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THE TURKEY OF 'NON-VISIONARY' PEOPLE
MARKAR ESAYAN
Today's Zaman
May 31 2012
Turkey
Turkey is changing rapidly, despite all dilemmas and inconsistencies.
The main source of hope that I hold for this country is the desire
of its people for change.
In the past, this energy and drive was repressed. I clearly remember
those days. The totalitarian state was so brutal and repressive that
the people were talking in whispers inside their own homes. Society
was strictly controlled and even trapped. Any attempt to gain rights
was labeled separatism or terrorism. Civil society organizations
were weak, and the most active of them were under state control
and manipulation. If you decided to participate in one of these
organizations, the state would create a special file for you in order
to track your activities.
In short, the state controlled society with an invisible hand, like
a specter.
My father was a leading figure of the Armenian community. If you are
rich in a small community, you have two options: You can disconnect
with the community and become alienated from its issues, further
minding your own business, or you can come closer to the community,
engage in its problems and seek solutions.
In the single-party era, the Republican People's Party (CHP) --
which is still in Parliament and has not offered an apology for
its past actions -- introduced a declaration in 1936 under which a
directive was forwarded to all foundations asking them to declare their
assets and properties. Administrators of the minority foundations in
particular panicked. Mustafa Kemal and his successor, İsmet İnönu,
had resorted to methods of ethnic cleansing against minorities, and
they were economically disrupted. World War II was approaching, and
the rise of fascism in Europe was driving the CHP, already a fascist
party, to a more hard-line stance.
Minority communities were afraid; they thought their properties
would be taken away. Such an action would have been contrary to the
Treaty of Lausanne, but the CHP was known for its ability to exploit
the treaty to advance its goals. The communities were aware that the
treaty's clauses were not assurances and that they were regarded as
enemies and hostages by the state. They drafted two different lists
of assets and properties. They hid their valuable property. And they
handed one of the lists to the state.
What happened next? For a long time the state did not act on the
1936 Declaration. Then in the 1960s, when the Cyprus issue escalated,
the declaration was revived. One goal was to accelerate the migration
process of the minorities by causing misery via economic means. The
other purpose was to create a new "national" group of wealthy people
and to send a message on the Cyprus issue to Greece through Greek
citizens.
The communiqué from the Directorate General of Foundations to our
foundations (Armenian, Greek and Jewish) essentially said: "Even though
your foundations were created in the time of the Ottoman state, we are
a new state. The official process by which your foundations acquired
legal status is invalid. The declaration we received from you in
1936 will be the basis for your foundation. With the exception of the
properties and assets that you declared in this declaration, you will
not be entitled to acquire additional properties, to receive donations
or to make any amendments to your buildings, such as churches, schools
or hospitals. The state will expropriate all assets and properties
that you did not declare in the 1936 Declaration or that you have
purchased since then."
This was a setup framed back in 1936. It was contrary to the Treaty
of Lausanne and to the legal principle stating laws cannot be enforced
retroactively. It was a redefined version of fascism. It was a practice
aiming to eliminate the minorities because it was obvious that the
minorities were able to survive and keep their churches, hospitals
and associations open, to preserve their culture and language, thanks
to the foundations. It was not a coincidence that the foundations
had become scapegoats. The CHP was aware that the declaration would
render the minorities extinct; besides, the economic side of the coin
was also fairly attractive to them.
My father was one of a handful of philanthropists dedicated to the
survival and betterment of the Armenian community in an environment
where the foundations were in dire trouble due to the practice I
have described. I was familiar with these conditions because these
issues were discussed in our home. My father had spent his wealth in
the service of the community because the foundations were no longer
influential; they were virtually gone. We, his children, grew up
without really getting to know him because he was constantly working.
The then-Armenian Patriarch Å~^ınork Kalsutyan used to call my dad
whenever a problem came up, telling him, "Aram, only you can solve
this problem." My dad was fearless because he built his life from
scratch. He was never intimidated by difficulties or threats.
I have no further space today. I will continue telling the story of
change in Turkey with reference to my father's story.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
MARKAR ESAYAN
Today's Zaman
May 31 2012
Turkey
Turkey is changing rapidly, despite all dilemmas and inconsistencies.
The main source of hope that I hold for this country is the desire
of its people for change.
In the past, this energy and drive was repressed. I clearly remember
those days. The totalitarian state was so brutal and repressive that
the people were talking in whispers inside their own homes. Society
was strictly controlled and even trapped. Any attempt to gain rights
was labeled separatism or terrorism. Civil society organizations
were weak, and the most active of them were under state control
and manipulation. If you decided to participate in one of these
organizations, the state would create a special file for you in order
to track your activities.
In short, the state controlled society with an invisible hand, like
a specter.
My father was a leading figure of the Armenian community. If you are
rich in a small community, you have two options: You can disconnect
with the community and become alienated from its issues, further
minding your own business, or you can come closer to the community,
engage in its problems and seek solutions.
In the single-party era, the Republican People's Party (CHP) --
which is still in Parliament and has not offered an apology for
its past actions -- introduced a declaration in 1936 under which a
directive was forwarded to all foundations asking them to declare their
assets and properties. Administrators of the minority foundations in
particular panicked. Mustafa Kemal and his successor, İsmet İnönu,
had resorted to methods of ethnic cleansing against minorities, and
they were economically disrupted. World War II was approaching, and
the rise of fascism in Europe was driving the CHP, already a fascist
party, to a more hard-line stance.
Minority communities were afraid; they thought their properties
would be taken away. Such an action would have been contrary to the
Treaty of Lausanne, but the CHP was known for its ability to exploit
the treaty to advance its goals. The communities were aware that the
treaty's clauses were not assurances and that they were regarded as
enemies and hostages by the state. They drafted two different lists
of assets and properties. They hid their valuable property. And they
handed one of the lists to the state.
What happened next? For a long time the state did not act on the
1936 Declaration. Then in the 1960s, when the Cyprus issue escalated,
the declaration was revived. One goal was to accelerate the migration
process of the minorities by causing misery via economic means. The
other purpose was to create a new "national" group of wealthy people
and to send a message on the Cyprus issue to Greece through Greek
citizens.
The communiqué from the Directorate General of Foundations to our
foundations (Armenian, Greek and Jewish) essentially said: "Even though
your foundations were created in the time of the Ottoman state, we are
a new state. The official process by which your foundations acquired
legal status is invalid. The declaration we received from you in
1936 will be the basis for your foundation. With the exception of the
properties and assets that you declared in this declaration, you will
not be entitled to acquire additional properties, to receive donations
or to make any amendments to your buildings, such as churches, schools
or hospitals. The state will expropriate all assets and properties
that you did not declare in the 1936 Declaration or that you have
purchased since then."
This was a setup framed back in 1936. It was contrary to the Treaty
of Lausanne and to the legal principle stating laws cannot be enforced
retroactively. It was a redefined version of fascism. It was a practice
aiming to eliminate the minorities because it was obvious that the
minorities were able to survive and keep their churches, hospitals
and associations open, to preserve their culture and language, thanks
to the foundations. It was not a coincidence that the foundations
had become scapegoats. The CHP was aware that the declaration would
render the minorities extinct; besides, the economic side of the coin
was also fairly attractive to them.
My father was one of a handful of philanthropists dedicated to the
survival and betterment of the Armenian community in an environment
where the foundations were in dire trouble due to the practice I
have described. I was familiar with these conditions because these
issues were discussed in our home. My father had spent his wealth in
the service of the community because the foundations were no longer
influential; they were virtually gone. We, his children, grew up
without really getting to know him because he was constantly working.
The then-Armenian Patriarch Å~^ınork Kalsutyan used to call my dad
whenever a problem came up, telling him, "Aram, only you can solve
this problem." My dad was fearless because he built his life from
scratch. He was never intimidated by difficulties or threats.
I have no further space today. I will continue telling the story of
change in Turkey with reference to my father's story.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress