84-Year-Old Armenian Woman Brutally Murdered in Istanbul

[Arshak1946]

Hello to all members.

Long time ago lot of us like myself we saw danger living in Turkey and left , day and night I think that I made right decision. I wonder why this people still living in danger zone.

My Best Regards To All.

[Yervant1]

BREAKING: Two Armenian Women Attacked in Istanbul in Past 24 Hours

 

 

 

http://asbarez.com/App/Asbarez/eng/2013/01/www.jpg

Two Armenain women were attacked in Turkey in two days

ISTANBUL—Two elderly Armenian women were attacked in Istanbul’s Samatya district on Jan 22 and 23, less than a month after an 84-year-old Armenian woman was brutally murdered in Istanbul, raising the number of violent attacks against elderly Armenian women to at least four in recent months.

The Jan. 22 attack happened around 5 p.m. when the victim, 83-year-old Sultan Aykar was about to enter her ground-floor apartment. She then saw an intruder, frightened, she fell. The attacker proceeded to kick her. Hearing her screams, neighbors came down, scaring off the masked man, reported Bianet. The neighbors described the attacker as a male between the ages of 35 and 40, with gray hair, and dressed in black. During the attack, Aykar suffered damage to her eye. She has now lost sight in that eye, despite surgery on Jan. 23. The victim’s daughter, Menzar Etik, said her mother did not have any enemies, as she was a quiet woman. Etik did not believe the attacker’s intention was robbery, as the attacker did not attempt to steal her purse, and there was nothing more than a broken TV in her apartment.

Today (Jan. 23), another attack was reported on yet another elderly Armenian woman. This time the attack happened on the street, near the Samatya High School, sources reported. The two assailants ran away. The victim’s was covered with blood. Shortly thereafter, she disappeared. Community members and plainclothes policemen have been unable to find or identify the woman.

The Armenian Weekly could not independently confirm the report on today’s attack.

The Samatya area is home to many Armenians. The community is weary of these attacks, and there are calls for caution have been made.

In recent years, there have been several attacks against Armenians in Turkey. In early December another Armenian woman was attacked and robbed; while months earlier an Armenian woman was attacked by a taxi driver and called an infidel.

On Jan. 6, three assailants tried to kidnap an elderly Armenian woman, according to Turkish sources. The attempt failed.

According to human rights activists, the common thread that runs through all of these crimes is not just their being motivated by hate or being committed in an environment that breeds intolerance against Armenians, but also the efforts of the authorities to play them down and cover them up.

[Zartonk]

Hello to all members.

Long time ago lot of us like myself we saw danger living in Turkey and left , day and night I think that I made right decision. I wonder why this people still living in danger zone.

My Best Regards To All.

 

Hello dear Arshak, and welcome!

 

What part of Turkey did you live in?

[Yervant1]

TURKEY RIGHTS WATCHDOG CONCERNED OVER ASSAULTS AGAINST ARMENIAN WOMEN

 

tert.am

24.01.13

 

Turkey's Human Rights Association (IHD) has expressed concerns over

the continuing violence against ethnic Armenian women in Istanbul's

Samatia district, the Radikal reported.

 

In a statement following the Wednesday incident that saw an Armenian

woman assaulted and brutally injured, the organization says an

organized group may be behind the assaults.

 

The head of the Association's Istanbul department, Umit Efe was

quoted as saying that the chain of violent acts might be motivated

by racist policies.

 

"The signs are the same, with the targets being elderly, helpless

women. The death of Maritsa Kucuk and the assaults against the three

other women add to our concerns," he said.

 

The police, according to him, work day and night to resolve and

prevent the crimes.

 

"We expressed our concerns that the attacks occur repeatedly and pursue

an organized scheme. We will see to it that the cases are resolved,"

said Efe.

[Yervant1]

Issue of violence against Armenian women raised in Turkish Parliament

http://armenpress.am/static/news/b/2013/01/706236.jpg19:44, 25 January, 2013

 

YEREVAN, JANUARY 25, ARMENPRESS: Vice President of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party Umut Oran has raised the issue of two cases of violence against elderly Armenian women in Turkish Parliament. Armenpress reports referring to “haberx.com” news agency.

Referring to the incidents, Turkish deputy raised the following questions during his speech: “Are the attacks organized or individual? Who are the authors of the violence? What actions must be initiated in order to ensure the security of Samatia residents?”

Already 5 Armenian elderly women have been attacked in Samatia district of Istanbul since December, 2012. One of them was tortured and killed in her house; a cross was carved on her body. Other two lost their eye in a result of severe attack.

[Yervant1]

TURKISH AUTHORITIES REMAIN SILENT WHILE ATTACKS ON ARMENIANS CONTINUE - AGOS

 

news.am

January 25, 2013 | 00:04

 

Attacks, that have taken place in recent years, and which are making

Istanbul Armenians terrified, continue to be ignored by the Turkish

authorities. This subject was again mentioned by the Istanbul Armenian

newspaper Agos in the article "Turkey is silent - attacks continue."

 

The correspondent of Agos writes:

 

The attacks on elderly Armenian women in Samatya were added by another

one. They do not find any trace of the murder of Maritza Kucuk and

attacks on elderly Armenian women continue, in the evening of January

22, at about 5p.m., 80-year-old Sultan Haykar was attacked. An Armenian

woman was beaten at the time she was entering into the building. The

assailant was dressed in black and was wearing a mask.

 

The women's screams were heard by the neighbors and they came to her

help, the assailant escaped. Eyewitnesses claim that on the corner

2 people were "following" the actions of the attacker.

 

Responses to the brutal murder on December 28, of Samata Maritza,

who lived alone in Kucuk, are still ongoing. Before she was killed,

she was also tortured.

 

After the latest attack, members of the union rights movement in Turkey

"Say no to racism and nationalism" and other public organizations

visited the police of Aksaray, talked for an hour with the officials

in the police, and then spoke at the press conference.

 

Chairman of the Istanbul branch of the Union of Human Rights in

Turkey Umit Efen said that they are concerned, as occuring one after

another attacks are similar to specially organized and carried out

actions on the ground of hate. He recalled the style of the attacks:

they occur against the elderly, defenseless Armenians.

 

Speaker of the "Say no to racism and nationalism" movement Cengiz

Algan stressed his concern that the attacks on the Armenian women

have been organized. He said that they have demanded a meeting with

the governor of Istanbul Hussein Avni Mutlu to discuss the mentioned

incidents and take preventive measures.

[Yervant1]

CONCERNS RISE AS ISTANBUL-ARMENIANS KEEP FACING VIOLENCE

 

tert.am

11:06 ~U 25.01.13

 

The Istanbul-Armenian community keeps remaining concerned over the

continuing violence against Armenians in the Samatya district.

 

The Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos has devoted a report to the recent

assault against an 80 year-old Armenian woman. It has brought up more

details of the incidents.

 

"The 80-year-old Sultan Akyar was entering the house when a masked man,

aged 35, assaulted her. The neighbors, who had heard the woman's voice,

rushed to the scene to save Akyar at the last moment. Injured on the

head and face, Akyar had her vision in the right eye deteriorated.

 

The witnesses, two young girls, said they had seen the perpetrator

smoking at the door-entrance. They had also noticed a car, with two

men leaning against it and 'reading a magazine' while keeping an eye

on the scene.

 

This witness evidence proves that the assault was pre-arranged,"

says the publication, adding that a Turkish parliamentarian from

the Republican People's Party (CHP) has sent a note to the country's

interior minister, Idris Naim Shahin, expressing concerns over the

assaults against the ethnic Armenians in the Istanbul district.

 

The CHP lawmaker is particularly interested to know whether the recent

acts of violence are linked to one another in any way and weather

they were committed pursuant to a dirty scheme. He asks the interior

minister what measures have been taken to ensure the security of the

Samatya Armenians.

 

Turkey's Human Rights Association has promised in a recent statement

to submit a report to the Interior Ministry in this connection.

[Yervant1]

Murders, attacks in Istanbul's Samatya district of racist nature -

Turkish Human Rights Organization

 

tert.am

13:17 ¢ 26.01.13

 

 

Turkish Human Rights Organization (Ä°HD) has published a report about

the attacks on ethnic Armenians in Istanbul's Samatya district.

 

According to Istanbul-based Armenian-Turkish newspaper Agos, the

report stresses that the attacks are of racist nature and demanded

that police intensify its activity.

 

`The victims of the attacks are alike ` they are old women of Armenian

descent. It is obvious that the aim of the attack is not robbery. Old

and weak women who may easily be `unharmed' beaten and subjected to

violation,' the head of the organization Meral Cildir said.

 

One of the reporters present at the news conference said on the day of

the attack on Sultan Aikar the local Greek church was stoned.

 

The report also presents the opinions of the Armenian residents of

Samatya. `The word Armenian is being used here as a bad word. As far

as it so the attacks will continue. Today people above 80, tomorrow

30, the other day 40,' one of them said.

 

Another resident stressed, `When for instance a Mustafa kills an

Osman, or Ahmet, he is being viewed as a criminal and is being treated

as a criminal in jail but when one kills Hakob, or Khachatur he

becomes a hero and is being treated as a hero in jail. This is the

difference.'

 

The report says that Armenian residents in Samatya are facing serious

danger. `The vulnerable class of a society are old, helpless people

needing care and attention, and the attackers targeted the most

sensitive, vulnerable and painful place for Armenians,' the report

runs.

 

The murder was not committed for robbery. The Armenian residents of

the district are living in fear. Despite the unwillingness to accept

it, the murders and attacks are manifestations of racism and

hostility.

[Yervant1]

Another Armenian attacked in Istanbul

 

January 26, 2013 - 14:05 AMT

 

PanARMENIAN.Net - Another Armenian woman wasattacked in Istanbul. The

family of the victims decided against calling police, in view of the

woman's light injuries, Turkish media say.

 

According to some sources, Sunday, Jan 27, Istanbul district of

Samatya will host a mass rally against increasing attacks on

Armenians.

 

Two elderly Armenian women were attacked in Samatya district of

Istanbul, Turkey, on Jan 22 and 23, less than a month after an

84-year-old Armenian woman was brutally murdered in Istanbul, raising

the number of violent attacks against elderly Armenian women to at

least four in recent months, Asbarez reported.

 

The Jan 22 attack happened around 5 pm when the victim, 83-year-old

Sultan Aykar was about to enter her ground-floor apartment. She then

saw an intruder, frightened, she fell. The attacker proceeded to kick

her. Hearing her screams, neighbors came down, scaring off the masked

man, according to Bianet news agency.

 

The neighbors described the attacker as a male between the ages of 35

and 40, with gray hair, and dressed in black. During the attack, Aykar

suffered damage to her eye. She has now lost sight in that eye,

despite surgery on Jan 23. The victim's daughter, Menzar Etik, said

her mother did not have any enemies, as she was a quiet woman. Etik

did not believe the attacker's intention was robbery, as the attacker

did not attempt to steal her purse, and there was nothing more than a

broken TV in her apartment.

 

On Jan 23, another attack was reported on yet another elderly Armenian

woman. This time the attack happened on the street, near the Samatya

High School, sources said. The two assailants ran away. The victim's

was covered with blood. Shortly thereafter, she disappeared. Community

members and plainclothes policemen have been unable to find or

identify the woman.

 

The Samatya area is home to many Armenians. The community is weary of

these attacks, and there are calls for caution have been made.

 

In recent years, there have been several attacks against Armenians in

Turkey. In early December another Armenian woman was attacked and

robbed; while months earlier an Armenian woman was attacked by a taxi

driver and called an infidel.

 

On Jan 6, three assailants tried to kidnap an elderly Armenian woman,

according to Turkish sources. The attempt failed.

 

According to human rights activists, the common thread that runs

through all of these crimes is not just their being motivated by hate

or being committed in an environment that breeds intolerance against

Armenians, but also the efforts of the authorities to play them down

and cover them up.

[Yervant1]

When `Armenian' is swearword in Turkey, assaults against Armenians

will continue - report

 

news.am

January 26, 2013 | 15:12

 

ISTANBUL. - Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association of Turkey

and the country's `Say No to Racism and Nationalism' organization have

prepared a joint report with respect to the attacks that were carried

out, in the past two months, against elderly Armenian women in

Istanbul's densely-Armenian-populated Samatya district.

 

The report was presented during a joint conference by these two

organizations, and the document stressed that the factor of burglary

in these assaults is not credible, Radikal daily of Turkey reports.

 

Addressing the conference, Meral Cildir, a representative of the

Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association of Turkey, noted that

it is said among the Turkish society that when the word `Armenian' is

used as a swearword in Turkey, the assaults against the country's

Armenians will continue.

 

`The report will be sent to the Ministry of the Interior. The murder

case of Marissa Kucuk must be investigated openly. The investigation

should not include the murder case alone but, also, the potential

connecting links should be considered.

 

A law must be immediately adopted to define racism as a crime. The

state itself has to prove that it does not back nationalists and

racists,' Cildir stated.

[MosJan]

Don’t touch my Armenian neighbor!

 

http://img.newsam.com/news/137637.jpgJanuary 28, 2013 | 10:27

 

 

ISTANBUL. – The Democratic Peoples’ Congress of Turkey held a march Sunday to protest the recent attacks against Armenians, in Istanbul’s densely-Armenian-populated Samatya district, as a result of which an elderly Armenian woman was killed, two others lost one of their eyes, and an attempt was made to kidnap another.

Past and present MPs as well as Khosrov Dink, the brother of Hrant Dink—the founder and chief editor of Istanbul’s Agos Armenian bilingual weekly, who was gunned down in 2007 in front of his office building—and many others took part in the event, Agos reports.

During the march, the protesters held banners that read: “Don’t touch my Armenian neighbor!”, “Hatred is yours, humanity is ours”, and “We are with the Armenian people, we will not allow racism”.

At the end of the march, MP Ertugrul Kurkcu spoke at Samatya Square and stressed that the aforesaid attacks against Armenians were carried out as a result of xenophobia. Also, he raised a suspicion that the police may be responsible for these attacks.

[MosJan]

urkish authorities remain silent while attacks on Armenians continue – Agos

 

http://img.newsam.com/news/137282.jpgJanuary 25, 2013 | 00:04

 

 

Attacks, that have taken place in recent years, and which are making Istanbul Armenians terrified, continue to be ignored by the Turkish authorities. This subject was again mentioned by the Istanbul Armenian newspaperAgos in the article “Turkey is silent - attacks continue.”

The correspondent of Agoswrites:

The attacks on elderly Armenian women in Samatya were added by another one. They do not find any trace of the murder of Maritza Kucuk and attacks on elderly Armenian women continue, in the evening of January 22, at about 5p.m., 80-year-old Sultan Haykar was attacked. An Armenian woman was beaten at the time she was entering into the building. The assailant was dressed in black and was wearing a mask. The women’s screams were heard by the neighbors and they came to her help, the assailant escaped. Eyewitnesses claim that on the corner 2 people were “following” the actions of the attacker.

Responses to the brutal murder on December 28, of Samata Maritza, who lived alone in Kucuk, are still ongoing. Before she was killed, she was also tortured.

After the latest attack, members of the union rights movement in Turkey “Say no to racism and nationalism” and other public organizations visited the police of Aksaray, talked for an hour with the officials in the police, and then spoke at the press conference.

Chairman of the Istanbul branch of the Union of Human Rights in Turkey Umit Efen said that they are concerned, as occuring one after another attacks are similar to specially organized and carried out actions on the ground of hate. He recalled the style of the attacks: they occur against the elderly, defenseless Armenians.

Speaker of the “Say no to racism and nationalism” movement Cengiz Algan stressed his concern that the attacks on the Armenian women have been organized. He said that they have demanded a meeting with the governor of Istanbul Hussein Avni Mutlu to discuss the mentioned incidents and take preventive measures.

[Yervant1]

Armenians jeopardized in Istanbul

 

Massacres of the Christian population of the Ottoman Empire and its

successor Turkey are an integral part of the country's domestic

policy.

 

Every now and then, Istanbul turns into a city that poses extreme

danger to Armenians. This does not mean it had been safe otherwise;

still, sometimes Armenians are facing really hard times. Massacres of

1955 which affected Armenians and Jews along with the Greeks were

meticulously planned within Turkey's state policy.

 

January 26, 2013

 

 

PanARMENIAN.Net - Massacres of the Christian population of the Ottoman

Empire and its successor Turkey are an integral part of the country's

domestic policy. Currently 98% of Istanbul population identify

themselves as ethnic Turks and name the Turkish language as their

mother tongue. Meanwhile, the origin of Istanbul citizens is quite

diverse, reflecting the complex migration processes in the Ottoman

Empire. Despite absolute prevalence of Turkish, the very Turkic

genetic element is not very significant among the inhabitants of

Turkey (let alone Istanbul), accounting for not more than one third.

This phenomenon can be explained by intense Islamization and

`Turkization' of non-Turkic nations, the Christians and Jews in the

first place who constituted most part of the city's population until

mid-15th century.

 

There are approximately 60 000 Armenians in Istanbul today who live in

constant fear. Assassination of Hrant Dink 6 years ago seemed to cool

down the Turkish nationalists; it did not happen, though. Actually,

this couldn't have happened anyway because neither the police nor the

state stirred a finger to protect the lives of their own citizens,

particularly when Armenians, number one enemy for the Turkish state

are involved. However, Istanbul Armenians do not want to put up with

it; they say they live in their homeland and are not Diaspora, which

is not quite true, in fact. Their homeland, namely Western Armenia was

lost long ago, and Armenians are tolerated in Istanbul through habit

or out of political necessity.

 

It should be reminded that one of the oldest members of Istanbul's

Armenian community, 85-year-old Maritsa Kucuk was brutally killed on

December 28, 2012. The old woman was beaten and stabbed, then

beheaded. Kucuk's son Zadik found her body. `It was dark inside when I

entered the house, and mom was lying on the floor. I thought she had

fallen down. Then I saw her body all in blood. She lay naked, and she

had a cross sign on her chest,' Zadik told Agos paper. Another elderly

Armenian woman was robbed and killed in early December 2012.

 

On January 6, three unknown people attempted to abduct another old

Armenian woman but failed to do this.

 

On January 10, IT teacher of the Armenian `Aramian' school Ilker

Shahin was found dead in his house in Istanbul. Shahin was stabbed in

the throat three days prior to being found.

 

Two elderly Armenian women were assaulted in Istanbul on January 22

and 23. Sultan Aykar, 83 was attacked and beaten near her house. The

masked aggressor was scared away by neighbours who heard Aykar's

cries. The witnesses described the attacker as a brunet aged 35-40

dressed in black. The attack left Aykar blind in one eye despite the

surgery she underwent. On January 23, two unidentified persons

attacked another old Armenian woman in the street near Samatia school;

they beat her and then left. According to eye-witnesses, the victim,

all in blood, hurried to leave, too. A criminal case is launched on

this incident; however, the practice of such proceedings in Turkey is

widely known by the example of Hrant Dink's murderer's trial.

 

With all this going on, the fact that Armenians, mostly women, go to

Turkey for work, mostly unskilled one and are actually unprotected,

cannot but cause concerns. There are no diplomatic relations between

Armenia and Turkey, and there hardly be any in the near future, so

Armenian citizens have no one to address in case of trouble. In this

regard, it is worth mentioning that Turkey is not the only option for

earning one's living. There are no guarantees that children of these

people also leaving for Turkey will maintain their Armenian identity.

They will definitely face assimilation, and those who survive will

just dissolve in the 70 million Turkic environment; that's the

reality.

 

The Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan changed the Minister for Internal

Affairs; the former mayor of Istanbul Muammer Guler has taken up the

position now. The move was hardly sparked by the recent assaults

against Armenians. Istanbul is facing constant terrorist attacks, and

Guler is expected to stop the wave of violence perhaps. He will hardly

succeed in this though; the Kurds, the perpetrators, are not going to

surrender until independent Kurdistan is proclaimed. This will mark

the end of Turkey which will simply fall to pieces burying the

Christians first.

 

Karine Ter-Sahakian

 

http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/details/143001/

[Yervant1]

TURKISH STUDIES EXPERT SAYS CURRENT ATMOSPHERE IN TURKEY IS MUCH ALIKE THAT IN 1915

 

14:21 29/01/2013 " REGION

 

Anti-Christian atmosphere is developing in Turkey, in parallel with

the improvement of Turkish-Kurdish relations, Turkish studies expert

Artak Shakaryan told a news conference, commenting on the attacks of

Armenian women committed in recent months in Istanbul.

 

"It is difficult to say who the killer is, but it is a fact that those

killings are instigated by the nationalists," he said, adding that the

current atmosphere in Turkey is much alike that in 1915.

 

According to the expert, Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development

Party tries to form an internal front not only against the Armenians

but also against the entire Christian population so as to please the

nationalists and to gain additional political dividends.

 

Following elderly women, Armenian citizens living illegally in Turkey

are in danger, said the Turkish studies expert.

 

"They cannot apply to anyone for assistance because they know that

police will either demand bribes or will deport them to Armenia.

 

Armenian citizens will certainly be the next victims," said Shakaryan.

 

Source: Panorama.am

[Yervant1]

ATTACKS LAUNCHED AGAINST ARMENIANS IN TURKEY ARE PLANNED: TURK COLUMNIST

 

12:38, 29 January, 2013

 

YEREVAN, JANUARY 29, ARMENPRESS: If several things as I mentioned in a

country like Turkey happens in a matter of weeks, we should have every

reason to believe that they are organized and somehow connected to

each other. Columnist Orhan Kemal Cengiz came forth with a statement,

Armenpress reports citing Today's Zaman.

 

Columnist rejects Armenian women attacked in the Samatya neighborhood

of Istanbul recently were due to robbery. All of whom were over 80 and

living alone. Even if the intent of the attackers was robbery, this

does not change the fact that there is an obvious racial hatred behind

these assaults. If their only purpose was to steal a few items from

these old ladies they could easily incapacitate the women without the

brutality. But instead they brutally beat and stabbed these women. An

Armenian intellectual, who does not want to reveal his identity, told

me that he barely managed to escape unscathed from a planned attack

by two youngsters who were sent by an ultranationalist who was angry

with some of the words that this Armenian intellectual had made on TV.

 

Some circles are frantically trying to create an atmosphere of

terror for non-Muslims in Turkey. When there was a comparable level

of activities against non-Muslims in 2006 and 2007, they ended up

in disaster with a string of murders of Christians: Father Andrea

Santoro in Trabzon, Hrant Dink in Istanbul and three Christians in

Malatya were killed.

 

Since the beginning of the Ergenekon investigation in 2007, we have

not witnessed such kinds of attacks against non-Muslims. Some cells

seemed to have been reactivated to give Christians a hard time once

again. I really hope that officials will grasp the severity and

gravity of the situation soon and act quickly in order to bring the

attackers and the people behind them to justice. This situation is

quite serious and alarming.

[Yervant1]

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN SAMATYA?

By Tuba Candar

 

http://hetq.am/eng/news/22784/what-is-happening-in-samatya?.html

16:23, January 29, 2013

 

Samatya is one those neighbourhoods of Istanbul inhabited by Armenians

and witnessed a series of atrocities that they have been targeted

throughout the last month. The bilingual (Armenian and Turkish)

weekly journal Agos pioneered the media in bringing the aggressive

acts against Armenians in Samatya to the public attention.

 

Agos is founded in 1996 by Hrant Dink, the journalist that has been

the ardent defender of Armenian minority rights and stood against

the discriminatory policies of the Turkish state. Following his

brutal assassination on 19 January 2007, Agos, remained true to his

intellectual legacy and editorial tradition, in continuing with

determination to bring the problems of the intimidated Armenian

community to the attention of the public opinion.

 

As the aggressive acts against aged Armenian women perpetuated,

liberal-democratic daily newspapers such as Taraf and Radikal, started

to give large coverage to the Samatya events, following suit of Agos.

 

Particularly on January 22, when Sultan Aykar, an old Armenian lady

is attacked at her ground floor apartment and another anonymous old

Armenian lady was tried to be kidnapped, the Samatya events finally

captured the attention of the mainstream media like the daily Milliyet

which focused on the developments in depth and gave equally a wide

coverage. While the atrocities in Samatya are presented to the public

knowledge through full page interviews conducted with the inhabitants

of the neighbourhood, the commentators carried the issue to the

op-ed columns.

 

First in the chain of aggressive acts committed against the Armenian

inhabitants of Samatya had been the beating at the street of an

Armenian lady who is 87 year of age in the beginning of December 2012.

 

That was followed at the end of the month, on December the 28th when

Maritsa Kucuk, an Armenian old lady was brutally murdered. The victims

have something in common that they are people of very modest incomes.

 

That fact strengthens the impression, that as opposed what initially

it was, the crimes perpetrated has nothing to do with the intention of

robbery. One other common aspect was that all the women involved were

regular church-visitors and the aggressive acts were committed when

they were returning home from the church in the neighborhood. All

these provided certain evidence that they have been followed by

their aggressors. Devouring real estate which has been initially and

allegedly put forward as the main reason behind the aggressive acts

in Samatya proved to be far from convincing.

 

As the atrocities found a wide coverage in the main stream media, the

statement of the Governor of Istanbul who interpreted the events as

"individual" acts, similarly, considered as unconvincing. Those who

recall the first official statements on the assassination of Hrant

Dink, who six years ago also on a January day slaine on the pavement

in front his newspaper Agos, will not be satisfied with such an

interpretation. Those official statements had claimed that the murder

of Hrant Dink was not an organized crime, but an "individual act",

committed with no political connection to it.

 

As a matter of fact, we witness in the last couple of days that the

civil society is getting mobilized. In two separate demonstrations,

thousands of people marched with slogans reflecting the awareness of

the society against those perpetrated crimes against the Armenians.

 

The slogans read, "Do not touch to my Armenian neighbour", "I don't

let my sister and brother to be touched", "We are one with the Armenian

people", No passage to racism".

 

Because we do not have sufficient information yet, I do not want to

speculate on by whom the aggressive acts are done and why now. These

events need a serious and thorough inquiry.

 

I have always said and keep on saying the following: The day Hrant

fell on the pavement of his newspaper in daylight, before the eyes

of us all, with his dead body, he formed a bridge linking 1915 with

the present day. From that moment on, he kept telling us more than he

did while he was alive. Those who wanted to silence him and spared

from him the justice cannot prevent his voice to resonate even more

strongly and higher. The media is no longer like the former, neither

the civil society, nor the Armenian community is like the former

intimidated one! Let me conclude by a tweet of an Armenian citizen

circulated at the social media: "Let it be known that we opened our

eyes in Samatya and will close them in Samatya. Nobody will be able

to send us from there!"

 

Born in 1948, Tuba Candar completed her education in the United

States after secondary schooling in Austria High School in Turkey. She

graduated from the International Relations Department of the Ankara

University Faculty of Political Science. She lived in Germany

following March 12 military coup. Returning to Turkey, she became

the editor-in-chief of "Bizim Almanca" magazine under Cumhuriyet daily.

 

She also worked as an editor at "Gergedan" magazine. At Yeni

Yuzyýl daily, she wrote culture and arts and travel pieces. She

had a "Portraits" column in "Gazete Pazar." Her first book about

the life of Mualla Eyubýðlu Anhegger, "Hitit Guneþi" (Hitite Sun),

was in 2003. In 2007, she had "Murat Belge Bir Hayat" (Murat Belge

A Life). Her latest book, "Hrant" came out on the birthday of Hrant

Dink on Sept. 15 in 2010.

[Yervant1]

TURKISH PARLIAMENT'S KURDISH PARTY CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON ARMENIAN WOMEN

 

TERT.AM

17:20 ~U 29.01.13

 

Kurdish Peace and Democracy party representatives in the Turkish

parliament condemned the violence against ethnic Armenian women in

the Istanbul Samatya district.

 

Party's deputy chairman Gultan Kicanak reminded that five women were

attacked in the district, one of them was killed, the others injured.

 

"The periodicity of this attacks and how they occur make it clear

that these are hatred crimes. These attacks were manifestations of

racism and hatred," she said.

 

Kicanak said during one of the attacks the criminal left money on

the table of the victim which proves that the crime was not for

robbery purpose.

 

"We know how Armenians were annihilated, massacred. It is still the

aching wound for Turkey. Now not ensuring their security is the shame

of this country. These attacks continue for already second month but

neither police nor government makes any comments. It is shameful for

the country," she said.

 

Gultan Kicanak also noted that their party condemn the attacks and

expresses its support to the Armenian compatriots, saying they are

not alone.

[Yervant1]

'I wish I wasn't Armenian'

 

http://www.todayszaman.com/columnistDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=305387

28 January 2013, Monday

 

ORHAN KEMAL CENGÝZ

o.cengiz@todayszaman.com

 

On Monday when I was turning the pages of the Taraf daily, I came

across this very striking headline, "I wish I wasn't Armenian." These

are the words of an old Armenian lady whom the Taraf correspondent

called Aunt Seta. Ms. Seta is a close friend of the four Armenian

women who were attacked in the Samatya neighborhood of Ýstanbul

recently. One of the ladies died while the others were seriously

injured. No suspect has been caught yet. Some argue that these ladies,

all of whom were over 80 and living alone, were attacked by thieves

whose only intentions were to steal their valuables.

 

Well, as I discussed in my earlier column, even if the intent of the

attackers was robbery, this does not change the fact that there is an

obvious racial hatred behind these assaults. If their only purpose was

to steal a few items from these old ladies they could easily

incapacitate the women without the brutality. But instead they

brutally beat and stabbed these women. And we have additional

information provided by the neighbors, including Ms. Seta, who said

that the assaulted Armenian women were actually quite poor. There are

of course other theories circulating currently. One of them claims

that the attackers intend to scare Armenians away from Samatya in

order to seize their properties. Whatever financial or material gains

may appear to be behind these attacks, I do not think they eradicate

the racial hatred apparent in their execution.

 

And it seems to me that these attacks have already achieved a lot. As

you can see from the words of Ms. Seta, they have managed to plant

profound hopelessness in Armenians and open up some old wounds which

might not have healed completely.

 

Maybe we need to look at the broader picture to gain a wider

perspective on these recent attacks against Armenians in Ýstanbul.

 

Very recently a Greek church in Ýstanbul was stoned by "unknown"

people. Then, the police revealed an extremely detailed assassination

plan against one of the pastors of the Ýzmit Protestant Church. The

police announced that they caught a dozen suspects who appear to have

been preparing for this attack for months. They are from different

cities. Amongst them are women and some of them penetrated the church

disguised as newly converted Christians. This assassination plan seems

very professional and organized to me.

 

There was another concerning development in Ýstanbul very recently as

well. An Armenian intellectual, who does not want to reveal his

identity, told me that he barely managed to escape unscathed from a

planned attack by two youngsters who were sent by an ultranationalist

who was angry with some of the words that this Armenian intellectual

had made on TV.

 

Well, in a country like Turkey, if several things as I mentioned

happens in a matter of weeks, we should have every reason to believe

that they are organized and somehow connected to each other.

 

Apparently, some circles are frantically trying to create an

atmosphere of terror for non-Muslims in Turkey. When there was a

comparable level of activities against non-Muslims in 2006 and 2007,

they ended up in disaster with a string of murders of Christians:

Father Andrea Santoro in Trabzon, Hrant Dink in Ýstanbul and three

Christians in Malatya were killed.

 

Since the beginning of the Ergenekon investigation in 2007, we have

not witnessed such kinds of attacks against non-Muslims. Some cells

seemed to have been reactivated to give Christians a hard time once

again. I really hope that officials will grasp the severity and

gravity of the situation soon and act quickly in order to bring the

attackers and the people behind them to justice. This situation is

quite serious and alarming!

[MosJan]

AI urges investigation into attacks on Armenians in Istanbul

 

http://media.pn.am/media/issue/143/525/photo/143525.jpg

January 30, 2013 - 13:44 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Amnesty International calls on the Turkish authorities to carry out a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the series of attacks on elderly Armenian women in Istanbul.

In the last two months, four attacks, one of them fatal, took place in Samatya an area historically inhabited by Armenians in central Istanbul. All four women are Turkish citizens of Armenian origin.

“The Turkish authorities have an obligation to investigate any alleged racist and/or religious bias behind the perpetration of these crimes. A failure to do so may amount to a violation of the European Convention of Human Rights, ratified by Turkey, and the prohibition of discrimination set forth by it.

Hate crimes constitute a serious form of discrimination. State authorities have not only to refrain from discriminating themselves but also exercise due diligence to prevent and combat discrimination from private parties.

It is regrettable that Turkish legislation does not foresee any legislative and policy measures ensuring that hate motives are systematically and thoroughly investigated and duly taken into account in the prosecution and sentencing.

Police insist that they are investigating the cases thoroughly. However, Amnesty International is concerned at public statements made by the authorities discounting the possibility of a racist motivation to the attacks,” AI statement said.

[Yervant1]

CAUSE FOR CONCERN IN TURKEY: RECENT ATTACKS AIMED AT ARMENIANS, OR AT CHRISTIANS IN GENERAL?

 

http://www.armenianow.com/society/42949/istanbul_attacks_armenian_genocide

SOCIETY | 30.01.13 | 13:07

 

By GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN

ArmeniaNow reporter

 

Several assaults against Armenians in Turkey over the past month have

raised concerns and stirred a wave of outrage not only among Armenians,

but also Turkish human rights advocates, who held an act of protest

Sunday calling for "consistency in investigating the assaults and

murders on ethnic grounds".

 

Pro-Kurdish member of the Turkish parliament, representative of Peace

and Democracy party Sebahat Tuncel and independent MP, member of the

Commission on Human Rights Ertugrul Kurkcu declared during the protest

that the assaults were hate crimes motivated by strong anti-Armenian

sentiments and that "the police is at fault for their inertness".

 

On December 28, in her home at Istanbul's Samatia district largely

populated by Armenians, 85-year-old Maritsa Kucuk was brutally

murdered. Her son's testimony claims that the perpetrators had "carved"

a cross with a knife on the old woman's chest.

 

Some ten days earlier in the same district an 87-year-old native

Armenian woman, Turfanda Ashik was assaulted and brutally beaten.

 

On January 6 (Armenian Christmas), another native Armenian woman

escaped an attempted assault on her way to church. With her own

resistance and some support from aside she managed to find refuge in

the church.

 

On January 22, again at Samatia district, near his house 83-year-old

Sultan Aykar became a victim of assault and lost vision in one eye

caused by beating.

 

Turkish human rights advocates are convinced that the crimes are of

"racist anti-Armenian character", however it is unclear yet whether

the "racist sentiments" are against Armenians only, or Christians

in general.

 

Editor of the Armenian version of Istanbul-based Agos daily Bagrat

Estukian believes "these are hate crimes" as a reaction prior to the

100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide to be marked in 2015.

 

The Istanbul branch of Turkey's Human Rights Association has published

a separate report in which several Samatia residents stress that they

are "afraid" and that for as long as "the word 'Armenian' is used as

a swear word, such incidents will keep happening".

 

By various census results there are 50,000-60,000 Armenians living

in Turkey today, the majority of them in Istanbul; Armenians there

have a patriarchy, 16 schools, more than 30 churches, 3 newspapers

(one of them 100-years-old) and two hospitals.

 

Despite the constant fear and atmosphere of ethnic discrimination,

the Armenian community of Turkey keeps staying in what they call their

"historic homeland".

 

"Such problems have always existed, but the atmosphere of fear now

is really tangible," Istanbul-based Heriknaz Avagian, initiator and

principle of the special Armenian school for the children of illegal

immigrants, told ArmeniaNow.

 

The year of 2007 became a watershed in the lives of Istanbul-Armenians,

when editor-in-chief of Agos daily Hrant Dink was assassinated near

his newsroom.

 

As Turkish Armenian Arus Yumul, sociology professor and head of chair

at one of Istanbul's biggest universities (around 12,000 students),

explains "Dink's murder awakened not only us Armenians, but also

Turks, who started showing more interest in the dark pages of their

history," however this "awakening of consciousness" has also had

a counter-effect.

 

Months after Dink's murder Istanbul's St Astvatsatsin (Holy Virgin)

church suffered an armed attack when a gunman opened fire during

liturgy, luckily with no casualties.

 

In 2011, on April 24 - Remembrance Day for the victims of the Armenian

Genocide - in the army a Turkish soldier shot dead his fellow private

Sevag Sahin Balikci. On the day of the funeral his parents said it

was an accident, but during the trial, the last hearing of which

took place on January 25, they declared that "Sevak was murdered for

being Armenian, that day one Armenian had to be killed, it had been

decided so."

 

During the same 2011 a taxi driver physically abused an Armenian woman:

he called her an "infidel", beat her and threw out of his car.

 

After this case the police stated that it was a matter of minutes

to take the driver into custody, because both the vehicle number and

the taxi service were known. More than a year has passed and nobody

has been held accountable.

 

These recent cases have had strong reaction in Armenia, some even

drew parallels with the murder of Kurdish women in France during

the same period, committed in the highlight of negotiations with

Abdullah Ocalan.

 

However, expert in Turkish studies Ruben Safrastyan, head of the

Institute of Eastern Studies at the National Academy of Sciences,

believes that the assaults are anti-Christian rather than

anti-Armenian.

 

"The Turkish society is undergoing a period of change, on the one hand

it is the desire for growing awareness about the Genocide among some

circles, on the other it is the extremist pro-religious, pro-Islamic

sentiments growing deeper and as counter-effect the anti-Christian

and anti-Armenian wave is getting bigger," says Safrastyan, adding

that the government policy is creating fertile soil for all of this.

[Yervant1]

YOUTH URGE CONGRESS TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST ANTI-ARMENIAN HATE CRIMES IN TURKEY

 

http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/01/30/youth-urge-congress-to-speak-out-against-anti-armenian-hate-crimes-in-turkey/

January 30, 2013

 

Capitol Hill Silent Protest Part of National "Stain of Denial" Campus

Campaign Raising Awareness about the Armenian Genocide and Legacy

of Intolerance

 

WASHINGTON-Armenian Student Association (ASA) members from the

across the U.S. have teamed up with the Washington, DC Armenian Youth

Federation (AYF) Ani chapter and local youth in organizing a silent

protest on Capitol Hill this week to urge Congress to condemn a series

of vicious hate crimes perpetrated against elderly Armenian women in

Istanbul, Turkey and to call on U.S. leaders to end Turkey's gag rule

on proper U.S. affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.

 

The protest will be held in front of the Senate Dirksen Office

Building, on Constitution Ave., from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Jan. 31 The

protest will be held in front of the Senate Dirksen Office Building,

on Constitution Ave., from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Jan. 31, coinciding

with the nationwide "Stain of Denial" campus protests organized by the

All-ASA and supported by the AYF and ARF Shant Student organizations.

 

"The growing number of hate crimes against Armenians, and particularly

women, in Turkey is extremely disturbing. In only the past two

months more than four Armenians were attacked and killed in Istanbul,

once again bringing to light the strain of deeply rooted hatred and

intolerance in Turkish society that is encouraged by the government and

its continued policy of genocide denial," explained Knarik Gasparyan,

Public Relations Director of the UCLA Armenian Students Association,

in Washington DC for a semester-long internship.

 

Gasparyan is referring to four widely publicized attacks against

elderly Armenian women, one fatal, which have taken place over the

past two months, in the historically Armenian-inhabited neighborhood

of Samatya, in central Istanbul. On Dec. 28, an 85-year-old Armenian

woman was repeatedly stabbed and killed in her home, with assailants

carving a cross on her chest. Other attacks include the Nov. 2012

beating of an 87-year-old Armenian woman, and a failed attempt to

abduct an elderly Armenian woman on Jan. 6. According to Turkish

news outlet, Bianet, the latest incident took place on Jan. 22,

when 83-year-old Sultan Aykar was attacked and repeatedly kicked

until neighbors heard her screams and rushed to assist her. Aykar

lost sight in one eye because of the brutal beating.

 

The beatings sparked a sharp response from Amnesty International

earlier this week, which called on "Turkish authorities to carry

out a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the series

of attacks on elderly Armenian women in Istanbul." The January 28th

statement stressed that "Hate crimes constitute a serious form of

discrimination... It is regrettable that Turkish legislation does

not foresee any legislative and policy measures ensuring that hate

motives are systematically and thoroughly investigated and duly taken

into account in the prosecution and sentencing."

 

Questions regarding a government cover-up of the attacks abound, as

Turkish authorities attempt to downplay the crimes. "The incident was

inspired by robbery, there were no racial motives. Be sure we will find

the perpetrators. Good night," tweeted Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni

Mutlu to his 100,000 followers. This and similar statements prompted

Amnesty International to express "concern at public statements made by

the authorities discounting the possibility of a racist motivation to

the attacks." Meanwhile, the Turkish Human Rights Association stated

categorically that "the attacks were carried out with racist motives,"

according to a January 28th Economist article, "Turkey's Armenians:

The Ghosts of 1915," referencing the legacy of the Armenian Genocide

and its denial.

 

"The recent brutal murders and attacks on elderly Armenian women in

Istanbul once again showed the level of xenophobia and intolerance

within the Turkish society," explained Bloomfield College student

Armen Sahakyan. "The events also serve as a sober reminder for us

that the Armenian Genocide issue is not yet resolved and we should

work ever harder to stand up to Turkey's denial of that crime and

secure the return of what rightfully belongs to the Armenian nation."

[MosJan]

«Պոլսահայերուն քով վախի լուրջ մթնոլորտ կայ»

Սագօ Արեան

 

 

16:53, 30 հունվարի, 2013

 

Պոլսոյ մէջ վերջին օրերուն արձանագրուած դէպքերը դարձած են մեր ուշադրութեան գլխաւոր կիզակէտը: Բայց ինչ որ կը կատարուի այնտեղ, պոլսահայ համայնքին համար նորութիւն մը չէ: Պարզապէս սոցցանցերու, կայքերու, լրագրողներու եւ արբանեակային կայաններու արձագանքները նոր հարթութեան կը տանին Պոլսոյ մէջ մաքառող համայնքին ամէնօրեայ երբեմն դառն, երբեմն ուշացած եւ յաճախ վիրաւոր ինքնութիւնը: Թուրքիան կ'ապրի ինքնութեան խնդիր: Ու նոր չէ այս ամէնը. թերեւս մենք է, որ վերջապէս կը զգանք, թէ Պոլսոյ ամբողջ գետինը կը շարժի: Ինքնութեան վէրքերուն մէջ փաթթուած, վիրաւոր խանձարուրին մէջ պահուած, հարցադրումներու, ճակատագրի ու ապագայի մեծ հարցումներով Պոլիսը կը տրոփէ: Այս ամէնը նորութիւն չէ պոլսահայերուն համար, կը հաստատէ Սայաթ Թէքիր:

 

«Մենք տեսած ենք Փոկրոմ, տեսած ենք ջարդ...»,- կ'ըսէ Սայաթ Թէքիր, որ մէկ շաբթուան մը համար յայտնուած է Երեւանի մէջ: Սայաթ «Նոր Զարթօնք» խումբի ներկայացուցիչն է, աքթիւիստ եւ ընկերաբանութեան ուսանող: Ան կը պատրաստուի Կիւմրիի մէջ յառաջիկային գրել իր թէզը: Մեր հանդիպման ընթացքին Սայաթ կը նշէ, որ Մարիձա Գիւչիւքի սպաննութիւնէն առաջ նոյնիսկ «Նոր Զարթօնք»ը հրապարակած է հաղորդագրութիւն մը՝ զգուշացնելով որ Թուրքիոյ մէջ կրնան հակահայ ցնցիչ դէպքեր արձանագրուիլ: Սայաթի կարծիքով այս դէպքերը կրնային պատահիլ, որովհետեւ Թուրքիա ուշի-ուշով կը հետեւի հայկական ընդհանուր իրավիճակին, մանաւանդ տրուած ըլլալով, որ հայութիւնը կը պատրաստուի Ցեղասպանութեան 100-ամեակին: Սայաթ կը յայտնէ, որ Պոլսոյ մէջ այսօրուայ դրութեամբ կը տիրէ վախի մթնոլորտ, ու մեծ կարեւորութեամբ կը խօսի ուշացած միասնականութեան մը մասին: Սայաթ Թէքիր իր խօսքի ընթացքին քանիցս շեշտեց, որ պոլսահայութեան մօտ վախի լուրջ մթնոլորտ մը կայ ու պարզ չէ, թէ այդ վախը երբ պիտի վերանայ: Ան կ'ըսէ. «Յառաջիկայ օրերը վտանգաւոր օրեր կրնան ըլլալ ոչ միայն պոլսահայերուն, այլ՝ Հայաստանէն աշխատելու համար Պոլիս հասած Հայաստանի քաղաքացիներուն համար: Իր կարծիքով ընելիք աշխատանք կայ մանաւանդ բոլոր փոքրամասնութիւններուն հետ: Ան, խօսելով անցեալ Կիրակի օր Սամաթիոյ մէջ տեղի ունեցած բողոքի հաւաքին մասին, ըսաւ նաեւ, թէ ցոյցը մեծապէս յաջողած է, որովհետեւ Սամաթիա ապրող հայեր առաջին անգամ ըլլալով մասնակցած են այս բողոքի մեծ հաւաքին: Սայաթ զարմացումով կը խօսի նաեւ թէ կարելի էր այսպիսի մեծ հաւաքներ կազմակերպել մանաւանդ. «Մենք բողոքի ցոցեր կը կազմակերպենք միայն զոհեր տալէ ետք»: Սայաթ կ'ըսէ թէ Թուրքիոյ մէջ արդարադատութեան հասնելու խնդիրը մեծ հարց է ու այս անարդարութիւնները միայն հայերուն դէմ չեն ուղղուած, այլ՝ բոլոր փոքրամասնութիւններուն: Սայաթ Թէքիրի համար իրատեսական մօտեցում մը կայ: Ան կ'ըսէ. «Մենք պատրաստ պէտք է ըլլանք նմանօրինակ դէպքերու, որովհետեւ Ցեղասպանութիւնէն ի վեր մենք տասը տարին մէկ նոր հարուած մը ստացած են Պոլսոյ մէջ:»

 

Սայաթ նաեւ խօսեցաւ «Նոր Զարթօնք» խումբի մասին, որ հիմնուած է 2004 թուականին. Սկզբանական շրջանին խումբին անդամները միայն նամակագրական կապով աշխատանքներու կը ձեռնարկէին: Հրանդ Տինքի նահատակութիւնէն ետք (2007) յատկապէս իրենց աշխատանքները աւելի մեծ թափ առած են: Սայաթ յայտնեց որ «Նոր Զարթօնք» հիմնադրած է համացանցային ռատիօկայան մը՝ www.norradio.com հասցէով, ուր հայերէնէն բացի ինը լեզուներով հաղորդումներ կը սփռուին: Սայաթ նաեւ նշեց, որ «Նոր Զարթօնք»ը կը զբաղի այլ փոքրամասնութիւններու հետ կապեր ստեղծելով, հաւաքներ կազմակերպելով եւ քաղաքական-ընկերային լսարաններ կայացնելով: Ան ըսաւ, որ «Նոր Զարթօնք»ը ոչ մէկ քաղաքական գունաւորում կամ պատկանելիութիւն ունի, եւ հոն հաւաքուած երիտասարդները կ'աշխատին կամաւոր կերպով: Սայաթ կարեւոր նկատեց նաեւ, որ հայրենի մամուլն ու լրատուական կայքերը աւելի մեծ ուշադրութեամբ հետեւին Պոլսոյ մէջ կատարուած դէպքերուն եւ մտնեն պոլսահայերու կեանքի մանրամասնութիւններուն մէջ, լսեն պոլսահայերու իրական ձայնը: Սայաթ նաեւ անդրադարձաւ մամուլին ու լրատուական կայքերուն մէջ երեւելի բացթողումներուն եւ սխալներուն:

 

Հ.Գ. Մենք մինչեւ ո՞ւր պիտի քալենք զոհի «դափնեպսակ»ը մեր գլխուն: Ազգային չափազանցուած տոքթրին, ատելութեան, ոխի, քէնի եւ մերժումի քաղաքականութեամբ սնուելէ անդին կը հաւատամ, որ ժամանակն է տրոփող, զարկերակուող Պոլսոյ մէջ բարձարձայն կերպով լսելի դարձնել նաեւ մեր ձայնը: Եթէ մասնատուած ենք, վերջ տանք այդ մասնատումին, եթէ հեռու ենք պոլսահայութեան խնդիրներէն, ականջ տանք իրենց, եթէ փակուած են մեր ականջները, լսենք իրենց բարձրացուցած աղաղակը:

 

Չմոռնանք, որ այս պայքարին մէջ միայն հայեր չեն: Հիմա նոր ժամանակներ են, եւ օդին մէջ պարզուած ձեռքերը կը սպասեն մեր պատասխանին, մեր այո-ին, մեր գործին:

 

Խօսքէն անդին երթալը ժամանակի խնդիր է: Կը մնայ նայիլ Սայաթ Թէքիրներու աչքերուն մէջ՝ հաւատալու, որ Պոլսոյ հայերը ծարաւ ունին կտոր մը Հայրենիքի տուած ներուժին, կտոր մը քաջալերանքի....

 

Սայաթ իր խօսքին մէջ ժպտալով ըսաւ, որ ինք ու իր նման շատեր եկած են Թուրքիոյ մէջ բան մը փոխելու. ան երազող մը չէ, իրատեսական են իր բառերը: Իր խօսքին առանցքը աւելի տարածելով՝ ըսաւ նաեւ, որ թերեւս օր մը աշխարհը կը փոխենք: Ամէն շարժումի իրական ապաւէնը հաւատքի կաթիլն է, կը մնայ հաւատալ ու հազար մղոնի երկար ճանապարհը ինչպէս միշտ, հաւատքի առաջին քայլով կը սկսի: Հրանդ Տինքի շաղ տուած սերմերը ի զուր չցանուեցան: Այսօր Պոլսոյ հայութիւնը կանգնած է նոր հանգրուանի մը առջեւ ու բնական այս շարժումին, այս մեծ փոփոխութիւններուն առընթեր պէտք է նոր մասնակիցներ երեւին: Մենք՝ Սփիւռք եւ Հայաստան, այդ ներուժը ունինք: Եւ չմոռնանք, որ երկար ճանապարհները կը հարթուին միայն, երբ կը հաւատանք, որ առաջին քայլը արդէն նետած ենք:

[MosJan]

[MosJan]

http://hetq.am/arm/opinion/22826/polsahayerun-qov-vakhi-lurj-mtnolort-kay.html

[Yervant1]

TURKOLOGIST CALLS TURKEY'S SILENCE ON SAMATIA EVENTS "SILENT CONSENT"

 

Friday,

February 01

 

The Turkish state is unable to ensure the security of its citizens,

Turkologist Levon Hovsepian said at a meeting with reporters today.

 

In his words, "Turkish authorities have not yet expressed their

opinion about the Samatia events; I would call their silence a silent

consent".

 

He said there can hardly be personal motives behind those murders,

they are ethnically motivated.

 

Levon Hovsepian noted that Turkey should respond to the Samatia events

as rapidly as possible, otherwise it is not ruled out that the events

may get out of control.

 

TODAY, 13:38

 

Aysor.am