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ISTANBUL PATRIARCHATE SUES FOR RETURN OF PROPERTY
asbarez
Monday, March 19th, 2012
The Sanasaryan School in Erzerum
ISTANBUL (Hurriyet Daily News)-The Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul
filed a landmark suit in Ankara for the return of the historical
Sansaryan School in the eastern province of Erzerum that was the
site of the 1919 Erzurum Congress, an assembly headed by Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk.
"Some other foundations belong to [minority] communities, but the
Sansaryan Foundation was granted to the patriarchate by philanthropist
Meguerdich Sansaryan in the 1800s. The administration and management
of the Sansaryan Foundation legally belongs to the patriarchate,"
lawyer Ali Elbeyoglu, who represents the Armenian Patriarchate in
court, told the Hurriyet Daily News Sunday.
The patriarchate also demanded the return of other properties in
Sivas formerly owned by the Sansaryan Foundation in the lawsuit it
filed on March 14.
"We are not going to content ourselves with the mere return of
historical buildings. We are also going to demand compensation from
the Foundations General Directorate for all material losses incurred
by the patriarchate since 1936," Elbeyoglu said.
Upon the government's request, Turkey's minority groups in 1936 gave
the government declarations detailing their real property. Over the
years, however, many of these properties did not remain registered
under the minority foundations' names, and some were even sold to
third parties.
Turkey's Foundations General Directorate expropriated the Sansaryan
Foundation citing the 1936 Declaration, according to Elbeyoglu.
The Istanbul Armenian Patriarchate also filed another suit against
the Foundations Directorate General in recent months demanding
that the Sansaryan Shopping Center in Istanbul's Eminonu district be
returned to the Patriarchate. However, the head of Turkey's Foundations
Directorate General has said it will not be returned despite a ruling
by an Istanbul court to impose an interim injunction over the building.
"This runs counter to all international legal [norms] as well as the
Treaty of Lausanne. The Patriarchate is still in possession of the
title deed," Elbeyoglu said.
The Armenian community currently owns three small foundations across
the whole of Anatolia. If the patriarchate wins its lawsuit, it will
mark the first time that Turkey's Armenian community has regained
control of a foundation in Anatolia.
"If the Armenian community had not hesitated for various reasons, they
could have filed this suit in 1936, as they are legally in the right.
There is a case dated to 1936, and its files indicate that the
patriarchate officially owns Sansaryan. Our research shows that the
best-preserved archival documents are located at the Land Registry
Cadastre," Elbeyoglu said.
Elbeyoglu also dismissed suggestions indicating a link between the
lawsuit and the Foundations Law that recently came into effect. The
Turkish government enacted a measure that went into effect on Aug. 27,
2011, to return properties seized from minority foundations through
the 1936 Declaration.
The Foundations Directorate General still classifies Sansaryan as a
property left without a manager and whose ownership consequently passed
onto the Foundation Directorate General, but for that definition to
hold up in court, it would require there to be no citizens of Armenian
descent in Turkey, according to Elbeyoglu.
The Sansaryan Foundation was established by Meguerdich Sansaryan,
a Russian-Armenian philanthropist. The police used the Sansaryan
Shopping Center in Istanbul for a long period during which torture
was widespread.
From: Baghdasarian
asbarez
Monday, March 19th, 2012
The Sanasaryan School in Erzerum
ISTANBUL (Hurriyet Daily News)-The Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul
filed a landmark suit in Ankara for the return of the historical
Sansaryan School in the eastern province of Erzerum that was the
site of the 1919 Erzurum Congress, an assembly headed by Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk.
"Some other foundations belong to [minority] communities, but the
Sansaryan Foundation was granted to the patriarchate by philanthropist
Meguerdich Sansaryan in the 1800s. The administration and management
of the Sansaryan Foundation legally belongs to the patriarchate,"
lawyer Ali Elbeyoglu, who represents the Armenian Patriarchate in
court, told the Hurriyet Daily News Sunday.
The patriarchate also demanded the return of other properties in
Sivas formerly owned by the Sansaryan Foundation in the lawsuit it
filed on March 14.
"We are not going to content ourselves with the mere return of
historical buildings. We are also going to demand compensation from
the Foundations General Directorate for all material losses incurred
by the patriarchate since 1936," Elbeyoglu said.
Upon the government's request, Turkey's minority groups in 1936 gave
the government declarations detailing their real property. Over the
years, however, many of these properties did not remain registered
under the minority foundations' names, and some were even sold to
third parties.
Turkey's Foundations General Directorate expropriated the Sansaryan
Foundation citing the 1936 Declaration, according to Elbeyoglu.
The Istanbul Armenian Patriarchate also filed another suit against
the Foundations Directorate General in recent months demanding
that the Sansaryan Shopping Center in Istanbul's Eminonu district be
returned to the Patriarchate. However, the head of Turkey's Foundations
Directorate General has said it will not be returned despite a ruling
by an Istanbul court to impose an interim injunction over the building.
"This runs counter to all international legal [norms] as well as the
Treaty of Lausanne. The Patriarchate is still in possession of the
title deed," Elbeyoglu said.
The Armenian community currently owns three small foundations across
the whole of Anatolia. If the patriarchate wins its lawsuit, it will
mark the first time that Turkey's Armenian community has regained
control of a foundation in Anatolia.
"If the Armenian community had not hesitated for various reasons, they
could have filed this suit in 1936, as they are legally in the right.
There is a case dated to 1936, and its files indicate that the
patriarchate officially owns Sansaryan. Our research shows that the
best-preserved archival documents are located at the Land Registry
Cadastre," Elbeyoglu said.
Elbeyoglu also dismissed suggestions indicating a link between the
lawsuit and the Foundations Law that recently came into effect. The
Turkish government enacted a measure that went into effect on Aug. 27,
2011, to return properties seized from minority foundations through
the 1936 Declaration.
The Foundations Directorate General still classifies Sansaryan as a
property left without a manager and whose ownership consequently passed
onto the Foundation Directorate General, but for that definition to
hold up in court, it would require there to be no citizens of Armenian
descent in Turkey, according to Elbeyoglu.
The Sansaryan Foundation was established by Meguerdich Sansaryan,
a Russian-Armenian philanthropist. The police used the Sansaryan
Shopping Center in Istanbul for a long period during which torture
was widespread.
From: Baghdasarian