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'YOUR DEMANDS ARE OUR DEMANDS': TURKISH HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP SENDS LETTERS TO ETCHMIADZIN, ANTELIAS
Weekly Staff
April 24, 2012
ISTANBUL, Turkey (A.W.)-The Committee Against Racism and Discrimination
of the Istanbul Branch of the Human Rights Association sent letters
today to the Catholicos of all Armenians Karekin II and the Catholicos
of Cilicia Aram I, expressing solidarity with their demands for truth
and justice. The Armenian Weekly presents below the full texts of
both letters.
Istanbul2010 225x300 Your Demands are our Demands: Turkish Human
Rights Group Sends Letters to Etchmiadzin, Antelias
A Turkish citizen holds the photograph of Armenian poet Daniel
Varoujan, who was a victim of the Armenian Genocide. (Photo by
Khatchig Mouradian)
His Holiness Aram I Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Antelias,
Lebanon
Your Holiness,
Today is the 24th of April, 2012, the 97th anniversary of the arrests
of the Armenian intellectuals of Istanbul, which represents the
beginning of the Armenian Genocide.
As a result of the process of genocide which began with the arrests
in Istanbul on April 24, 1915, the Cilicia Catholicosate, which has
not only been one of the spiritual centers of the historic Western
Armenia for hundreds of years but which also represents its cultural
and social identity, was forcibly displaced to Lebanon from the
lands where it belonged. As defenders of human rights in Turkey,
we are writing this letter to you to express our belief that it is
in these lands that your Catholicosate belongs.
We are writing this letter to you in order to say that we bow in
shame and in respect before the memory of the Ottoman Armenians who
were massacred and dispossessed of all their riches, of all their
richness of every kind, and effectively, even of the vestiges of
their past. We are addressing our letter to you to declare that we
remain the defenders of the usurped rights of the children and the
grandchildren of the victims who survived massacre and were dispersed
to all corners of the earth.
On August 31, 2011, you sent a letter to the Prime Minister of the
Republic of Turkey regarding the legislative changes concerning the
restitution of some of the properties of non-Muslim foundations. You
wrote, "The Armenian people will remain the rightful owners of the
innumerable churches, hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, cemeteries,
and various religious and public properties confiscated by the Turkish
state in the days of Genocide in 1915." You then added, "The Armenian
people will remain the rightful owners of the houses, businesses,
and properties of their ancestors who were victims of the Genocide
which was planned and perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish government."
In your letter, you declared that the Armenian people will never
abdicate their demands on Turkey for justice regarding the Armenian
Genocide, and for the restoration of human rights. You wrote, "Dear
Prime Minister, your declarations regarding justice and human rights
will only be documented when you recognize the Armenian Genocide."
We are writing this letter to address you and thus all the Armenians
in the world, to state that your demands voice the requirements of
the most basic human rights, and that they are also our demands.
On April 24, 2011, the same day that we were commemorating in Istanbul
the 96th anniversary of the arrest of the Armenian intellectuals,
Sevag 癬^ahin Bal覺kc覺 was shot dead while on mandatory military
duty in the Turkish army in the city of Batman.
Officials gave misleading information and manipulated witnesses
in order to declare the death an accident. Further inspection and
investigations have since pointed to premeditated murder. The murder
of Sevag 癬^ahin Bal覺kc覺 is evidence that there has been no life
security for Armenians since 1915, that the process of genocide is
ongoing, and that the denialism of 97 years perpetuates genocide.
In the 97th year of the process of genocide, which began with
the arrests in Istanbul on April 24, 1915, and which included the
annihilation of the Armenians as well as the Assyrians and Greeks of
Anatolia, we are writing this letter to directly address you and the
children of the victims of the Armenian genocide around the world,
whom you represent. We hereby declare our belief that it is only
after the recognition of the Genocide and the restitution of and/or
compensation for the confiscated property of Armenians that justice
can be established.
Your humble servants,
Human Rights Association, Istanbul Branch Committee Against Racism
and Discrimination TURKEY
***
His All Holiness Karekin II Catholicos of All Armenians Mother See
of Holy Etchmiadzin
Your Holiness,
Today is the 24th of April, 2012, the 97th anniversary of the arrests
of the Armenian intellectuals of Istanbul, which represents the
beginning of the Armenian Genocide.
We are writing this letter to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin,
which represents all the Armenians in the world, in order to say
that we bow in shame and in respect before the memory of the Ottoman
Armenians who were massacred and dispossessed of all their riches,
of all their richness of every kind, and effectively, even of the
vestiges of their past. We are addressing our letter to you to declare
that we remain the defenders of the usurped rights of the children
and the grandchildren of the victims who survived massacre and were
dispersed to all corners of the earth.
The denial of the Genocide by Turkey has lasted for 97 years, not
only as a state policy but also as a socially pervasive view. We are
writing this letter to you so as to declare that the denial of a crime
against humanity, such as Genocide, is a transgression of human rights,
which itself leads to other transgressions and feeds enmity and hate.
You visited Istanbul in 2006 on the invitation of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate and the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. Your
visit met with attacks against your person and your See by proponents
of hate in Turkey, due especially to a reply you gave in the press
conference. You said, "For our people, the Genocide is not a matter
of investigation; it is a factual event that took place, and must
be recognized as such." Your words were themselves subjected to an
investigation under article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, whose
legitimacy we contest in the most absolute terms.
We are writing you this letter to state that we share the views you
voiced in the press conference in their entirety. As defenders of human
rights, we deem the campaign against you by proponents of enmity and
hate, as well as the investigation initiated by the Turkish judiciary,
to be an attack against human rights.
On April 24, 2011, the same day that we were commemorating in Istanbul
the 96th anniversary of the arrest of the Armenian intellectuals, Sevag
癬^ahin Bal覺kc覺 was shot dead while on mandatory military duty in the
city of Batman. Officials gave misleading information and manipulated
witnesses in order to declare the death an accident. Further inspection
and investigations have since pointed to premeditated murder. The
murder of Sevag 癬^ahin Bal覺kc覺 is evidence that there has been no
life security for Armenians since 1915, that the process of genocide
is ongoing, and that the denialism of 97 years perpetuates genocide.
In the 97th year of the process of genocide, which began with
the arrests in Istanbul on April 24, 1915, and which included the
annihilation of the Armenians as well as the Assyrians and Greeks of
Anatolia, we are writing this letter to directly address you and the
children of the victims of the Armenian genocide around the world,
whom you represent. We hereby declare our belief that it is only
after the recognition of the Genocide and the restitution of and/or
compensation for the confiscated property of Armenians that justice
can be established.
Truly yours,
Human Rights Association, Istanbul Branch Committee Against Racism
and Discrimination Turkey
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Weekly Staff
April 24, 2012
ISTANBUL, Turkey (A.W.)-The Committee Against Racism and Discrimination
of the Istanbul Branch of the Human Rights Association sent letters
today to the Catholicos of all Armenians Karekin II and the Catholicos
of Cilicia Aram I, expressing solidarity with their demands for truth
and justice. The Armenian Weekly presents below the full texts of
both letters.
Istanbul2010 225x300 Your Demands are our Demands: Turkish Human
Rights Group Sends Letters to Etchmiadzin, Antelias
A Turkish citizen holds the photograph of Armenian poet Daniel
Varoujan, who was a victim of the Armenian Genocide. (Photo by
Khatchig Mouradian)
His Holiness Aram I Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Antelias,
Lebanon
Your Holiness,
Today is the 24th of April, 2012, the 97th anniversary of the arrests
of the Armenian intellectuals of Istanbul, which represents the
beginning of the Armenian Genocide.
As a result of the process of genocide which began with the arrests
in Istanbul on April 24, 1915, the Cilicia Catholicosate, which has
not only been one of the spiritual centers of the historic Western
Armenia for hundreds of years but which also represents its cultural
and social identity, was forcibly displaced to Lebanon from the
lands where it belonged. As defenders of human rights in Turkey,
we are writing this letter to you to express our belief that it is
in these lands that your Catholicosate belongs.
We are writing this letter to you in order to say that we bow in
shame and in respect before the memory of the Ottoman Armenians who
were massacred and dispossessed of all their riches, of all their
richness of every kind, and effectively, even of the vestiges of
their past. We are addressing our letter to you to declare that we
remain the defenders of the usurped rights of the children and the
grandchildren of the victims who survived massacre and were dispersed
to all corners of the earth.
On August 31, 2011, you sent a letter to the Prime Minister of the
Republic of Turkey regarding the legislative changes concerning the
restitution of some of the properties of non-Muslim foundations. You
wrote, "The Armenian people will remain the rightful owners of the
innumerable churches, hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, cemeteries,
and various religious and public properties confiscated by the Turkish
state in the days of Genocide in 1915." You then added, "The Armenian
people will remain the rightful owners of the houses, businesses,
and properties of their ancestors who were victims of the Genocide
which was planned and perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish government."
In your letter, you declared that the Armenian people will never
abdicate their demands on Turkey for justice regarding the Armenian
Genocide, and for the restoration of human rights. You wrote, "Dear
Prime Minister, your declarations regarding justice and human rights
will only be documented when you recognize the Armenian Genocide."
We are writing this letter to address you and thus all the Armenians
in the world, to state that your demands voice the requirements of
the most basic human rights, and that they are also our demands.
On April 24, 2011, the same day that we were commemorating in Istanbul
the 96th anniversary of the arrest of the Armenian intellectuals,
Sevag 癬^ahin Bal覺kc覺 was shot dead while on mandatory military
duty in the Turkish army in the city of Batman.
Officials gave misleading information and manipulated witnesses
in order to declare the death an accident. Further inspection and
investigations have since pointed to premeditated murder. The murder
of Sevag 癬^ahin Bal覺kc覺 is evidence that there has been no life
security for Armenians since 1915, that the process of genocide is
ongoing, and that the denialism of 97 years perpetuates genocide.
In the 97th year of the process of genocide, which began with
the arrests in Istanbul on April 24, 1915, and which included the
annihilation of the Armenians as well as the Assyrians and Greeks of
Anatolia, we are writing this letter to directly address you and the
children of the victims of the Armenian genocide around the world,
whom you represent. We hereby declare our belief that it is only
after the recognition of the Genocide and the restitution of and/or
compensation for the confiscated property of Armenians that justice
can be established.
Your humble servants,
Human Rights Association, Istanbul Branch Committee Against Racism
and Discrimination TURKEY
***
His All Holiness Karekin II Catholicos of All Armenians Mother See
of Holy Etchmiadzin
Your Holiness,
Today is the 24th of April, 2012, the 97th anniversary of the arrests
of the Armenian intellectuals of Istanbul, which represents the
beginning of the Armenian Genocide.
We are writing this letter to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin,
which represents all the Armenians in the world, in order to say
that we bow in shame and in respect before the memory of the Ottoman
Armenians who were massacred and dispossessed of all their riches,
of all their richness of every kind, and effectively, even of the
vestiges of their past. We are addressing our letter to you to declare
that we remain the defenders of the usurped rights of the children
and the grandchildren of the victims who survived massacre and were
dispersed to all corners of the earth.
The denial of the Genocide by Turkey has lasted for 97 years, not
only as a state policy but also as a socially pervasive view. We are
writing this letter to you so as to declare that the denial of a crime
against humanity, such as Genocide, is a transgression of human rights,
which itself leads to other transgressions and feeds enmity and hate.
You visited Istanbul in 2006 on the invitation of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate and the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople. Your
visit met with attacks against your person and your See by proponents
of hate in Turkey, due especially to a reply you gave in the press
conference. You said, "For our people, the Genocide is not a matter
of investigation; it is a factual event that took place, and must
be recognized as such." Your words were themselves subjected to an
investigation under article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, whose
legitimacy we contest in the most absolute terms.
We are writing you this letter to state that we share the views you
voiced in the press conference in their entirety. As defenders of human
rights, we deem the campaign against you by proponents of enmity and
hate, as well as the investigation initiated by the Turkish judiciary,
to be an attack against human rights.
On April 24, 2011, the same day that we were commemorating in Istanbul
the 96th anniversary of the arrest of the Armenian intellectuals, Sevag
癬^ahin Bal覺kc覺 was shot dead while on mandatory military duty in the
city of Batman. Officials gave misleading information and manipulated
witnesses in order to declare the death an accident. Further inspection
and investigations have since pointed to premeditated murder. The
murder of Sevag 癬^ahin Bal覺kc覺 is evidence that there has been no
life security for Armenians since 1915, that the process of genocide
is ongoing, and that the denialism of 97 years perpetuates genocide.
In the 97th year of the process of genocide, which began with
the arrests in Istanbul on April 24, 1915, and which included the
annihilation of the Armenians as well as the Assyrians and Greeks of
Anatolia, we are writing this letter to directly address you and the
children of the victims of the Armenian genocide around the world,
whom you represent. We hereby declare our belief that it is only
after the recognition of the Genocide and the restitution of and/or
compensation for the confiscated property of Armenians that justice
can be established.
Truly yours,
Human Rights Association, Istanbul Branch Committee Against Racism
and Discrimination Turkey
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress