Armenia to release political prisoners
Thursday, May 26, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
Armenia’s parliament approved an amnesty Thursday to free hundreds of inmates, including 15 political activists jailed for their involvement in post-election violence in 2008, fulfilling a key opposition demand.
Lawmakers in parliament voted in favor of the plan to release nearly 400 inmates in an amnesty marking 20 years since Armenia gained independence in the breakup of the Soviet Union.
“Freedom is a human being’s greatest merit. They managed to imprison my body for three years but not my thoughts and feelings. Those who imprison innocent people are in no position to pardon us. Rather, they are the ones who need our pardoning. As a human being, I feel proud of my moral stance,” Sarkis Hazspanyan, one of the prisoners who may be released, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review via email.
Hazspanyan, a French citizen, was arrested after he claimed certain people might be plotting against the current Armenian President Serge Sarkisyan to assassinate him, during an interview he had given to Nikol Pashinyan, the editor-in-chief of Armenian Times, or Haygagan Jamanag, in November 2008. The political views expressed in Haygagan Jamanag are known to be more closely aligned with those of the country’s first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan.
Pashinyan is also among the 15 prisoners who will be released as a result of the proposed amnesty. Pashinyan has fiercely criticized Sarkisian as well as former President Robert Kocharyan in his newspaper articles in the past and had a leading role in protest marches.
Sarkisian and the parliament were forced to discuss the amnesty because of the political and economic pressure applied on them by the United States and the European Union, although recent uprisings in the Middle East also added a factor of intimidation for Sarkisyan’s government, Hazspanyan said.
“Sarkisian is not freeing the prisoners by his own personal will. The struggle of Armenia’s people has finally born fruit. The people who have been striving for this decision must be congratulated,” Nikol Pashinyan’s wife, Anna Hagopyan-Pashinyan, told the Daily News by email. Pashinyan is currently serving his jail sentence in Artig Prison, although his case has already been brought before the European Court of Human Rights.
One deputy from Sarkisian’s ‘Hanrabedagan Gusagzsutyun’ (Republican Party), Sasun Mikayelyan, is also among the prisoners awaiting amnesty. The prisoners are expected to be released by the end of May, if parliament approves.
“I bear the weight on my shoulders of being considered as the ‘other’ in my own home by my own people,” said Hazspanyan. To continue living in Armenia would require Hazspanyan to engage in an uphill battle because his passport had been seized and his residency rights were formally revoked, he said, adding that the directives issued by Armenia’s second president, Koçaryan, on March 10, 2008, were also still valid.
“I will kneel and remember the 10 youngsters who lost their lives in Freedom Square on March 1 the first day I am free,” said Hazspanyan whose release the government of France had also tried to secure from Armenia, without success.
It was impossible to imagine the difficulties their family went through, according to Hagopyan-Pashinyan. Her children know their father was a political prisoner, but the whole family had to put up with all the hardship together, she said, adding that she had to face enormous challenges for three years not just as a woman or a wife but also as a mother.
Despite his criticism of Sarkisian’s government, Hagopyan-Pashinyan also expressed hope for Armenia’s future and added that her people no longer bow down before illegitimately constituted governments. The people of Armenia were becoming increasingly more vocal in asserting their rights, said Hagopyan-Pashinyan.
31 Mayıs 2011 Salı
Turkish education minister makes surprise visit to Armenian foundation
Sunday, May 22, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL
Şirinoğlu claimed there is underlying sympathy within the Armenian community toward the ruling AKP for its role in passing new laws about minority foundations.
Education Minister Nimet Çubukçu paid a surprise visit to the Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital Foundation and held an exclusive meeting that lasted for roughly half an hour with the foundation’s president Bedros Şirinoğlu on Saturday afternoon.
Despite objections to such meetings from certain quarters within Turkey’s Armenian community, Şirinoğlu claimed there is underlying sympathy within the Armenian community toward the ruling AKP for its role in passing new laws about minority foundations.
“All visits to the hospital are [normally] scheduled from many days ahead, whereas Minister Çubukçu’s visit was quite abrupt. Frankly that was quite a surprise. We primarily spoke about the election process,” Şirinoğlu, the foundation’s president and a businessman, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
After the meeting, Çubukçu also spent some time with the occupants in a retirement house that operates under the hospital foundation and distributed flowers to them. The minister did not make any comments regarding her conversation with Şirinoğlu.
“Turkey is undergoing a process of change. The Turkish people want to know more about the peoples they are living together with. As of course, there is also some curiosity within political parties, [and] that is very favorable,” said Şirinoğlu, who met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on March 26 and told the Daily News at the time that he was warm on the idea of running for a seat in Parliament. Şirinoğlu, however, also said he was not going to declare himself a parliamentary candidate unless the AKP made an official proposal to him.
The Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital Foundation in Istanbul’s Kazlıçeşme neighborhood is only second to the Armenian Patriarchate in terms of its protocol status in Ankara. Political party leaders, however, have paid frequent visits to Şirinoğlu over the past year, rather than going to the Patriarchate itself.
These visits were quite natural, frank and sincere, said Şirinoğlu, despite occasional objections arising from the Armenian community.
“I have difficulty understanding why [the Armenian community] reacts [to these meetings.] If it were not me but some other foundation president, these appointments would still have been granted. Unfortunately, I end up having to give the same explanation to the community on each occasion. Our protocol status in Ankara ranks in second place after the Patriarchate. These visits, therefore, are paid to the foundation president, and not to my person as such,” said Şirinoğlu.
New laws passed during the AKP’s rule have allowed the Armenian community to reclaim their foundations through lawsuits in recent years. These gains have created sympathy for the ruling AKP, according to Şirinoğlu.
“It will be easier to maintain the community’s balance thanks to the property we retrieved due to the changes enacted in laws pertaining to foundations. All community institutions are kept through donations,” said Şirinoğlu and also added they were holding cordial meetings with the government in Ankara to retrieve the currently occupied area across from the hospital.
Şirinoğlu further said they were hopeful about regaining the area and that another fully equipped Armenian hospital was also in the works; if such a hospital is opened, it will be the third in the Republic’s history.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL
Şirinoğlu claimed there is underlying sympathy within the Armenian community toward the ruling AKP for its role in passing new laws about minority foundations.
Education Minister Nimet Çubukçu paid a surprise visit to the Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital Foundation and held an exclusive meeting that lasted for roughly half an hour with the foundation’s president Bedros Şirinoğlu on Saturday afternoon.
Despite objections to such meetings from certain quarters within Turkey’s Armenian community, Şirinoğlu claimed there is underlying sympathy within the Armenian community toward the ruling AKP for its role in passing new laws about minority foundations.
“All visits to the hospital are [normally] scheduled from many days ahead, whereas Minister Çubukçu’s visit was quite abrupt. Frankly that was quite a surprise. We primarily spoke about the election process,” Şirinoğlu, the foundation’s president and a businessman, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
After the meeting, Çubukçu also spent some time with the occupants in a retirement house that operates under the hospital foundation and distributed flowers to them. The minister did not make any comments regarding her conversation with Şirinoğlu.
“Turkey is undergoing a process of change. The Turkish people want to know more about the peoples they are living together with. As of course, there is also some curiosity within political parties, [and] that is very favorable,” said Şirinoğlu, who met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on March 26 and told the Daily News at the time that he was warm on the idea of running for a seat in Parliament. Şirinoğlu, however, also said he was not going to declare himself a parliamentary candidate unless the AKP made an official proposal to him.
The Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital Foundation in Istanbul’s Kazlıçeşme neighborhood is only second to the Armenian Patriarchate in terms of its protocol status in Ankara. Political party leaders, however, have paid frequent visits to Şirinoğlu over the past year, rather than going to the Patriarchate itself.
These visits were quite natural, frank and sincere, said Şirinoğlu, despite occasional objections arising from the Armenian community.
“I have difficulty understanding why [the Armenian community] reacts [to these meetings.] If it were not me but some other foundation president, these appointments would still have been granted. Unfortunately, I end up having to give the same explanation to the community on each occasion. Our protocol status in Ankara ranks in second place after the Patriarchate. These visits, therefore, are paid to the foundation president, and not to my person as such,” said Şirinoğlu.
New laws passed during the AKP’s rule have allowed the Armenian community to reclaim their foundations through lawsuits in recent years. These gains have created sympathy for the ruling AKP, according to Şirinoğlu.
“It will be easier to maintain the community’s balance thanks to the property we retrieved due to the changes enacted in laws pertaining to foundations. All community institutions are kept through donations,” said Şirinoğlu and also added they were holding cordial meetings with the government in Ankara to retrieve the currently occupied area across from the hospital.
Şirinoğlu further said they were hopeful about regaining the area and that another fully equipped Armenian hospital was also in the works; if such a hospital is opened, it will be the third in the Republic’s history.
Sibil's strains echo across city as Turkish TV airs first Armenian music video
Thursday, May 26, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
The first Armenian music video is airing on Turkey’s leading music channels and the state-run TRT. Well-known artists provided support for artist Sibil Pektorosoğlu’s album, which was released a few months ago on the Ossi Music label. The Istanbul-born Armenian singer says it was a dream to release her album and broadcast her music video on Turkish TV
'Namag' (Letter) by Sibil Pektorosoğlu, an Istanbul Armenian, has been gaining mainstream popularity.
Turkey’s leading private music TV channels as well as the country’s state-run broadcaster have broken new ground in airing the first Armenian music video on popular stations in the nation’s history.
“Namag” (Letter) by Sibil Pektorosoğlu, an Istanbul Armenian, has been gaining mainstream popularity and can now be heard echoing from shops along the city’s iconic İstiklal Avenue. The lyrics were written by master Armenian poet Hovhannes Şiraz while the singer’s music video was produced by one of Turkey’s most famous directors in the field, Özkan Aksular.
Pektorosoğlu said it was like a dream to release her album and broadcast her music video on Turkish television. “When I hear my songs on İstiklal Avenue, I cry,” she recently told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
“Music is universal, it is above all identities. I can’t breathe without singing; this is why this album is loved that much by my listeners,” she said.
The song was the result of collaboration between Armenian and Turkish artists, including Mercan Dede, an international star famous for mixing Sufi music and ambient electronica, as well as Göksel Baktagir, a master of the “kanun,” a zither-like stringed instrument. Released on the Ossi Music label, the Pektorosoğlu’s album was arranged by Cenk Taşkan, an important figure on the Turkish pop music scene for more than 40 years.
“I made the most of my 40-year experience for this album and it has reached its goal,” Taşkan, who recently returned to Turkey on a visit from his current home in Canada, told the Daily News. “I am very pleased to be a part of this first-time work in Turkey, too.”
The works of Taşkan, who was one of the leading names in the revival of Western-style Turkish pop music at the end of the 1960s and the beginning of 1970s, have represented Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest many times.
Istanbul is inescapable
Even though he moved to Canada during the difficult aftermath of the 1980 coup, Taşkan said he often came to Istanbul and continued working with Turkish artists, adding that he had created many new grounds for the country’s pop music.
“Istanbul is my life, my everything; I can’t imagine a life without it. I have even composed a song titled ‘Istanbul Istanbul,’” Taşkan said.
Also an Istanbul Armenian, Taşkan’s real name is Majak Toşikyan; asked why he chose to use a Turkish name rather than his birth name, he said: “Turkish artists, as well as many foreign artists, do not use their own name. Changing my name does not mean that I have changed my soul.”
Referring to events between the Turkish and Armenian people in the past, Taşkan said: “We have lived together for thousands of years. As a life philosophy, I’m interested in the future; it can remove the traces of the past. It is necessary to open a new page. Otherwise, even in 3050, people will still be talking about the same things.”
Addressing the arguments between Turkish and Armenian people as to the artistic ownership of a number of Anatolian songs that are now sung by both nations, Taşkan said: “We have been the people of Anatolia for thousands of years. No nation has its own music; instead the land has its own music.”
Thursday, May 26, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
The first Armenian music video is airing on Turkey’s leading music channels and the state-run TRT. Well-known artists provided support for artist Sibil Pektorosoğlu’s album, which was released a few months ago on the Ossi Music label. The Istanbul-born Armenian singer says it was a dream to release her album and broadcast her music video on Turkish TV
'Namag' (Letter) by Sibil Pektorosoğlu, an Istanbul Armenian, has been gaining mainstream popularity.
Turkey’s leading private music TV channels as well as the country’s state-run broadcaster have broken new ground in airing the first Armenian music video on popular stations in the nation’s history.
“Namag” (Letter) by Sibil Pektorosoğlu, an Istanbul Armenian, has been gaining mainstream popularity and can now be heard echoing from shops along the city’s iconic İstiklal Avenue. The lyrics were written by master Armenian poet Hovhannes Şiraz while the singer’s music video was produced by one of Turkey’s most famous directors in the field, Özkan Aksular.
Pektorosoğlu said it was like a dream to release her album and broadcast her music video on Turkish television. “When I hear my songs on İstiklal Avenue, I cry,” she recently told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
“Music is universal, it is above all identities. I can’t breathe without singing; this is why this album is loved that much by my listeners,” she said.
The song was the result of collaboration between Armenian and Turkish artists, including Mercan Dede, an international star famous for mixing Sufi music and ambient electronica, as well as Göksel Baktagir, a master of the “kanun,” a zither-like stringed instrument. Released on the Ossi Music label, the Pektorosoğlu’s album was arranged by Cenk Taşkan, an important figure on the Turkish pop music scene for more than 40 years.
“I made the most of my 40-year experience for this album and it has reached its goal,” Taşkan, who recently returned to Turkey on a visit from his current home in Canada, told the Daily News. “I am very pleased to be a part of this first-time work in Turkey, too.”
The works of Taşkan, who was one of the leading names in the revival of Western-style Turkish pop music at the end of the 1960s and the beginning of 1970s, have represented Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest many times.
Istanbul is inescapable
Even though he moved to Canada during the difficult aftermath of the 1980 coup, Taşkan said he often came to Istanbul and continued working with Turkish artists, adding that he had created many new grounds for the country’s pop music.
“Istanbul is my life, my everything; I can’t imagine a life without it. I have even composed a song titled ‘Istanbul Istanbul,’” Taşkan said.
Also an Istanbul Armenian, Taşkan’s real name is Majak Toşikyan; asked why he chose to use a Turkish name rather than his birth name, he said: “Turkish artists, as well as many foreign artists, do not use their own name. Changing my name does not mean that I have changed my soul.”
Referring to events between the Turkish and Armenian people in the past, Taşkan said: “We have lived together for thousands of years. As a life philosophy, I’m interested in the future; it can remove the traces of the past. It is necessary to open a new page. Otherwise, even in 3050, people will still be talking about the same things.”
Addressing the arguments between Turkish and Armenian people as to the artistic ownership of a number of Anatolian songs that are now sung by both nations, Taşkan said: “We have been the people of Anatolia for thousands of years. No nation has its own music; instead the land has its own music.”
Candidate for Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey cool toward politics
Monday, May 30, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
The Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey should do its best to steer clear of politics, according to a possible future patriarch. Archbishop Karekin Bekjian, a candidate for the patriarchate and a primate of the German diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, speaks to Hürriyet Daily News when he was in in Istanbul to celebrate the 550th anniversary of the patriarchate, which was only marked by a low-profile service and a small reception due to the continuing illness of titular Patriarch Mesrop II
Asked whether he would become a Turkish citizen if elected as patriarch, Bekjian said he currently had both Turkish and German citizenship.
The Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey would do best to steer clear of politics, according to a possible future patriarch who has vowed to keep politics at an arm’s length from the church if elected to the post.
“Even though I am personally concerned about politics, I would not advise the Patriarchate to get involved in such matters,” Archbishop Karekin Bekjian, a candidate for the patriarchate and a primate of the German diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, told the Hürriyet Daily News on Sunday.
Bekjian was in Istanbul to celebrate the 550th anniversary of the patriarchate, which was only marked by a low-profile service and a small reception due to the continuing illness of titular Patriarch Mesrop II, who is incapable of discharging his duties due to dementia. Grandiose plans to celebrate the 550th anniversary of the patriarchate were turned down by prominent figures within the Armenian community due to the patriarch’s illness.
In his stead, Archbishop Aram Ateşyan was appointed as acting patriarch although Bekjian was one of the leading opponent’s of Ateşyan’s investiture.
“A deputy patriarch was already appointed in 1998 while Mesrop II was still in good health. Why was [someone else] appointed [afterwards]? Was there a deal with the state? There should have been an election for the patriarch as if the the current patriarch were dead,” Bekjian said.
Discussing his current role, Bekjian said his primary duty as a cleric was to maintain the church’s well-being.
“Any bonds that will form between the diaspora [and the Armenian Patriarchate in Turkey] must come about of its own accord. If they prefer to recognize the patriarchate, then they will; and if they prefer otherwise, then we will not feel any special obligation to reach out to them,” said Bekjian, who is well-acquainted with the Armenian diaspora because of his residence in Germany.
Asked whether he would become a Turkish citizen if elected as patriarch, Bekjian said he currently had both Turkish and German citizenship.
During the ceremony, Ateşyan also presented Mustafa Sarıgül, the mayor of Istanbul’s Şişli district, with a Patriarchate Special Service Gold Medal, marking the first time that a person of Turkish descent has been awarded the honor.
Training future clerics
Mesrop II had suggested opening a theology department within a university several years ago to raise new clerics for Istanbul’s Armenian community, Bekjian said.
“The idea of sending young clerics to theology departments in Europe had also come up, [but] I am not warm to that idea. Clerics must be chosen from among the Armenians of Istanbul so that they can understand the mentality, the cast of that mind that exists here,” Bekjian said.
Authorities used to permit the raising of new clerics at the Tıbrevank School in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district in the early 1960s, but this right was revoked in 1968, the archbishop said. The school, which still operates as the Private Surp Haç High School, lost its status as a foundation in 1985, he said.
If the Halki Seminary on Heybeliada Island were to be opened again, then the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey could also take advantage of the situation, and clerics graduating from the seminary could then enroll in theology seminars abroad before returning to Turkey, Bekjian said.
“Our people in Germany speak Turkish and preach in Turkish. [Even though] the Armenian community has a past in Europe that goes back 150 years, they do not have established traditions there,” said Bekjian.
The Armenian community of Istanbul, however, thrived on a well-established system of traditions, according to Bekjian.
“Istanbul is my memories, my everything. For me, Istanbul is a never-dying aspiration. I could not live without this city,” Bekjian said.
Monday, May 30, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
The Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey should do its best to steer clear of politics, according to a possible future patriarch. Archbishop Karekin Bekjian, a candidate for the patriarchate and a primate of the German diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, speaks to Hürriyet Daily News when he was in in Istanbul to celebrate the 550th anniversary of the patriarchate, which was only marked by a low-profile service and a small reception due to the continuing illness of titular Patriarch Mesrop II
Asked whether he would become a Turkish citizen if elected as patriarch, Bekjian said he currently had both Turkish and German citizenship.
The Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey would do best to steer clear of politics, according to a possible future patriarch who has vowed to keep politics at an arm’s length from the church if elected to the post.
“Even though I am personally concerned about politics, I would not advise the Patriarchate to get involved in such matters,” Archbishop Karekin Bekjian, a candidate for the patriarchate and a primate of the German diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, told the Hürriyet Daily News on Sunday.
Bekjian was in Istanbul to celebrate the 550th anniversary of the patriarchate, which was only marked by a low-profile service and a small reception due to the continuing illness of titular Patriarch Mesrop II, who is incapable of discharging his duties due to dementia. Grandiose plans to celebrate the 550th anniversary of the patriarchate were turned down by prominent figures within the Armenian community due to the patriarch’s illness.
In his stead, Archbishop Aram Ateşyan was appointed as acting patriarch although Bekjian was one of the leading opponent’s of Ateşyan’s investiture.
“A deputy patriarch was already appointed in 1998 while Mesrop II was still in good health. Why was [someone else] appointed [afterwards]? Was there a deal with the state? There should have been an election for the patriarch as if the the current patriarch were dead,” Bekjian said.
Discussing his current role, Bekjian said his primary duty as a cleric was to maintain the church’s well-being.
“Any bonds that will form between the diaspora [and the Armenian Patriarchate in Turkey] must come about of its own accord. If they prefer to recognize the patriarchate, then they will; and if they prefer otherwise, then we will not feel any special obligation to reach out to them,” said Bekjian, who is well-acquainted with the Armenian diaspora because of his residence in Germany.
Asked whether he would become a Turkish citizen if elected as patriarch, Bekjian said he currently had both Turkish and German citizenship.
During the ceremony, Ateşyan also presented Mustafa Sarıgül, the mayor of Istanbul’s Şişli district, with a Patriarchate Special Service Gold Medal, marking the first time that a person of Turkish descent has been awarded the honor.
Training future clerics
Mesrop II had suggested opening a theology department within a university several years ago to raise new clerics for Istanbul’s Armenian community, Bekjian said.
“The idea of sending young clerics to theology departments in Europe had also come up, [but] I am not warm to that idea. Clerics must be chosen from among the Armenians of Istanbul so that they can understand the mentality, the cast of that mind that exists here,” Bekjian said.
Authorities used to permit the raising of new clerics at the Tıbrevank School in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district in the early 1960s, but this right was revoked in 1968, the archbishop said. The school, which still operates as the Private Surp Haç High School, lost its status as a foundation in 1985, he said.
If the Halki Seminary on Heybeliada Island were to be opened again, then the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey could also take advantage of the situation, and clerics graduating from the seminary could then enroll in theology seminars abroad before returning to Turkey, Bekjian said.
“Our people in Germany speak Turkish and preach in Turkish. [Even though] the Armenian community has a past in Europe that goes back 150 years, they do not have established traditions there,” said Bekjian.
The Armenian community of Istanbul, however, thrived on a well-established system of traditions, according to Bekjian.
“Istanbul is my memories, my everything. For me, Istanbul is a never-dying aspiration. I could not live without this city,” Bekjian said.
22 Mayıs 2011 Pazar
Turkish education minister makes surprise visit to Armenian foundation
Sunday, May 22, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Daily News with wires
Şirinoğlu claimed there is underlying sympathy within the Armenian community toward the ruling AKP for its role in passing new laws about minority foundations.
Education Minister Nimet Çubukçu paid a surprise visit to the Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital Foundation and held an exclusive meeting that lasted for roughly half an hour with the foundation’s president Bedros Şirinoğlu on Saturday afternoon.
Despite objections to such meetings from certain quarters within Turkey’s Armenian community, Şirinoğlu claimed there is underlying sympathy within the Armenian community toward the ruling AKP for its role in passing new laws about minority foundations.
“All visits to the hospital are [normally] scheduled from many days ahead, whereas Minister Çubukçu’s visit was quite abrupt. Frankly that was quite a surprise. We primarily spoke about the election process,” Şirinoğlu, the foundation’s president and a businessman, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
After the meeting, Çubukçu also spent some time with the occupants in a retirement house that operates under the hospital foundation and distributed flowers to them. The minister did not make any comments regarding her conversation with Şirinoğlu.
“Turkey is undergoing a process of change. The Turkish people want to know more about the peoples they are living together with. As of course, there is also some curiosity within political parties, [and] that is very favorable,” said Şirinoğlu, who met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on March 26 and told the Daily News at the time that he was warm on the idea of running for a seat in Parliament. Şirinoğlu, however, also said he was not going to declare himself a parliamentary candidate unless the AKP made an official proposal to him.
The Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital Foundation in Istanbul’s Kazlıçeşme neighborhood is only second to the Armenian Patriarchate in terms of its protocol status in Ankara. Political party leaders, however, have paid frequent visits to Şirinoğlu over the past year, rather than going to the Patriarchate itself.
These visits were quite natural, frank and sincere, said Şirinoğlu, despite occasional objections arising from the Armenian community.
“I have difficulty understanding why [the Armenian community] reacts [to these meetings.] If it were not me but some other foundation president, these appointments would still have been granted. Unfortunately, I end up having to give the same explanation to the community on each occasion. Our protocol status in Ankara ranks in second place after the Patriarchate. These visits, therefore, are paid to the foundation president, and not to my person as such,” said Şirinoğlu.
New laws passed during the AKP’s rule have allowed the Armenian community to reclaim their foundations through lawsuits in recent years. These gains have created sympathy for the ruling AKP, according to Şirinoğlu.
“It will be easier to maintain the community’s balance thanks to the property we retrieved due to the changes enacted in laws pertaining to foundations. All community institutions are kept through donations,” said Şirinoğlu and also added they were holding cordial meetings with the government in Ankara to retrieve the currently occupied area across from the hospital.
Şirinoğlu further said they were hopeful about regaining the area and that another fully equipped Armenian hospital was also in the works; if such a hospital is opened, it will be the third in the Republic’s history.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Daily News with wires
Şirinoğlu claimed there is underlying sympathy within the Armenian community toward the ruling AKP for its role in passing new laws about minority foundations.
Education Minister Nimet Çubukçu paid a surprise visit to the Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital Foundation and held an exclusive meeting that lasted for roughly half an hour with the foundation’s president Bedros Şirinoğlu on Saturday afternoon.
Despite objections to such meetings from certain quarters within Turkey’s Armenian community, Şirinoğlu claimed there is underlying sympathy within the Armenian community toward the ruling AKP for its role in passing new laws about minority foundations.
“All visits to the hospital are [normally] scheduled from many days ahead, whereas Minister Çubukçu’s visit was quite abrupt. Frankly that was quite a surprise. We primarily spoke about the election process,” Şirinoğlu, the foundation’s president and a businessman, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
After the meeting, Çubukçu also spent some time with the occupants in a retirement house that operates under the hospital foundation and distributed flowers to them. The minister did not make any comments regarding her conversation with Şirinoğlu.
“Turkey is undergoing a process of change. The Turkish people want to know more about the peoples they are living together with. As of course, there is also some curiosity within political parties, [and] that is very favorable,” said Şirinoğlu, who met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on March 26 and told the Daily News at the time that he was warm on the idea of running for a seat in Parliament. Şirinoğlu, however, also said he was not going to declare himself a parliamentary candidate unless the AKP made an official proposal to him.
The Surp Pırgiç Armenian Hospital Foundation in Istanbul’s Kazlıçeşme neighborhood is only second to the Armenian Patriarchate in terms of its protocol status in Ankara. Political party leaders, however, have paid frequent visits to Şirinoğlu over the past year, rather than going to the Patriarchate itself.
These visits were quite natural, frank and sincere, said Şirinoğlu, despite occasional objections arising from the Armenian community.
“I have difficulty understanding why [the Armenian community] reacts [to these meetings.] If it were not me but some other foundation president, these appointments would still have been granted. Unfortunately, I end up having to give the same explanation to the community on each occasion. Our protocol status in Ankara ranks in second place after the Patriarchate. These visits, therefore, are paid to the foundation president, and not to my person as such,” said Şirinoğlu.
New laws passed during the AKP’s rule have allowed the Armenian community to reclaim their foundations through lawsuits in recent years. These gains have created sympathy for the ruling AKP, according to Şirinoğlu.
“It will be easier to maintain the community’s balance thanks to the property we retrieved due to the changes enacted in laws pertaining to foundations. All community institutions are kept through donations,” said Şirinoğlu and also added they were holding cordial meetings with the government in Ankara to retrieve the currently occupied area across from the hospital.
Şirinoğlu further said they were hopeful about regaining the area and that another fully equipped Armenian hospital was also in the works; if such a hospital is opened, it will be the third in the Republic’s history.
20 Mayıs 2011 Cuma
Opposition representative expounds on Turkish-Armenian relations
Opposition representative expounds on Turkish-Armenian relations
Thursday, May 19, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
'The AKP began its Armenia initiative with an inappropriate partner under inappropriate circumstances,' said Korutürk.
Turkey’s main opposition’s foreign policy specialist and former Ambassador Osman Korutürk has criticized the government’s policies toward Armenia while reiterating his party’s election promises following his visits to the religious leaders of Turkey’s Armenian, Greek, Syriac and Jewish minorities this week.
“The painful [events of 1915] were reciprocal; we need to talk tete a tete [with the Armenians.] The diaspora claims they were the only ones to suffer; the pain of the Muslim Turks needs to also be recognized. We can move forward if we dress our wounds and leave the past to historians. Even the Germans and Jews have managed to overcome all this. Why shouldn’t we?” asked Korutürk from the Republican People’s Party, or CHP. He added that they wanted good relations with Turkey’s neighbors and signaled the possibility of reinvigorating the issue of Turkey’s closed border with Armenia.
Korutürk also said significant mistakes were committed in regards to the Interior Ministry’s decision to appoint Aram Ateşyan as the acting deputy patriarch of the Armenian church. The CHP representative said the spirit of the Lausanne Treaty should have been followed in this regard.
Patriarch Mesrop II was diagnosed with “frontal demans” in 2007 and is no longer capable of fulfilling his duties due to health reasons. The Interior Ministry then chose to appoint Ateşyan as his deputy despite protests from within the Armenian community.
“The AKP began its Armenia initiative with an inappropriate partner under inappropriate circumstances. Consider the fact that anyone who says there was no genocide gets punished in Switzerland, which is the mediating country,” said Korutürk, who also accused the AKP of failing in its Kurdish Initiative as well.
“The AKP failed to act in coordination. Azerbaijan was not kept sufficiently informed ... The Karabagh problem requires many years to be resolved, just like the Cyprus problem. When they received negative reactions from Azerbaijan, the AKP took a wrong turn and pushed forth the issue of Karabagh, [as a result of which] the process lost its momentum. If things were coordinated with Azerbaijan and [Azerbaijan] was kept sufficiently informed, all this would not have happened,” said Korutürk, referring to the protocols initialized in 2009 between Turkey and Armenia to normalize relations.
Korutürk said if Turkey wants to be a powerful player in the region, then it must develop consistent dialogue with its neighbors. The CHP representative noted that Armenia conducts a significant portion of its trade through neighboring Iran and Georgia, and added that Turkey is still Armenia’s second largest export market despite the closed borders. All the benefit from this trade, however, go to Iran and Georgia, said Korutürk.
“We see everyone as equal Turkish citizens. The distance [of minority communities] toward the CHP must be emanating from certain problems that occurred during the single-party period,” said Korutürk, who also urged minority communities to become more engaged in politics.
Korutürk also reiterated CHP’s election promises, including removing the 10 percent election threshold that prevents smaller parties from entering the parliament and the foundation of a special commission to elucidate unresolved political murders. Korutürk also promised to pave the way for people to be able to learn in their mother tongues, as well as recognition of representation rights for Kurds. Korutürk further claimed that the infamous Diyarbakır Prison, the site of gruesome torture sessions that allegedly took place during Turkey’s 1980 coup, was going to be turned into a Human Rights Museum if the CHP came to power.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
'The AKP began its Armenia initiative with an inappropriate partner under inappropriate circumstances,' said Korutürk.
Turkey’s main opposition’s foreign policy specialist and former Ambassador Osman Korutürk has criticized the government’s policies toward Armenia while reiterating his party’s election promises following his visits to the religious leaders of Turkey’s Armenian, Greek, Syriac and Jewish minorities this week.
“The painful [events of 1915] were reciprocal; we need to talk tete a tete [with the Armenians.] The diaspora claims they were the only ones to suffer; the pain of the Muslim Turks needs to also be recognized. We can move forward if we dress our wounds and leave the past to historians. Even the Germans and Jews have managed to overcome all this. Why shouldn’t we?” asked Korutürk from the Republican People’s Party, or CHP. He added that they wanted good relations with Turkey’s neighbors and signaled the possibility of reinvigorating the issue of Turkey’s closed border with Armenia.
Korutürk also said significant mistakes were committed in regards to the Interior Ministry’s decision to appoint Aram Ateşyan as the acting deputy patriarch of the Armenian church. The CHP representative said the spirit of the Lausanne Treaty should have been followed in this regard.
Patriarch Mesrop II was diagnosed with “frontal demans” in 2007 and is no longer capable of fulfilling his duties due to health reasons. The Interior Ministry then chose to appoint Ateşyan as his deputy despite protests from within the Armenian community.
“The AKP began its Armenia initiative with an inappropriate partner under inappropriate circumstances. Consider the fact that anyone who says there was no genocide gets punished in Switzerland, which is the mediating country,” said Korutürk, who also accused the AKP of failing in its Kurdish Initiative as well.
“The AKP failed to act in coordination. Azerbaijan was not kept sufficiently informed ... The Karabagh problem requires many years to be resolved, just like the Cyprus problem. When they received negative reactions from Azerbaijan, the AKP took a wrong turn and pushed forth the issue of Karabagh, [as a result of which] the process lost its momentum. If things were coordinated with Azerbaijan and [Azerbaijan] was kept sufficiently informed, all this would not have happened,” said Korutürk, referring to the protocols initialized in 2009 between Turkey and Armenia to normalize relations.
Korutürk said if Turkey wants to be a powerful player in the region, then it must develop consistent dialogue with its neighbors. The CHP representative noted that Armenia conducts a significant portion of its trade through neighboring Iran and Georgia, and added that Turkey is still Armenia’s second largest export market despite the closed borders. All the benefit from this trade, however, go to Iran and Georgia, said Korutürk.
“We see everyone as equal Turkish citizens. The distance [of minority communities] toward the CHP must be emanating from certain problems that occurred during the single-party period,” said Korutürk, who also urged minority communities to become more engaged in politics.
Korutürk also reiterated CHP’s election promises, including removing the 10 percent election threshold that prevents smaller parties from entering the parliament and the foundation of a special commission to elucidate unresolved political murders. Korutürk also promised to pave the way for people to be able to learn in their mother tongues, as well as recognition of representation rights for Kurds. Korutürk further claimed that the infamous Diyarbakır Prison, the site of gruesome torture sessions that allegedly took place during Turkey’s 1980 coup, was going to be turned into a Human Rights Museum if the CHP came to power.
17 Mayıs 2011 Salı
US court requests Turkey’s defense in lawsuit filed by Armenian-Americans
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
Lawyer Yaghlayan claims the case will be important not only for Armenians, but 'all the people whose rights have been trampled upon by governments.'
A United States court has granted Turkey 21 days to respond to a lawsuit filed by Armenian-Americans demanding compensation for property allegedly seized by the Ottoman government from its own Armenian subjects during the events of 1915. The case worth $64 million concerns properties located near and under a U.S. airbase located in Incirlik in the southern province of Adana.
“This case is important, not only for the Armenian community but also the international one. It will set a precedent on the basis of the lawsuit that revolves around the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, or FSIA. The Government of the Republic of Turkey is benefiting from the exploitation of these properties. As such they are to be held accountable for the consequences of their actions,” lawyer Vartkes Yeghiayan told Hürriyet Daily News by e-mail.
The lawsuit was opened in 2010, to seek compensation from the Turkish state, Turkish Central Bank and the Ziraat Bank. Yeghiayan, the Armenian-American lawyer who took over the case on behalf of Rita Mahtesian, Anais Harutyunyan and Alex Bakalian, is also known for having filed a lawsuit that resulted in the French firm Axa and Oyak Insurance, a Turkish firm with links to the Turkish military, breaking off from a joint deal in 2005.
“In a related matter, we recently learned that the government of Turkey recently granted 3,800 euros to each of the 300 families that had filed a suit against it in Samsun some 50 years ago,” said Yeghiayan, who further claimed that the following 21 days were going to be crucial not just for the three institutions on trial but for all people whose rights have been trampled upon by foreign governments worldwide.
“In this case our clients are able to sue the government of the Republic of Turkey, the Central Bank of Turkey and the Ziraat Bankası because of the following reasons: Turkey committed a violation of international laws and proceeded to illegally confiscate properties from their rightful owners in the process, Turkey also proceeded to violate its own constitution and the Lausanne Treaty. But more importantly, they have used these ill-obtained properties to run commercial operations,” Yeghiayan said.
Bakalian, Mahdesian and Harutyunyan who also represent their respective families and relatives, are jointly in possession of some 11 title deeds located in the vicinity of Incirlik airbase, according to their lawyer. Yeghiayan also said they were contacted by other individuals with 15 more property deeds, while expressing his hopes that they, too, will join the case in the coming months.
Yeghiayan also partook in a suit filed against New York Life Insurance, which paid some $20 million to Armenians in 2004. Over the preceding months, Yeghiayan assumed another case on behalf of the Center for Armenian Remembrance, or CAR, an Armenian charity in the U.S., and had requested information pertaining to property that was allegedly seized from Anatolian Armenians by the Ottoman government in 1915.
Ottoman Armenians took out policies regarding cargo transportation, sea travel, fire and life insurance from 103 foreign insurance firms before 1915, mainly from Europe and the U.S., according to Yeghiayan.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
Lawyer Yaghlayan claims the case will be important not only for Armenians, but 'all the people whose rights have been trampled upon by governments.'
A United States court has granted Turkey 21 days to respond to a lawsuit filed by Armenian-Americans demanding compensation for property allegedly seized by the Ottoman government from its own Armenian subjects during the events of 1915. The case worth $64 million concerns properties located near and under a U.S. airbase located in Incirlik in the southern province of Adana.
“This case is important, not only for the Armenian community but also the international one. It will set a precedent on the basis of the lawsuit that revolves around the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, or FSIA. The Government of the Republic of Turkey is benefiting from the exploitation of these properties. As such they are to be held accountable for the consequences of their actions,” lawyer Vartkes Yeghiayan told Hürriyet Daily News by e-mail.
The lawsuit was opened in 2010, to seek compensation from the Turkish state, Turkish Central Bank and the Ziraat Bank. Yeghiayan, the Armenian-American lawyer who took over the case on behalf of Rita Mahtesian, Anais Harutyunyan and Alex Bakalian, is also known for having filed a lawsuit that resulted in the French firm Axa and Oyak Insurance, a Turkish firm with links to the Turkish military, breaking off from a joint deal in 2005.
“In a related matter, we recently learned that the government of Turkey recently granted 3,800 euros to each of the 300 families that had filed a suit against it in Samsun some 50 years ago,” said Yeghiayan, who further claimed that the following 21 days were going to be crucial not just for the three institutions on trial but for all people whose rights have been trampled upon by foreign governments worldwide.
“In this case our clients are able to sue the government of the Republic of Turkey, the Central Bank of Turkey and the Ziraat Bankası because of the following reasons: Turkey committed a violation of international laws and proceeded to illegally confiscate properties from their rightful owners in the process, Turkey also proceeded to violate its own constitution and the Lausanne Treaty. But more importantly, they have used these ill-obtained properties to run commercial operations,” Yeghiayan said.
Bakalian, Mahdesian and Harutyunyan who also represent their respective families and relatives, are jointly in possession of some 11 title deeds located in the vicinity of Incirlik airbase, according to their lawyer. Yeghiayan also said they were contacted by other individuals with 15 more property deeds, while expressing his hopes that they, too, will join the case in the coming months.
Yeghiayan also partook in a suit filed against New York Life Insurance, which paid some $20 million to Armenians in 2004. Over the preceding months, Yeghiayan assumed another case on behalf of the Center for Armenian Remembrance, or CAR, an Armenian charity in the U.S., and had requested information pertaining to property that was allegedly seized from Anatolian Armenians by the Ottoman government in 1915.
Ottoman Armenians took out policies regarding cargo transportation, sea travel, fire and life insurance from 103 foreign insurance firms before 1915, mainly from Europe and the U.S., according to Yeghiayan.
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