Armenian News ... Plus some new Armenian songs ...
From David Solomons
You might be interested in some songs I set to English translations (by James Russell) of poems by Gourgen Mahari and Vahan Teryan
Sentimental song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTTXZNMJHGs
Street Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZsjJrKp4Jg
The Swallows
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vucw5zpeGzQ
and also one song based on a poem written in Armenian by James Russell himself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXQ3XSPs6jE
RETURN THE FRAGMENTS OF ARMENIAN PAGAN GODDESS
ANAHIT'S STATUE TO ARMENIA - PETITION
February 1, 2015
The remains of a statue of the pre-Christian Armenian Goddess of
fertility, healing, wisdom and water are in possession of the British
Museum. We now have the opportunity and obligation to return the
statue home to Armenia. So our people can admire their cultural and
historical artifacts in it's rightful place.
Anahit, Goddess of fertility, healing, wisdom, water, and war is an
important part of Armenian history, mythology, and culture. According
to the website of the British Museum, the fragments (head and hand)
of Anahit's bronze statue were accidently discovered in 1872 by a
farmer digging the land in Satagh, south-eastern Turkey. The head made
its way via Constantinople (modern Istanbul) and Italy to the dealer
Alessandro Castellani, who eventually sold it to the British Museum.
The hand was presented to the Museum a few years later.
The widespread turmoil and deportations in the region of historic
Armeniahave robbed the Armenian people of the very artifacts that would
represent the Armenian culture. The historic artifacts, such as the
remains of Goddess Anahit's statue, that have been scattered around the
world throughout the many centuries of Armenia's existence should not
be presented to Armenians only through textbooks and encyclopedias. The
physical presence of these remains in Armenia will give the Armenian
people the chance to visit their history in museums or galleries
without having the need to travel more than 2000 miles to do so.
If you, the petitioner, have ever been introduced to Armenians and
their culture, you would be familiar with the name of this Goddess
by the numerous Armenian women that have been named after her. The
following pictures are few of the examples showing that the sentimental
value of Goddess Anahit's statue is worth far more for Armenians than
how it is currently represented inthe British Museum.
We petition now to return the cultural treasures to the people of
Armenia in care of the History Museum of Armenia in Yerevan, where a
copy of the statue is currently displayed. Similar cultural retrievals
have proven to be successful for countries like Greece and Egypt.
Particularly Egypt has succeeded several times in returning cultural
values from the British Museum. We can do the same!
Please sign the petition to politely urge the UK officials to approve
the transfer of the fragments of Armenian Pagan Goddess Anahit's
statue to Armenia because it is important for Armenians to have what
reflects our cultural heritage and national history in our museums.
Sign the petition here
February 1, 2015
The remains of a statue of the pre-Christian Armenian Goddess of
fertility, healing, wisdom and water are in possession of the British
Museum. We now have the opportunity and obligation to return the
statue home to Armenia. So our people can admire their cultural and
historical artifacts in it's rightful place.
Anahit, Goddess of fertility, healing, wisdom, water, and war is an
important part of Armenian history, mythology, and culture. According
to the website of the British Museum, the fragments (head and hand)
of Anahit's bronze statue were accidently discovered in 1872 by a
farmer digging the land in Satagh, south-eastern Turkey. The head made
its way via Constantinople (modern Istanbul) and Italy to the dealer
Alessandro Castellani, who eventually sold it to the British Museum.
The hand was presented to the Museum a few years later.
The widespread turmoil and deportations in the region of historic
Armeniahave robbed the Armenian people of the very artifacts that would
represent the Armenian culture. The historic artifacts, such as the
remains of Goddess Anahit's statue, that have been scattered around the
world throughout the many centuries of Armenia's existence should not
be presented to Armenians only through textbooks and encyclopedias. The
physical presence of these remains in Armenia will give the Armenian
people the chance to visit their history in museums or galleries
without having the need to travel more than 2000 miles to do so.
If you, the petitioner, have ever been introduced to Armenians and
their culture, you would be familiar with the name of this Goddess
by the numerous Armenian women that have been named after her. The
following pictures are few of the examples showing that the sentimental
value of Goddess Anahit's statue is worth far more for Armenians than
how it is currently represented inthe British Museum.
We petition now to return the cultural treasures to the people of
Armenia in care of the History Museum of Armenia in Yerevan, where a
copy of the statue is currently displayed. Similar cultural retrievals
have proven to be successful for countries like Greece and Egypt.
Particularly Egypt has succeeded several times in returning cultural
values from the British Museum. We can do the same!
Please sign the petition to politely urge the UK officials to approve
the transfer of the fragments of Armenian Pagan Goddess Anahit's
statue to Armenia because it is important for Armenians to have what
reflects our cultural heritage and national history in our museums.
Sign the petition here
https://www.change.org/p/uk-secretary-of-culture-return-the-fragments-of-armenian-pagan-goddess-anahit-s-statue-to-armenia?after_sign_exp=member_sponsored_donation
RFE/RL Report
Karabakh Leaders Condemned For Violence Against Armenian
RFE/RL Report
Karabakh Leaders Condemned For Violence Against Armenian
Opposition Group
Nadia Bulghadarian, Hovannes Movsisian ## Sargis Harutyunyan
02.02.2015
Armenia's leading opposition parties have condemned authorities in
Nagorno-Karabakh for forcibly preventing dozens of members of a
smaller Armenian opposition group from entering the territory as part
of its campaign for "regime change" in Yerevan.
A motorcade of over 30 cars carrying the activists of the group called
the Founding Parliament was stopped and attacked by Karabakh security
forces at Armenia's border with the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR) on Saturday. More than a dozen oppositionists,
including Founding Parliament leader Zhirayr Sefilian, were injured in
the violent crackdown that caused outrage among government critics in
both Armenia and Karabakh.
The Founding Parliament insisted afterwards that the Karabakh riot
police began beating the Yerevan-based activists and smashing their
cars after Sefilian agreed to obey their orders and told the convoy to
turn back. "As soon as Zhirayr turned around to get in his car and
drive back to Yerevan they started hitting him," one of the activists,
Ara Khudaverdian, told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "It
was like a bandit attack."
"It all started after they stole my camera," said another activist,
Arsen Khechoyan. He claimed that two other Founding Parliament members
filming the procession also had their cameras confiscated on the spot.
The Karabakh police defended the use of force, saying that it
prevented "mass disturbances." A police statement claimed that the
oppositionists would have been confronted by many angry Karabakh
Armenians had they been allowed to take their campaign to the
self-proclaimed republic.
A spokesman for Bako Sahakian, the NKR president, likewise justified
the violence and accused the Founding Parliament of resorting to
"provocations." "What is Artsakh (Karabakh) to do with internal
political developments, regime change in the Republic of Armenia?"
added Davit Babayan.
A 12-minute footage of the incident released by the opposition group
on Sunday shows that uniformed policemen and plainclothes men deployed
at an NKR checkpoint were not physically attacked before punching and
kicking Found Parliament members mostly seated in their cars. The
police pummeled many cars with truncheons and broke their windshields
even when they sped away from the scene. Babayan alleged that
law-enforcement used force because of being verbally abused by the
oppositionists.
The video, rapidly spread by Internet users, only added to an uproar
in Armenia where riot police have generally exercised restraint ever
since a deadly post-election unrest in 2008.The mainstream Armenian
opposition was quick to blame the political leaderships of both
Karabakh Armenia.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Armenian National Congress (HAK)
linked the violence with a recent series of violent attacks in Yerevan
on several opposition activists, most of them HAK members or
sympathizers. The opposition party led by former President Levon
Ter-Petrosian claimed that the Armenian government has orchestrated
such violence to neutralize popular resentment against its "shameful
failings." It also warned that Saturday's incident could have an
"extremely negative" impact on Karabakh's image abroad.
Zharangutyun (Heritage) party leader Raffi Hovannisian similarly
blamed President Serzh Sarkisian's and Karabakh's Sahakian for the
violence. In a statement, Hovannisian said that both men should step
down "for the sake of justice."
Nikol Pashinian, another prominent opposition figure, decried the
"monstrous incident" at the start of a winter session of Armenia's
parliament on Monday.Pashinian urged parliament speaker Galust
Sahakian to form an ad hoc team of parliamentarians and send it to
Stepanakert on a fact-finding mission.
Sahakian responded by pledging to discuss the matter with his Karabakh
counterpart, Ashot Ghulian. "I think that relevant NKR bodies are
dealing with the incident," he said. "I will analyze that information
and react to your statement."
Some pro-government deputies made no secret of their approval of the
harsh crackdown. "Karabakh is off limits to trouble-makers," said
Manvel Grigorian, a retired army general. "Only normal citizens can go
there."
Yerevan-based leaders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutyun), which is in nominal opposition to the Sarkisian
administration but allied to the NKR leadership, disagreed. One of
them, Aghvan Vartanian, called the Karabakh authorities' violent
response "unacceptable."
But both Vartanian and Armen Rustamian, another Dashnaktsutyun leader,
also criticized the Founding Parliament for trying to campaign in
Karabakh and using the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide in
Ottoman Turkey for domestic political purposes. The centenary will be
officially marked on April 24.
The Founding Parliament, which is not represented in the National
Assembly and has failed to pull large crowds so far, has been
campaigning under the motto "Centenary without regime!" One of its
activists was beaten up in Yerevan in November shortly after a series
of arson attacks on cars belonging to six other members of the vocal
anti-government movement. Nobody has been arrested or prosecuted in
connection with those incidents.
news.am
Nadia Bulghadarian, Hovannes Movsisian ## Sargis Harutyunyan
02.02.2015
Armenia's leading opposition parties have condemned authorities in
Nagorno-Karabakh for forcibly preventing dozens of members of a
smaller Armenian opposition group from entering the territory as part
of its campaign for "regime change" in Yerevan.
A motorcade of over 30 cars carrying the activists of the group called
the Founding Parliament was stopped and attacked by Karabakh security
forces at Armenia's border with the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR) on Saturday. More than a dozen oppositionists,
including Founding Parliament leader Zhirayr Sefilian, were injured in
the violent crackdown that caused outrage among government critics in
both Armenia and Karabakh.
The Founding Parliament insisted afterwards that the Karabakh riot
police began beating the Yerevan-based activists and smashing their
cars after Sefilian agreed to obey their orders and told the convoy to
turn back. "As soon as Zhirayr turned around to get in his car and
drive back to Yerevan they started hitting him," one of the activists,
Ara Khudaverdian, told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "It
was like a bandit attack."
"It all started after they stole my camera," said another activist,
Arsen Khechoyan. He claimed that two other Founding Parliament members
filming the procession also had their cameras confiscated on the spot.
The Karabakh police defended the use of force, saying that it
prevented "mass disturbances." A police statement claimed that the
oppositionists would have been confronted by many angry Karabakh
Armenians had they been allowed to take their campaign to the
self-proclaimed republic.
A spokesman for Bako Sahakian, the NKR president, likewise justified
the violence and accused the Founding Parliament of resorting to
"provocations." "What is Artsakh (Karabakh) to do with internal
political developments, regime change in the Republic of Armenia?"
added Davit Babayan.
A 12-minute footage of the incident released by the opposition group
on Sunday shows that uniformed policemen and plainclothes men deployed
at an NKR checkpoint were not physically attacked before punching and
kicking Found Parliament members mostly seated in their cars. The
police pummeled many cars with truncheons and broke their windshields
even when they sped away from the scene. Babayan alleged that
law-enforcement used force because of being verbally abused by the
oppositionists.
The video, rapidly spread by Internet users, only added to an uproar
in Armenia where riot police have generally exercised restraint ever
since a deadly post-election unrest in 2008.The mainstream Armenian
opposition was quick to blame the political leaderships of both
Karabakh Armenia.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Armenian National Congress (HAK)
linked the violence with a recent series of violent attacks in Yerevan
on several opposition activists, most of them HAK members or
sympathizers. The opposition party led by former President Levon
Ter-Petrosian claimed that the Armenian government has orchestrated
such violence to neutralize popular resentment against its "shameful
failings." It also warned that Saturday's incident could have an
"extremely negative" impact on Karabakh's image abroad.
Zharangutyun (Heritage) party leader Raffi Hovannisian similarly
blamed President Serzh Sarkisian's and Karabakh's Sahakian for the
violence. In a statement, Hovannisian said that both men should step
down "for the sake of justice."
Nikol Pashinian, another prominent opposition figure, decried the
"monstrous incident" at the start of a winter session of Armenia's
parliament on Monday.Pashinian urged parliament speaker Galust
Sahakian to form an ad hoc team of parliamentarians and send it to
Stepanakert on a fact-finding mission.
Sahakian responded by pledging to discuss the matter with his Karabakh
counterpart, Ashot Ghulian. "I think that relevant NKR bodies are
dealing with the incident," he said. "I will analyze that information
and react to your statement."
Some pro-government deputies made no secret of their approval of the
harsh crackdown. "Karabakh is off limits to trouble-makers," said
Manvel Grigorian, a retired army general. "Only normal citizens can go
there."
Yerevan-based leaders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutyun), which is in nominal opposition to the Sarkisian
administration but allied to the NKR leadership, disagreed. One of
them, Aghvan Vartanian, called the Karabakh authorities' violent
response "unacceptable."
But both Vartanian and Armen Rustamian, another Dashnaktsutyun leader,
also criticized the Founding Parliament for trying to campaign in
Karabakh and using the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide in
Ottoman Turkey for domestic political purposes. The centenary will be
officially marked on April 24.
The Founding Parliament, which is not represented in the National
Assembly and has failed to pull large crowds so far, has been
campaigning under the motto "Centenary without regime!" One of its
activists was beaten up in Yerevan in November shortly after a series
of arson attacks on cars belonging to six other members of the vocal
anti-government movement. Nobody has been arrested or prosecuted in
connection with those incidents.
news.am
ARMENIA POPULATION DROPS BY 7,000
Zhoghovurd
31.01.2015
YEREVAN. - More than 47 thousand people have emigrated from Armenia
in 2014, Zhoghovurd daily reported.
"The Armenian National Statistical Service issued these data yesterday
[, Friday].
"For comparison, the number of emigrants in 2013 was more than 42
thousand people; that is, the number of emigration continued to grow
last year in our country.
"Officially, Armenia's permanent population was 3 million 10 thousand
in early 2015; last year, this figure was 3 million 17 thousand;
that is, the number of permanent residents in Armenia has officially
dropped by 7 thousand [so far] this year," Zhoghovurd wrote.
Zhoghovurd
31.01.2015
YEREVAN. - More than 47 thousand people have emigrated from Armenia
in 2014, Zhoghovurd daily reported.
"The Armenian National Statistical Service issued these data yesterday
[, Friday].
"For comparison, the number of emigrants in 2013 was more than 42
thousand people; that is, the number of emigration continued to grow
last year in our country.
"Officially, Armenia's permanent population was 3 million 10 thousand
in early 2015; last year, this figure was 3 million 17 thousand;
that is, the number of permanent residents in Armenia has officially
dropped by 7 thousand [so far] this year," Zhoghovurd wrote.
armenianow.com
MIGRATION CONCERNS: DESPITE NEGATIVE ECONOMIC
MIGRATION CONCERNS: DESPITE NEGATIVE ECONOMIC
OUTLOOK IN RUSSIA, MOST ARMENIAN MIGRANTS STILL
HAVE NO ALTERNATIVE
03.02.15 | 12:41
Karine Kuyumjyan
By Sara Khojoyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
While the Armenian government introduces Armenia's membership to
the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) from the positive sides only, the
EEU initiator member Russia's economic problems are felt in Armenia
already today.
Last year 200,000 Armenian migrant workers in Russia earned less money,
which is why incoming private remittances from that country decreased
by 10 percent. At the same time, Armenians earning their families'
living in Russia are facing hardships starting from the border,
however, even this factor does not prevent Armenians from leaving
the country.
Last year, for instance, the number of Armenian citizens who left and
never returned was more than 21,000, moreover, besides Yerevan, in all
10 provinces of Armenia a decrease in the population was registered,
National Statistical Service Census and Demography Department head
Karine Kuyumjyan told reporters.
"Minus 21,800 - this is the difference of those who left and returned,
i.e. more people left than returned, but because the natural growth of
the population formed 15,300, the number of the population decreased
by 6,500," Kuyumjyan said.
One of those citizens who left last year and returned this year
is a resident of Yeghegnadzor Hakob Sargsyan who worked at a road
construction company in Moscow, however, because he did not get paid
he could not return.
"They have not paid yet. I found another job for two months, barely
earned the ticket price and the amount of the loan I had and returned,"
Sargsyan told ArmeniaNow, addding that, nevertheless, he cannot find
an alternative equivalent of his Russia job in Armenia.
"I have so many debts that whatever work I do will not make enough to
pay both my debts and my family's living, and my elder son is in the
army, he cannot help me, and now there are five members in my family
to be fed," he explained.
Nevertheless, demographers and migration experts advise migrant
workers in Russia if possible to avoid leaving for Russia in 2015,
because, besides legal problems, with economic problems and ruble's
drastic devaluation economic profits are also under suspicion.
Last year, for instance, individuals transferred $1.5 billion from
Russia to Armenia - $200 million less than in 2013.
"We must wait before Russia's migration policy and economic state
stabilize, however, if people have to leave and they have no
alternative, they must make sure where, what kind of job and under
what conditions they will be doing it," demographer Ruben Yeganyan said
last Friday at a discussion organized by Media Center on the topic of
"the consequences of restrictions of Russian migration legislation
on Armenia."
As a result of changes in the Russian migration legislation in 2014
the entry of 50,000 Armenian citizens to Russia was forbidden for
3-5 years, according to Russia's migration service, another 150,000
Armenian citizens currently residing in Russia are in the 'risk zone'.
aysor.am
297 PEOPLE DIE IN ROAD ACCIDENTS IN ARMENIA LAST YEAR
More than 3,000 road accidents happened in Armenia in 2014. 297 people
were killed in those accidents, and over 4,400 received injuries, Chief
of Armenia's Traffic Police Artak Harutyunyan told journalists today.
He said that the number of those killed in crashes declined compared
to the previous year, but the number of crashes and those injured
increased.
armradio.am
03.02.15 | 12:41
Karine Kuyumjyan
By Sara Khojoyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
While the Armenian government introduces Armenia's membership to
the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) from the positive sides only, the
EEU initiator member Russia's economic problems are felt in Armenia
already today.
Last year 200,000 Armenian migrant workers in Russia earned less money,
which is why incoming private remittances from that country decreased
by 10 percent. At the same time, Armenians earning their families'
living in Russia are facing hardships starting from the border,
however, even this factor does not prevent Armenians from leaving
the country.
Last year, for instance, the number of Armenian citizens who left and
never returned was more than 21,000, moreover, besides Yerevan, in all
10 provinces of Armenia a decrease in the population was registered,
National Statistical Service Census and Demography Department head
Karine Kuyumjyan told reporters.
"Minus 21,800 - this is the difference of those who left and returned,
i.e. more people left than returned, but because the natural growth of
the population formed 15,300, the number of the population decreased
by 6,500," Kuyumjyan said.
One of those citizens who left last year and returned this year
is a resident of Yeghegnadzor Hakob Sargsyan who worked at a road
construction company in Moscow, however, because he did not get paid
he could not return.
"They have not paid yet. I found another job for two months, barely
earned the ticket price and the amount of the loan I had and returned,"
Sargsyan told ArmeniaNow, addding that, nevertheless, he cannot find
an alternative equivalent of his Russia job in Armenia.
"I have so many debts that whatever work I do will not make enough to
pay both my debts and my family's living, and my elder son is in the
army, he cannot help me, and now there are five members in my family
to be fed," he explained.
Nevertheless, demographers and migration experts advise migrant
workers in Russia if possible to avoid leaving for Russia in 2015,
because, besides legal problems, with economic problems and ruble's
drastic devaluation economic profits are also under suspicion.
Last year, for instance, individuals transferred $1.5 billion from
Russia to Armenia - $200 million less than in 2013.
"We must wait before Russia's migration policy and economic state
stabilize, however, if people have to leave and they have no
alternative, they must make sure where, what kind of job and under
what conditions they will be doing it," demographer Ruben Yeganyan said
last Friday at a discussion organized by Media Center on the topic of
"the consequences of restrictions of Russian migration legislation
on Armenia."
As a result of changes in the Russian migration legislation in 2014
the entry of 50,000 Armenian citizens to Russia was forbidden for
3-5 years, according to Russia's migration service, another 150,000
Armenian citizens currently residing in Russia are in the 'risk zone'.
aysor.am
297 PEOPLE DIE IN ROAD ACCIDENTS IN ARMENIA LAST YEAR
More than 3,000 road accidents happened in Armenia in 2014. 297 people
were killed in those accidents, and over 4,400 received injuries, Chief
of Armenia's Traffic Police Artak Harutyunyan told journalists today.
He said that the number of those killed in crashes declined compared
to the previous year, but the number of crashes and those injured
increased.
armradio.am
HISTORIC CEMETERY RETURNED TO ARMENIAN COMMUNITY
OF TURKEY
03 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
Armenian community of Turkey has won a legal battle for the ownership
of a historic cemetery in Istanbul in the latest success story for
the return of properties seized from minorities in the wake of legal
amendments,Daily Sabah reports.
The Prime Ministry's Directorate General of Foundations, which
oversees properties belonging to religious and ethnic minorities,
has handed over the title deed for an ancient Armenian cemetery in
Istanbul's central Å~^iÅ~_li district to an Armenian church foundation.
Following new laws allowing the return of properties to their
rightful owners, Beyoglu Uc Horan (Yerrortutyun or Trinity) Church
Foundation had applied to the Directorate in 2011 for the ownership
of the cemetery. After four years and a settlement of legal matters,
the Directorate granted ownership to the foundation for the cemetery,
which covers some 41,950 square meters in the heart of Istanbul.
The cemetery's history dates back to the 19th century in which a
Sultan's decree ordered its handover to the Armenian community. In
the 1930s, its ownership was transferred to the Istanbul Municipality.
Yet, Armenian families were allowed to bury their deceased next of kin
in the cemetery even though they had no official deeds for the plots.
Among the cemetery's notable occupants are Arman Manukyan, a notable
professor of economy from Bogazici University, opera singer Toto
Karaca, composer Onno Tunc, Armenian patriarchs, and Armenian lawmaker
Berc Keresteciyan Turker, who is known for his contributions to the
Turkish War of Independence.
The place is the latest property that the Armenian community has
obtained back after their confiscation by the state. In 2012, the
Directorate General of Foundations had returned the title deed of
the Armenian Catholic Cemetery in Å~^iÅ~_li to the community and
a valuable plot in Zeytinburnu district to Yedikule Surp Pırgic
Hospital Foundation.
Foundations set up by non-Muslim minorities were granted the right
to acquire properties in 1912 but a new law in 1935 ordered them to
declare the properties they owned and register their title deeds. In
1936, a list of entire properties owned by minorities was handed to
the Directorate General of Foundations and minorities were prevented
from acquiring any property other than those in the list, thanks to
an unofficial ban that was viewed as the state's hostility towards
minorities who were treated as "second-class" citizens. In 1976, the
Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals had effectively enforced the ban and
also ordered the return of properties minorities had acquired until
that year. Soon, countless plots and buildings, especially in upscale
districts of Istanbul, were handed to the Treasury after their seizure
from Greek and Armenian communities.
Markar Esayan, a columnist for Daily Sabah, says minorities have
suffered from "illegal policies" of the state-run foundations authority
that exploited legal loopholes. "Until [2008], they suffered at the
hands of fascistic measures," he says, referring to the year that
an amendment in the relevant laws "helped the state to repair its
past mistakes."
"Laws in the past dealt a blow to the self-sustainability of the
churches whose survival solely depended on schools, hospitals and
other sources of revenues," Esayan says. He noted that a series of
decrees helped minorities to regain their rights in terms of return
of properties. "Currently, properties returned constitute 10 percent
of the total properties supposed to be returned. Nevertheless, it
is a very important, democratic step that the state stopped seeing
minorities as enemies," Esayan says. He said that minorities complain
of several technical shortcomings in laws regarding church foundations
that sometimes complicate the procedure of returning the properties.
"The rate of returns is not sufficient. Yet, what matters more now
is a change in the mindset, a very radical change (in the view of
minorities by the state)," he says.
Associate Professor Toros Alcan, chairman of Armenian community's Surp
Hac Tibrevank Foundation and board member of Directorate General of
Foundations, says the return of properties was "what the minorities
yearned for decades." "I can safely say on behalf of minorities
that we are very happy with decisions to return the properties,"
Alcan says. He said what then prime minister and incumbent president
Recep Tayyip Erdogan once said, "It is not a blessing by the state
for minorities but rather a resumption of their rights."
03 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
Armenian community of Turkey has won a legal battle for the ownership
of a historic cemetery in Istanbul in the latest success story for
the return of properties seized from minorities in the wake of legal
amendments,Daily Sabah reports.
The Prime Ministry's Directorate General of Foundations, which
oversees properties belonging to religious and ethnic minorities,
has handed over the title deed for an ancient Armenian cemetery in
Istanbul's central Å~^iÅ~_li district to an Armenian church foundation.
Following new laws allowing the return of properties to their
rightful owners, Beyoglu Uc Horan (Yerrortutyun or Trinity) Church
Foundation had applied to the Directorate in 2011 for the ownership
of the cemetery. After four years and a settlement of legal matters,
the Directorate granted ownership to the foundation for the cemetery,
which covers some 41,950 square meters in the heart of Istanbul.
The cemetery's history dates back to the 19th century in which a
Sultan's decree ordered its handover to the Armenian community. In
the 1930s, its ownership was transferred to the Istanbul Municipality.
Yet, Armenian families were allowed to bury their deceased next of kin
in the cemetery even though they had no official deeds for the plots.
Among the cemetery's notable occupants are Arman Manukyan, a notable
professor of economy from Bogazici University, opera singer Toto
Karaca, composer Onno Tunc, Armenian patriarchs, and Armenian lawmaker
Berc Keresteciyan Turker, who is known for his contributions to the
Turkish War of Independence.
The place is the latest property that the Armenian community has
obtained back after their confiscation by the state. In 2012, the
Directorate General of Foundations had returned the title deed of
the Armenian Catholic Cemetery in Å~^iÅ~_li to the community and
a valuable plot in Zeytinburnu district to Yedikule Surp Pırgic
Hospital Foundation.
Foundations set up by non-Muslim minorities were granted the right
to acquire properties in 1912 but a new law in 1935 ordered them to
declare the properties they owned and register their title deeds. In
1936, a list of entire properties owned by minorities was handed to
the Directorate General of Foundations and minorities were prevented
from acquiring any property other than those in the list, thanks to
an unofficial ban that was viewed as the state's hostility towards
minorities who were treated as "second-class" citizens. In 1976, the
Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals had effectively enforced the ban and
also ordered the return of properties minorities had acquired until
that year. Soon, countless plots and buildings, especially in upscale
districts of Istanbul, were handed to the Treasury after their seizure
from Greek and Armenian communities.
Markar Esayan, a columnist for Daily Sabah, says minorities have
suffered from "illegal policies" of the state-run foundations authority
that exploited legal loopholes. "Until [2008], they suffered at the
hands of fascistic measures," he says, referring to the year that
an amendment in the relevant laws "helped the state to repair its
past mistakes."
"Laws in the past dealt a blow to the self-sustainability of the
churches whose survival solely depended on schools, hospitals and
other sources of revenues," Esayan says. He noted that a series of
decrees helped minorities to regain their rights in terms of return
of properties. "Currently, properties returned constitute 10 percent
of the total properties supposed to be returned. Nevertheless, it
is a very important, democratic step that the state stopped seeing
minorities as enemies," Esayan says. He said that minorities complain
of several technical shortcomings in laws regarding church foundations
that sometimes complicate the procedure of returning the properties.
"The rate of returns is not sufficient. Yet, what matters more now
is a change in the mindset, a very radical change (in the view of
minorities by the state)," he says.
Associate Professor Toros Alcan, chairman of Armenian community's Surp
Hac Tibrevank Foundation and board member of Directorate General of
Foundations, says the return of properties was "what the minorities
yearned for decades." "I can safely say on behalf of minorities
that we are very happy with decisions to return the properties,"
Alcan says. He said what then prime minister and incumbent president
Recep Tayyip Erdogan once said, "It is not a blessing by the state
for minorities but rather a resumption of their rights."
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