Author: Badalian Vardan

REPORTS SAY DORTMUND EDGE AHEAD OF LIVERPOOL IN RACE FOR MKHITARYAN

15:38 03.07.2013

Dortmund, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Liverpool

Borussia Dortmund are confident of winning the race with Liverpool to
sign Henrik Mkhitaryan from Shakhtar Donetsk, according to Goal.com.

The Champions League runners-up have made a concerted push for the
Shakhtar midfielder and have joined the Merseysiders in activating his
~@22 million release clause.

Both clubs have made contract offers to Mkhitaryan, whose move is
being brokered by super agent Mino Raiola.

Reports say the 24-year-old Armenia international is now edging
towards choosing Dortmund over Liverpool, with his final destination
expected to be confirmed in the next few days.

Tottenham have also registered their interest in the versatile
midfielder but are regarded as outsiders in the three-way fight for
the player~Rs signature.

Liverpool had lined up Mkhitaryan as a priority signing even before
Luis Suarez began pushing for a summer move, with the three-time
Armenia player of the year regarded as the most eye-catching target in
a summer rebuilding programme that has already included the signings
of goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, defender Kolo Toure, attacking
midfielder Luis Alberto and forward Iago Aspas.

GEZI PARK: WHOSE HISTORY IS ERDOGAN RESPECTING?

Le Monde Diplomatique, France
2 July 2013

Exclusive 2 July, by Vicken Cheterian

The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in his defence of
the project of building a new shopping centre and luxury apartments
at the place of Gezi Park in Istanbul, said something symbolic: the
reconstruction plans, which supposedly would resurrect the architecture
of an old military barracks based on the architecture of a 19th
century Ottoman building, would amount to “respecting history (1).”

History is a sensitive question in Turkey, even controversial, and
has done much to forget its own history. So it’s surprising to see
such a fierce struggle now being waged in its name. Amid the host
of media reports, documentaries etc, only a very few recalled that
the park had a history. The Prime Minister could have remembered,
for example, that the architect of the original barracks built in
1806 was Krikor Balian, an Armenian belonging to a famous family of
architects who were in the service of the Sultans (2).

To mention the architect of the old artillery barrack that Erdogan
is aiming to re-construct is not a secondary issue. It is the part
of Turkish and Ottoman history that modern Turkish politicians have
invested enormous efforts to erase and forget: the participation of
religious minorities, such as Greeks, Assyrians, Jews, but especially
Armenians, in the country’s cultural, economic and political life.

More important than the architect though is the memory of a former
Armenian cemetery left to oblivion. The place in which Gezi Park
stands, where the Turkish Prime Minister now wants to build a shopping
mall and a mosque, was once an Armenian cemetery. In 1551, following
an epidemic, the land was given to the Armenian Church by Sultan
Suleyman. It was later enlarged and walled. In 1837 Surp Haop (Saint
James) Armenian Hospital was constructed next to it, and continues
to function. On the ground of the cemetery a church, Saint Gregory
the Illuminator, was also built. And between 1919 and 1922 a monument
dedicated to the Armenian victims of 1915 was erected. The cemetery
was confiscated in 1930, on the pretext that the Armenian Church did
not have a property title for the cemetery. The Armenian Patriarchate
of Istanbul, Mesrob Naroyan, attempted to reclaim the cemetery through
the courts, arguing that Turkish law permitted ownership after fifteen
years of uncontested occupation. But the court supported the government
decision, and imposed a heavy fine on the Church.

The government allowed only two weeks to remove the graves. Some
were taken to the Sisli Armenian cemetery, most were left behind. The
cemetery was then taken over by the authorities, which sold off the
tombstones. Some of the remaining marble stones were later used to
build the staircases and fountain of Gezi Park while the confiscated
land was sold to private businesses – the Turkish radio company TRT
offices, and luxury hotels such as the Divan Hotel, Hyatt, and Hilton
(3).

No one expected the small, environmentalist protest that started to
protect the 600 trees of Gezi Park to become a nation-wide protest
against the policies of Erdogan. “The movement started as environmental
issue and for the protection of cultural heritage. The reason it grew
was because of police violence,” said Sevil Turan, the co-spokesperson
of the Turkish Greens. The way the movement started was unbelievable,
Turan said. “I did not imagine so many people would join the protest
movement. People came because they were so angry with the government,
but at the same time they were so calm, there was no violence.”

“You captured our graveyard, but you can’t capture our park! (4)”
A youth movement called Nor Zartonk (Armenian for “new awakening”
(5)) raised this slogan. Sayat Tekir, its spokesperson, said that
“from the first day we were at Gezi Park.”

This movement resembles the mobilization that followed the
assassination of Hrant Dink, bringing together people from all
horizons. Dink was a Turkish-Armenian journalist and chief-editor of
bilingual weekly Agos, who was assassinated in Istanbul in 2007. Over
a hundred thousand people came out on the streets for his funeral.

The Gezi Park mobilization was equally diverse: various Turkish
political trends (a militant wrapped in the red Turkish flag walked
hand-in-hand with another dressed in a flag with the image of Abdullah
Ocalan). Leftists and nationalists, Turks and Kurds, environmentalists
and anti-capitalists, all came together to oppose what they saw as
increasing authoritarianism of the new Turkish strongman.

Nor Zartonk started as an email discussion forum back in 2004,
made up of Turkish Armenians. But people remained fearful of taking
political action, said Tekir, because of the traditional fear Turkish
Armenians have lived in since 1915. “The assassination of Hrant Dink
was the motor that pushed us to action. We organized conferences and
discussions on the Armenian question, minorities in Turkey, relations
with the European Union, etc., but also took part in demonstrations.

They were part of the mobilization against the closing down of the Emek
movie theatre where, like Gezi Park, municipal authorities wanted to
build a shopping centre. Like Gezi, Emek has a secret story: it was
confiscated from its Jewish owners during the second world war.

On the second week of the latest demonstrations, a group of anti-racism
activists wanted to erect a monument at Gezi Park referring to
the 1919 monument there dedicated to the memory of the victims of
the Armenian genocide. They also wanted to name one of the streets
adjacent to the park “Hrant Dink Caddesi”. They carried banners on
which it was written: “Burdayiz Ahparig!” – we are here, brother (6) !

Tekir said: “Until recently, the Armenian community in Turkey were
frightened and closed in upon themselves, the result of a series of
massacres and repression that started in the late Ottoman period
and continued under the Republic. We want to ask for our rights,
to claim a democratic society.”

Erdogan’s answer to the “Occupy Gezi” movement came in his usual
defiant manner, unmoved by the thousands of citizens demonstrating
against his projects in the face of police repression. “A mosque will
be built in Taksim,” he said, then added that “he did not have to
receive permission from the main opposition leader or a ‘few marauders’
for the projects. (7)” After returning from a tour in North Africa,
the Prime Minister was even harsher in his announcements: “These
protests must end immediately. No power but Allah can stop Turkey’s
rise. The police are doing their duty. These protests, which have
turned into vandalism and utter lawlessness must end immediately.

(8)”

Sevil Turan said: The “AKP has become so strong, it sees there
is no political alternative. Erdogan wants to leave behind him a
monument on Takism Square, build a new, conservative culture. The
Prime Minister remained silent [over the fact] that this was an old
Armenian cemetery.”

For Turan, Gezi Park has introduced a new political culture: “It
was an experience of direct democracy.” Tekir agrees: “Those who
entered the park, and those who went out of it weren’t the same people
anymore. Gezi became a laboratory for political formation.”

ARMENIAN PATRIARCH URGES TO PURSUE THE SETTLEMENT OF THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN SYRIA

15:06 02.07.2013

Armenian Acting Patriarch of Istanbul Aram Ateshyan has urged the
world’s politicians to forget about their countries’ interests and
instead pursue the humanity being destroyed in Syria.

Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek met with Turkey’s religious
leaders during the 22th Parliamentary Assembly of Organization for
Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) held in Istanbul June
30, using the occasion to voice his hopes for a more tolerant and
respectful world, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

“I hope your calls reach to those who should hear and understand,”Cicek
told those present at the gathering, who included Greek Patriarch
Bartholomew, Armenian Patriarch Aram Ateshyan, Chief Rabbi Ä°sak
Haleva, and Mehmet Pacacı from the Religious Affairs Directorate.

The leaders made speeches at a special session promoting dialogue
and cooperation over the issues of racism, intolerance and xenophobia.

“We are supposed to choose dialogue rather than division, tolerance
instead of extremism and consensus rather than discrimination as role
models,” Bartholomew said in his speech.

Ateshyan, for his part, touched on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in
Syria in his address. “We invite the world’s politicians to mercy,
to forget about their countries’ interests and instead pursue the
humanity being destroyed in Syria,” he said.

168 HOURS: NAIRIT MAY BE DECLARED BANKRUPT

Tuesday,
July 02

‘168 Hours’ paper writes citing its sources that the Armenian prime
minister’s brother, deputy director of Nairit Plant CJSC Ashot Sargsyan
has resigned.

“The resignation of Tigran Sargsyan’s brother at a time when the
Armenian government and Rosneft Company (Russia) should take a decision
on Nairit and when the Moscow arbitration court examines the Interstate
Bank’s lawsuit against Nairit gives reason to think that there is
nothing to do at the plant anymore. The Russian side has no intention
to assume the plant’s debt liabilities, the Armenia government has
no buyers, and in all likelihood the Moscow arbitration court will
declare it a bankrupt and sell as scrap metal,” the newspaper said.

TODAY, 13:34

Aysor.am

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT LEADER PROHIBITED FROM HEADING TO UKRAINE – NEWSPAPER

July 02, 2013 | 07:16

YEREVAN. – The name of Armenian National Assembly Speaker Hovik
Abrahamyan is mentioned in connection with a criminal case that has
opened, Hraparak daily reports.

“Abrahamyan was to travel to Ukraine on Thursday on an official visit,
with a representational and large delegation.

“He was to meet not solely with his colleague, Ukraine’s [Supreme]
Rada [parliament] leader Volodymyr Lytvyn, but with the country’s
President Viktor Yanukovych.

“The visit was to last three to four days, and Abrahamyan had hired a
special plane to head to Kyiv. But it seems the angry ‘tops’ [because
of the aforesaid criminal case] said: ‘Stop! There is no going!'”
Hraparak writes.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

“RUSSIA IS PREPARING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE”

The sale of Russian weapons to Azerbaijan has triggered a big
discussion.

According to the Russian Vedomosti, Russia supplied to Azerbaijan
armaments costing 1 billion USD, including three battalions of ô-90o
tanks, three battalions of armored vehicles, one division of Msta-S
self-propelled howitzer, one division of Smerch BM -30 rocket systems,
one division of Vena self-propelled howitzer and one unit Solntsepyok
heavy flame thrower system.

Interview with first commander of NKR self-defense Arkady Karapetyan

Mr. Karapetyan what is Russia’s goal?

I don’t believe that by selling weapons Russia is trying to maintain
the balance in Transcaucasia, on the contrary, it is boosting tension.

It rather balances the Russian military base which does not belong
to Armenia. I’m mostly worried about the sale of Smerch rocket systems.

If 1600 people died as a result of a Grad volley in Tskhinvali,
can you imagine what will happen if Smerch is used against Stepanakert?

Thousands of people will die, if not the whole population.

Russia is selling weapons to Armenia at internal Russian prices,
while to Azerbaijan at international prices.

The weapons sold to Armenia at internal prices are the old generation
weapons, such a T-72 tanks. Why aren’t they selling Smerch rockets,
airplanes and other types of weapons to us in order to keep the
balance?

Recently Iskander ballistic missiles have been imported to Armenia.

This is said to be the proof of commitment to parity.

These missiles have been provided to the Russian base. If they gave
them to us and trained local staff, that would be different. Second,
for example, Iskanders will be launched at headquarters which may
have been already dislocated during the war, while Smerch is a direct
threat to the population. One volley of this missile will destroy
67 hectares. One division is composed of 18 stations, Azerbaijan has
two divisions today.

If Azerbaijan does not buy weapons from Russia, it will buy from
other countries, such as Israel.

Let it buy but we would at least know that it is not buying from our
friendly country. Plus, only Russia produces Smerch in the world,
which is a weapon of mass destruction.

According to a Russian political scientist, Russia is acting in the
same way as NATO and the U.S. which sell weapons to Egypt and Israel,
Greece and Turkey in order to maintain the balance.

Israel has nuclear weapon. Do NATO and the U.S. sell nuclear weapons
to any other country in the region? Smerch is equal to a nuclear
weapon in our region.

The CTSO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha said about Russia supply
to Azerbaijan that it is business, market relations and Russia’s
economy.

Ok, it is business. Then stop saying that we are brothers. If you
are a businessman, why don’t you pay for your base in Armenia? Why
don’t we request money from you? A state that is guided by business
interests may sell the military base and leave the country at any
moment. It may even sell the base to a third country. A brotherly
country should act otherwise. Brotherhood is not business.

So what can Armenia do?

I think brotherly Russia is preparing the Armenian genocide. I’m saying
it as a person who lives in Artsakh waiting when Smerch will be used
against his family. I think when they say that it is necessary to
ensure the security of Armenia they mean the territories, not people.

State is not business, it is a higher value. Russia should finally
decide if it is a businessman or a serious state.

Armenia should rely on itself. We have been shouting for twenty years
to pay attention at military industry, but in vain …

karabakh-open.info, Hayk Ghazaryan 11:58 02/07/2013 Story from
Lragir.am News:

REVUE DE PRESSE No1 – 01/07/13 – COLLECTIF VAN

Publie le : 01-07-2013

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN
[Vigilance Armenienne contre le Negationnisme] vous propose une revue
de presse des informations parues dans la presse francophone, sur les
thèmes concernant la Turquie, le genocide armenien, la Shoah, le
genocide des Tutsi, le Darfour, le negationnisme, l’Union europeenne,
Chypre, etc… Nous vous suggerons egalement de prendre le temps de
lire ou de relire les informations et traductions mises en ligne dans
notre rubrique

Par ailleurs, certains articles en anglais, allemand, turc, etc, ne
sont disponibles que dans la newsletter Word que nous generons chaque
jour. Pour la recevoir, abonnez-vous a la Veille-Media : c’est gratuit
! Vous recevrez le document du lundi au vendredi dans votre boîte
email. Bonne lecture.

Turquie: Une societe en mouvement, une politique figee
Info Collectif VAN – – “Il n’y a pas de mot pour
decrire l’etat insupportable de passer de l’etape d’ecrire avec Hrant
Dink a celle d’ecrire sur sa memoire. Six ans se sont passes depuis
son assassinat, mon sentiment n’a point change a cet egard. Mais la
vie continue et poursuivre son combat pour la paix pèse sur mes
epaules comme son plus grand heritage. Cet article est, comme tant
d’autres, l’expression de cette responsabilite.” Le Collectif VAN vous
invite a lire cet article de Karin Karakasli, ecrivaine et
journaliste, publie sur le site Repair – Reparer le futur [ONG Yerkir
en partenariat avec Anadolu Kultur] le jeudi 13 juin 2013.

Turquie : se tenir immobile n’est pas un crime
Info Collectif VAN – – “Lundi 17 juin 2013 dans
la soiree, une personne s’est rendue a la place Taksim et s’est
simplement tenue immobile, en signe de protestation silencieuse et
symbolique contre les violences qui ont recemment eu lieu a cet
endroit. Bilan de la situation depuis Istanbul par Andrew Gardner,
specialiste de la Turquie a Amnesty International. Cette personne a
fait de nombreux emules. Aujourd’hui, certains sont equipes de casques
et dansent sur une musique qu’ils sont seuls a entendre ou se tiennent
par le bras pour executer en silence des danses traditionnelles. Après
toute l’agressivite qui a marque ces dernières semaines, c’est une
facon de manifester certes très passive mais aussi très efficace et
creative.” Le Collectif VAN vous presente ce Communique de presse
publie sur le site d’Amnesty International le 24 juin 2013.

Turquie – Le Roi est nu
Ces violations massives des droits de l’homme risquent de ramener peu
a peu la Turquie au statut qui etait le sien dans les annees 90 vis a
vis des Nations Unis et du Conseil de l’Europe.

Rwanda: un presume genocidaire pour la première fois devant la justice
en France
Pascal Simbikangwa sera bien le premier Rwandais poursuivi en France
pour son rôle presume dans le genocide de 1994. Le procès de cet
ancien officier rwandais doit s’ouvrir le 4 fevrier prochain devant
les assises de Paris. Il est poursuivi pour >
et et > envers les Armeniens
Levon et Artoun Balekdjioghlou. Information diffusee par le journal
turc Sabah. Le titre affirme que c’est la première fois qu un tribunal
turc condamne un citoyen turc pour l’utilisation du terme >
(infidèle) envers un Armenien. Rappelons que le terme > que
les Turcs utilisent regulièrement a l’adresse des Armeniens est une
sorte d’insulte.

Agression antisemite a Aartselaar
La zone de police aurait couvert une agression antisemite. Curieuse
histoire que celle relayee sur Internet par le journaliste/blogueur
Marcel Sel (et avant lui par “Le Peuple”, journal en ligne de
Modrikamen qui est l’avocat des deux victimes). Selon lui, et
l’affaire est etayee par une depeche de l’epoque de l’agence Belga, le
24 mai dernier, une femme ayant epouse une ancienne tenniswoman
israelienne aurait ete violemment agressee a son domicile d’Aartselaar
(Anvers) par d’autres occupants de l’immeuble.

Tension après la mort d’un manifestant kurde en Turquie
Des centaines de personnes ont scande des slogans contre le
gouvernement samedi a Diyarbakir, dans le sud-est de la Turquie, lors
des funerailles d’un manifestant kurde tue la veille par les forces de
securite. “Attention, Erdogan, ne nous pousse pas dans les
montagnes!”, ont lance les protestataires a l’intention du Premier
ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Des centaines d’alevis de Turquie ont manifeste a Lyon
200 a 300 personnes se sont reunies samedi 29 juin, place Bellecour,
pour manifester contre le gouvernement Erdogan. Cette communaute
religieuse demande egalement la reconnaissance du massacre des alevis
en juillet 1993 par des islamistes radicaux.

Les opposants turcs choisissent l’arme de la non-violence
Il est 19 heures, vendredi 21 juin, sur la place Taksim, et cela fait
deja deux heures qu’Eylul, 19 ans, se tient debout, immobile et
silencieuse, en plein soleil. Cette jeune etudiante de l’universite
Sabanci d’Istanbul proteste un livre a la main, elle lit les Contes de
la folie ordinaire de l’ecrivain americain Charles Bukowski.

En Turquie, c’est le bazar
Une valse de Strauss, version electronique, a soudain envahi l’espace
et, au meme moment, dans le petit bassin du centre commercial, des
filets d’eau se sont mis a jaillir en rythme, scandes par un
clignotement de spots bleus et verts.

Douze femmes heroïques face aux nazis
L’itineraire heroïque et tragique de douze resistantes qui ont refuse
l’abaissement de la France. Après s’etre interesse a quelques grands
heros masculins de la resistance comme Remy ou Pierre Brossolette, Guy
Perrier a choisi de raconter le destin de douze resistantes
exceptionnelles.”

Turquie: inquietudes après les accusations de trahison visant une journaliste
Une journaliste travaillant pour le service turc de la BBC vient
d’acceder, dans son propre pays, a une notoriete qu’elle ne desirait
sans doute pas. Selin Gerit s’est en effet attire les foudres du
Premier ministre turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, suite a sa couverture des
manifestations qui ont secoue le pays pendant plusieurs jours. Elle a
meme ete accusee de trahison.

Les chretiens en Syrie
Les chretiens representent environ 5 % de la population syrienne. La
majorite d’entre eux appartiennent a l’Eglise grecque-orthodoxe, le
Patriarcat d’Antioche etant l’une des 14 eglises autocephales
rassemblees au sein de la communaute orthodoxe orientale.

Des artistes appellent le gouvernement a cesser sa
Des artistes, journalistes et ecrivains turcs, dont le prix Nobel de
litterature Orhan Pamuk, ont publie hier, sur une pleine page dans
plusieurs journaux, un appel au gouvernement lui demandant de cesser
d’employer une rhetorique de division alimentant, selon eux, la haine
dans le pays L’appel, signe par plus de 80 personnalites, intervient a
la suite d’un mouvement de contestation sans precedent qui a vise
pendant près de trois semaines le gouvernement islamo-conservateur du
Premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Le Printemps turc n’est pas le Printemps arabe
Daniel Salvatore Schiffer souligne que c’est contre un pouvoir
d’essence religieuse que le peuple turc se bat aujourd’hui. L’inverse
des revolutions arabes. La tentation est grande, pour certains
esprits, d’etablir des comparaisons entre ce que le conformisme
mediatique appela un peu trop hâtivement, au vu de l’alarmante mais
previsible regression en matière de liberte (il n’est que d’y
constater, pour s’en convaincre, l’epouvantable statut, aujourd’hui,
des femmes ou des homosexuels), le Printemps arabe et le vaste
mouvement d’opposition qui secoue, ces temps-ci, la Turquie. Certes,
la revolte populaire est-elle, dans les deux cas, massive, fruit d’une
contestation touchant toutes les classes sociales et, parmi elles, les
plus jeunes comme les plus âges : raison pour laquelle d’aucuns, y
compris bon nombre d’intellectuels et de politologues, y percoivent
precisement, mais a tort, des similitudes.

Retour a la rubrique

UN MAETRE DU OUD D’ORIGINE ARMENIENNE ANNONCE SON RETOUR DANS SA VILLE NATALE DE DIYARBAKIR

De renommee mondiale, Yervant Bostanci le maître du Oud d’origine
armenienne natif de Diyarbakir, a annonce le 30 mars qu’il a decide
de retourner dans sa ville natale a la suite des appels separes
du ministre de la culture et du maire de Diyarbakir pour que les
minorites qui ont emigre rentrent en Turquie.

Yervant Bostanci, qui vit en Californie depuis 21 ans, a dit qu’il
reviendra a Diyarbakir en juin, et deviendra le premier armenien a
repondre aux appels. ” Le maire de Diyarbakir, Osman Baydemir, et
d’autres compatriotes voulaient que je revienne. Je ne pouvais pas
arracher mon c~ur de [ma ville natale.] Les gens devraient mourir
la où ils sont nes. Je viens pour mourir ” a dit Yervant Bostancý
ajoutant qu’il n’avait pas trouver le veritable bonheur aux Etats-Unis.

Un livre recent sur sa vie ecrite par Seyhmus Diken a rendu hommage
au musicien. Il est ne dans le quartier Hancepek de Diyarbakir, qui
etait aussi connu comme le quartier ” Gavur ” (Infidèle) de Diyarbakir
et qui avait accueilli la plupart des Armeniens qui avaient survecu
au genocide de 1915. Diyarbakir etait autrefois la demeure d’une
importante communaute armenienne . La municipalite a lance des projets
importants afin de restaurer les vestiges armeniens tels que l’eglise
Sourp Giragos.

” Les gens ne cessent de me dire :” Vous avez un travail a Los
Angeles, comment allez vous tout quitter et revenir a Diyarbakir. Mais
pourquoi devrions-nous pas vivre la où nous sommes heureux ? Nous
Armeniens avons apporte notre culture avec nous partout où nous sommes
alles. Pourquoi devrions-nous mourir dans la ville de l’autre avec
le mal du pays ? ” a dit Yervant Bostanci.

Il a dit au journal turc Hurriyet , dans une interview l’an dernier
qu’il avait decide de quitter la Turquie après avoir ete insulte la
suite d’une exposition en 1992. ” J’ai termine un programme, et un
homme est venu et m’a demande pourquoi je chantais en armenien. J’ai
repondu :” Parce que je suis armenien “, puis il a commence a jurer et
a me maudire. J’etais terrifie, et j’ai decide de quitter la Turquie
ce soir-la ” a explique le musicien.

Yervant Bostanci a egalement declare que la diaspora armenienne aux
Etats-Unis a vivement reagi quand il a continue a chanter en turc et
en kurde. ” J’ai fait ce combat et n’ait jamais abandonne ” a-t-il dit.

mardi 2 juillet 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

THE ROLE OF HRANT DINK IN THE ARMENIAN-TURKISH SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS

Ruben Melkonyan

Turcologist, Vice-dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Yerevan
University Hrant Dink, who gained fame due to his journalistic and
editorial activity engaged in since 1996, was definitely known to a
small part of Armenian and Turkish societies. Even the majority of
Turkologists had a shallow understanding of Dink and this was limited
to brief information on his active participation in left-wing movements
in Turkey. Note that on the initial phase the establishment of “Akos”
newspaper was of essential and serious significance mostly for the
Istanbul-Armenian community, later on expanding its geographical
impact. The existing “traditional” press means of Istanbul-Armenian
community had more community-like, so called limited targets, but
“Akos” and Hrant Dink initially acted beyond “narrow community”
newspaper limits and at last succeeded in it. Within a certain period
of time Dink became more famous due to his willingness to present
Armenian issues to the Turkish and Turkish speaking audience, as well
as due to the consecutive steps in this direction. As a result he
found himself in the maelstrom of the Armenian-Turkish relations. It
should be mentioned as well that Hrant Dink’s name was not accepted
so definitely within Armenian scopes (that is to say in Armenia and
Dispora), since Dinkyan viewpoints on Armenian-Turkish relations,
dialogue, and mutual perception sometimes did not correspond to the
traditional viewpoints. However, at the beginning of the 2000s Dink’s
viewpoints and actions regarding Armenian-Turkish relationships were
more and more broadly considered in sociopolitical discussions.

Indeed, the approaches offered by Dink resulted in double perceptions,
but it was mostly because these approaches were new and out of
traditional patterns. Moreover, such approaches were suggested by a
man who knew both Armenians and Turks almost equally. As a reader of
“Akos” and follower of the Dink’s social activity I can say that both
the newspaper and Hrant lived certain evolution during those years,
which directly influenced both the direction of the newspaper and
Dink’s more complete viewpoints. In particular, “Akos” obtained other
level – it became a platform for free discussion of Armenian-Turkish
relations, Armenian community and general Armenian topic. These
were the discussions that at last led to splitting of certain taboos
rooted in Turkey for decades. By facing Armenian reality more Dink,
in his turn, began definitely proofreading and sometimes reformulating
his viewpoints. Thus, Hrant Dink became a social diplomat in fact,
who knew Turkey and Turkish society very well and already managed
to get to know Armenia and Armenian society. That is why Hrant Dink
took a special role and place in the Armenian-Turkish relations and
became a social figure who best pictured the communication ways of
societies and had influence upon them.

Before Hrant Dink was assassinated, there were mainly three approaches
towards him in the Armenian society: 1. Interest towards his
approaches and sometimes approval thereof, 2. Rejection of approaches
and strict criticism towards Dink, 3. Indifference. Broader scopes of
Armenian society (of Armenia and Diaspora) began learning about Hrant
Dink since 2005, but Dink’s assassination brought him all-Armenian
fame. Thereafter the “hero-making” process of Dink began in the
Armenian environment. It is distinctive that Dink was immediately
perceived as a new victim of the Armenian Genocide and the expression
1 500 000+1 as well as posters were not something accidental. The fact
that people visit the monument of the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan
and put flowers on Malatia memorial wall, as he was from Malatia,
on the day of his death comes to proof that Dink was comprehended as
a new victim of the Armenian Genocide. Both Hrant Dink’s funerals and
the actions thereafter had also a double perception in the Armenian
environment. The first was a superficial perception, according to
which there were thousands of Armenians in Turkey, who took part in a
protest march and openly announced that they were Armenians. This is
known to be a wrong opinion and Armenians did not make a majority among
the participants in the protest march at all. The second perception
that was much more spread in the professional scopes was that Dink
with his activity and death managed to split a serious taboo and
change the way of thinking in certain scopes of Turkish society.

It would be preferable, if this perception is preached more in the
Armenian environment and professionally shown that this is Dink’s
activity phenomenon.

As a Turkish specialist I am much more interested in the developments
taking place in the Turkish society. I think that Dink’s social
activity opened a way for two realities: firstly, the number of
persons, who were ready to listen and sometimes study and present
to the society the viewpoints which were significantly different
from the ones in the official thesis, was increasing and uniting
around Dink’s personality. Secondly, Dink became a target of various
government agencies and a chauvinist society. The issue of the Armenian
Genocide is number one issue that goes under taboos and close topics
of the Turkish society. A method selected by Dink was to provide
the Turkish society with the information on the Armenian Genocide
slowly and sometimes indirectly and this method was justified and
began producing results. The issue of Armenians and their generations
that were forced to take Islam during those years has an important
place in the issue of the Genocide. Hrant Dink seriously took up
the issue of Islamized Armenians by providing space in his newspaper
for case studies and personal stories on that issue. All these are
also direct consequences of the Armenian Genocide, since the last
much broader islamization of the Armenians took place in 1915. The
issue of the Armenians that were forced to take Islam, in its turn,
is among the issues of ethnic identity in Turkey, “identity crisis”
and it may be stated that it tends to take serious volumes. It is
interesting and at the same time natural that the issue of ethnic
identity in Turkey is much more spread among Islamized Armenians
and their generations. The integral part of this issue is that the
generations of Islamized Armenians in Turkey began to look for their
roots and “Akos” became a platform for publishing such stories and
searching for people. On this point Hrant Ding said, “It is a spirit
of time. Today many people in Turkey are wandering in the labyrinth
of their identity”. The article published in “Akos” by Hrant Dink and
Tiran Lokmagyozyan in 2006 shocked the Turkish society. The article
was based on the facts and said that the adopted daughter of Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk, the founder of Turkey, called Sabiha Kyokchen, who
is the first female pilot of the country and one of the symbols of
Turkey, is Armenian indeed and her name is Khatun Sebiljyan. This
article, in the literal sense of the word, became the top issue of
the Turkish political and social agenda on those days and it would
be enough to mention that the general staff of armed forces in Turkey
made an announcement on this issue and qualified Ding’s findings as a
threat to the national security of the country. Many think that Ding’s
real persecutions started and became more severe after this article.

The process that started after Ding’s death resulted in a number of
social changes in Turkey. Among them are the publications of books on
Armenian Genocide, activation of articles, discussions and increase
in number of newspapers touching upon the very topic. We may say that
today even small but a certain stratum has been formed in the Turkish
society that has a different viewpoint on the Armenian Genocide and
declines the state thesis. The fact that in today’s Turkey there is a
certain number of scientists and analysts who are not only for various
scientific opinions, but also carry out consecutive works to study
and broadcast a number of taboo issues is very important for me as a
scientist. The articles of these scientists were and are published in
“Akos” newspaper and, in fact, the influence of Ding’s activity here
cannot be denied.

Summing-up we can state that Hrant Dink both with its activity
and even death played a pivotal role in the development of mutual
awareness of Armenian and Turkish societies. Prior to Dink the stratum
in the Turkish society that gave way to different viewpoints about
the Armenian topic was more wordless and disorganized, and due to
“Akos” and activities launched by Dink, today we have a stratum in
the Turkish society that contributes to the formation and development
of the civil society in Turkey. The formation of such a stratum will
contribute to the Armenian-Turkish dialogue and will help the Turkish
society to face historical truths more quickly and correctly, which
is an important pledge for natural communication between Armenian
and Turkish societies.

ARMENIAN CEMETERY IN EAST TURKEY RE-OPENED AFTER BEING DAMAGED IN 2012

Focus News, Bulgaria
July 1 2013

01 July 2013 | 10:42 | FOCUS News Agency

Home / Southeast Europe and Balkans

Malatya. Ancient Armenian cemetery in the city of Malatya (East
Turkey) has been re-opened for worship after being “accidentally”
damaged last year, Dogu Haber Ajansi reported.

In February 2012, the cemetery, which was earlier restored with
money from the association of Armenians in Istanbul, was demolished
“out of carelessness” by workers of the municipality.

The case incited serious negative reactions and severe criticism.

Back then Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally
interfered in the case and addressed Mayor Ahmet Cakir and set him
an ultimatum for the mistake to be corrected as soon as possible.