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NAMES OF LOST ARMENIAN VILLAGES READ IN ISTANBUL'S SULTANAHMET SQUARE
By Ayse Gunaysu
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/04/25/names-of-lost-armenian-villages-read-in-istanbuls-sultanahmet-square/
April 25, 2013
It's April 24, 2013. In Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul. People
have gathered in front of the Turkish-Islamic Arts Museum
which, in 1915, served as the Central Prison that held
Armenian intellectuals kept before they were sent to their
deaths. But something very unusual is happening. From a
loudspeaker, people hear some Armenian names of places. The
names of lost Armenian villages. The voice says: "Vaspuragan
province... Avants... Lezk... Shahbaghi... Akhzia... Shoushants...
Kouroubash... Gentanants... Pertag... Dzevestan... Ardamed... Tarman...
Vosgepag..."
Names of destroyed Armenian villages There are big panels on the wall,
showing these names and the provinces or districts they are connected
to. People come and take photographs. I recognize some of them;
Armenians from abroad with a delegation are visiting Istanbul for
the commemoration activities, taking photographs of these names from
a certain province. I guess these are the provinces of their ancestors.
Eren Keskin starts to speak as the volume of the sound and voices
goes down.
"These names you are hearing now are the names of the Armenian villages
in Asia Minor before 1915, together with the provinces and districts
they belong to--a total of 2,300 settlements. In fact, they are more in
number. The work to compile the names of all the Armenian settlements
before the genocide is still under way. Our guest, Historian Ara
Sarafian, the director of the Gomidas Institute based in London,
will give more details of this work.
"The names you listen to now, constitute the solid proof of the
genocide. The Armenian communities living in these villages were
annihilated. They changed the names. Some of them were wiped off the
map altogether; some became the home of others. "We wanted our ears
to hear these names. We wanted them to penetrate deep into our souls.
Here, on these panels, you can see them. You can come closer and
read them one by one. These are lost Armenian communities. We want
the Turkish people to remember and never forget these names."
Then the volume rises again, and we listen to the names of the lost
villages for another five minutes.
Commemoration in Taksim
When death becomes a salvation
Keskin continues, "The genocide put an end to the social existence
of Armenians and other Christian peoples of what is now Turkey by
exterminating not only their lives but also their institutions,
cultural and social organizations, their historical heritage, their
civilizations, even the traces of their mere existence.
"Genocide is not only the massacres. Genocide is also dehumanizing
people by putting them in circumstances where death becomes a
salvation, something they crave to put an end to their suffering. But
genocide is not only condemning people to inhuman conditions. It as
also an enormous plunder, a wide-scale robbery of the wealth created
by generations through skillful and hard work.
"And the Genocide still goes on. It continues through its denial. It
goes on with the audacious, shameless lies told to people's faces. It
continues with the hatred and hostility that targets Armenians and
other non-Muslims in Turkey. It continues by terrorizing Armenians
in Samatya with brutal attacks on old Armenian women, the children of
genocide survivors. It continues through an environment that doesn't
allow Armenians to feel safe in Turkey. This fact was dramatically
demonstrated with what happened to Sevag Å~^ahin Balıkcı, who was
shot dead in Batman, Turkey, while he was serving the Turkish Armed
Forces, on April 24, 2011, the day of the commemoration of the Armenian
Genocide, and the day the court ruled that his death was an accident.
"We, the human rights defenders, repeat one more time: Officially
recognize the genocide! This is a call to the government of the
Republic of Turkey, as well as the Turkish public. Return the property
seized during and after the genocide to the descendants of the owners.
Compensate all of the material and immaterial damage done. Recognize
the rights of Armenians scattered all around the world--their
legitimate right to their homeland.
"Without recognition of the genocide, without confronting the crimes
committed, no peace, no real democracy, no justice can ever be attained
in this country.
"Refusal to recognize the genocide is a confirmation of the possibility
of new genocides.
Therefore we once more demand that the Turkish authorities put an
end to the denial of genocide! We want JUSTICE to be served!"
Ara Sarafian then speaks in Armenian, with simultaneous translation
to Turkish by a young Armenian, a member of the Nor Zartonk socialist
Armenian group. He talks about the futility of denialism in the face
of bare facts, about the growth in the number of people joining the
genocide commemoration events in Turkey, about his visit to Diyarbakir
and his interviews with the local people--how truthful many of them
were about the genocide, how one of them talked about his grandfather
who participated in the massacres.
'Sayfo' commemorated publicly for first time
It was the first time that Sayfo, the Assyrian Genocide, was
mentioned in the commemorations in Turkey, and that an Assyrian,
a representative of the Sweden Assyrian Youth Federation, gave a
speech, too. Referring to the ongoing "peace process" in Turkey to
put an end to the war between the Turkish Army and the PKK, he said:
"To our dismay, these crimes against humanity committed against the
ancient peoples of Anatolia have always been denied by all governments
to this day. It is clear that the pursuit of peace at the present will
be futile without facing the past. A state of peace based on faith
and religion will hang like Damocles' sword on different peoples,
just as in the events of the past. Truly establishing peace in these
lands will be possible not by the denial of the crimes against humanity
committed against the ancient peoples of Anatolia, but by facing them.
The establishment of peace will have meaning when it is built not
on common faith but on human values." His speech was translated to
the Assyrian language by his colleague. It was the first time the
Assyrian language was heard by the people gathered for a commemoration
of the genocide.
The co-chair of the Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party's Istanbul
Organization then gave a speech, recognizing the Kurds' involvement
in the genocide. "I, as a Kurd and a Kurdish politician, apologize
again and again to Armenians and Assyrians for the role played by
the Kurds in the genocide," he said.
After a speech by another Kurd, the owner of the Peri Publishing House,
which published a book about Antranig Pasha, said he condemned those
Kurds who cooperated with the central government and took part in
the massacres and the plunder of Armenian property.
Nor Zartonk's press statement was also read aloud by a young Armenian,
a member of the group.
An international delegation had also come to Istanbul this year within
the framework of the program jointly developed by the Turkish group
"Say Stop to Racism and Nationalism" (DurDe), the European Grassroots
Anti-Racist Movement (EGAM), and the Armenian General Benevolent Union
(AGBU). The president of EGAM, Benjamin Abtan gave a short speech
expressing the group's solidarity in the struggle against denialism
in Turkey.
Following the commemoration, the delegation and the participants of
the event visited the Sisli Armenian Cemetery and the grave of Sevag
Å~^ahin Balıkcı.
Before the commemoration at the Sultanahmet Square, Ara Sarafian,
accompanied by others, had visited the grave of Ali Faik Bey
(Ozansoy), the governor of Kutahya who had refused to obey the
central government's deportation orders and had protected the Armenian
community there.
At 6:30 p.m., DurDe's commemoration took place in Taksim Square. The
crowd was bigger in Taksim--numbering about 1,000--as compared
to Sultanahment, where there were about 200. Armenian music played
throughout the event, excerpts were read from the memoirs of a number
of Armenian intellectuals who were arrested on April 24, 1915, and
a press release was read out condemning the genocide.
Commemoration in Diyarbakir
Diyarbakir is the only city in Turkey that officially and publicly
recognizes the Armenian Genocide. "Both the conference hosted by the
Diyarbakir Bar Association and the commemoration organized by the
municipality under the leadership of Mayor Osman Baydemir were very
impressive and fruitful," said Sarafian. The commemoration took place
on the bridge over the Tigris River where the Diyarbakir Armenians were
massacred. Participants threw flowers into the river in the memory
of the victims. Sarafian was deeply moved not only by the sincere
willingness of the municipality, first and foremost Mayor Baydemir,
but also by the readiness local Kurds to accept the truth.
"We should not take for granted Osman Baydemir's promise of wide open
doors to Armenians, and should develop new ways of strengthening these
ties with Diyarbakir and turn this potential into reality," he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
By Ayse Gunaysu
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/04/25/names-of-lost-armenian-villages-read-in-istanbuls-sultanahmet-square/
April 25, 2013
It's April 24, 2013. In Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul. People
have gathered in front of the Turkish-Islamic Arts Museum
which, in 1915, served as the Central Prison that held
Armenian intellectuals kept before they were sent to their
deaths. But something very unusual is happening. From a
loudspeaker, people hear some Armenian names of places. The
names of lost Armenian villages. The voice says: "Vaspuragan
province... Avants... Lezk... Shahbaghi... Akhzia... Shoushants...
Kouroubash... Gentanants... Pertag... Dzevestan... Ardamed... Tarman...
Vosgepag..."
Names of destroyed Armenian villages There are big panels on the wall,
showing these names and the provinces or districts they are connected
to. People come and take photographs. I recognize some of them;
Armenians from abroad with a delegation are visiting Istanbul for
the commemoration activities, taking photographs of these names from
a certain province. I guess these are the provinces of their ancestors.
Eren Keskin starts to speak as the volume of the sound and voices
goes down.
"These names you are hearing now are the names of the Armenian villages
in Asia Minor before 1915, together with the provinces and districts
they belong to--a total of 2,300 settlements. In fact, they are more in
number. The work to compile the names of all the Armenian settlements
before the genocide is still under way. Our guest, Historian Ara
Sarafian, the director of the Gomidas Institute based in London,
will give more details of this work.
"The names you listen to now, constitute the solid proof of the
genocide. The Armenian communities living in these villages were
annihilated. They changed the names. Some of them were wiped off the
map altogether; some became the home of others. "We wanted our ears
to hear these names. We wanted them to penetrate deep into our souls.
Here, on these panels, you can see them. You can come closer and
read them one by one. These are lost Armenian communities. We want
the Turkish people to remember and never forget these names."
Then the volume rises again, and we listen to the names of the lost
villages for another five minutes.
Commemoration in Taksim
When death becomes a salvation
Keskin continues, "The genocide put an end to the social existence
of Armenians and other Christian peoples of what is now Turkey by
exterminating not only their lives but also their institutions,
cultural and social organizations, their historical heritage, their
civilizations, even the traces of their mere existence.
"Genocide is not only the massacres. Genocide is also dehumanizing
people by putting them in circumstances where death becomes a
salvation, something they crave to put an end to their suffering. But
genocide is not only condemning people to inhuman conditions. It as
also an enormous plunder, a wide-scale robbery of the wealth created
by generations through skillful and hard work.
"And the Genocide still goes on. It continues through its denial. It
goes on with the audacious, shameless lies told to people's faces. It
continues with the hatred and hostility that targets Armenians and
other non-Muslims in Turkey. It continues by terrorizing Armenians
in Samatya with brutal attacks on old Armenian women, the children of
genocide survivors. It continues through an environment that doesn't
allow Armenians to feel safe in Turkey. This fact was dramatically
demonstrated with what happened to Sevag Å~^ahin Balıkcı, who was
shot dead in Batman, Turkey, while he was serving the Turkish Armed
Forces, on April 24, 2011, the day of the commemoration of the Armenian
Genocide, and the day the court ruled that his death was an accident.
"We, the human rights defenders, repeat one more time: Officially
recognize the genocide! This is a call to the government of the
Republic of Turkey, as well as the Turkish public. Return the property
seized during and after the genocide to the descendants of the owners.
Compensate all of the material and immaterial damage done. Recognize
the rights of Armenians scattered all around the world--their
legitimate right to their homeland.
"Without recognition of the genocide, without confronting the crimes
committed, no peace, no real democracy, no justice can ever be attained
in this country.
"Refusal to recognize the genocide is a confirmation of the possibility
of new genocides.
Therefore we once more demand that the Turkish authorities put an
end to the denial of genocide! We want JUSTICE to be served!"
Ara Sarafian then speaks in Armenian, with simultaneous translation
to Turkish by a young Armenian, a member of the Nor Zartonk socialist
Armenian group. He talks about the futility of denialism in the face
of bare facts, about the growth in the number of people joining the
genocide commemoration events in Turkey, about his visit to Diyarbakir
and his interviews with the local people--how truthful many of them
were about the genocide, how one of them talked about his grandfather
who participated in the massacres.
'Sayfo' commemorated publicly for first time
It was the first time that Sayfo, the Assyrian Genocide, was
mentioned in the commemorations in Turkey, and that an Assyrian,
a representative of the Sweden Assyrian Youth Federation, gave a
speech, too. Referring to the ongoing "peace process" in Turkey to
put an end to the war between the Turkish Army and the PKK, he said:
"To our dismay, these crimes against humanity committed against the
ancient peoples of Anatolia have always been denied by all governments
to this day. It is clear that the pursuit of peace at the present will
be futile without facing the past. A state of peace based on faith
and religion will hang like Damocles' sword on different peoples,
just as in the events of the past. Truly establishing peace in these
lands will be possible not by the denial of the crimes against humanity
committed against the ancient peoples of Anatolia, but by facing them.
The establishment of peace will have meaning when it is built not
on common faith but on human values." His speech was translated to
the Assyrian language by his colleague. It was the first time the
Assyrian language was heard by the people gathered for a commemoration
of the genocide.
The co-chair of the Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party's Istanbul
Organization then gave a speech, recognizing the Kurds' involvement
in the genocide. "I, as a Kurd and a Kurdish politician, apologize
again and again to Armenians and Assyrians for the role played by
the Kurds in the genocide," he said.
After a speech by another Kurd, the owner of the Peri Publishing House,
which published a book about Antranig Pasha, said he condemned those
Kurds who cooperated with the central government and took part in
the massacres and the plunder of Armenian property.
Nor Zartonk's press statement was also read aloud by a young Armenian,
a member of the group.
An international delegation had also come to Istanbul this year within
the framework of the program jointly developed by the Turkish group
"Say Stop to Racism and Nationalism" (DurDe), the European Grassroots
Anti-Racist Movement (EGAM), and the Armenian General Benevolent Union
(AGBU). The president of EGAM, Benjamin Abtan gave a short speech
expressing the group's solidarity in the struggle against denialism
in Turkey.
Following the commemoration, the delegation and the participants of
the event visited the Sisli Armenian Cemetery and the grave of Sevag
Å~^ahin Balıkcı.
Before the commemoration at the Sultanahmet Square, Ara Sarafian,
accompanied by others, had visited the grave of Ali Faik Bey
(Ozansoy), the governor of Kutahya who had refused to obey the
central government's deportation orders and had protected the Armenian
community there.
At 6:30 p.m., DurDe's commemoration took place in Taksim Square. The
crowd was bigger in Taksim--numbering about 1,000--as compared
to Sultanahment, where there were about 200. Armenian music played
throughout the event, excerpts were read from the memoirs of a number
of Armenian intellectuals who were arrested on April 24, 1915, and
a press release was read out condemning the genocide.
Commemoration in Diyarbakir
Diyarbakir is the only city in Turkey that officially and publicly
recognizes the Armenian Genocide. "Both the conference hosted by the
Diyarbakir Bar Association and the commemoration organized by the
municipality under the leadership of Mayor Osman Baydemir were very
impressive and fruitful," said Sarafian. The commemoration took place
on the bridge over the Tigris River where the Diyarbakir Armenians were
massacred. Participants threw flowers into the river in the memory
of the victims. Sarafian was deeply moved not only by the sincere
willingness of the municipality, first and foremost Mayor Baydemir,
but also by the readiness local Kurds to accept the truth.
"We should not take for granted Osman Baydemir's promise of wide open
doors to Armenians, and should develop new ways of strengthening these
ties with Diyarbakir and turn this potential into reality," he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress