Author: Badalian Vardan

ARMENIA TO INTENSIFY ITS COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA’S SKOLKOVO IN 2014

YEREVAN, January 22. /ARKA/. Armenia is intensifying its cooperation
with Russian Skolkovo innovation center in 2014, said Samvel
Harutiunyan, head of the state committee on science, Armenia’s ministry
of education and science.

According to an agreement signed with Skolkovo Foundation in April
2013, Armenia will actively develop its cooperation on innovations
with Russian partners in 2014.

A program of cooperation in innovations 2020 is implemented by Skolkovo
within CIS, the head of the committee said.

“I believe, bearing in mind Armenia’s intention to join the Customs
Union, our cooperation with Skolkovo will intensify, and funding
will be provided for part of the programs proposed by Armenia”,
Harutiunyan said.

In particular, he said, some 40 projects were presented by Armenia
in 2013, five of them, mainly in physics, chemistry and biology,
were approved. Harutiunyan expressed hopes funding will start as
early as this year.

The money will be allocated by a new fund comprised of CIS countries,
but main part of the funding, about 80-85%, will be provided by the
Russian side, Harutiunyan said. -0-

– See more at:

RUSSIAN KNIGHTS IN YEREVAN AGAIN

January 21, 2014 | 20:24

YEREVAN. – World famous Russian Knights (Russkiye Vityazi) aerial
display team visited Yerevan again on their way back from Bahrain.

The Russian Knights arrived at Erebuni airport on Tuesday afternoon.

Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow the group will head to the base.

The Russian Knights) pilot group participated in the international
air show in Bahrain.

“The performance was a real success. The Russian group as usual
became the star of the air show,” chief of the Russian base at Erebuni
Alexander Petrov toldArmenian News-NEWS.am.

The Russian Knights visited Yerevan before heading to Bahrain but
the show in the Armenian capital was canceled due to bad weather
conditions.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD’S INTERVIEW WITH AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, Syria
Jan 20 2014

[parts omitted]

AFP: Through these years, what was the most difficult situation you
went through?

President Assad: It’s not necessarily a particular situation but
rather group of elements. There are several things that were hard
to come to terms with, and they are still difficult. The first, I
believe, is terrorism; the degree of savagery and inhumanity that the
terrorists have reached reminds us of what happened in the Middle Ages
in Europe over 500 years ago. In more recent modern times, it reminds
us of the massacres perpetrated by the Ottomans against the Armenians
when they killed a million and a half Armenians and half a million
Orthodox Syriacs in Syria and in Turkish territory. The other aspect
that is difficult to understand is the extent of Western officials’
superficiality in their failure to understand what happened in this
region, and their subsequent inability to have a vision for the
present or for the future. They are always very late in realizing
things, sometimes even after the situation has been overtaken by a
new reality that is completely different. The third thing that is
difficult to understand is the extent of influence of petrodollars
in changing roles on the international arena. For instance, how Qatar
was transformed from a marginal state to a powerful one, while France
has become a proxy state implementing Qatari policies. This is also
what we see happening now between France and Saudi Arabia. How can
petrodollars make western officials, particularly in France, sell
their principles and sell the principles of the French Revolution
in return for a few billion dollars? These are only a few things,
among others, which are difficult for one to understand and accept.

Read the full interview at

NICOSIA: EXHIBITION: SEVAN MALIKYAN

European Union News
January 20, 2014 Monday

Cyprus: Sevan Malikyan

Nicosia

City of Nicosia, Government of Cyprus has issued the following
event detail:

Sevan Malikyan Cyprus : Sevan Malikyan

The new year at Gallery Gloria begins with an exhibition of paintings
by Sevan Malikyan. The exhibition will be inaugurated by the Honourable
Mayor of Strovolos Dr Lazaros Savvides on Tuesday, 14 January 2014
at 19:30.

Sevan Malikyan was born in London to parents of Armenian Cypriot
origin. He is a highly motivated and self disciplined studio based
Artist with an extensive portfolio which demonstrates a dramatic and
inventive body of work and documents the sensations through colour
and techniques of social and personal drama.

Sevan started his Art education in London to receive his B.A Hons in
fine Art from Bath School of Art and Design. Sevan exhibited his work
at art venues as Riverside studios, Mall galleries where he was short
listed for the Diana Brooks Prize and the Brick Lane Gallery. His work
can be found in private collections in Cyprus, England, Barcelona,
Tunisia and around the world.

In 2008 he moved to Cyprus and continued his studies at Cyprus College
of Art to get his Postgraduate Diploma in fine art. In the same year
he had his first solo exhibition on the island, at Aspelia Gallery
in Larnaka. For the past 5 years he lives in Cyprus where he is a
Resident Artist at Cyprus College of Art.

Opening Hours Monday – Friday: 10:30 – 12:45 & 17:00 – 20:00 Saturday:
10:30 – 12:45

For further information please visit:

PRESS RELEASE
California State University, Fresno
Armenian Studies Program
5245 N Backer Ave PB4
Fresno, CA 93740-8001
Tel: 559-278-2669
Fax: 559-278-2129

Hasmik Harutyunyan To Present Workshop on
Armenian Song and Dance at Fresno State

Hasmik Harutyunyan will present a workshop on Armenian Song and Dance,
from 2:00-5:00PM on Saturday, February 1, in the South Gym, Room 134,
on the Fresno State campus.

The workshop is co-sponsored by the Armenian Students Organization and
Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State and is partially funded by
the Associated Students, Inc. of Fresno State.

Participation in the workshop is free, but participants are asked to
bring only soft-soled shoes.

Hasmik Harutyunyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia and has extensive
experience studying Armenian dance and music in Armenia. She will be
demonstrating folk dances from the various provinces of Historic
Armenia, in their original form. Dances will include the Gyovend ,
Kochari , Tamzara , Ververi , Mayroke , Pampouri , and others, such as
Hamshen dances and dances especially for women.

Harutyunyan will also teach Armenian folk songs, including lullabies,
from historic Armenian provinces. In Armenia, she is well-known for
her work with the Shoghaken Folk Ensemble and for her deeply touching
renditions of Armenian lullabies. Her performances are often broadcast
on Armenian National Radio and presented at traditional music
festivals around the world.

For more information about the workshop, please contact the Armenian
Studies Program at Fresno State at 278-2669.

PRESS RELEASE
Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden
Stockholm, January 20, 2014
[email protected]

2014 Commemoration of Hrant Dink

The seventh commemoration ceremony of the murdered Armenian journalist and
editor Hrant Dink was held in Stockholm, Sweden. The commemoration event
was jointly arranged by the Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden,
Swedish Support Committee for Human Rights in Turkey, ABF Stockholm,
Swedish Journalist Association and Swedish PEN.

The list of speakers included representatives for the arranging
organisations, among others, Chairperson of the Union of Kurdish
Associations in Sweden, Shermin Bozarslan, Member of Riksdag, Jacob
Johnson (Chairman of the Swedish Support Committee for Human Rights in
Turkey), Pär Trehörning, Swedish Journalist Association and Swedish PEN
International Secretary, Ola Wallin, who all stressed the alarming
situation in Turkey in regard to the situation of journalists and the
freedom of speech. The newly appointed Armenian Ambassador to Sweden, Mr.
Artak Apitonian resembled Hrant Dink to a bridge between the two nations
of Turkey and Armenia in the reconciliatory work which Dink tried to
promote.

The recently Sweden-arrived Turkish editor and human right activist Mr.
Ragip Zarakolu remembered the friend and the brother he had lost, but said
that to him Hrant is still alive and will continue to be so. Mr. Zarakolu,
himself persecuted much alike Dink for his advocacy about the need for
Turkey to face the reality of the Armenian Genocide as well as the issues
of human rights and freedom of speech in Turkey, is currently a guest of
the Swedish city of Sigtuna as its first guest writer since the city
joined ICORN (International Cities of Refuge Network) in 2012.

The Spokesperson of the Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden, Vahagn
Avedian, stressed that, even though the main burden of reforms lies with
Turkey, it is the failure of the international community which has
resulted in the fact that we are holding the same speeches to Dink’s
memory during the past seven years. Human Right issues have simply been
swept aside when Sweden, EU, USA and other countries negotiate EU
membership with Turkey or sign trade contracts. Jacob Johnson pointed out
that fulfilling the Copenhagen Criteria was a precondition to even
starting the EU-negotiations, which however Turkey is far from being
compliant to.

MEDIA RELEASE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia & New Zealand
10 Macquarie Street
Chatswood NSW 2067
AUSTRALIA
Contact: Laura Artinian
Tel: (02) 9419-8056
Fax: (02) 9904-8446
Email: [email protected]

20 January 2014

AN ARMENIAN OASIS IN BANGLADESH

There have never been very large enclaves of Armenians residing in Asia or
the Far East however the presence of pockets of Armenians in the region and
their impact on the societies in which they lived have left their mark
despite the dwindling of these communities over time.

The footprints of Armenians in Asia can be traced back to the seventeenth
century and there is no greater symbol of the Armenian presence than the
Armenian Apostolic Church spotted in various locations in the region, still
standing with their courtyards of tombstones filled with life stories of
Armenian traders and merchants.

One such oasis can be found in the capital city of Bangladesh in Dhaka, the
Armenian Apostolic Church of Holy Resurrection.

The Armenian population of Dhaka began taking root in the early part of the
18th century most of whom were engaged in the jute trade with some prominent
Armenian merchants who owned their own companies. The earliest settlers
built a small chapel in the midst of their community graveyard but by the
end of the century the Armenian community had grown considerably and the
chapel became inadequate for the needs of the community. In 1781 the Church
of Holy Resurrection was completed as a place of worship and gathering. In
1837, the belfry that also served as a clock tower was added and in 1907 a
parsonage was built.

Today, the Church grounds continues to stand in Armanitola, Old Dhaka as a
major landmark with the original edifice and buildings well-restored and
over two hundred gravestones nestled on the estate. Still an oasis of peace
and tranquillity in the surrounding chaos of the district, the immediate
area is highly dense with populace and industry primarily in chemical and
paper trading.

Whilst the resounding Armenian language may no longer be resonating from the
altar and filling the once thriving church, the Armenian spirit continues to
linger with the inscriptions, motifs, designs, crosses and monuments that
decorate the fasciae and facades. And so in December 2013, with the
blessing of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, an international delegation from the Armenian Apostolic Church
headed by His Grace Bishop Haigazoun Najarian, Primate of the Diocese of
Australia and New Zealand, accompanied by Mr Haig Didizian (London), Mr and
Mrs Armen and Laura Arslanian (Los Angeles), Mr Hagop Didizian (London), and
Mr Pierre Hennes and Ms Cheryl Ho (Singapore) departed on an exploratory
visit to learn more about the overall current situation of the Church and
the Armenian community, meeting with key stakeholders and community members,
most notably long-standing Church Custodian, Mr Michael Joseph Martin.

Mr Martin (born Mikel Housep Martirossian in Yangon, Myanmar 1930) came to
Dhaka in 1942 during World War II following in the footsteps of his father
who had settled in the region decades earlier. Now widowed with three
daughters who reside in Canada, Mr Martin took on the role of Custodian in
1986 and continues to oversee all its needs until today. He resides in the
custodian’s residence (formerly the parsonage) which is adjacent to the
Church. The grounds also house a caretaker’s residence and a building dated
back to 1929 which was once used as a schoolhouse and residential quarters.

According to Mr Martin there are currently 50-60 families in Bangladesh who
are of mixed Armenian-Bangla descent. `Sometimes there were several thousand
Armenians trading in the Bengal region.’ He notes, `They were always an
important community in Dhaka and dominated the country’s trading. They were
the who’s who in town. They celebrated all their religious festivals with
pomp and style.’ He also recalls how `every Sunday was a day of festival for
us. Almost every Armenian would attend the service, no matter how big he was
in social position. The Church was the centre of all activities.’

The decline of the community however came gradually after the British left
India and the subcontinent was partitioned in 1947 with Dhaka becoming the
capital of East Pakistan and then of Bangladesh after it gained independence
in 1971. Martin said the once-busy social scene came to a halt after the
last Armenian priest Bagrat left in the mid 1960’s.

These days, the Armenian Church holds only occasional services on major
feasts in the Orthodox Christian calendar with a visiting priest leading the
services.

During the delegation’s three-day visit, His Grace Bishop Najarian
celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Church of Holy Resurrection on Friday
13 December during which he presented Mr Martin with the Encyclical
conferred upon by His Holiness Karekin II Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos
of All Armenians recognising his dedicated contribution and devotion to the
Church. He was bestowed the St Nerses Shnorhali Medal a tribute reserved
for noteworthy recipients who demonstrate exemplary and time-honoured
service.

Mr Martin’s determination to continue to maintain and preserve the jewel of
the Armenian Church of Dhaka is best summed up by his own words (as recorded
by the BBC) … `Whatever happens, I’m determined not to let this church go to
the rack and ruin. I may be the last resident Armenian in Bangladesh, but I
will do everything in my power to ensure an Armenian from abroad takes over
the job.’ Despite a diminished community Martin stands firm in his resolve,
`I’ve seen bad days before, but we always bounced back. I am sure Armenians
will come back here for trade and business. I will then rest in peace beside
my wife.’

Dhaka has an estimated population of more than 23 million people, making it
the largest city in Bangladesh and the 8th largest city in the world.

For more information about Armenian history and communities in Asia, please
visit:

SDA –
samedi 18 janvier 2014 11:02 AM CET

Le violoniste Sergey Khachatryan remporte le Young Artist Award

par: Lucerne/Vienne

Le violoniste Sergey Khachatryan remporte le prix Young Artist Award
décerné par Credit Suisse. Le musicien arménien, 29 ans, reçoit 75’000
francs et se produira en concert avec l’Orchestre philharmonique de
Vienne lors du Lucerne Festival le 13 septembre.

La nouvelle a été annoncée vendredi à Vienne par le jury dirigé par
Michael Haefliger, intendant du Lucerne Festival, indique un
communiqué. Cette distinction n’est pas la première remportée par
l’artiste né à Erevan. Il a déjà enlevé le concours Jean-Sibelius en
2000 à Helsinki et le premier prix du concours de la Reine Elisabeth à
Bruxelles en 2005.

Sergey Khachatryan a joué avec les orchestres philharmoniques de
Berlin et de New York. Il s’est également produit avec le Boston
Symphony (USA) et l’orchestre symphonique de Bamberg (D) sous la
direction de Jonathan Nott.

Le Young Artist Award de Credit Suisse résulte d’une initiative du
Lucerne Festival, de l’Orchestre philharmonique de Vienne, de la
Société des amis de la musique de Vienne ainsi que de la Fondation
Credit Suisse. Le prix, attribué tous les deux ans, s’adresse à de
jeunes musiciens de talent, gés de moins de 30 ans. Il doit les aider
à percer via des moyens financiers et des concerts.

The New York Times
January 19, 2014 Sunday
Late Edition – Final

Ann Cavoukian

By KATE MURPHY.

Kate Murphy is a journalist in Houston who writes frequently for The
New York Times.

Ann Cavoukian is the information and privacy commissioner in Ontario,
Canada, and a longtime advocate of default online confidentiality. Her
concept of ”privacy by design,” which was developed in the 1990s and
encourages embedding privacy protections in information technology and
business practices, has recently gained renewed attention and
proclamations of support from regulatory agencies worldwide.

READING I’ve been delving into Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Kenneth
Cukier’s new book, ”Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We
Live, Work and Think.” It’s about how with the enormous wealth of
data we have, we can bring great new insights. What I didn’t like were
the comments about how we can’t simultaneously protect privacy. That’s
nonsense. It’s all in the design of systems. Use the data by all
means, but aggregate it and de-identify it.

LISTENING I enjoy a variety of classical music. Beethoven is my
personal favorite but I also love Chopin and Erik Satie. And I love
Moby because I love to dance. I like to bop around the house but also
love folk dancing and ballet. I’m Armenian, that’s my background, and
there are beautiful Armenian folk dances. The movement is so flowing
and free and gorgeous, so I am really attracted to that.

WATCHING I love ”Homeland,” ”Person of Interest” and ”Hostages.”
I find it fascinating, the shadow world, what we don’t know. Maybe
it’s my line of work and also because my two grandmothers survived the
Armenian genocide in 1915. On the inside of my grandmothers’ forearms,
they had six-digit numbers that identified them in the camps. They
managed to escape. For them it was all about freedom. Privacy and
freedom go hand in hand. Historians will tell you the first thread to
unravel when a free and democratic society morphs into a totalitarian
state is privacy.

FOLLOWING The International Association of Privacy Professionals, or
I.A.P.P., has a daily dashboard of the top news stories that relate to
privacy, and the Privacy Forum Blog by Lauren Weinstein is fabulous.
Jules Polonetsky in Washington, D.C., runs the Future of Privacy
Forum, which is also something I look at.

PAINTING I love to paint and I’ll tell you, I’m not bad. I use one of
my paintings for my annual Christmas card, and this year’s card is a
painting based on a photograph I took in Rome.

URL:

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Jan 19 2014

Academic Çýnar: State biggest producer of hate speech in Turkey

Academic Mahmut Çýnar (Photo: Today’s Zaman)
19 January 2014 /YONCA POYRAZ DOÐAN, ÝSTANBUL

This week’s guest for Monday Talk says the state would be the first
convict if Turkey had a hate crimes law because it is the biggest
producer of hate speech.

“If we had a well-rounded hate crimes law in Turkey, first, the
politicians who hold power would be put on trial. Therefore, it is
hard to believe that a well-rounded hate crimes law will be drafted
and implemented in Turkey,” said Mahmut Çýnar, an instructor at
Bahçeþehir University’s New Media Department who is the editor of a
recent book, “Medya ve Nefret Söylemi” (Media and Hate Speech).

The government had a proposal in its latest democracy package in
September last year to work on a law to curb hate crimes in Turkey.
Çýnar points out that civil society is concerned about how a hate
crimes law would be implemented in Turkey.

“In countries where the judiciary’s independence is established,
implementation of hate crime laws would not be problematic. But in
such countries as Turkey where the judiciary is used by the executive
power to assert the executive’s desires, hate crime laws will not be
implemented well,” he said, adding: “If there is such a draft law,
many people who study hate crimes and hate speech in Turkey believe
that such a law will reflect only the worries of the government
regarding Islamophobia. People who are concerned about this issue in
Turkey think that just like insulting Turkishness has been a crime in
the country, insulting Islam would be a crime, too. There are growing
concerns that the government will impose its own ideology and belief
system on the society.”

Çýnar answers our questions as commemorative events by the civil
society are being held in various towns in Turkey on the seventh
anniversary of the murder of Hrant Dink, late editor of the
Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2010 that Turkey had
failed to protect Dink, despite being warned that ultra-nationalists
were plotting to kill him. The court also criticized Turkish
authorities over the investigation of his murder.

The book’s title is “Media and Hate Speech.” Hate speech is in
everyday language, especially in politics, in Turkey; how did you
decide to choose examples in the media in regards to hate speech?

There are two reasons; one is that in 2012, together with the Hrant
Dink Foundation’s project to watch the media in regards to hate speech
usage, we had a class on the topic at the university. That’s why we
focused on the media. And we started to think about the media
encompassing different mediums, such as, news media, cinema and new
media. Previous works on hate speech in media focused only on the news
media.

The second reason is that media plays a crucial role in producing,
disseminating and legitimizing such statements and expressions. Yes,
hate speech is mostly produced by the people who have authority and
power, and they use media as a tool to spread this language.
Therefore, media is quite effective in the reproduction of hate
speech.

When I was in the school of communication in Turkey, hate speech in
relation to its place in the media was not really a topic of
discussion, and certainly, it was not in our textbooks, not in the
curriculum. What was the situation when you were at the school of
communication? Was the topic debated?

Not really; only certain professors who are known to be politically
sensitive to such issues would talk about this concept in their
lectures. It was not such a “popular” topic at the time.

When did it start to become popular?

It has become popular especially in the past 10 years. We can even say
that Hrant Dink’s murder was a turning point in this regard because
the role of the media was great in Dink’s killing.

What happened with Dink’s murder? Would you elaborate?

We’ve clearly seen that using hate speech can play a big role in the
murder of somebody, and how hate speech can lead to murder. There have
been great efforts by civil society organizations in showing how this
is possible; how the media played this role and how the media was
responsible. And also with the efforts of the academia, the concept of
hate speech has entered the agenda of the Turkish society.

‘Real murderers of Hrant not behind bars’

What else has happened when Hrant Dink was murdered, considering that
he was an Armenian?

This is something we are trying to tell students in our lectures: Hate
speech is different from a basic insult; it is a type of speech
disparaging a racial, sexual, or ethnic group or a member of such a
group. In other words, this kind of speech is bigoted speech attacking
a social or ethnic group or a member of such a group. People who use
hate speech think that such people deserve this kind of speech. And
when hate speech leads to hate crimes, its punishment should be more
severe. If somebody kills a person just because this person is, for
example, a Kurd or Armenian, then all Kurds or Armenians are attacked
because people who belong to the identity of Kurdish or Armenian would
feel threatened. That’s why there should be more severe punishments
given to people who commit hate crimes; they hurt a whole group of
people’s right to have safe and peaceful lives.

Many observers of the Hrant Dink case state that after seven years of
his murder, Dink’s “real” murderers have still not been punished. What
happened to Hrant Dink’s murderers? Are they getting the punishment
they deserve?

I don’t think that those people who were accused and punished were the
real murderers of Hrant. At this point, I neither find the penalties
given were sufficient nor think that all the criminals were punished.
When it comes to the role of the media on Dink’s murder, it definitely
had a role; it was given a certain role and media fulfilled this role
in the most aggressive form. Ogün Samast’s and Yasin Hayal’s
[triggerman Samast was convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced
to 22 years and 10 months of prison after a two year-trial] statements
about the media’s role were aimed at preventing the revelation of real
criminals and trying to show the murderers as if they were victims of
a media campaign.

It should be pointed out that the punishments were given as if this
was a usual, individual murder case, not punishments given as the
result of a hate crime. It was obvious that the real target was not
just Hrant Dink but the whole Armenian society. Therefore, the
punishment of a hate crime should have involved more severe penalties
than in a usual murder case because when you murder a member of a
certain group because this person belongs to that group, then you
target all the people who belong to the same group to the level that
they all feel threatened and targeted.

‘Hate crimes seen often in Turkey’

Turkey does not have a law on hate crimes even though there are some
articles of the Turkish Penal Code that can be used in cases in
relation to hate crimes. Do you think Dink’s murderers could have been
punished more fairly if Turkey had a hate crimes law?

My personal view is that laws produce only temporary solutions, and
they produce political correctness. But we are looking for mere
correctness, not political correctness. If there is no consensus on a
concept in the society, people would not respect it just because there
are laws saying it’s a crime. Therefore, laws sometimes do not mean
much. However, in such countries as Turkey where hate crimes are seen
often, there should be laws to punish hate crimes because laws would
have a deterrent effect. Still, deterrence would not prevent the use
of hate speech. This is because there is a broad background behind the
use of hateful language — political and ideological — in regards to
how hate speech is produced in the society. Without dealing with this,
neither hate speech nor hate crimes would be eliminated.

At the beginning of our talk, you mentioned how power holders in a
state produce hate speech and use the media as a tool to disseminate
it. How is this done in Turkey?

The biggest producer of hate speech in Turkey is the state. The state
produces “others” all the time in order to secure continuation of its
authority, which is based on some pillars such as being Sunni, Turk
and male. This identity is untouchable in Turkey. You would see court
cases against people who are claimed to insult “Turkishness,” but
you’d never see cases against people who insult “Kurdishness” or
“Armenianness.” According to the state, identities except Sunni and
Turk need “protection” and “tolerance” of the state. And if this is
why the state is going to have a law on hate crimes, I am against it.
But if the state is really concerned with the fact that people with
identities other than Turk and Sunni are intimidated, harassed and
targeted, then a study to design laws intending to curb hate crimes
would be very valuable. It is also important to see how such a law
would be implemented.

‘Judiciary not independent, used by executive’

Are there countries that implement hate crime laws properly?

We do not see the hate crimes laws well implemented in the world. The
main reason for this is that such judicial actions demand very good
interpretation. In many cases, such laws are seen as obstacles in
front of freedom of speech. Hate speech and crimes should be well
understood before there are laws intending to curb hate crimes. In
countries where the judiciary’s independence is established,
implementation of hate crime laws would not be problematic. But in
such countries as Turkey where the judiciary is used by the executive
power to assert the executive’s desires, hate crime laws will not be
implemented well.

Well, the Turkish government has been recently asserting its power on
the judiciary; it has a proposal to restructure the judicial body and
the speaker of Parliament, Cemil Çiçek, said that independence of the
judiciary is now dead. What can we expect under the circumstances?

In Turkey, the judiciary has been used by the power holders, currently
the executive, as a tool to punish the “other.” It is the power holder
that determines what is good and acceptable for the society, and the
rest is the “other,” which may even deserve to be discriminated
against. If we had a well-rounded hate crimes law in Turkey, first,
the politicians who hold power would be put on trial. Therefore, it is
hard to believe that a well-rounded hate crimes law will be drafted
and implemented in Turkey.

‘Civil society concerned about gov’t interpretation of hate crimes law’

PM Tayyip Erdoðan mentioned a proposal in its latest democratic reform
package last year in September that there is work being done to write
laws against hate crimes in Turkey. Why do you think it has come about
at the time?

There are now serious civil society pressures on the government in
regards to the subject that has entered the agenda of the society in
Turkey. If there is such a draft law, many people who study hate
crimes and hate speech in Turkey believe that such a law will reflect
only the worries of the government regarding Islamophobia. People who
are concerned about this issue in Turkey think that just like
insulting Turkishness has been a crime in the country, insulting Islam
would be a crime, too. There are growing concerns that the government
will impose its own ideology and belief system on the society. Again,
there is a concern where the lines will be between freedom of
expression and hate speech.

In the your book there is a section on hate speech and hate crimes;
the examples of hate crimes in Turkey start in the year 2005. Why is
that?

This must be because hate crimes intensified starting that year in
Turkey. Previously, I mentioned the example of Dink’s murder, but
prior to his murder, we saw an increase in hate crimes against
non-Muslims in Turkey. This of course does not mean that there have
not been hate crimes committed in Turkey before. There were many hate
crimes committed, and among them were the Thrace pogroms [1934], Sept.
6-7 events [1955], Maraþ events [1978], Çorum events [1980], Sivas
events [1993] and so on. All of these are attacks against people who
remain outside of the state hegemony’s definition of “ideal” citizens,
defined as Sunni Turks. With the foundation of the Turkish Republic,
this has been the new identity blessed by the state. In order to make
this new identity “esteemed” or “valued” or “cherished,” other
identities have been scorned. Apart from Sunni Turks, others have not
been honored or held dear.

‘We need to change established discriminatory language’

Observers are concerned that Turkey is in a period in which one man
rules at the top restricting civil society freedoms. Are you still
hopeful that some people sensitive to such topics as hate speech and
hate crimes will be able to rise up and voice their demands to obtain
higher standards for citizens in this kind of an environment?

Transformation and change in society have never been easy. And change
does not come from the top all the time. It is difficult to trust
rulers in Turkey; each ruler is in search of masses that will be
obedient. This is true for absolute power holders everywhere in the
world. Absolute power holders leave old hate speech rhetoric behind
and instead produce their own. The civil society has a big role to
change this. Sensitivities in regards to the use of language should
not remain in academic circles but should be prevalent in the society.
We should think about how we can teach our children about these
sensitive issues. We should review how we speak in everyday Turkish
and how we can change the established discriminatory language. How can
we achieve this through education? How can we change our textbooks?

I emphasize the role of education here because we learned about all
this discriminatory and hateful language through education — how a
Turk is worth a world of people, how our country has been surrounded
by enemies, how each of us is a soldier, how strong males are, how
women should take care of their homes, etc. And the media is even more
important than education to reverse this tide. Once we learn to change
the language we use in a non-discriminatory way, then we will indeed
discover more and much better ways to express ourselves in daily
language, in cinema, in photography, in novels, etc. Because we will
see that the discriminatory language produces only hatred, animosity,
insult, slender and clichés; and all you can do with it is turn it
into comedy so people can laugh at it.

PROFILE

Mahmut Çýnar

He is an instructor at Bahçeþehir University, New Media Department.
Çýnar’s academic research comprises of media and nationalism;
emergence of modern Turkey and Turkish national identity; minority
media; and discrimination. He has been involved in several national
and international projects about fighting discrimination and hate
speech, including the Council of Europe’s “Speak out against
discrimination” project. He is one of the members of the advisers’
board of the Hrant Dink Foundation’s “Hate Speech Course” initiative.
Çýnar writes for several media publications about Turkey’s political
situation, and media in Turkey.