Today’s Zaman, Turkey
June 22 2012
Three properties returned to Armenian hospital foundation
22 June 2012 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, Ä°STANBUL
The Council of Foundations, part of Turkey’s Directorate General for
Foundations (VGM), has ruled to return three properties previously
confiscated from the Armenian Patriarchate.
Turkey’s Armenian community lost much of its property when the state
confiscated buildings and plots of land not listed in an assets
declaration document non-Muslims were forced to file in 1936. Last
week, the Council of Foundations announced that four of these
properties would be returned to Turkey’s Armenian community.
One of the assets to be returned is a plot of land located opposite
the Surp Pırgiç Hospital in the Yedikule neighborhood of Ä°stanbul’s
Fatih district. This area was once used by the Armenian community to
hold Hampartsum and harvest festivals. In 1974, the state confiscated
the land and bulldozers entered it. Shortly after, a significant
portion of the land was acquired by the Zeytinburnu Municipality.
In a meeting last week, the Council of Foundations declared the
rightful owner of the plot to be the Surp Pırgiç Hospital Foundation.
However, only the part of the land that is currently owned by the VGM
will be returned to Surp Pırgiç, although legal experts say the entire
plot should be returned.
Bedros Å?irinoÄ?lu, the president of the board of trustees of the Surp
Pırgiç Hospital Foundation, said around 10 percent of a
49,491-square-meter plot opposite the hospital has been returned to
the community. There is a parking lot, a tea garden and a sports
complex located on the remaining land, he noted.
According to Å?irinoÄ?lu: `This plot was transferred to the VGM in 1974,
and three months after that was bought by the Zeytinburnu Municipality
for TL 50,000. The municipality bought 90 percent of the plot. Only 10
percent was left in the hands of the VGM.’ Å?irinoÄ?lu added that the
returned land is 4,632 square meters. `Our lawyers say this can ensure
us getting back the entire plot.’
Å?irinoÄ?lu explained that the hospital aims to have 100 percent of the
land returned eventually. `We will apply for a deed the second we get
the official notice about the decision of the Council of Foundations,’
he said, adding that the hospital foundation plans to start talks with
the municipality after the deed application.
In addition to this land, a 1,567-square-meter manufacturing workshop
in Fatih and a 17.5-square-meter shop inside the Büyük Zafer Han in
the Grand Bazaar will be returned.
Å?irinoÄ?lu said the plot of land belongs to the entire community,
noting that any project the hospital foundation undertakes on the
newly returned land will be in line with Zeytinburnu’s development
plans. He said the hospital will focus on projects with the potential
to bring significant income to the hospital.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
