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TODAY'S ZAMAN: 1915 TRAGEDY TO BE COMMEMORATED WITH FOREIGN DELEGATION FOR FIRST TIME
17:09 24/04/2013 Â" REGION
On April 24 of this year, Turkish people commemorating the 98th
anniversary of the tragic events of 1915 will be joined for the first
time by a foreign delegation composed of 20 anti-racist and Armenian
representatives from 15 countries, says an article in Today's Zaman.
"The delegation consists of two main groups; one group is represented
by people who work in organizations fighting racial discrimination,
and the other group is from the Armenian diaspora," said Levent
Å~^ensever from DurDe! (Say Stop to Racism and Nationalism!)
The organizations include the Armenian General Benevolent Union
(AGBU) Young Professionals from Bulgaria, the Roma Center in Romania,
which works for Roma rights, and the AGBU from France. There are
also representatives from the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Italy,
Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina working against racism.
The delegation came together this week with representatives from
Turkish civil society organizations in Istanbul, including the
Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples
(MAZLUM-DER), the Hrant Dink Foundation and the Human Rights
Association (Ä°HD).
April 24 is the symbolic date when about 200 Armenian religious and
intellectual leaders were rounded up in Ä°stanbul in 1915 before they
were imprisoned and summarily executed.
"It is historic for the delegation to commemorate April 24 in
Istanbul. It was unthinkable 10 years ago," said Benjamin Abtan,
president of the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement (EGAM), which
was created two years ago to combat racism and anti-Semitism. EGAM has
partners in more than 30 countries, and its partner in Turkey is DurDe!
Speaking about the delegation's visit with Turkish civil society
organizations, Abtan said they share the same values.
"We all dream of a world free of racism. The issue is not just about
genocide," he said, adding that students from Å~^ehir University,
where they had a meeting on Monday, will join the group on April 24
to mourn the dead in Taksim Square in Ä°stanbul at 7:15 p.m.
The first commemoration ceremony in recent years was held in 2010 in
Taksim Square, in Izmir and in Diyarbakır. This year a commemoration
is planned in Izmir and Adana. The commemoration events include panel
discussions about Kurdish perspectives of the events, what happened
in 1915 and the approaching 2015, when there will be international
events on the 100th anniversary of the tragic events. The Ä°HD will
mark April 24 at 12:30 p.m. at the Sultanahmet Museum of Turkish
and Islamic Arts, which was a prison in 1915 when prominent Armenian
figures were held before they were imprisoned and then killed.
Following the commemoration at Sultanahmet, the group will visit the
grave of Sevag Balıkcı, a young man of Armenian descent who was
killed on April 24, 2011 while serving in the Turkish Armed Forces
(TSK) as a conscripted private. His death is believed to be a hate
crime committed because of the victim's ethnic background.
Ragip Zarakolu, Turkish human rights activist, publisher and one
of the founders of the Ä°HD in Turkey, said that the first April 24
commemoration was held in Ä°stanbul in and that commemorations were
held until 1922.
"It is significant that the April 24 commemoration is returning to
Istanbul," he said.
Answering questions from Today's Zaman, Zarakolu said that Turkey
has been having its own "spring" in the 2000s despite its problems.
"Turkey has been going through a period of detachment from the official
paradigm for the first time. This official paradigm is Kemalism. Having
this detachment will increase respect for all the good things that
the founder of the Turkish Republic [in 1923] Kemal Ataturk did for
the country. But instead he was made a cult. Turkey cannot go forward
with the values of the Committee of Union and Progress [Ä°ttihat ve
Terakki Cemiyeti (CUP), popularly known as the Young Turks] of 100
years ago," he said.
Source: Panorama.am
17:09 24/04/2013 Â" REGION
On April 24 of this year, Turkish people commemorating the 98th
anniversary of the tragic events of 1915 will be joined for the first
time by a foreign delegation composed of 20 anti-racist and Armenian
representatives from 15 countries, says an article in Today's Zaman.
"The delegation consists of two main groups; one group is represented
by people who work in organizations fighting racial discrimination,
and the other group is from the Armenian diaspora," said Levent
Å~^ensever from DurDe! (Say Stop to Racism and Nationalism!)
The organizations include the Armenian General Benevolent Union
(AGBU) Young Professionals from Bulgaria, the Roma Center in Romania,
which works for Roma rights, and the AGBU from France. There are
also representatives from the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Italy,
Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina working against racism.
The delegation came together this week with representatives from
Turkish civil society organizations in Istanbul, including the
Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples
(MAZLUM-DER), the Hrant Dink Foundation and the Human Rights
Association (Ä°HD).
April 24 is the symbolic date when about 200 Armenian religious and
intellectual leaders were rounded up in Ä°stanbul in 1915 before they
were imprisoned and summarily executed.
"It is historic for the delegation to commemorate April 24 in
Istanbul. It was unthinkable 10 years ago," said Benjamin Abtan,
president of the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement (EGAM), which
was created two years ago to combat racism and anti-Semitism. EGAM has
partners in more than 30 countries, and its partner in Turkey is DurDe!
Speaking about the delegation's visit with Turkish civil society
organizations, Abtan said they share the same values.
"We all dream of a world free of racism. The issue is not just about
genocide," he said, adding that students from Å~^ehir University,
where they had a meeting on Monday, will join the group on April 24
to mourn the dead in Taksim Square in Ä°stanbul at 7:15 p.m.
The first commemoration ceremony in recent years was held in 2010 in
Taksim Square, in Izmir and in Diyarbakır. This year a commemoration
is planned in Izmir and Adana. The commemoration events include panel
discussions about Kurdish perspectives of the events, what happened
in 1915 and the approaching 2015, when there will be international
events on the 100th anniversary of the tragic events. The Ä°HD will
mark April 24 at 12:30 p.m. at the Sultanahmet Museum of Turkish
and Islamic Arts, which was a prison in 1915 when prominent Armenian
figures were held before they were imprisoned and then killed.
Following the commemoration at Sultanahmet, the group will visit the
grave of Sevag Balıkcı, a young man of Armenian descent who was
killed on April 24, 2011 while serving in the Turkish Armed Forces
(TSK) as a conscripted private. His death is believed to be a hate
crime committed because of the victim's ethnic background.
Ragip Zarakolu, Turkish human rights activist, publisher and one
of the founders of the Ä°HD in Turkey, said that the first April 24
commemoration was held in Ä°stanbul in and that commemorations were
held until 1922.
"It is significant that the April 24 commemoration is returning to
Istanbul," he said.
Answering questions from Today's Zaman, Zarakolu said that Turkey
has been having its own "spring" in the 2000s despite its problems.
"Turkey has been going through a period of detachment from the official
paradigm for the first time. This official paradigm is Kemalism. Having
this detachment will increase respect for all the good things that
the founder of the Turkish Republic [in 1923] Kemal Ataturk did for
the country. But instead he was made a cult. Turkey cannot go forward
with the values of the Committee of Union and Progress [Ä°ttihat ve
Terakki Cemiyeti (CUP), popularly known as the Young Turks] of 100
years ago," he said.
Source: Panorama.am