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ARMENIAN SLAIN PRIVATE NOT GRANTED 'MARTYRDOM' STATUS
Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 28 2013
The family of an Armenian man who was killed by a fellow private
during his army service in 2011 on April 24 -- the anniversary of
the day marked as the start of what Armenians say was a genocide of
their people in 1915 -- claim their son is being denied "martyrdom,"
a legal status that provides benefits to families of soldiers killed
while serving in the military.
However, to the family, there is more to this than benefits. The
family, which has vowed to take the case of Pvt. Sevag Şahin Balıkcı,
whose death was found to be the result of an accident by a Turkish
court on Wednesday, is certain that the young man fell victim to a
hate crime.
The concept of martyrdom in religious understanding corresponds to
falling when fighting for spreading a just cause, but in the Turkish
experience it has gained a more secular meaning, usually attributed
to individuals who are killed while protecting their country, or
during military service. It also has legal consequences in terms of
family assistance.
The young man's father, Garabet Balıkcı, said: "They do not consider
him a martyr because he was Christian. Why, then, did they draft
him in the first place?" Military service is compulsory in Turkey
for males and the country does not allow conscientious objectors the
right not to serve in the military.
Balıkcı's shooter, Kıvanc Ağaoğlu, was found guilty of involuntary
manslaughter and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison. Ani
Balıkcı, Sevag's mother, said the family was not satisfied with
the ruling during a press conference the family held at the Cezayir
Restaurant in İstanbul's Taksim neighborhood on Wednesday.
In addition to Sevag's family, the family's lawyer İsmail Halavurt
as well as Melis Tantan and Gencay Gursoy, two members of the Nor
Zartonk Initiative -- a civil society group representing Turkey's
Armenian community set up to fight hate crimes and discrimination --
also attended the event.
Ani Balıkcı, speaking about her son's murder, said, "His name is Sevag
and he is an Armenian, there is nothing else to think," saying she
was certain it was a hate crime. "First they look at our ethnicity and
we are treated as foreigners, as others. Then we are dehumanized. And
if they find the opportunity, we are killed," the heart-broken mother
said about being a member of a non-Muslim minority in Turkey.
Garabet Balıkcı said his son was killed "knowingly" and by a "racist
bullet."
The Diyarbakır Military Court heard the trial concerning the Balıkcı
shooting. There were 12 hearings in the trial and the verdict was
delivered on Wednesday. The defendant was given four-and-a-half years
and if the Military Court of Appeals affirms the ruling, he will serve
for one year and nine months and then will be released on parole,
according to the Code on Criminal Procedure (CMK).
Critics believe that the panel of judges -- whose members were changed
frequently during the course of the trial with the exception of the
presiding judge -- covered up what happened on the day of Balıkcı's
murder. Several witnesses have changed their testimony in favor of
the defendant and lawyers representing the plaintiffs have claimed
that military commanders have forced them to change their initial
statements through intimidation. The judges also rejected a demand
from plaintiff lawyers to "expand the investigation."
The Nor Zartonk community released a statement and suggested that the
defendant's sentence was only given to create the impression that
some sort of punishment was given. It also said that the trial set
a bad precedent for other "barracks murders." It noted that most of
the privates killed in the military service are either Kurds, Alevis
or Armenians and often officially found to be killed "by accident"
or as a result of "suicide." It called for introducing a hate crime
law in Turkey.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-311034-armenian-slain-private-not-granted-martyrdom-status.html
From: Baghdasarian
Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 28 2013
The family of an Armenian man who was killed by a fellow private
during his army service in 2011 on April 24 -- the anniversary of
the day marked as the start of what Armenians say was a genocide of
their people in 1915 -- claim their son is being denied "martyrdom,"
a legal status that provides benefits to families of soldiers killed
while serving in the military.
However, to the family, there is more to this than benefits. The
family, which has vowed to take the case of Pvt. Sevag Şahin Balıkcı,
whose death was found to be the result of an accident by a Turkish
court on Wednesday, is certain that the young man fell victim to a
hate crime.
The concept of martyrdom in religious understanding corresponds to
falling when fighting for spreading a just cause, but in the Turkish
experience it has gained a more secular meaning, usually attributed
to individuals who are killed while protecting their country, or
during military service. It also has legal consequences in terms of
family assistance.
The young man's father, Garabet Balıkcı, said: "They do not consider
him a martyr because he was Christian. Why, then, did they draft
him in the first place?" Military service is compulsory in Turkey
for males and the country does not allow conscientious objectors the
right not to serve in the military.
Balıkcı's shooter, Kıvanc Ağaoğlu, was found guilty of involuntary
manslaughter and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison. Ani
Balıkcı, Sevag's mother, said the family was not satisfied with
the ruling during a press conference the family held at the Cezayir
Restaurant in İstanbul's Taksim neighborhood on Wednesday.
In addition to Sevag's family, the family's lawyer İsmail Halavurt
as well as Melis Tantan and Gencay Gursoy, two members of the Nor
Zartonk Initiative -- a civil society group representing Turkey's
Armenian community set up to fight hate crimes and discrimination --
also attended the event.
Ani Balıkcı, speaking about her son's murder, said, "His name is Sevag
and he is an Armenian, there is nothing else to think," saying she
was certain it was a hate crime. "First they look at our ethnicity and
we are treated as foreigners, as others. Then we are dehumanized. And
if they find the opportunity, we are killed," the heart-broken mother
said about being a member of a non-Muslim minority in Turkey.
Garabet Balıkcı said his son was killed "knowingly" and by a "racist
bullet."
The Diyarbakır Military Court heard the trial concerning the Balıkcı
shooting. There were 12 hearings in the trial and the verdict was
delivered on Wednesday. The defendant was given four-and-a-half years
and if the Military Court of Appeals affirms the ruling, he will serve
for one year and nine months and then will be released on parole,
according to the Code on Criminal Procedure (CMK).
Critics believe that the panel of judges -- whose members were changed
frequently during the course of the trial with the exception of the
presiding judge -- covered up what happened on the day of Balıkcı's
murder. Several witnesses have changed their testimony in favor of
the defendant and lawyers representing the plaintiffs have claimed
that military commanders have forced them to change their initial
statements through intimidation. The judges also rejected a demand
from plaintiff lawyers to "expand the investigation."
The Nor Zartonk community released a statement and suggested that the
defendant's sentence was only given to create the impression that
some sort of punishment was given. It also said that the trial set
a bad precedent for other "barracks murders." It noted that most of
the privates killed in the military service are either Kurds, Alevis
or Armenians and often officially found to be killed "by accident"
or as a result of "suicide." It called for introducing a hate crime
law in Turkey.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-311034-armenian-slain-private-not-granted-martyrdom-status.html
From: Baghdasarian