A la memoire des 1 500 000 victimes armeniennes



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RUBRIQUE EN ANGLAIS


Is it a crime to be an Armenian?

The suggestion that the phrase “bumped off” should be used instead of “rendered ineffective” to refer to Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists who are killed has caused several reactions. It was Erzurum deputy Muhyettin Aksak of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) who made the suggestion at his party’s bayram greetings sessions last Tuesday in the eastern province of Erzurum.

But Aksak made other problematic statements during the same session. He also said, after demanding that “PKK members and our Kurdish brothers should not be ranked equally”: “We must separate our Kurdish brothers from them. When we look at them [the PKK], they are nothing more than [brainwashed people], or children of Armenian apostates, or cowards who have infiltrated our country from Syria or Iran.”

Codes of social culture
A deputy serving his second term in Parliament, representing the ruling party, used the attribution “children of Armenian apostates” as an open insult, contemptuously.

Let’s admit that using the fact that one is of Armenian origin in a defamatory is one of those reflexes yet to be overcome in the cognitive codes of a very wide segment of Turkey’s social culture.

This may also come up frequently in the press. The most recent outstanding example of Armenian origins being used as an insult was in the campaign of defamation daily Yeni Şafak writer Ali Bayramoğlu was subjected to last June.

An article appearing on the website habervaktim.com, which acts as the website of the fundamentalist daily Vakit, claimed that Bayramoğlu had Armenian origins, and that therefore he was “acting with the incentive of his real [hidden] identity” regarding Kurdish and Armenian matters.



‘If you are a Jew, you are already guilty’

The people targeted by this behavior are not only Armenians. It is general, and it is directed at all minorities, at Greeks and especially at Jews.

Because this is the case, when Professor Büşra Ersanlı was arrested last year in connection with the operation against the KCK, daily Vakit was able to assess the fact that her ex-husband Professor Cem Behar was a Jew as one of the negative factors leading to her arrest.

Similar examples may strike you frequently in daily life in our country, which our statesmen boast of as a land of tolerance. The issue is that such behavior is not regarded as a problem morally in social scenarios – again for a wide segment.

It is one of the most disgraceful facets of racism that people who should be acknowledged as equal citizens both under human measurements and at a formal level are looked down on because of their ethnic identities, or their identities are used as insults.



The need for a hate crime law
These kinds of behaviors are known as “hate crimes” in the civilized world now, and have serious consequences. Hate crimes are actions where a person or a group is attacked verbally or physically because of their identity or group membership, and they have different outcomes than other categories of crime.

The difference is because in hate crimes when a person is insulted because of their social belonging or identity, victimization is not limited to the targeted person. The “multiplier effect” of the hate feature of the crime makes everyone who belongs to that group feel attacked.

For example, when a deputy insults the PKK as “children of Armenian apostates,” then every Armenian living in Turkey feels insulted. When Professor Ersanlı’s having had a Jewish husband is cited as a reason for her arrest, then every Jew living in this country is belittled.

These examples, which we come across frequently, create a very pessimistic picture of how much distance we need to cover in the fight against hate crimes and racism in Turkey. If a law on hate crimes had been enacted in Turkey, then the perpetrators of the examples cited above would probably have met with serious consequences. If no law is in the horizon yet, at least it would be appropriate for the ruling party to make a gesture to reassure Armenian citizens living in this country that it does not acknowledge the words of its Erzurum deputy, especially right after the Ramadan Feast, when we frequently emphasize the value of fraternity.

*Sedat Ergin is a columnist for daily Hürriyet, in which this piece was published on Aug. 24. It was translated into English by the Daily News staff.

August/25/2012



http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/is-it-a-crime-to-be-an-armenian-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=28557&NewsCatID=428

Prosecutor Confirms Villagers Could Be Discerned in UAV Footages

The Diyarbakır Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the villagers who died in last year’s Roboski massacre were clearly discernable in footages obtained from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV.) 34 villagers had lost their lives in the deadly air strike that took place in the southeastern province of Şırnak.

şırnak - BIA News Center

06 August 2012, Monday

The Diyarbakır's Prosecutor's Office charged with investigating last year's Roboski massacre confirmed a news story by Wall Street Journal that a U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) had also taken footages prior to the deadly air strike and that the villagers were clearly discernable in those images.

A total of 34 villagers had lost their lives in the district of Uludere (Roboski) in consequence of an air strike that took place in the southeastern province of Şırnak last year by the Iraqi border.

The footages examined by the Diyarbakır's Prosecutor's Office show the villagers as they unload their goods from trucks and carry them onto their mules for cross-border trade with Iraq, according to a news report that appeared on the daily Taraf.

The U.S.-based Wall Street Journal had published a story claiming that an American controlled Predator (a UAV) had first spotted the convoy of villagers and that American officials had warned their Turkish counterparts about them.



General Staff repudiates Wall Street Journal's report

The Prosecutor's Office in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır requested the UAV footages from the Turkish General Staff following the publication of Wall Street Journal's report. The General Staff complied with the request but also sent a note to the Diyarbakır Prosecutor's Office claiming that the "Predator footages made no contribution to [footages obtained from the Turkish] UAVs."

U.S. officials could not ascertion whether the convoy consisted of civilians or members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) but still chose to warn Turkish officials due to the fact that the presence of the convoy in that particular area drew their suspicion, according to Wall Street Journal's story.

The officials also complied with a request by their Turkish counterparts to withdraw the Predator from the area, Wall Street Journal had also said.

"The news report does not reflect the truth. The [convoy] was first spotted by a UAV of the Turkish Armed Forces," the Turkish General Staff had later responded, however.

Victims refuse compensation until justice arrives

Selahattin Demirtaş, the co-chair of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP,) also issued a statement after he met with the villagers of Roboski at his party's provincial headquarters.

Authorities are trying to cover up the massacre, Demirtaş said and called for those responsible for the incident to be brought to justice.



Ubeydullah Encü who attended the meeting with Demirtaş on behalf of the victims' families also denied recent claims they had accepted compensation from the government and said they were not going to take any compensation until justice has been served. (AS)

http://www.bianet.org/english/human-rights/140149-prosecutor-confirms-villagers-could-be-discerned-in-uav-footages

Sorry, Armenia!’: Thousands of Hungarians Apologize, Condemn Government for Safarov Extradition



Hungarian Activists to hold demonstrations this week

“This mistake has to be rectified by us, Hungarians!” wrote one. “Today, I am ashamed of being a Hungarian,” wrote another. “I apologize to all Armenians, and particularly to the family of Gurgen Margaryan,” said a third.

They echoed the sentiments of tens of thousands of Hungarians outraged by their government’s decision to extradite Margaryan’s murderer, Ramil Safarov, to his home country Azerbaijan, where he received a hero’s welcome, was pardoned, and promoted.

In 2004, Safarov murdered Margaryan, an Armenian lieutenant, in Hungary with an axe, while the latter was asleep. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Politicians, religious leaders, and activists in Hungary commented on the extradition, apologizing to Armenians and criticizing the extradition.

The president of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Card. Péter Erdő, issued a statement expressing “full solidarity with the Armenian Christians and with the Armenian people that has so much suffered in the past.”

“We ask the Almighty that through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary He might lead and protect the whole Armenian people and bless them with the gift of justice and peace,” read the statement.

Various newspapers and blogs published articles denouncing the Hungarian government.

Demonstrations are planned for early this week in front of the Ministry of Justice and the Parliament of Hungary to express outrage at the decision to extradite Safarov.

Thousands of Hungarians joined Facebook groups apologizing for their government’s action. One such group, called “Sorry, Armenia,” had close to 8,000 “Likes” as of Sept. 2.

Another Facebook group, “Hungarians are sorry, Armenia,” had 2,000 “Likes.”

Wreaths were placed in memory of Margaryan at Deák square in Budapest (see photo).

Fifteen Hungarians lined up on a street each holding a letter of the phrase “Sorry, Armenia!” (see photo).

Unacceptable, amoral act’

Benedek Zsigmond, a Hungarian Armenologist, made moving statements in Yerevan, in fluent Armenian, apologizing for the “unacceptable, amoral act.” He added, “That which the Hungarian government has done flies in the face of all moral and panhuman values.”

“Many Hungarians are apologizing for the government’s action. They do it both in Hungarian and in English. Moreover, some people say, ‘I feel shame that I am Hungarian,’” Zsigmond told the Armenian Weekly in an interview.

Hungarians we interviewed not only expressed shame and outrage, but insisted they would continue petitioning, protesting, and demonstrating until their government did all it could to rectify the situation, and until those involved in the extradition were held accountable.

Ildiko Fülep, a Hungarian living in Vienna, told the Weekly, “As someone who knows Armenia’s culture and history, I’m deeply shocked by my government’s decision. I feel like my government put a knife in the back of Armenians, and it also cheated its own nation.”

Please, do not burn our flag’

Some Hungarians pleaded with Armenians to refrain from burning the Hungarian flag during demonstrations against the Hungarian government. “The Hungarian flag is not a symbol of the government, but the Hungarian people!” said one.

Another Hungarian blogger we interviewed noted, “Remember, that is also the flag of the tens of thousands of Hungarians who are against the actions of the government, and will demonstrate and protest against it.”

“Burn the photo of [Hungarian Prime Minister] Viktor Orbán instead,” she added.

The Hungarian flag was burned during a demonstration in Yerevan on Sept. 1.

http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/09/02/sorry-armenia/


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