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RED TAPE GREETS YEREVAN JOURNALISTS AT TURKISH AIRPORT
Hurriyet
Sept 14 2010
Turkey
'I've never had any problems with Turkish authorities before. The
officials were always helpful,' says Yerevan Press Club Chairman
Boris Navasartyan.
Customs officers allegedly impeded a group of Armenian journalists
entering Turkey on Monday.
The crisis was reportedly overcome with efforts by Delal Dink,
daughter of Hrant Dink, the assassinated Turkish-Armenian journalist
and editor-in-chief of weekly Agos, and Can Yirik from the Global
Political Trends Center, or GPoT.
Yerevan Press Club Chairman Boris Navasartyan, who played a
prominent part in establishing close relations between journalists
and nongovernmental organizations from Turkey and Armenia, and 11
other Armenian journalists arrived in Istanbul from Yerevan on Monday.
Some of the journalists were to attend Hrant Dink Foundation meetings
while the rest were to meet with Azerbaijani peers at a conference on
"The role of the media in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict" organized
by GPoT.
"They were asked how much money they had, whether they had a hotel
reservation, when their flight back would be. I tried to explain
all of us [were] together and all expenses for us were covered by
foundations, but even this explanation didn't satisfy the officers,"
Navasartyan told the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review. He said
he was allowed to pass, but his colleagues were not, and when he
objected he was threatened by the passport control officers.
"The officers threatened me and said that if I did not go to the
checkpoint counter immediately I would be deported. The immigration
service took our passports and left us waiting. One of the young
ladies was separated from us and taken to another room," he said.
GPoT officials confirmed Navasartyan's account. Yirik said the crisis
was resolved after two hours.
"I called airport security to check whether there was an unlawful deed
involved on the part of our guests. They told me that two ladies were
detained due to a lack of cash. I told them that they were my guests.
It took us two hours to get them released," he said.
The passport control office declined to answer the Daily News'
questions concerning the issue.
'We are awaiting explanation'
"I've never had any problems with Turkish authorities before,"
said Navasartyan. I've traveled here by plane, by bus and by car,
the immigration service, the police and other officials were always
polite and helpful. I have a feeling that the incident was this or that
way connected to the current state of Turkish-Armenian relations. The
failure of this stage of the rapprochement process is reflected in many
things including the treatment toward Armenian citizens at the border."
Navasartyan said the Yerevan Press Club was doing its best to revive
the frozen relations between the two nations. "We are waiting for an
official explanation about the incident. If an explanation is not
offered, then we will have to reassess whether to travel, organize
and take part in events."
From: A. Papazian
Hurriyet
Sept 14 2010
Turkey
'I've never had any problems with Turkish authorities before. The
officials were always helpful,' says Yerevan Press Club Chairman
Boris Navasartyan.
Customs officers allegedly impeded a group of Armenian journalists
entering Turkey on Monday.
The crisis was reportedly overcome with efforts by Delal Dink,
daughter of Hrant Dink, the assassinated Turkish-Armenian journalist
and editor-in-chief of weekly Agos, and Can Yirik from the Global
Political Trends Center, or GPoT.
Yerevan Press Club Chairman Boris Navasartyan, who played a
prominent part in establishing close relations between journalists
and nongovernmental organizations from Turkey and Armenia, and 11
other Armenian journalists arrived in Istanbul from Yerevan on Monday.
Some of the journalists were to attend Hrant Dink Foundation meetings
while the rest were to meet with Azerbaijani peers at a conference on
"The role of the media in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict" organized
by GPoT.
"They were asked how much money they had, whether they had a hotel
reservation, when their flight back would be. I tried to explain
all of us [were] together and all expenses for us were covered by
foundations, but even this explanation didn't satisfy the officers,"
Navasartyan told the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review. He said
he was allowed to pass, but his colleagues were not, and when he
objected he was threatened by the passport control officers.
"The officers threatened me and said that if I did not go to the
checkpoint counter immediately I would be deported. The immigration
service took our passports and left us waiting. One of the young
ladies was separated from us and taken to another room," he said.
GPoT officials confirmed Navasartyan's account. Yirik said the crisis
was resolved after two hours.
"I called airport security to check whether there was an unlawful deed
involved on the part of our guests. They told me that two ladies were
detained due to a lack of cash. I told them that they were my guests.
It took us two hours to get them released," he said.
The passport control office declined to answer the Daily News'
questions concerning the issue.
'We are awaiting explanation'
"I've never had any problems with Turkish authorities before,"
said Navasartyan. I've traveled here by plane, by bus and by car,
the immigration service, the police and other officials were always
polite and helpful. I have a feeling that the incident was this or that
way connected to the current state of Turkish-Armenian relations. The
failure of this stage of the rapprochement process is reflected in many
things including the treatment toward Armenian citizens at the border."
Navasartyan said the Yerevan Press Club was doing its best to revive
the frozen relations between the two nations. "We are waiting for an
official explanation about the incident. If an explanation is not
offered, then we will have to reassess whether to travel, organize
and take part in events."
From: A. Papazian