Marking first, Turkish minister visits Armenian school
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Education Minister Ömer Dinçer conducted a historic visit to Mıhitaryan Armenian School in Şişli’s Pangaltı neighborhood, becoming the first minister from the department to visit an Armenian school in the history of the Turkish Republic.
The occasion was in return for a visit last year in which students from the school came to Dinçer’s office to request that hostile references to Armenians be removed from textbooks.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News before Dinçer’s visit, the school’s principal, Karekin Barsamyan, said they were very pleased to host such a historic visit.
“Minorities think they are the only ones who are subjected to problems, but this is not the case,” Dinçer said during the event, which included a cocktail. “In the past, not only the minorities and Alevis, but Sunnis were also victimized by authoritarian rulings and violations of rights and liberties. We aim to spread [practices in accordance with] human rights and liberties. The only way to create a peaceful atmosphere in society is democracy.”
The minister also touched on elective courses on mother tongues that began this school year. “We are taking our actions by considering that each child is an independent individual,” Dinçer said.
The ministry drew reaction after stipulating that such classes would only be opened after 10 students expressed a demand to take the lessons.
Addressing recent discussions over the insertion of religious questions onto the university entrance exam, the minister said: “The subject was unfortunately misrepresented to the public. The lessons have been given and the questions have been asked under the category of ‘Education for Religion and Ethics’ for years. It is not about a specific religion. [Students from] minority schools will be asked other questions in accordance with their curriculum.”
December/21/2012
25 Aralık 2012 Salı
Christians in Syria mark bitter Christmas
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Christians in Syria will mark a bitter Christmas this year as churches and their followers in the country have had their share of the ongoing violence. The places of worship of approximately 2 million Christians in Syria have been the target of attacks in the clashes between the forces of President Bashar al-Assad and the rebels.
“The religious leaders in Syria have declared that the churches will not celebrate Christmas because of the ongoing violence in the country,” Jamil Diarbekirli, a 25-year-old Syrian, told the Hürriyet Daily News in an e-mail interview.
Diarbekirli, who was a law student in Aleppo before the civil war and had been arrested at the beginning of the incidents before being released after a short time, pointed out that sacred spaces had become targets of regime powers.
“When our churches were attacked, our Muslim friends helped us repair them. The Syrian people and the opposition are respectful to God’s house,” said Diarbekirli, adding that if the situation continued in this way, there would not be any living people, not only no Christians. The Western powers are in complete ignorance of “this horrible catastrophe,” said George Gawrieh, a Syrian dentist who recently fled from Hasekeh city of Syria and moved permanently to Istanbul. “The Christians were so worried at the beginning of the revolution because they already knew that whatever the results were in the end, they would pay a higher price than other people and other sects.”
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Christians in Syria will mark a bitter Christmas this year as churches and their followers in the country have had their share of the ongoing violence. The places of worship of approximately 2 million Christians in Syria have been the target of attacks in the clashes between the forces of President Bashar al-Assad and the rebels.
“The religious leaders in Syria have declared that the churches will not celebrate Christmas because of the ongoing violence in the country,” Jamil Diarbekirli, a 25-year-old Syrian, told the Hürriyet Daily News in an e-mail interview.
Diarbekirli, who was a law student in Aleppo before the civil war and had been arrested at the beginning of the incidents before being released after a short time, pointed out that sacred spaces had become targets of regime powers.
“When our churches were attacked, our Muslim friends helped us repair them. The Syrian people and the opposition are respectful to God’s house,” said Diarbekirli, adding that if the situation continued in this way, there would not be any living people, not only no Christians. The Western powers are in complete ignorance of “this horrible catastrophe,” said George Gawrieh, a Syrian dentist who recently fled from Hasekeh city of Syria and moved permanently to Istanbul. “The Christians were so worried at the beginning of the revolution because they already knew that whatever the results were in the end, they would pay a higher price than other people and other sects.”
18 Aralık 2012 Salı
Book lists banned publications
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Ottoman and Turkish authorities have banned 20,000 books in the Turkey since 1834, according to a new book by Emin Karaca, who said censors in the republican era have approached their work with a zeal that was unseen in imperial times.
Titled “Vaaay Kitabın Başına Gelenler!” (Look what happened to these books!), the researcher and writer’s work was introduced at a press conference held in the Turkish Journalists Association’s clubhouse on Dec. 17. According to the book, the most frequently banned books in the Republican period are renowned author Nazım Hikmet’s works and Karl Marx’s “Das Kapital.”
Karaca said he completed the research on banned books over a period of five years. For Karaca, Turkey is a paradise for bans. “The most banned author during the Republican period was Nazım Hikmet, since it was thought that he would introduce socialism to the public,” Karaca said.
Karaca also spoke of the banned books list prepared for schools by the Board of Education and Discipline in 1970. “Almost all of the authors who are on the banned list are Turkish,” he said.
Turkish Publishers’ Union (TYB) chair Metin Celal, meanwhile, said bans had been lifted on 453 books and over 600 publications by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office last week as part of a third judicial reform package.
According to Celal, appeals were made to the police once again for the ban of 67 books and 16 periodicals. “During cases of arrested students, banned books found in their houses were regarded as criminal evidence. The state does not want to abolish the bans,” Celal said. “The Anti-Terror law and the relevant articles in the Turkish Penal Code should be altered as soon as possible.”
Karaca said some books were also banned during the Ottoman period; however, officials in the Republican period have been more severe in implementing bans even when compared to the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid, who was famous for his strict censorship.
“During the Tanzimat period [a re-organization of the empire’s administration that began in 1839], sultans used to ban books by enacting imperial edicts. During the reign of Abdülhamid, there was a censorship institution, which used to determine the bans on books. Even Abdülhamid’s method of censorship was more civilized [than today’s],” Karaca said.
December/19/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Ottoman and Turkish authorities have banned 20,000 books in the Turkey since 1834, according to a new book by Emin Karaca, who said censors in the republican era have approached their work with a zeal that was unseen in imperial times.
Titled “Vaaay Kitabın Başına Gelenler!” (Look what happened to these books!), the researcher and writer’s work was introduced at a press conference held in the Turkish Journalists Association’s clubhouse on Dec. 17. According to the book, the most frequently banned books in the Republican period are renowned author Nazım Hikmet’s works and Karl Marx’s “Das Kapital.”
Karaca said he completed the research on banned books over a period of five years. For Karaca, Turkey is a paradise for bans. “The most banned author during the Republican period was Nazım Hikmet, since it was thought that he would introduce socialism to the public,” Karaca said.
Karaca also spoke of the banned books list prepared for schools by the Board of Education and Discipline in 1970. “Almost all of the authors who are on the banned list are Turkish,” he said.
Turkish Publishers’ Union (TYB) chair Metin Celal, meanwhile, said bans had been lifted on 453 books and over 600 publications by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office last week as part of a third judicial reform package.
According to Celal, appeals were made to the police once again for the ban of 67 books and 16 periodicals. “During cases of arrested students, banned books found in their houses were regarded as criminal evidence. The state does not want to abolish the bans,” Celal said. “The Anti-Terror law and the relevant articles in the Turkish Penal Code should be altered as soon as possible.”
Karaca said some books were also banned during the Ottoman period; however, officials in the Republican period have been more severe in implementing bans even when compared to the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid, who was famous for his strict censorship.
“During the Tanzimat period [a re-organization of the empire’s administration that began in 1839], sultans used to ban books by enacting imperial edicts. During the reign of Abdülhamid, there was a censorship institution, which used to determine the bans on books. Even Abdülhamid’s method of censorship was more civilized [than today’s],” Karaca said.
December/19/2012
Book reveals seized Armenian properties
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
A recent book published by the Hrant Dink Foundation has revealed that almost half of the properties belonging to 53 different Armenian foundations have been confiscated since 1923.
“2012 Beyannamesi: Istanbul Ermeni Vakıflarının El Konulan Mülkleri” (The 2012 Declaration: The Seized Properties of Armenian Foundations in Istanbul) provides data on all the proprties of the Armenian foundations confiscated since 1923.
According to the information provided, 53 Armenian foundations in Istanbul were found to have 1,328 immovable properties. Some 661 of these properties were confiscated, while the fate of another 87 is still unknown. With legal amendments, 143 of the 661 confiscated properties have been returned over the last 10 years.
One of the confiscated properties is the Kalfayan Orphanage located in Istanbul’s Halıcıoğlu district. It was confiscated on the grounds that access roads would be built on its land during the construction of the intercontinental Bosphorus Bridge. The E5 Highway now occupies this land.
Another confiscated foundation is the Surp (Saint) Hagop Armenian Church Foundation located in Istanbul’s Kasımpaşa district. Its ownership was passed to the Foundations Directorate General, after which an apartment block was built on the remains of the historic church walls. A number of shanty houses now occupy a part of the original foundation’s land, for which the Foundations Directorate General pays rent.
The 479-page new book, which opens with an introduction by Professor Hüseyin Hatemi, covers a detailed list of confiscated properties, as well as historical information and photos of the foundation properties.
December/18/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
A recent book published by the Hrant Dink Foundation has revealed that almost half of the properties belonging to 53 different Armenian foundations have been confiscated since 1923.
“2012 Beyannamesi: Istanbul Ermeni Vakıflarının El Konulan Mülkleri” (The 2012 Declaration: The Seized Properties of Armenian Foundations in Istanbul) provides data on all the proprties of the Armenian foundations confiscated since 1923.
According to the information provided, 53 Armenian foundations in Istanbul were found to have 1,328 immovable properties. Some 661 of these properties were confiscated, while the fate of another 87 is still unknown. With legal amendments, 143 of the 661 confiscated properties have been returned over the last 10 years.
One of the confiscated properties is the Kalfayan Orphanage located in Istanbul’s Halıcıoğlu district. It was confiscated on the grounds that access roads would be built on its land during the construction of the intercontinental Bosphorus Bridge. The E5 Highway now occupies this land.
Another confiscated foundation is the Surp (Saint) Hagop Armenian Church Foundation located in Istanbul’s Kasımpaşa district. Its ownership was passed to the Foundations Directorate General, after which an apartment block was built on the remains of the historic church walls. A number of shanty houses now occupy a part of the original foundation’s land, for which the Foundations Directorate General pays rent.
The 479-page new book, which opens with an introduction by Professor Hüseyin Hatemi, covers a detailed list of confiscated properties, as well as historical information and photos of the foundation properties.
December/18/2012
17 Aralık 2012 Pazartesi
Minorities ‘given entire asset rights’
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Turkey’s Foundations Directorate General has organized a seminar on new regulations regarding minority foundations.
Held in Galata Greek School in Istanbul on Dec. 13, the seminar titled “The Legal Condition of the Minority Foundations” was the first of its kind in the Republican period.
Foundations Directorate General’s Chief Inspector Okan Saydam, the foundations’ Istanbul 1st Region deputy head Ebru Günaydın and Laki Vingas, who is in charge of minority foundations in the Directorate, were present at the seminar. Also, representatives of minority communities, including Armenian, Greek, Syriac and Jewish foundations showed a great interest in the seminar.
Saydam spoke to the Hürriyet Daily News about the latest developments the Directorate is working on. He said they cancelled the elective regulation of minority foundations and were working on a new one, which would be announced soon.
“Many law cases were opened to the elective processes of some foundations. Administrators could resist holding an election. Also, voter lists were not organized in an effective way. The new elective regulation we are working on will prevent such problems,” Saydam said.
“From now on, minority foundations will be able to invest in the stock market and they will be able to sell and buy stock certificates as long as they inform the Foundations Directorate General,” Saydam said.
With the new Foundation Law that came into effect in August 2011, a one-year period was given for the minority foundations to receive back their property. According to Vingas, 1,560 appeals were made for property return by Armenian, Greek, Jewish, and Syriac communities within this period. Vingas also remarked on the new elective regulation, saying they hoped the problems on election matters to be solved with the new system. Vingas, who is of Greek origin, also spoke specifically on the problems of Greek community foundations. “The population of the Greek community is very low, so we have problems in terms of administration,” Vingas said.
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Turkey’s Foundations Directorate General has organized a seminar on new regulations regarding minority foundations.
Held in Galata Greek School in Istanbul on Dec. 13, the seminar titled “The Legal Condition of the Minority Foundations” was the first of its kind in the Republican period.
Foundations Directorate General’s Chief Inspector Okan Saydam, the foundations’ Istanbul 1st Region deputy head Ebru Günaydın and Laki Vingas, who is in charge of minority foundations in the Directorate, were present at the seminar. Also, representatives of minority communities, including Armenian, Greek, Syriac and Jewish foundations showed a great interest in the seminar.
Saydam spoke to the Hürriyet Daily News about the latest developments the Directorate is working on. He said they cancelled the elective regulation of minority foundations and were working on a new one, which would be announced soon.
“Many law cases were opened to the elective processes of some foundations. Administrators could resist holding an election. Also, voter lists were not organized in an effective way. The new elective regulation we are working on will prevent such problems,” Saydam said.
“From now on, minority foundations will be able to invest in the stock market and they will be able to sell and buy stock certificates as long as they inform the Foundations Directorate General,” Saydam said.
With the new Foundation Law that came into effect in August 2011, a one-year period was given for the minority foundations to receive back their property. According to Vingas, 1,560 appeals were made for property return by Armenian, Greek, Jewish, and Syriac communities within this period. Vingas also remarked on the new elective regulation, saying they hoped the problems on election matters to be solved with the new system. Vingas, who is of Greek origin, also spoke specifically on the problems of Greek community foundations. “The population of the Greek community is very low, so we have problems in terms of administration,” Vingas said.
13 Aralık 2012 Perşembe
Syriacs want separate refugee camp in Turkey
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Syriac leaders are petitioning Turkish officials to establish a separate camp in southeastern Turkey for those who have fled violence in Syria
Leading Syriac figures say they met with officials from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Foreign Ministry in an effort to establish a separate camp in Mardin for Syriac citizens who are defecting from Syria.
Deputy chair of the Sweden-based Syriac Union Party, Said Malki, Syriac National Council member Bassam Ishak, and head of the Syriac Associations Federation’s management board Evgil Türker, met with AKP deputy chair Numan Kurtulmuş and the Foreign Ministry’s Center for Strategic Research (SAM) deputy chair Mesut Özcan.
No compromise has yet to be reached between the officials on that matter, but negotiations are still ongoing, Malki told the Hürriyet Daily News. “They assured us not to create a problem in the works we are to conduct within the bounds of our means. We want the Syriacs to stay in Turabidin (around the southeastern province of Mardin and Midyat), which is the old residential area of the Syriac community,” Malki said.
The Syriac community is asking for a separate camp to be established for them as they do not want to settle in already founded camps along the border. “Within the current camps there are various people from different segments of society so every kind of problem can arise there. Also, there are many gangs involved in human trafficking in these camps. The Syriacs who cannot comply with the camps leave there and try to migrate to a third country. So some undesired things might occur. Above all they do not want to return their homeland after all this, we are trying to prevent it,” Malki said.
“We firstly want to meet the accommodation needs with the support of diaspora and Turkey’s Syriac associations. But since we have limited facilities we need the support of the state,” Malki said about the expenses of a possible Syriac camp.
Unregistered Syriac immigrants
Thousands of people who fled from Syria found asylum in Turkey or migrated to a third country through Turkey, Malki said. “Only a few [of the refugees] were registered. Many of them stay with their relatives, while some reside in various places they could afford with their own means,” Malki said, indicating they did not want anyone to migrate from their homeland.
“We want them to stay in their residences and struggle. But if there is no chance to struggle, they could temporarily migrate and then return to their homeland after conditions get better. Consequently, we want the migrants to stay in a place where they would not face difficulties and would not need to migrate to a third country and the most appropriate location for that is Turabidin,” Malki said.
December/12/2012
ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Syriac leaders are petitioning Turkish officials to establish a separate camp in southeastern Turkey for those who have fled violence in Syria
Leading Syriac figures say they met with officials from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Foreign Ministry in an effort to establish a separate camp in Mardin for Syriac citizens who are defecting from Syria.
Deputy chair of the Sweden-based Syriac Union Party, Said Malki, Syriac National Council member Bassam Ishak, and head of the Syriac Associations Federation’s management board Evgil Türker, met with AKP deputy chair Numan Kurtulmuş and the Foreign Ministry’s Center for Strategic Research (SAM) deputy chair Mesut Özcan.
No compromise has yet to be reached between the officials on that matter, but negotiations are still ongoing, Malki told the Hürriyet Daily News. “They assured us not to create a problem in the works we are to conduct within the bounds of our means. We want the Syriacs to stay in Turabidin (around the southeastern province of Mardin and Midyat), which is the old residential area of the Syriac community,” Malki said.
The Syriac community is asking for a separate camp to be established for them as they do not want to settle in already founded camps along the border. “Within the current camps there are various people from different segments of society so every kind of problem can arise there. Also, there are many gangs involved in human trafficking in these camps. The Syriacs who cannot comply with the camps leave there and try to migrate to a third country. So some undesired things might occur. Above all they do not want to return their homeland after all this, we are trying to prevent it,” Malki said.
“We firstly want to meet the accommodation needs with the support of diaspora and Turkey’s Syriac associations. But since we have limited facilities we need the support of the state,” Malki said about the expenses of a possible Syriac camp.
Unregistered Syriac immigrants
Thousands of people who fled from Syria found asylum in Turkey or migrated to a third country through Turkey, Malki said. “Only a few [of the refugees] were registered. Many of them stay with their relatives, while some reside in various places they could afford with their own means,” Malki said, indicating they did not want anyone to migrate from their homeland.
“We want them to stay in their residences and struggle. But if there is no chance to struggle, they could temporarily migrate and then return to their homeland after conditions get better. Consequently, we want the migrants to stay in a place where they would not face difficulties and would not need to migrate to a third country and the most appropriate location for that is Turabidin,” Malki said.
December/12/2012
Church land rises Syriacs’ reactions
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Share on linkedin Some Syriacs say they delivered the land to Syriac people in order to silence them on the matter of controvesial Mor Gabriel Monastery (above). Hürriyet photo
Syriac intellectuals released an announcement yesterday protesting the allocation of Latin Catholic land for a new Syriac church project in Istanbul.
The announcement, titled “We do not want a Syriac church over the bones of dead,” referred to an attempt to take the historical Mor Gabriel Monastery from them.
“We think delivering another community’s cemetery land to Syriacs for a church building is a pay-off in the face of the Supreme Court of Appeals’ unjust decision to invade the land belonging to the monastery. After this scandalous decision, the political will tries to brainwash Syriacs and the public in order to create a good impression. Syriacs have the right to found their own church, but we do not want such a solution. The cemetery land allocated [for the Syriac church] must be returned to its owners and other land that would not pose any problems must be granted to the Syriacs,” the announcement read.
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality granted land to Turkey’s Syriac community on Dec. 10 for the purpose of constructing its first official church in Istanbul, but it became the subject of controversy after Latin Catholics said the land in question legally belongs to them.
Bakırköy deputy mayor Yervant Özuzun told the Hürriyet Daily News on Dec. 10 that a part of the land was delivered to the Syriac community. Özuzun said the land was a protected area with a chapel and graveyards, adding that they received required authorization from the Monuments Board and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
“Only a part of the cemetery was allocated [to the Syriac community]. And the conditions of protecting the chapel and gathering the graveyards in one specific point were achieved. The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has possessed the land since 1951,” Özuzun said.
December/12/2012
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Vercihan Ziflioğlu vercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.tr
Share on linkedin Some Syriacs say they delivered the land to Syriac people in order to silence them on the matter of controvesial Mor Gabriel Monastery (above). Hürriyet photo
Syriac intellectuals released an announcement yesterday protesting the allocation of Latin Catholic land for a new Syriac church project in Istanbul.
The announcement, titled “We do not want a Syriac church over the bones of dead,” referred to an attempt to take the historical Mor Gabriel Monastery from them.
“We think delivering another community’s cemetery land to Syriacs for a church building is a pay-off in the face of the Supreme Court of Appeals’ unjust decision to invade the land belonging to the monastery. After this scandalous decision, the political will tries to brainwash Syriacs and the public in order to create a good impression. Syriacs have the right to found their own church, but we do not want such a solution. The cemetery land allocated [for the Syriac church] must be returned to its owners and other land that would not pose any problems must be granted to the Syriacs,” the announcement read.
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality granted land to Turkey’s Syriac community on Dec. 10 for the purpose of constructing its first official church in Istanbul, but it became the subject of controversy after Latin Catholics said the land in question legally belongs to them.
Bakırköy deputy mayor Yervant Özuzun told the Hürriyet Daily News on Dec. 10 that a part of the land was delivered to the Syriac community. Özuzun said the land was a protected area with a chapel and graveyards, adding that they received required authorization from the Monuments Board and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
“Only a part of the cemetery was allocated [to the Syriac community]. And the conditions of protecting the chapel and gathering the graveyards in one specific point were achieved. The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has possessed the land since 1951,” Özuzun said.
December/12/2012
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