Author: nina hovnanian

JUSTICE URGED FOR SLAIN JOURNALIST IN TURKEY

MWC Network: Media With Conscience
Jan 20 2014

Several thousand Turks have taken part in a rally, amid heavy presence
of riot police, to demand justice for a prominent Turkish Armenian
journalist murdered seven years ago.

A demonstration has been staged every year on January 19 since Hrant
Dink’s murder. It has often turned into a general plea for justice.

“Murderer state will account for this,” chanted the protesters who
had gathered on Sunday in Istanbul’s Taksim Square.

Questions still linger about the circumstances of the killing.

Dink, 52, a leading member of Turkey’s tiny Armenian community,
was killed by a teenage ultranationalist outside the offices of his
bilingual Agos newspaper on January 19, 2007.

He had campaigned for reconciliation between Turks and Armenians,
but incurred the wrath of Turkish nationalists for calling the mass
killings of Armenians during the first world war a genocide.

Dink’s supporters believe that those behind the murder were protected
by the state and have asked for a deeper investigation to uncover
officials who were allegedly involved.

Backing up widespread accusations of a state conspiracy, a former
police informant accused of instigating the murder claimed during
his trial last month that he had warned police of the plot but they
failed to act.

Dink’s self-confessed murderer, Ogun Samast, a 17-year-old jobless
high-school dropout at the time, was sentenced to almost 23 years in
jail in 2011.

Sunday’s rally came as the Turkish government battled fresh protests
in the wake of a corruption scandal involving the closest allies of
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister.

On Saturday Turkish police fired tear-gas and plastic bullets to
break up a protest by around 2,000 people over controversial plans
to impose curbs on the internet.

Turkey has long been criticised for a lack of freedom of expression
and has been branded the world’s top jailer of journalists.

Dozens of journalists are in detention, as well as lawyers,
politicians and legislators, most of them accused of plotting against
the government or having links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK).

People of Ar
Jan 18 2014

The Forgotten hero: Captain Jim Chankalian

Filed under: Armenian Genocide, History, People, WW1 – Leave a comment
January 18, 2014

Captain Jim Chankalian was promoted to captain in the U.S. Army for
his service during the Spanish-American War in 1898, and later with
great success and honors he participated in the Armenian liberation
movement. Afterwards he served in the Democratic Liberal Party of
America, AGBU and the Armenian Church, until his death on May 10,
1947.

Born in Tigranakert as Bedros Chankalian, James (Jim) and his family
emigrated to the United States. He graduated from an American high
school and then entered the military academy to become an officer in
the United States.

Being an experienced soldier of the U.S. Army, Chankalian also became
a well-known figure in the Armenian community of New York. After
retiring with the rank of captain, he was offered an important
position in the company `Powers & Co.’ and build a comfortable life
for himself. In 1915, the Reformed party Gnchak, in collaboration with
the Regional Committee of the Constitutional Democratic Party
(Ramgavar) of the United States requested to send Jim Chankaliana with
a special mission, first to the Caucasus, and then to Van, to fight
for the Armenian liberation movement. Chankalian gladly accepted the
offer, giving up his high position and a comfortable life in America.
Taking with him a group of experienced volunteers who came from
Western Armenia, he reached Van at the appointed time and was met by
the heroic leader of Armenian self-defense forces, Armenak Egaryan.

After consultation with Egaryan, Chankalian put his extensive military
experience in service of the heroic struggle of the Armenians of Van
and became the adviser to Egaryan. As such he became instrumental in
the formation of the Yerkrapah regiment (Defenders of the Motherland)
and was successful in the accomplishment of his military mission.

In 1917 he returned to the U.S., but as soon as he learned about the
plan of formation of the Armenian Legion in France, he decided to
join. The legion was to go to Palestinian front to fight on the side
of the Allies (France, England, Russia) against the German and Turkish
troops. Chankalian who enjoyed unconditional respect and reverence of
the American-Armenian community and the Armenian political parties,
was appointed head of the detachment, consisting of US-Armenian
volunteers. On July 9, 1917 Chankalian along with the volunteers,
under his leadership, boarded a French ship and headed to Marseille.
>From there he went to Port Said and joined the Legion. They were
transported to Cyprus and met with the rest of the volunteers of the
French Foreign Legion.

By order of General Allenby, commander of the united forces of the
Allied Powers in the Middle Eastern front, on September 14, 1918 the
Armenian volunteers were transported to Palestine, where five days
later, they went on the attack against German and Turkish forces in
Arar. With minimal losses they have achieved a glorious victory in the
Battle of the Arar.

As the World War I ended in November 1918, the Armenian volunteers
were transferred to the Palestinian front in Beirut. From there, the
British ships took them in groups, through Alexandretta (Iskenderun)
to the mountains and plains of Cilicia. Legionnaires were welcomed in
Adana with the Armenian tricolor flags. Turks were already demoralized
an the Armenian Legion was about to take all of Cilicia under their
control. Implementation of the plan to establish an autonomous and
independent Armenian Cilicia was undertaken under the guidance of
Mihran Damadyan. In order to bring this plan to fruition, it was
necessary to gather a strong fighting force, which was about to become
a reality, with such battle-tested heroes as Chankalian, Andranik,
Egaryan, Esai Yagubyan etc. However, the Allied Powers had other
intentions. They have prevented the arrival of Andranik, Egaryana and
others in Cilicia, ending the prospects of Armenian success in
Cilicia.

Disappointed with the vanishing dream to create an independent
Cilicia, Chankalian returned to the United States, with his
achievements recorded in the history of the Armenian liberation
struggle. Later, as one of the leading figures of the Democratic
Liberal Party of America, Chankalian organized fundraising efforts in
support of the first Republic of Armenia.

Chankalian continued his activities for the benefit of the motherland.
He became the driving force behind the formation of the
American-Armenian National Council and served as its president. He
also became the first president of the Central Committee of the
Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) and devoted his time to the
service of the Armenian Church. This great patriot, endowed with
exceptional military skill, died in New York in 1947 at an advanced
age, leaving behind a great legacy of unforgettable service for his
people.

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Jan 18 2014

Depicting Ottoman fashion apparel

Niki GAMM

Two running attendants, Grand Vizier, Superintendent of the Ushers,
Chief of the halberdier corps painted by Arif Mehmed PaÅ?a.

Ottoman historiography has a history of illustrating books, not the
chronicles but rather volumes that were dedicated to special
occasions, such as weddings and circumcision festivities. While
costumes were portrayed with some accuracy, the idea of just depicting
the different types of clothing worn by Ottoman officials does not
seem to have occurred to anyone, perhaps because Islamic tradition
holds the human figure should not be portrayed. Thanks largely to the
work of Ottoman Armenian interpreter and later Swedish ambassador,
Ignatius Mouradgea d’Ohsson (1740`1807), we have striking portraits of
individuals and their clothing. He produced a book that covered the
aspects of the Ottoman Empire, which was published in Paris in 1784.
The `Tableau Général de l’Empire Othoman’ contained many engravings
that shed light on Ottoman life at the end of the eighteenth century;
however, d’Ohsson had a great deal of difficulty in obtaining pictures
that could be engraved and printed, often having to arrange for
artists in Istanbul to work secretly. His work was published in two
editions: one extremely large and expensive and another of smaller
size and less expensive. The pictures that were reproduced were also
to be found translated into English and German, leading to their
popularity throughout Europe. These may have been the source of
inspiration for two later artists ` Arif Mehmed PaÅ?a and Jean
Brindesi.

A leader of the western style

Arif Mehmed PaÅ?a (1808-1865) is considered one of the leaders of the
western style of painting in Turkey. It is hard to think of him as an
artist because he spent his whole working life in the Ottoman army. He
was a mere six months old when Mahmud II ascended to the throne and
slowly instituted westernizing reforms in the Ottoman Empire. His
father was a kapı cuhadar (door warden). He was only 14 when he began
to work in a state office related to land. After four years there he
requested a transfer to a military body founded by Mahmud II where he
was a secretary. With the rank of private, barely four months later he
attained sergeant major. He never looked back as he moved up the ranks
to reach that of field marshal for Arabia. He also served as governor
of Damascus, Harput, Erzurum, Silistre and Edirne before he died in
1865. Although he was in charge of the Ottoman gendarmerie in 1851 and
later in 1853 in Istanbul, it is hard to see how he could find the
time to paint and found a museum.

Although Arif PaÅ?a was thoroughly committed to the army, he had a deep
and abiding interest in Turkish culture and history. He spent some
forty years studying Turkish historical sources as he moved up through
the ranks. Somewhere along the way, he developed a talent for drawing
and produced a series of pictures detailing the clothes Ottoman state
officials wore. He prepared these pictures under the name `Mecmua-i
Tesavir-i Osmaniyye’ (The Collection of Ottoman Pictures). Although
his work was supposed to come out in 12 volumes, only one volume was
actually published in French in Paris in 1863 and in Turkish the same
year. The other 11 volumes have been lost. The published volume is
considered to be `the first illustrated book in Turkey.’ Some of the
paintings appeared in the Tasvir-i Efkar newspaper as a series at the
same time.

What is amazing is the praise heaped onto Arif PaÅ?a for his portraits,
the harmony of their colors and tones, the maturity of attitude and
delicate detail, the artist’s control over his pen and watercolors.
The clothing reflects the time when the Janissaries were still on the
scene (before 1826 when the corps was disbanded). While one might be
inclined to think only the military wore specific clothing, among the
Ottoman’s tradition, clothing laws determined what state officials
wore. In addition to the drawings of the various official costumes in
use, Arif PaÅ?a wanted to establish a museum so everyone would have a
chance to see them. He personally had mannequins made in Vienna and a
building in Sultan Ahmed was set aside for their display as the
Janissary Clothing Museum, a museum that predates the Istanbul
Archaeological Museums by decades. Eventually this display was moved
to the Military Museum at Hagia Irini during the Second Constitutional
Period, but they were not kept up.

Jean Brindesi

What makes one question the value of Arif PaÅ?a’s work is that he was
not the first artist in Turkey to draw pictures of official clothing.
A young Italian artist, Giovanni Jean Brindesi, who was born in 1826
(d. 1888), was in Istanbul by the 1850s. There is scant evidence for
his life, although it is known he lived in Galatasaray on YeniçarÅ?ı
Street. His first book was published in Paris in 1855 and was entitled
`Elvicei Atika. Les Anciens Costumes. Musée des costumes turcs de
Constantinople’ (Ancient Clothes. Istanbul Turkish Clothing Museum).
Brindesi is known to have used the costumes on the mannequins at the
so-called Janissary Museum for his pictures, that is, the museum that
Arif PaÅ?a had been instrumental in getting built. We can at least
deduce the museum was established prior to 1855, as there is little
information about it. [A review of it appeared in the New York Times
in the 1860s.].

Brindesi worked in both water color and oils. He depicted the various
costumes that belonged to the officials of the Mahmud II period just
as Arif PaÅ?a was to do in his book eight years later. In the Italian’s
book are the grand vizier, the chief of military judges, Janissary
officers, the Å?eyh-ül-islam, the black eunuchs, as well as sailors,
bombardiers and privates. These are the same subjects that Arif PaÅ?a
took up; it may be that the similarity between his work and that of
Brindesi was the reason why only one volume of Arif PaÅ?a’s drawings
was ever published. It is almost impossible to tell the difference
between Arif PaÅ?a’s paintings and those of Brindesi.

The Italian artist produced a second book, `Souvenir de
Constantinople’ in the 1860s in which he portrayed daily life in the
city, including women, cemeteries, entertainment and the like. This
volume, more than his first, placed him among the orientalist painters
who flooded the European markets with depictions, often quite
fanciful, of life in the Middle East.

January/18/2014

Armenia’s `Wings of Tatev’ to resume operations on February 1

January 18, 2014 | 11:05

The representatives of `TaTever’ (`Wings of Tatev’) aerial tramway of
Armeniainformed that the ropeway will not operate from January 18 to
31.

The cable car system will not operate due to annual maintenance works.

These activities are important components of ensuring the
uninterrupted operation of the ropeway and the safety of its
passengers.

`TaTever’ will resume operations on February 1.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

This rally is guided by the unity – Heritage party MP

15:30 / 18.01.2014

MP from the Heritage party Ruben Hakobyan speaking at a rally today
said that for the first time in the history Armenian National Assembly
factions joined the agenda formed by the civic initiatives.

`I am sure that for making radical reforms in the state it is
necessary for our public and political forces who are against the
policy conducted by the authorities join,’ he stressed, adding that
some are trying to understand who these rally is being guided by and
tie it with some forces so that it fails. `I will say yes, this really
is being guided, it is guided by the absolute unity of the people,’
Hakobyan said.

He once again stressed that the law on mandatory pension funds is
anti-constitutional. `If the system is introduced, every year 50
billion will be gathered in the funds which will be taken out of
Armenia, no jobs will be created, the social issues will not be
solved, the money will not promote the development of small and
medium-sized business. As far as the authorities do not realize that
the people are in bad condition, we are to do the change,’ Hakobyan
said.

Speaking at the rally Prosperous Armenia party secretary Naira
Zohrabyan stressed that the adopted law stems from the interests of
the regime which needs additional money like air. `That is why one of
the representatives of the authorities clearly stated that they are
not interested whether you believe that you will get the some or not,
currently money is necessary and you all have to make your investment.
Today the Constitutional Court has the last chance to prove that it
does not serve the regime but the Armenian Constitution and citizen.
We think that it is impossible to continue in this way. It is the
launch of our joint fight and we can win it only together,’ Zohrabyan
said.

Nyut.am

Activists promise `more radical wave of protests’

January 18, 2014 | 14:44

YEREVAN. – Unless Constitutional Court makes the decision acceptable
for us, we will launch `a radical wave of protests’, activist Davit
Manukyan said during the rally against pension reform.

The demonstration in Liberty Square is also joined by representatives
of the Armenian show business. Producer Suren Tadevosyan said he
always tried to participate in the protest to show his support.

`I do not have anything to be afraid of or anything to hide. I was
against the new law from the very beginning,’ he added.

The action is joined by four non-coalition political forces of the parliament.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am
News from Armenia – NEWS.am

Only ruling regime is interested in pension reform – Prosperous Armenia – Video

January 18, 2014 | 14:51

YEREVAN. – New pension plan is in the interests of the ruling regime
only, secretary of Prosperous Armenia parliamentary group Naira
Zohrabyan said during a protest action on Saturday.

Zohrabyan called the pension plan a new type of state racketeering,
adding that even the government officials admit they need money for
the economy.

She noted that Constitutional Court has the last chance to prove that
it is serving the people.

`The political forces that believe it is impossible to continue this
path have gathered here. This is the first step of our struggle. We
can win by joint struggle. Not a single political party can solve the
problem without others. We must consolidate and win together with
civil society,’ Zohrabyan said addressing numerous demonstrators in
Liberty Square.

SWITZERLAND’S PRESIDENCY MAY HELP OSCE WIN BACK KEY ROLE IN CONFLICT SETTLEMENT – VIEW

ITAR-TASS, Russia
January 16, 2014 Thursday 08:23 PM GMT+4

VIENNA January 16

– Switzerland, which has assumed the rotating presidency of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, may play an
important role in OSCE’s winning back its role of a key player in the
settlement of regional conflicts, Russia’s permanent representative
to the OSCE Andrei Kelin told reporters on Thursday on the sidelines
of an OSCE Permanent Council’s session.

The diplomat believes “the Swiss diplomacy has showed its very
strong side, it enjoys big influence in Europe,” he said. “We expect
Switzerland will play a certain role in giving the OSCE a new value in
the next two years,” he said, noting that the organization’s original
role was in overcoming demarcation lines.

Speaking at the first session of the Permanent Council this year,
Swiss President Didier Burkhalter said work to look for ways out of
unsettled conflicts was among the priority tasks. He hoped this year
should see reconciliation in the Balkans with the OSCE playing an
important role in that, supporting at the same time the implementation
of agreements reached between Belgrade and Pristina.

Focusing on the settlement in the mostly Armenian populated Azerbaijani
enclave of Nagorno Karabakh, he admitted that the road to a peaceful
settlement was long and thorny despite a certain improvement of
relations seen over the recent time. The president also said he
believed that not only the authorities of Azerbaijan and Armenia
should be involved in a dialogue, but also the civil societies of
the two states.

As for the conflict around South Ossetia and Abkhazia, in the
settlement of which Switzerland is a mediator offering the Geneva floor
for discussion, he said it would be important to create a mechanism
to prevent incidents. Burkhalter said Switzerland would also seek
the resumption of a discussion on the OSCE’s presence in Georgia on
condition the countries-participants demonstrated flexibility and a
creative approach.

DOES THE WEST INTIMIDATE SERZH SARGSYAN WITH CRIMINAL REVELATIONS?

January 17 2014 “It is a pure nonsense. Senility does not need
interpretation”, – said Eduard Sharmazanov, RA NA Vice-speaker,
in the conversation with Aravot.am, referring to the publication
in Los Angeles Weekly magazine, January 2, which was reprinted
by Civilnet.am. Recall that the article touches upon the name of
the President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, in drugs,
diamonds, and international intrigues. Today, in this regards, Stepan
Safaryan, Board member of the “Heritage” faction, said that in he
believes something interesting is happening. Stepan Safaryan has
perceived the article as follows, “An Armenian guy, by the name Stepan
Martirosyan, for decades was in connection with someone named Chase
who was in connection with U.S. intelligence services. Chase did not
conceal that he was had conducted certain intelligence activities for
the U.S. in Moscow. Then, the article seems to reasoning that Chase
so so own for the U.S. special services that he was always released
escaping the punishment. He constantly reminds permanently embedded
agent than someone dealing in the business of cocaine. It is a unique
argument that Chase and Stepan Martirosyan, in fact, are been working
for U.S. intelligence services.”

The next shocking thing, according to Stepan Safaryan, is that these
two have organized Serzh Sargsyan’s lobby, as a pro-Western politician,
at which everyone stirred their attention. “However, the phase of
their activities in Moscow and Africa is not being revealed.

There are two episodes that are too dark, with which not only these
two are connected but also the authorities of Armenia closely connected
with the two of them,” said Stepan Safaryan, citing the conclusion of
the article. “Revelation of all these things can be terrifying.” He
concludes that this actually is a warning addressed to the authorities
of Armenia, and we can be predicted the depth of the trends. “I am
deeply convinced that the absence of such articles related to the
leadership of Armenia in the past and anything else was drive by the
West as a pleasant direction in the foreign policy arena.

And, there are some warnings made. When going deep, I think I would
face much more interesting revelations, like it happened, for example,
with Aliyev, with regard to his property in Dubai, and his kids, and
more. However, in this case, they are more intimidating by remarkable
revelations. Consequently, something is going on with Armenia,”
concluded Stepan Safaryan.

Nelly GRIGORYAN Read more at:

TURKEY: AN ACTION MOVIE WITHOUT A ‘GOOD GUY’

By Ayse Gunaysu // January 17, 2014

Special for the Armenian Weekly

In Turkey today, a very high-tempo, high-tension action scene
is unfolding, with a life-or-death fight at the top of the state
apparatus. A volcano of corruption is erupting once more, releasing
all the filth from below the surface. We’re seeing the sons of
cabinet members being taken from their homes, alongside prominent
businessmen, and put into custody; the mass removal of middle-
to high-ranking security officers; and comprehensive changes in the
juridical organization. But there are no prospects for a better Turkey,
because both parties of this fierce fight belong to the “bad guy”
club–the ruling AK Party and the informal but all-mighty clandestine
organization of the “Gulen community.”

Gulen (L) and Erdogan (Photo: worldbulletin.net)

The audience is deprived of the expectation of a reward for watching
these horrors play out. There is no hope for the emergence of a good
guy, who will punish the bad and set things right. There is no need to
wait for it, because there is no good guy at all in this action film.

None of the already-few forces of democracy in Turkey have the
slightest role to play in the plot.

The new enemies are, in fact, old comrades-in-arms. Until
very recently, both were acting in perfect harmony in their
evil-doings–their vulgar, gross denial of the genocides of Asia
Mnior’s Christian population, their repression of the Kurdish
resistance, their involvement in judicial scandals (Turkey has the
highest number of political prisons in the world), in human rights
violations of every kind, in public racism and discrimination, in
the prisons where life becomes hell for the inmates.

The disintegrating state apparatus

Now, let’s take a short look at what happened: On Dec. 17, 2013,
the Ä°stanbul police detained 47 people for their involvement in
corruption and bribery. The names of the detainees created a stir:
they included the sons of three cabinet members, Muammer Guler,
the Minister of Interior, Zafer Caglayan, Minister of Economy, and
Erdogan Bayraktar, Minister of Environment and Urban Planning; Mustafa
Demir, the mayor of the district municipality of Fatih (known for the
much-debated “urban renovation project” that left thousands of Roma
homeless); as well as a number of prominent businessmen, including
the Iranian-Azerbaijani Raze Zarrab and Suleyman Aslan, the general
manager of the state-run Halkbank. Newspapers have also reported
that Egemen BagiÅ~_, the Minister of European Union Affairs, may be
a potential suspect of bribery related to businessman Reza Zarrab.

The police reportedly confiscated some $17.5 million used for bribery
during the investigation; $4.5 million came from Aslan’s residence, and
$750,000 from the Interior Minister’s son’s home. Prosecutors accused
14 people, including 2 sons of cabinet members, of corruption, fraud,
money laundering, and smuggling gold. On Dec. 21, the court ordered
their arrest. Reports indicated that a new investigation would be
held on Dec. 26 involving Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s sons,
Bilal and Burak, as well as certain al-Qaeda affiliates from Saudi
Arabia, such as Yusuf Al Qadi and Osama Khoutub. But police officers
in the Istanbul Security Directory, newly appointed by the government
just a few days prior, reportedly refused to carry out the orders
of arrest. The deputy director of public prosecutions also didn’t
approve this new operation. The man behind this second investigation,
Prosecutor Muammer AkkaÅ~_, was dismissed on the same day. AkkaÅ~_
said he was prevented from performing his duty.

A few days later, on Jan. 7, the police force was purged, and the
positions of 350 police officers were changed, including chiefs of
the units dealing with fraud, smuggling, and organized crime.

The public’s amazing state of numbness

The only good thing in this show is the possibility that the Turkish
people, still loyal to their “father state,” may take one tiny step
towards doubting the morality of the entire mechanism that dominates
their life. With each new scandal, the Turkish public is shocked at
the extent of the corruption revealed. Yet, it always falls back into
an everlasting state of oblivion, forgetting that corruption seems
to be an integral part of the establishment.

The republican history is full of scandals that tell stories of
large-scale irregularities, embezzlement, and abuse. Not very long
ago, in 1996, the famous “Susurluk Accident,” during the peak of
the armed clashes between the PKK and the Turkish army, had prompted
many to believe that nothing would be the same again. The car crash
victims included the deputy chief of the Istanbul police department;
a member of parliament who led a powerful Kurdish clan serving as
the paramilitary armed support of the Turkish army; and the leader
of the ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves, who was a contract killer on
Interpol’s red list.

The scandal had revealed the close relations between the government,
armed forces, and organized crime in a wide variety of unlawful
activities that ranged from drug trafficking, gambling, and money
laundering to extra-judicial killings and gross human rights violations
in the Kurdish provinces. Although then-Interior Minister Agar,
who was shown to be closely involved with outlawed gang members, and
then-Prime Minister Ciller, who led the state-sponsored assassinations,
resigned after the scandal, no one received punitive sentences. Agar
was eventually re-elected to parliament as a leader of the True Path
Party (DYP), and the sole survivor of the crash, chieftain Sedat Bucak,
was released. In short, the perpetrators escaped justice. A number of
Susurluk investigators subsequently died in car accidents suspiciously
similar to the Susurluk car crash itself–two in 1997, and one in 1999.

The corruption that gave birth to Turkey

Nothing–no restructuring of the state apparatus, no reformulation of
the founding values of the government, no enlightenment on the part
of the Turkish public–came from this outpouring of immense filth
that lay deep beneath the surface.

Corruption forms the very texture of life in Turkey, because corruption
is the initiator, the founder, the very reason for its existence. Less
than 100 years ago, it was founded on the massive plunder of Armenian,
Greek, and Assyrian property, and the unlawful transfer of their
wealth to the state and to the local Muslim population.

Since then, since this tremendously large-scale theft, embezzlement,
fraud, and corruption, we in Turkey all live on a vast land of sticky,
stinky swamp, bubbling continuously, emitting nauseous vapors, fuming
sickening smoke and, from time to time, creating small volcanoes that
throw up the age-long filth the swamp has struggled to keep inside.

Parliament is now (as of Jan. 12) debating a government-proposed bill
that would strengthen the Justice Ministry’s hold on a council that
appoints judges and prosecutors and oversees their work. Opinion
makers, academics, and politicians are on TV heatedly protesting
(rightly) that this would put an end to the already feeble independence
of the judiciary system.

The judicial system and denialism

>From the start, the judicial system in Turkey was designed to serve
denialism–the denial of the founding essence of the Turkish state,
the genocide, the suppression of all opposition. It was the High Court
of Appeals that, in 1974, decided that the minority foundations’
“1936 declarations”–given at the request of the government to
record the immovable properties they presently possessed–should be
considered to be the foundations’ charters and, therefore, unless it
was clearly indicated that the foundation could acquire new immovables,
acquisitions made after the declaration had no legal validity. So
hundreds of immovables acquired by foundations after 1936 (by way
of donation or passed on by elderly non-Muslim individuals, as they
were once sources of income of the non-Muslim communities’ churches,
hospitals, orphanages, cemeteries, and schools) were seized by the
state. What was unbelievably unlawful in this decision was that these
foundations of non-Muslim citizens of Turkey were referred to as the
institutions of “foreigners”! Such is the lawlessness practiced by
the highest body for justice in this country.

The swamp is sticky and contaminates everything that it comes into
contact with. The recent scandal that led to a wide-scale cabinet
reshuffling broke out during the so-called “peace process” between
the PKK, the armed organization of the Kurdish liberation movement,
and the Turkish government. While generally, individual Kurds and some
prominent local officials in the Kurdish provinces display an honest
and conscientious attitude towards Armenians’ demands for genocide
recognition, recently one of the top-level Kurdish leaders, a woman,
Bese Hozat, made anti-Armenian, anti-Greek, and anti-Jewish statements,
causing great disappointment and resentment among democratic forces
in Turkey.

In an interview with the Kurdish Firat news agency about the “parallel
state” (a trendy phrase nowadays to refer to the Islamic Fethullah
Gulen movement), Hozat said: “The Jewish lobby, the nationalist
Armenians and Greeks are such parallel states. Such parallel states
are in touch with one another and have interests from each other.

Parallel states do not have formal and constitutional rights. It seems
they do not have troops either, but they have an organized and a strong
structure and they hinder the efforts for democratization in Turkey.”

It was only a couple of weeks before that Rupen Janbazian, in the
Armenian Weekly, wrote how he was deeply impressed by his visit to
Diyarbakir/Dikranagerd. “What is interesting, however, was that nearly
a century after the genocide began, the descendants of those Kurds
not only accepted our delegation in Dikranagerd with open arms, but
actually apologized, time and time again, for the part some of their
ancestors had in the genocide–something Armenians across the world
wish to hear from the government of Turkey,” he said. “Hospitality is
a trait Armenians have been known to value for millennia, but what we
experienced in our six days in Dikranagerd was something I had, quite
unfortunately, never felt in Armenia nor in the Armenian Diaspora, not
to that extent, anyway. These people, who I had heard only negative
things about from so many of my compatriots, were not only taking us
to all the sites of Armenian civilization and culture in the city, but
were giving us the factual, unadulterated history behind these places.”

The only hope for a ‘Good Guy’

Were Bese Hozat’s words an answer to Rupen Janbazian? No, this
discourse has its roots in the original corruption, the initial
one–the genocide and its denial, the one that gave birth to the
still-fuming swamp that contaminates everything, even the politics
pursued by the most radical opponent of the present Turkish state,
the PKK.

These words reflect the dirty politics that the PKK leadership is
itself caught up in, in this fight between the two bad guys, believing
it has to choose the one that will maintain official power for the
sake of the “peace process,” which will mean nothing if the original
corruption is not revealed, recognized, and compensated.

These words also reflect the Turkish state’s biggest fear: the
possibility of mutual understanding and cooperation between the
politically involved Armenians and Kurds. The PKK leadership is
forced to give into the government’s demands for a concession by
declaring that it will not challenge the official Turkish thesis on
the Armenian question.

But these words do not belong to the people of Dikranagerd who
welcomed Janbazian. Here is how Janbazian described them in the
Armenian Weekly: “One would assume that a stadium full of Kurds who
don’t understand Armenian would be bored, uninterested, and ultimately
indifferent–especially since we were speaking as representatives of
a people who once called these lands ‘home.’ Yet, we witnessed the
exact opposite that day. As I read out loud what we had written in the
Western Armenian dialect of my forefathers, the audience watched and
listened attentively. It almost seemed like they understood everything
I said.”

It is clear that the politically conscious sections of the Kurdish
people are far ahead of the PKK leadership, which is more interested
in gaining ground in the negotiations behind closed doors than adhering
to the ideal of justice.

The emergence of a “good guy” in this disgusting action film will
depend on whether or not the movement for recognition from below can
become strong enough to challenge the denialism that spews from the
swamp of corruption.