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How to Silence an Armenian Maverick in Turkey
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2014/01/03/armenian-maverick/
By Nanore Barsoumian // January 3, 2014
They finally locked him up. It was only a matter of time, really. And
frankly, I'm surprised it took them this long. The Turkish-Armenian
journalist and entrepreneur Sevan Nisanyan could not accept his place
in Turkish society. And a `good' Armenian ought to know better than
that. Somehow, Nisanyan always made headlines - from television talk
shows to controversial blog posts. He's been practically swimming in
some two-dozen court cases - but Nisanyan is built differently than many
of us. In fact, he actually enjoys making waves. You might say he was
born in the wrong country, but if you were to ask him, he'd tell
you - as he once told me - `I feel perfectly at home in a country where
most people would rather see me go. A paradox? I don't think so. I
like the precariousness of my situation. I think I contribute a lot to
the society I live in.'
Clutching a pillow in one hand, and two duffle bags in the other, he
walked in to prison on Jan. 2.
Two years, that's how long Nisanyan will spend in a Turkish prison - an
early Christmas present from the Turkish courts. Clutching a pillow in
one hand, and two duffle bags in the other, he walked in to prison on
Jan. 2. This was the punishment dished out from one of a long list of
court cases piled against him that could amount to over 50 years in
jail.
This time, they said, the 57-year-old Nisanyan had gone too far
building a cottage without a permiton his property in the village of
Sirince in Izmir, a tourist destination he's credited with reviving
through his rustic hotel business. A cottage without a permit, in a
land of illegal constructions, in a country where the President sits
in a mansion confiscated from its Armenian subjects. Chew on that,
Armenian!
This is a country where laws work for rulers - laws that were crafted to
weed out the other, to sanction looting, gagging, chaining, and even
killing.
Even at the prison gates, Nisanyan was still defiant. Still
controversial. Still hopeful. `Unfortunately, Turkey is being governed
by people who have no horizons, no vision, no quality; by small minded
people [`dwarves' in literal translation],' he said to reporters
gathered there. `It is a pity for this country. All of us, all of you,
deserve better. We hope that one day, people with vision, people who
can tell the good from the bad, will also be able to govern.'
As to his hotel-houses in Sirince, Nisanyan donated them to the Nesin
Foundation in 2011. The foundation, located in Sirince, brings
educational opportunities to children from financially handicapped
families.
Despite the numerous court cases that at times saw him appearing
before a judge as often as twice a week, Nisanyan managed to publish
his research on the old and new names of places in Turkey, as well as
an online toponymic index. This, in addition to his bestselling
guidebook to small hotels in Turkey.
Just over a year ago, Nisanyan, a graduate of Yale and Columbia,
angered thousands through a blog post defending freedom of speech. It
was a response to proposed `hate crime' bills following the release of
`The Innocence of Muslims,' a film denigrating the Prophet Muhammad.
`Mocking an Arab leader who centuries ago claimed to have contacted
God and made political, financial, and sexual benefits out of this is
not a crime of hatred. It is an almost kindergarten-level case of what
we call freedom of expression,' Nisanyan wrote in his post.
A few months later, an Istanbul court found Nisanyan - a recipient of
the 2004 Freedom of Thought Award by the Human Rights Association of
Turkey - guilty and sentenced him to over 13 months in jail. His crime?
`Publicly insulting the religious values of part of the population.'
When I asked him about it a few days later, his response was, `I don't
believe anyone has ever been prosecuted in Turkey for advocating the
murder, mayhem, or massacre of Armenians, Jews, Kurds, atheists, gays,
or liberals. Thousands, on the other hand, were prosecuted and
convicted in the past for `insulting Turkishness' under the notorious
Article 301 of the penal code. Now, `insulting Islam' seems to be
replacing that old juggernaut as a favorite instrument to hit
dissidents with.'
In 2010, Nisanyan's comments about the Armenian Genocide aired during
a Turkish television debate program resulted in the punishment of the
TV station. Turkey's Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK)
declared that Nisanyan's comments `humiliated the Republic of Turkey.'
Turkey's human rights record - especially when it comes to
journalists - is dismal. In 2012, Reporters Without Borders dubbed
Turkey `The World's Biggest Prison for Journalists.' In fact, the
country is the leading jailer of journalists - ahead of China and Iran.
Nisanyan's imprisonment further confirms what he has been
communicating all along: `There is instinctive hostility toward an
Armenian. It turns rabid when that Armenian is also an outspoken
critic of the Turkish system.'
At the doorstep of the Armenian Genocide centennial, Nisanyan's
imprisonment is but a chapter in the fate of Turkey's Armenians. `I
believe this is a test case for the Erdogan government's willingness
to improve minority rights in Turkey,' he had told me in 2010, when a
Turkish court ordered the demolition of his houses. `I believe it is
also a test case that will show if Armenians can go on living freely
and securely in this country, or whether the old system of state
thuggery will go on unchanged.'
Ultimately, when a restless maverick like Nisanyan goes to jail, the
whole of society suffers. It leaves Turkey with one less dissenting
voice; one less dreamer capable of hoping for a democratic Turkey; and
one more nail that binds modern Turkey to its xenophobic legacy.
From: A. Papazian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2014/01/03/armenian-maverick/
By Nanore Barsoumian // January 3, 2014
They finally locked him up. It was only a matter of time, really. And
frankly, I'm surprised it took them this long. The Turkish-Armenian
journalist and entrepreneur Sevan Nisanyan could not accept his place
in Turkish society. And a `good' Armenian ought to know better than
that. Somehow, Nisanyan always made headlines - from television talk
shows to controversial blog posts. He's been practically swimming in
some two-dozen court cases - but Nisanyan is built differently than many
of us. In fact, he actually enjoys making waves. You might say he was
born in the wrong country, but if you were to ask him, he'd tell
you - as he once told me - `I feel perfectly at home in a country where
most people would rather see me go. A paradox? I don't think so. I
like the precariousness of my situation. I think I contribute a lot to
the society I live in.'
Clutching a pillow in one hand, and two duffle bags in the other, he
walked in to prison on Jan. 2.
Two years, that's how long Nisanyan will spend in a Turkish prison - an
early Christmas present from the Turkish courts. Clutching a pillow in
one hand, and two duffle bags in the other, he walked in to prison on
Jan. 2. This was the punishment dished out from one of a long list of
court cases piled against him that could amount to over 50 years in
jail.
This time, they said, the 57-year-old Nisanyan had gone too far
building a cottage without a permiton his property in the village of
Sirince in Izmir, a tourist destination he's credited with reviving
through his rustic hotel business. A cottage without a permit, in a
land of illegal constructions, in a country where the President sits
in a mansion confiscated from its Armenian subjects. Chew on that,
Armenian!
This is a country where laws work for rulers - laws that were crafted to
weed out the other, to sanction looting, gagging, chaining, and even
killing.
Even at the prison gates, Nisanyan was still defiant. Still
controversial. Still hopeful. `Unfortunately, Turkey is being governed
by people who have no horizons, no vision, no quality; by small minded
people [`dwarves' in literal translation],' he said to reporters
gathered there. `It is a pity for this country. All of us, all of you,
deserve better. We hope that one day, people with vision, people who
can tell the good from the bad, will also be able to govern.'
As to his hotel-houses in Sirince, Nisanyan donated them to the Nesin
Foundation in 2011. The foundation, located in Sirince, brings
educational opportunities to children from financially handicapped
families.
Despite the numerous court cases that at times saw him appearing
before a judge as often as twice a week, Nisanyan managed to publish
his research on the old and new names of places in Turkey, as well as
an online toponymic index. This, in addition to his bestselling
guidebook to small hotels in Turkey.
Just over a year ago, Nisanyan, a graduate of Yale and Columbia,
angered thousands through a blog post defending freedom of speech. It
was a response to proposed `hate crime' bills following the release of
`The Innocence of Muslims,' a film denigrating the Prophet Muhammad.
`Mocking an Arab leader who centuries ago claimed to have contacted
God and made political, financial, and sexual benefits out of this is
not a crime of hatred. It is an almost kindergarten-level case of what
we call freedom of expression,' Nisanyan wrote in his post.
A few months later, an Istanbul court found Nisanyan - a recipient of
the 2004 Freedom of Thought Award by the Human Rights Association of
Turkey - guilty and sentenced him to over 13 months in jail. His crime?
`Publicly insulting the religious values of part of the population.'
When I asked him about it a few days later, his response was, `I don't
believe anyone has ever been prosecuted in Turkey for advocating the
murder, mayhem, or massacre of Armenians, Jews, Kurds, atheists, gays,
or liberals. Thousands, on the other hand, were prosecuted and
convicted in the past for `insulting Turkishness' under the notorious
Article 301 of the penal code. Now, `insulting Islam' seems to be
replacing that old juggernaut as a favorite instrument to hit
dissidents with.'
In 2010, Nisanyan's comments about the Armenian Genocide aired during
a Turkish television debate program resulted in the punishment of the
TV station. Turkey's Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK)
declared that Nisanyan's comments `humiliated the Republic of Turkey.'
Turkey's human rights record - especially when it comes to
journalists - is dismal. In 2012, Reporters Without Borders dubbed
Turkey `The World's Biggest Prison for Journalists.' In fact, the
country is the leading jailer of journalists - ahead of China and Iran.
Nisanyan's imprisonment further confirms what he has been
communicating all along: `There is instinctive hostility toward an
Armenian. It turns rabid when that Armenian is also an outspoken
critic of the Turkish system.'
At the doorstep of the Armenian Genocide centennial, Nisanyan's
imprisonment is but a chapter in the fate of Turkey's Armenians. `I
believe this is a test case for the Erdogan government's willingness
to improve minority rights in Turkey,' he had told me in 2010, when a
Turkish court ordered the demolition of his houses. `I believe it is
also a test case that will show if Armenians can go on living freely
and securely in this country, or whether the old system of state
thuggery will go on unchanged.'
Ultimately, when a restless maverick like Nisanyan goes to jail, the
whole of society suffers. It leaves Turkey with one less dissenting
voice; one less dreamer capable of hoping for a democratic Turkey; and
one more nail that binds modern Turkey to its xenophobic legacy.
From: A. Papazian