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March held to protest attacks on Armenians
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/march-held-to-protest-attacks-on-armenians.aspx?pageID=238&nID=39960&NewsCatID=339
Hundreds march on Samatya streets to protest the attacks.DAILY NEWS photo
Vercihan ZiflioÄ[email protected]
Many intellectuals and politicians attended a march organized on Jan.
27 in Istanbul's Samatya district to protest recent assaults against
elderly Armenian women that the city's Armenian community are hesitant
to define as hate crimes.
The march drew support from members of Istanbul's other minority
communities, including Syriacs, Kurds and religious conservatives, who
joined Armenians to bring awareness to a slew of recent violent
attacks levied against the Armenian community. As part of the march
flowers were left in front of the home of 84-year-old Maritsa Küçük,
who was murdered last month in her home.
Organized by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and Turkey's main
Armenian organization, the march saw Peace and Democracy Party (BDP)
deputies ErtuÄ?rul Kürkçü, Sabahat Tuncel and Sırrı Süreyya Ã-nder,
former chair of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (Ã-DP) Ufuk Uras and
Hrant Dink's brother Orhan Dink participate.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News, Ã-nder said they would closely
follow and negotiate with the Interior Minister about the incidents on
Jan. 31.
Meanwhile, Kürkçü said it should be questioned why all the victims
were Armenians. `I hope the plots behind these incidents will be
investigated efficiently and [the truths] could be revealed. Elderly
and defenseless women are targeted; it is evident that the motivations
behind them are hate and revenge,' Kürkçü said.
Fear has spread within the Armenian community due to the attacks
resulting in a limited number of people attending religious
ceremonies, according to leaders from Samatya's Armenian Church, Surp
Kevork. Yesayi Demir, director of Surp Kevork Church, said they were
often in contact with security forces. `The investigation is ongoing,
we hope the incidents were not hate crimes,' Demir said, adding that
the demonstration was a positive step since it gave a message of
solidarity.
`I guess the attacks were robbery attempts, I don't think they are
organized, racist crimes,' Hagop Yelegen, the brother of one of the
recent victims, Sultan Aykar, said, adding that they have good
relations with their Muslim neighbors. `We are not afraid. Such
assaults are also aimed at Muslims.'
`Civil initiatives are manipulating the incidents even though the
offenders have not been identified yet,' Arsen ArÅ?ık, an Armenian
academic from BoÄ?aziçi University who is an acquaintance of two of the
victims, said. `Such comments disturb the [Armenian] community even
more.' ArÅ?ık also criticized his own community. `Why do they leave our
defenseless elderly people alone? We have to come up with a rational
solution to it.'
On Dec. 28, 2012, Marissa Küçük was stabbed seven times before having
her throat slit while in her home in Samatya. Two separate attacks
were carried out in the past month against elderly Armenian women in
the Samatya and Bakırköy districts as well. One of the women,
87-year-old Turfanda AÅ?ık, lost an eye, while the other woman was
robbed and severely injured. Most recently, 84-year-old Sultan Akyar
was attacked in Samatya, after which she underwent eye surgery.
January/28/2013
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/march-held-to-protest-attacks-on-armenians.aspx?pageID=238&nID=39960&NewsCatID=339
Hundreds march on Samatya streets to protest the attacks.DAILY NEWS photo
Vercihan ZiflioÄ[email protected]
Many intellectuals and politicians attended a march organized on Jan.
27 in Istanbul's Samatya district to protest recent assaults against
elderly Armenian women that the city's Armenian community are hesitant
to define as hate crimes.
The march drew support from members of Istanbul's other minority
communities, including Syriacs, Kurds and religious conservatives, who
joined Armenians to bring awareness to a slew of recent violent
attacks levied against the Armenian community. As part of the march
flowers were left in front of the home of 84-year-old Maritsa Küçük,
who was murdered last month in her home.
Organized by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and Turkey's main
Armenian organization, the march saw Peace and Democracy Party (BDP)
deputies ErtuÄ?rul Kürkçü, Sabahat Tuncel and Sırrı Süreyya Ã-nder,
former chair of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (Ã-DP) Ufuk Uras and
Hrant Dink's brother Orhan Dink participate.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News, Ã-nder said they would closely
follow and negotiate with the Interior Minister about the incidents on
Jan. 31.
Meanwhile, Kürkçü said it should be questioned why all the victims
were Armenians. `I hope the plots behind these incidents will be
investigated efficiently and [the truths] could be revealed. Elderly
and defenseless women are targeted; it is evident that the motivations
behind them are hate and revenge,' Kürkçü said.
Fear has spread within the Armenian community due to the attacks
resulting in a limited number of people attending religious
ceremonies, according to leaders from Samatya's Armenian Church, Surp
Kevork. Yesayi Demir, director of Surp Kevork Church, said they were
often in contact with security forces. `The investigation is ongoing,
we hope the incidents were not hate crimes,' Demir said, adding that
the demonstration was a positive step since it gave a message of
solidarity.
`I guess the attacks were robbery attempts, I don't think they are
organized, racist crimes,' Hagop Yelegen, the brother of one of the
recent victims, Sultan Aykar, said, adding that they have good
relations with their Muslim neighbors. `We are not afraid. Such
assaults are also aimed at Muslims.'
`Civil initiatives are manipulating the incidents even though the
offenders have not been identified yet,' Arsen ArÅ?ık, an Armenian
academic from BoÄ?aziçi University who is an acquaintance of two of the
victims, said. `Such comments disturb the [Armenian] community even
more.' ArÅ?ık also criticized his own community. `Why do they leave our
defenseless elderly people alone? We have to come up with a rational
solution to it.'
On Dec. 28, 2012, Marissa Küçük was stabbed seven times before having
her throat slit while in her home in Samatya. Two separate attacks
were carried out in the past month against elderly Armenian women in
the Samatya and Bakırköy districts as well. One of the women,
87-year-old Turfanda AÅ?ık, lost an eye, while the other woman was
robbed and severely injured. Most recently, 84-year-old Sultan Akyar
was attacked in Samatya, after which she underwent eye surgery.
January/28/2013