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ARMENIAN COMMUNITY RECEIVES OFFICIAL SUPPORT
Vercihan Ziflioglu
Hurriyet, Turkey
Oct 11 2011
Armenian community members in Istanbul came together in a cordial
meeting with Interior Minister Ä°dris Naim Å~^ahin and Bakırköy Mayor
AteÅ~_ Unal Erzen and gave messages of peace, fraternity and dialogue
Bakırköy Mayor AteÅ~_ Unal Erzen said that the municipality will
cover all expenses incurred by the YeÅ~_ilköy Armenian School
Graduates Association. DAILY NEWS photo.
Interior Minister Ä°dris Naim Å~^ahin is taking a close interest
in the problems of Turkey's Armenians, community members have said
in the wake of a recent meeting with Cabinet minister in Istanbul's
Bakırköy district.
"[Å~^ahin] has always showed close attention to every sort of problem
[that we have had.] He did not turn us down," Arev Cebeci, an Armenian
community representative who had applied to run for the Republican
People's Party (CHP) but was ultimately not selected as a candidate
for the opposition party, told the Hurriyet Daily News on Oct. 9.
"What we want to explain is very important. We [express] our problems
more clearly in this manner," he said in relation to the recent contact
between minority communities and Ankara on the ministerial level.
Å~^ahin came together with members of the community on Oct. 9 for the
commencement ceremony of the YeÅ~_ilköy Armenian School Graduates
Association for the new season. CHP deputies Mevlut Aslanoglu and
Suleyman Celebi, as well as Bakırköy Mayor AteÅ~_ Unal Erzen
also attended the cordial meeting in the district's YeÅ~_ilköy
neighborhood.
Municipality aids
Erzen said during the meeting that all expenses incurred by the
graduate association throughout the season would be covered by the
municipality. The municipality will meet over 40,000 Turkish Liras
in expenses, Erzen told the Daily News.
Å~^ahin, meanwhile, highlighted the dialogue between Turks and
Armenians, who have been living together for centuries, and issued
messages of fraternity and friendship.
During the meeting, Cebeci also highlighted Deputy Prime Minister
Bulent Arınc's statement admitting that the state had seized property
from minorities but was now "giving it back" through a recent
decision. "When will our rights be restored? When will we assume
official posts and achieve the status of equal citizens? When will
we be able to become civil servants? I don't want to tell stories to
my children anymore, [I want to tell] the truth," Cebeci said.
"These are the truths and realities. Mr. Arınc has issued a very
courageous and appropriate statement," Å~^ahin said but avoided
addressing Cebeci's comments.
The selection of a new patriarch and the new draft constitution were
also brought up during the meeting.
Patriarch Mesrop II of Turkey's Armenians has not been able to perform
his duties since 2007, as he has been afflicted with frontal dementia.
For that reason, the Interior Ministry appointed Archbishop Aram
AteÅ~_yan, the head of the Spiritual Council, as the deputy patriarch
in an unprecedented move. The entrepreneurial delegation, an Armenian
organization independent of church authorities, filed a lawsuit
against the ministry on the grounds that it intervened in the process.
The trial is still underway.
From: A. Papazian
Vercihan Ziflioglu
Hurriyet, Turkey
Oct 11 2011
Armenian community members in Istanbul came together in a cordial
meeting with Interior Minister Ä°dris Naim Å~^ahin and Bakırköy Mayor
AteÅ~_ Unal Erzen and gave messages of peace, fraternity and dialogue
Bakırköy Mayor AteÅ~_ Unal Erzen said that the municipality will
cover all expenses incurred by the YeÅ~_ilköy Armenian School
Graduates Association. DAILY NEWS photo.
Interior Minister Ä°dris Naim Å~^ahin is taking a close interest
in the problems of Turkey's Armenians, community members have said
in the wake of a recent meeting with Cabinet minister in Istanbul's
Bakırköy district.
"[Å~^ahin] has always showed close attention to every sort of problem
[that we have had.] He did not turn us down," Arev Cebeci, an Armenian
community representative who had applied to run for the Republican
People's Party (CHP) but was ultimately not selected as a candidate
for the opposition party, told the Hurriyet Daily News on Oct. 9.
"What we want to explain is very important. We [express] our problems
more clearly in this manner," he said in relation to the recent contact
between minority communities and Ankara on the ministerial level.
Å~^ahin came together with members of the community on Oct. 9 for the
commencement ceremony of the YeÅ~_ilköy Armenian School Graduates
Association for the new season. CHP deputies Mevlut Aslanoglu and
Suleyman Celebi, as well as Bakırköy Mayor AteÅ~_ Unal Erzen
also attended the cordial meeting in the district's YeÅ~_ilköy
neighborhood.
Municipality aids
Erzen said during the meeting that all expenses incurred by the
graduate association throughout the season would be covered by the
municipality. The municipality will meet over 40,000 Turkish Liras
in expenses, Erzen told the Daily News.
Å~^ahin, meanwhile, highlighted the dialogue between Turks and
Armenians, who have been living together for centuries, and issued
messages of fraternity and friendship.
During the meeting, Cebeci also highlighted Deputy Prime Minister
Bulent Arınc's statement admitting that the state had seized property
from minorities but was now "giving it back" through a recent
decision. "When will our rights be restored? When will we assume
official posts and achieve the status of equal citizens? When will
we be able to become civil servants? I don't want to tell stories to
my children anymore, [I want to tell] the truth," Cebeci said.
"These are the truths and realities. Mr. Arınc has issued a very
courageous and appropriate statement," Å~^ahin said but avoided
addressing Cebeci's comments.
The selection of a new patriarch and the new draft constitution were
also brought up during the meeting.
Patriarch Mesrop II of Turkey's Armenians has not been able to perform
his duties since 2007, as he has been afflicted with frontal dementia.
For that reason, the Interior Ministry appointed Archbishop Aram
AteÅ~_yan, the head of the Spiritual Council, as the deputy patriarch
in an unprecedented move. The entrepreneurial delegation, an Armenian
organization independent of church authorities, filed a lawsuit
against the ministry on the grounds that it intervened in the process.
The trial is still underway.
From: A. Papazian