General Staff.

In the province of Dersim, now known as Tunceli, in eastern Turkey, the Turkish Armed Forces launched an operation in 1938 in which over 13,000 people were killed, many were exiled, and numerous girls were seized from their families by force.

More than two years ago, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan apologized “on the state’s behalf” for the Dersim killings in the late 1930s, marking the first time a representative of the Turkish Republic had ever apologized for the attacks.

“Even if the Turkish prime minister used the word ‘massacre’ for the Dersim operation, there are more thing to be done by the administration. We are still not able to face our traumas,” one of the directors of the new documentary, Nezahat Gündoğan, told the Hürriyet Daily News in an interview. She did, however, hail the country’s “progress,” and said that as people started to talk about their traumas, they would overcome their pain.

The Gündoğan couple brought the issue to the public eye again in 2010 with the ground-breaking documentary film on the Dersim Operation, “Dersim’in Kayıp Kızları” (The Lost Girls of Dersim). They also published a book.    

December/05/2013

LOCAL > Gezi dominates panel on French, Turkish media    

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

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Turkish and French academics attended the two-day conference, which aimed to explore media dynamics in both countries. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL            
 

The Turkish media’s much criticized stance during the Gezi protests dominated speeches delivered at a conference on French and Turkish media in Istanbul.

The two-day conference was collectively organized by the French Consulate and the French Anatolian Research Institute in Istanbul, and came to a close on Dec. 3.

French Consul General Muriel Domenach, who delivered the opening speech at the “Understanding Turkish broadcasting through its history, development, and the future,” conference, said the Turkish media’s stance led to Internet broadcasting becoming an important information channel.

Bilgi University scholar Prof. Aslı Tunç also criticized the local media for being "negligent" during the events, in contrast with the international media, which showed great attention.

“Turkish TV channels were broadcasting penguin documentaries during the event, while CNN International was airing live from Taksim Square,” Tunç said at the conference.

December/04/2013

POLITICS > Turkey's EU Minister Bağış hosts minority leaders    

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

EU Minister Egemen Bağış hosts religious leaders of minorities at a dinner in Istanbul prasing the relations between the leaders and the state. Bağış also says problmes will be solved ‘together’

 

EU Minister Bağış (2 L) is seen with Sait Susin, the President of the Meryem Ana Church Foundation (L), Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew (2 R), U.S. Greek Church Archbishop Dimitrios (C) and Istanbul Syriac Orthodox Church Metropolitan Yusuf Çetin (R). DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah Gürel           
 

Turkish EU Minister Egemen Bağış hosted religious leaders and prominent figures from minority communities at a dinner on Nov. 28.

Speaking at the event, Bağış praised Turkey’s development in dealing with the problems of minorities and said issues would be “solved together.”

“Ten years ago, holding this meeting would have been impossible, for so many reasons,” he said.
Bağış also took the opportunity to praise the government’s “democratization package,” which was announced by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sept. 30.

“Plenty of sad incidents were experienced in this country. Many people from different parts of society endured great pain. But we will leave this pain behind. We are not just talking about problems, we are also trying to find solutions to them,” he added.

During the meeting, civil members of minority communities directly and confidently brought their issues onto the agenda.

Director General of Foundations Adnan Ertem, Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew, Deputy Armenian Patriarch Archbishop Aram Ateşyan, Chief Rabbi Ishak Haleva, and Istanbul Syriac Orthodox Church Metropolitan Yusuf Çetin participated in the dinner. U.S. Greek Church Archbishop Dimitrios also joined the reception, having recently arrived in Istanbul. It was also noteworthy that representatives of the Latin Catholic and Protestant Churches were present as well.

Bağış said Turkey needed the support of the religious leaders of minorities in the country. “If we need support, we are requesting help from Patriarch Bartholomew and Chief Rabbi Haleva. Recently, Patriarch Bartholomew gave support to us during the 2020 Olympic Games bid,” he said.

Bağış also offered a memory about Chief Rabbi Haleva to those gathered. “Ten years ago, during a visit to Turkey, U.S. President Clinton met with the Chief Rabbi and spoke of the strong lobby of the U.S.’s Jewish community. He added that if the Turkish Jewish community had a problem, they should tell him. The Chief Rabbi gave an answer, saying, ‘We have been living in Turkey for 500 years. If we have any problems we can solve them together, but if you have any problems in the U.S., please tell us,’” he said.

The EU minister also emphasized the recent law on foundations, which allows for the return of minority foundations to their communities, and also mentioned that Trabzon’s Sumela Monastery and Van’s Surp Hac Armenian Church had been opened to worship.

“Turkey has taken a step. Former President Turgut Özal couldn’t even speak about his real [Kurdish] identity, but today people can make their defenses in courts in their mother tongue. Yes, EU standards are important, but the most important thing is talking about our problems together. We will carry Turkey to 2023 together,” Bağış said.

Meanwhile, the minority foundations representative, Laki Vingas, was both self-critical and critical of the wider political situation. “We became familiar with an anti-democratic situation, but now we have to establish democracy in our foundations and communities. In Turkey, they are still looking at us as ‘foreigners’ and because of this situation we are still facing bureaucratic problems. This should end,” he said.

Vingas also brought the legal entity problems and minority foundations election regulations of both Greek and Armenians to the agenda.

Foundations head Adnan Ertem also spoke about the recent Foundations Law, saying that due to the law the minority communities had gained their rights to their foundations and were even turning them into valuable investments.

November/30/2013

Istanbul monastery to become mosque

 

 

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

 

 

The Monastery of Stoudios in Istanbul will be converted into a mosque. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL

The largest Byzantium monastery in Istanbul will be converted into a mosque after its restoration next year.

The Monastery of Stoudios, also known as the İmrahor Monument, will be turned into a mosque and be titled İmrahor İlyas Bey Mosque. The renovation of the mosque, which forms part of the Hagia Sophia Museum, will follow the same fate as that of Hagia Sophia churches in Trabzon and İznik, which had been already turned into mosques.

“I wouldn’t like to speak as a member of a council but my personal opinion is that cultural heritage shouldn’t be reflected as an antagonistic heritage. If we reflect it like this, it will damage societies on a macro level,” said Laki Vingas, acting as representatives of the Directorate General of Foundations.

Vingas added that the issue creates grief within society, and it was not only the Greek community’s problem.

“Cultural heritage is universal heritages, meaning that they are humanity’s common heritage,” he said.

İmrahor’s conversion into a mosque came at a time debate continues as to whether to reopen Hagia Sophia as a place of worship. Most recently, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç has expressed his hope to see the Hagia Sophia to be used as a mosque.

Vingas said: “My personal view is that when you are trying to create a new vision you should be careful not to create new problems for the future.”

The Monastery, which dates back to the fifth century, was the most important monastery of Istanbul during the Byzantium era, also serving as the center of Byzantine intelligentsia. The basilica was converted to a mosque, during the period of Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II. After two major fires in the 18th and 19th centuries, the monastery was mostly destroyed. In 1946, it was turned into a museum in line with a ministerial cabinet decision.

November/26/2013

New book published on abandoned property

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

 

Lawyer Elbeyoğlu will publish a book on Armenians’ abandoned assets. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah Gürel

Lawyer Ali Elbeyoğlu is set to release a book on a Turkish law on Armenians’ abandoned property, after being granted access to the parliamentary archives.

For the book, Elbeyoğlu examined Turkish and Ottoman files on the law, the “Emval-i Metruke,” which regulated the ownership rights of properties abandoned by Armenians after the 1915 incidents.
He said he had experienced no problems in accessing the files, which are kept in the archives of the Turkish Parliament.

“There is a serious archive, which dates back 500 years,” Elbeyoğlu said, adding that the documents were very well preserved.

He said the former owners of the properties could file lawsuits to reclaim them, but added that repeat lawsuits opened outside of Turkey were “irrelevant.” He particularly recalled a case opened in the United States by members of the Armenian diaspora over lands in Adana, where the İncirlik base is currently located, saying that this case could only have led to a positive result if it had been opened in Turkey.

Elbeyoğlu highlighted that the “Emval-I Metruke” should not be confused with the content of a 2011 decree that ruled for the return of confiscated property from minority foundations, saying that the older law is related to properties belonging to individual people.

He said the 100th anniversary of the 1915 incidents could see several lawsuits opened, and added that Turkey should “deal with the issue if it wants to be a democratic country.” He also stressed that the issue was not only limited to Armenians, but also related to Greeks, Syriacs and even a number of Muslim Turks as well.

November/22/2013

RIGHTS > Laz community opens institute to save culture

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

Turkey’s Laz community is launching an institute to protect its culture and Lazuri language. They also mulls opening a private Laz school as well

A group of protesters rally in Istanbul against the problems the Circassian people are facing across the world in this file photo. Hürriyet Daily News photo

Turkey’s Laz community is establishing an institute in Istanbul to protect its culture and Lazuri language.

The institute will be opened in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul on Nov. 23 under the leadership of politician and academic Prof. Mehmet Bekaroğlu.

In 2010, the UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger declares Lazuri as a language.
He said that even though he is the founding president, in reality late singer Kazım Koyuncu, who died of lung cancer at the age of 34 in 2005, is a founder of the institute. The artist, who was the leader of Turkey’s first ever Lazuri rock band Zuğaşi Berepe, took “the first step” for them, Bekaroğlu said.

Bekaroğlu insisted they are not aiming at nationalism; they are just trying to protect their language and culture. He also added there is a lack of knowledge in society on Laz culture, and many people think the Laz people are just Black Sea Region residents, “speaking Turkish with a very bad accent.”
“This [perception] is totally meaningless, Laz people have centuries old culture and language,” he said.

Syllabus prepared

The issue of teaching in the mother tongue is a hot subject in the country, but Bekaroğlu said the Education Ministry has said they did not have teachers who can teach Lazuri.

“This year we were preparing a syllabus, we succeeded in opening classes in Istanbul, as well as in the Black Sea region in Artvin’s Fındıklı and Arhavi districts, where 130 students are taking Lazuri classes,” he said. “We are planning to open a private Laz school as well.”

Most of the Laz community is populated in the Black Sea region, but there is a community in Istanbul. Bekaroğlu said the perception of the nation-state created assimilation, but in recent years, Turkey has made an improvement on the issue.

“Turkey will be a richer country with its ethnic languages and will be multilingual,” Bekaroğlu said.

“How will your Institute work? What will the agenda be?” asked the Daily News. Bekaroğlu responded, “We will collect all cultural activities under one umbrella. We will work on the Lazuri language and will be preparing school books. We are planning to contact universities to educate Laz teachers… Besides, we would like to organize a Lazuri Congress. The Latin alphabet is not enough, we need two alphabets. Also, we are planning to contact Ankara for a Lazuri TV station.”

November/21/2013