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BEHIND THE POLICE LINES: THE ATTACKS AGAINST ARMENIANS IN SAMATYA
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/02/01/behind-the-police-lines-attacks-against-armenians-in-samatya/
by Aris Nalci on February 1, 2013
Special for the Armenian Weekly.
Historian Taner Akcam recently told me, "Living in Turkey as an
Armenian is an art; the art of survival." He was right.
Protest against anti-Armenian crimes in Samatya, Istanbul: "We stand
together with Armenians, we won't give way to racism." (Photo shared
on Facebook by Halkların Demokratik Kongresi [HDK])
And only a couple of days later I was in Samatya trying to understand
what's happening there.
Samatya is one of the oldest districts in Istanbul. After the
establishment of the Turkish Republic they renamed it Kocamustafa
PaÅ~_a. But many people still use the old name.
Since Nov. 2012, we are reading reports that there are attacks against
elderly Armenians in the neighborhood. In December, Marissa Kuchuk
was killed during one of these attacks. Several attacks followed.
Even the Armenian community doesn't know the exact number of the
attacks, because Armenians are frightened to even say that they were
attacked. If there is no considerable harm, they don't want to talk
about it. This silence confuses the public and allows the police and
others to argue that the attacks are not hate crimes.
Now let's dig deeper, reminding ourselves that as of Jan. 31, the
police hasn't made a single arrest.
The Armenian NGO 'Nor Zartonk' has been following these attacks and
its representative, Sayat Tekir, told me on our TV show (IMC-GAMURC)
that in their report dated Nov. 2012, they predicted a rise in hate
crimes against Armenians.
Around the same time, Göksel Gulbey, president of ASIMDER (The
Association for fighting against Armenian Claims) was sharing the
names and addresses of Armenian schools in Istanbul on his Twitter and
Facebook accounts, without providing additional commentary. He was
essentially making these schools targets of attacks.
Soon thereafter, a Turkish teacher at the Aramyan Unciyan Armenian
School was murdered in his house not far from the school. Yet no one
investigated the president of ASIMDER. The latter even complained that
he was threatened by Armenians and asked for protection from the
government.
Now let's return to the attacks in Samatya.
The Aksaray Police Department, under the jurisdiction of which is
Samatya, told Human Rights Association, Istanbul branch
representatives on Jan. 23 that the attacks weren't hate crimes. The
police also pointed to the increased police presence in the
neighborhood.
Commenting on the most recent attack, which took place on Jan. 23, the
police argued that it took place when the policemen in the area were
on a lunch break... Let's assume this statement is true. Doesn't it mean
that the assailants knew about the police department's shifts, and
that these attacks were certainly well organized?
In turn, Istanbul's Mayor announced during a press conference on Jan.
25 that the city would broaden the investigation to include two other
attacks that have occurred in the Sisli and Fatih neighborhoods. But
"fortunately" those two other attacks were against two Turkish old
women. Essentially, the mayor had figured out a way to argue that the
attacks were not racially motivated.
So why are the police and the mayor insisting that these attacks are
random and are not hate crimes against Armenians?
Because if the attacks are organized and are targeting Armenians, it
means that nationalism continues to be on the rise in this country. It
means that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has failed
to address this problem.
It also means that while the AKP was busy with the deep state
organization Ergenekon, it didn't give enough importance to the KAFES
operation, which was a part of Ergenekon, and targeted Turkey's
Armenians specifically.
The names of many who worked for the Turkish Armenian weekly newspaper
Agos were on the murder list of Kafes. They also sent threatening
letters to Armenian schools in Istanbul.
It would have been much more effective if the Mayor made a statement
in support of the Armenian community. This simple gesture would have
calmed the community in Samatya a little.
Armenians in Istanbul want to believe that these attacks were not
targeting them specifically. But they also remember what happened in
1915, 1942, and 1955...
And it seems that such attacks or threats are going to continue until
2015, the centennial of the genocide. And the upcoming elections won't
help either, because it's possible that the government will look the
other way to win nationalist votes.
From: Baghdasarian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/02/01/behind-the-police-lines-attacks-against-armenians-in-samatya/
by Aris Nalci on February 1, 2013
Special for the Armenian Weekly.
Historian Taner Akcam recently told me, "Living in Turkey as an
Armenian is an art; the art of survival." He was right.
Protest against anti-Armenian crimes in Samatya, Istanbul: "We stand
together with Armenians, we won't give way to racism." (Photo shared
on Facebook by Halkların Demokratik Kongresi [HDK])
And only a couple of days later I was in Samatya trying to understand
what's happening there.
Samatya is one of the oldest districts in Istanbul. After the
establishment of the Turkish Republic they renamed it Kocamustafa
PaÅ~_a. But many people still use the old name.
Since Nov. 2012, we are reading reports that there are attacks against
elderly Armenians in the neighborhood. In December, Marissa Kuchuk
was killed during one of these attacks. Several attacks followed.
Even the Armenian community doesn't know the exact number of the
attacks, because Armenians are frightened to even say that they were
attacked. If there is no considerable harm, they don't want to talk
about it. This silence confuses the public and allows the police and
others to argue that the attacks are not hate crimes.
Now let's dig deeper, reminding ourselves that as of Jan. 31, the
police hasn't made a single arrest.
The Armenian NGO 'Nor Zartonk' has been following these attacks and
its representative, Sayat Tekir, told me on our TV show (IMC-GAMURC)
that in their report dated Nov. 2012, they predicted a rise in hate
crimes against Armenians.
Around the same time, Göksel Gulbey, president of ASIMDER (The
Association for fighting against Armenian Claims) was sharing the
names and addresses of Armenian schools in Istanbul on his Twitter and
Facebook accounts, without providing additional commentary. He was
essentially making these schools targets of attacks.
Soon thereafter, a Turkish teacher at the Aramyan Unciyan Armenian
School was murdered in his house not far from the school. Yet no one
investigated the president of ASIMDER. The latter even complained that
he was threatened by Armenians and asked for protection from the
government.
Now let's return to the attacks in Samatya.
The Aksaray Police Department, under the jurisdiction of which is
Samatya, told Human Rights Association, Istanbul branch
representatives on Jan. 23 that the attacks weren't hate crimes. The
police also pointed to the increased police presence in the
neighborhood.
Commenting on the most recent attack, which took place on Jan. 23, the
police argued that it took place when the policemen in the area were
on a lunch break... Let's assume this statement is true. Doesn't it mean
that the assailants knew about the police department's shifts, and
that these attacks were certainly well organized?
In turn, Istanbul's Mayor announced during a press conference on Jan.
25 that the city would broaden the investigation to include two other
attacks that have occurred in the Sisli and Fatih neighborhoods. But
"fortunately" those two other attacks were against two Turkish old
women. Essentially, the mayor had figured out a way to argue that the
attacks were not racially motivated.
So why are the police and the mayor insisting that these attacks are
random and are not hate crimes against Armenians?
Because if the attacks are organized and are targeting Armenians, it
means that nationalism continues to be on the rise in this country. It
means that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has failed
to address this problem.
It also means that while the AKP was busy with the deep state
organization Ergenekon, it didn't give enough importance to the KAFES
operation, which was a part of Ergenekon, and targeted Turkey's
Armenians specifically.
The names of many who worked for the Turkish Armenian weekly newspaper
Agos were on the murder list of Kafes. They also sent threatening
letters to Armenian schools in Istanbul.
It would have been much more effective if the Mayor made a statement
in support of the Armenian community. This simple gesture would have
calmed the community in Samatya a little.
Armenians in Istanbul want to believe that these attacks were not
targeting them specifically. But they also remember what happened in
1915, 1942, and 1955...
And it seems that such attacks or threats are going to continue until
2015, the centennial of the genocide. And the upcoming elections won't
help either, because it's possible that the government will look the
other way to win nationalist votes.
From: Baghdasarian