Armenians in Turkey

Dieser Beitrag untersucht die Entstehung, Bestandteile und Besonderheiten des türkischen Nationalismus im Hinblick auf das innenpolitisch relevante Verhältnis zu nicht-muslimischen, insbesondere christlichen Bevölkerungsgruppen. Dabei zeigt bereits ein erster Blick auf die umfangreiche Forschungsliteratur zu Fragen der türkischen Identität, nationalen Erweckung und Nationalbewegung, dass anscheinend keine endgültige Einigkeit über diese Fragen besteht.

Report (Brussels, Oct 2002; 46 pages) on the largely urban Armenian minority.
CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................................................3
FOREWORD...............................................................................................................................................................5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................................................6
RECENT REFORMS AND CHANGES...............................................................................................................................6
RECOMMENDATIONS..................................................................................................................................................7
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................9
HISTORICAL SETTLEMENT AREA.................................................................................................................................9
CHRISTIANITY AS AN INTEGRAL COMPONENT OF NATIONAL IDENTITY .............................................................................9
PRESENT NUMBERS, SOCIAL SITUATION AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ARMENIANS IN TURKEY..........................9
I. IN OTTOMAN TIMES: HISTORICAL REVIEW AND BACKGROUND................................................................12
II. IN THE TURKISH REPUBLIC..............................................................................................................................15
ONGOING PERSECUTION ..........................................................................................................................................15
LEGAL DISCRIMINATION: BANISHMENT AND CONFISCATION OF PROPERTY....................................................................15
VARLIK VERGISI KANUNU: THE PROPERTY TAX FOR NON-MUSLIMS 1942-44 - A VIOLATION OF ARTICLES 39 AND 40 OF
THE LAUSANNE TREATY ...........................................................................................................................................16
DISCRIMINATION IN THE '1970S ................................................................................................................................16
SERFDOM: FEUDAL CLIENT RELATIONSHIP .................................................................................................................17
FORCED ISLAMISATION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 1980S ..........................................................................................17
THREAT TO LIFE AND LIMB: ATTACKS ON THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN ISTANBUL.......................................................18
III. ARMENIAN INSTITUTIONS AND THEIR PROBLEMS.....................................................................................23
1. CHURCHES..........................................................................................................................................................23
2. ARMENIAN SCHOOLS............................................................................................................................................25
3. FOUNDATIONS.....................................................................................................................................................27
IV. VIOLATIONS OF FUNDAMENTAL........................................................................................................................31
INDIVIDUAL CIVIL RIGHTS ....................................................................................................................................31
1. FREEDOM OF CHOICE OF PROFESSION...............................................................................................................31
2. THE RIGHT TO HOLD POLITICAL OFFICE..................................................................................................................31
3. PROTECTION AGAINST DISCRIMINATORY TREATMENT DURING MILITARY SERVICE .....................................................31
4. FREEDOM OF OPINION, CONSCIENCE, RESEARCH AND THE PRESS ..........................................................................32
V. ANTI-ARMENIAN REPORTING IN THE TURKISH MEDIA ...............................................................................35
VI. NEGLECT AND DESTRUCTION OF ARMENIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE ....................................................39
VII. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. ................................................................................................43
RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................................................

The 19th century is an important historical period in the World in which political, economic, social and technological developments are experienced. In particular, the development of transport and communication technologies has brought societies closer. However, new ideas of thought that emerged after the French Revolution had affected societies and shaken the empires. In this period, though the societies and cultures became closer to each other, the boundaries between the countries became more apparent as a requirement of states' central authority empowerment policies. Passports and travel permits were being used more systematically to prevent people from traveling or migrating without a reason.
Western Anatolia, which is home to many important centers for Christians, is a very popular area for foreigners, both religiously, culturally and commercially. The notes that the travelers took, at that time, provide us with many important clues about the region where the people living there. In this context, the observations and thoughts written by the Western travelers about the Armenians, which are a long history of more than five hundred years in Western Anatolia, are very important both for Armenian and Western Anatolian histories.
For centuries, Armenians have lived faithful to their state under Turkish domination. A number of groups with an innumerable contribution to the Ottoman society have been made foreign to their congregations and then to their states, with the provocations of European imperialist powers during the distribution of the empire.
In this study, the Armenians in 19th century was examined through the eyes of travelers under the headings of population, culture, education and economics.

Armenian ethnic identity in the Middle East is formulated around language, religion, descent, and the concept of a diaspora–homeland relationship. The historical leadership of the Armenians, who have experienced diaspora and lack of self-rule for the better part of a millennium, has been concentrated in the Armenian Apostolic Church, a non-Chalcedonic Orthodox denomination. A synonymous relationship exists between Armenians and Christianity, which until recently (accurate at the time of writing) remained largely uncontested in the Middle East and elsewhere. Historically, Armenians who converted to another religion were outcast and no longer considered Armenian.
However, in recent decades, the “rediscovery” of Armenian Muslims has
raised a central question for Armenians in Armenia and the diaspora: can a Muslim truly be Armenian? This is further complicated by another related but more sensitive question: can an Armenian also be a Turk?

This contribution to the collective monograph "Märtyrer 2007" ("Martyrs 2007", in German; ed. Thomas Schirrmacher and Max Klingberg) describes and analyses the difficult situation of the remaining indigenous Christian minorities througout the history of the Turkish Republic, and looks also into the situation of 'hidden Christians' and new Evangelic communities.

Ένα πρωινό του Απρίλη του 2005 δέχτηκα μια απρόσμενη κλήση στο κινητό μου τηλέφωνο. Στην άλλη πλευρά βρισκόταν ένας άγνωστος μου κύριος, αναγνώστης του «Πολίτη», ο οποίος ήθελε να διαμαρτυρηθεί και να μου εκφράσει το παράπονο του-με κάπως άκομψο είναι αλήθεια τρόπο-γιατί δεν γράφω και για τη δικιά του γειτονιά, αλλά αναφέρομαι συνέχεια στη Χαλκηδόνα και στην περιφέρειά της, για την οποία θεωρούσε ότι μεροληπτούσα, καθώς όπως εκείνος πίστευε ήταν η δικιά μου ιδιαίτερη πατρίδα… Καίτοι ένοιωσα βέβαια ιδιαίτερη χαρά και περηφάνια για τα κείμενα μου, αφού ο αναγνώστης μου αυτός, διαβάζοντας τα, με πολιτογράφησε Πολίτη και Χαλκηδόνιο, αγνοώντας ότι δε γεννήθηκα στην Πόλη, έβαλα εντούτοις στο πρόγραμμα μου να γράψω για τη γειτονιά του λίγο νωρίτερα από ότι σχεδίαζα αρχικά. Η γειτονιά του παραπονεμένου εκείνου αναγνώστη μου είναι το Κοντοσκάλι. Χτισμένη στους πρόποδες του δεύτερου και του τρίτου λόφου της Επταλόφου, κείμενη επί της ακτής της Προποντίδας, η συνοικία χαρακτηρίζεται από την πλήρη σχεδόν απουσία σημαντικών Οθωμανικών μνημείων και γι' αυτό απουσιάζει από τους τουριστικούς οδηγούς, παραμένοντας κατά κάποιο τρόπο στη σκιά της Πόλης, αφού για το λόγο αυτό δεν αποτελεί συνήθη και προσφιλή προορισμό των επισκεπτών της. Η συνοικία παρ' όλα αυτά είναι ιδιαίτερα γνωστή στις μέρες μας χάρη στις ευάριθμες ψαροταβέρνες και μεζεδοπωλεία που λειτουργούν εκεί, γνωστότερη από τις οποίες είναι αυτή του Κιορ Αγκόπ. Οι μεϊχανέδες αυτοί, που απευθύνονται πια όχι στις λαϊκές τάξεις αλλά σε κύκλους αστών και διανόησης, είναι κατά κάποιον τρόπο κληρονομιά παλιάς παράδοσης, αφού ξακουστά καπηλειά υπήρχαν ήδη στα χρόνια του Ιερεμία Κιουμουρτζιάν, στα χρόνια που το Κοντοσκάλι ήταν ταπεινό ψαροχώρι και το 1 Δημοσιεύτηκε σε 8 συνέχειες στην εφημερίδα των Κωνσταντινουπολιτών Ο Πολίτης: ως «Κοντοσκάλι» (Α'-Η', φ. 486-493, Σεπτέμβριος 2007-Μάιος 2008).

We have added yet another social responsibility project appropriate for our founding purpose as the Association for the Support of Greek Community Foundations (RUMVADER). After completing our EU-backed project in 2011 titled "Minority Citizens = Equal Citizens”, we launched our second project under the title "Bridging the gap, building together a common future", again with the support of EU, for the 2017-2018 term.

Une mémoire des Arméniens se maintient ou s'élabore difficilement parmi les populations turques qui vivent en ces lieux parmi des fantômes. Ils savent qu'il ne vivent pas dans un nulle part, que les terres qu'ils cultivent appartenaient à d'autres que leurs ancêtres. C e passé continue de façonner le présent, et la Turquie ne pourra se démocratiser que lorsqu'elle aura réglé ce problème de mémoire.

Աշխատությունը «Հայաստանի պատմություն» 36-հատորյա գրքաշարի Ե հատորն է` նվիրված Պատմական Հայաստանի Տուրուբերան նահանգի Վարաժնունիք (Խնուս) գավառի պատմությանը և նյութական մշակույթի հուշարձաններին:
Գրքաշարի նպատակն է Հայաստանի պատմությունը ներկայացնել գավառ առ գավառ, յուրաքանչյուրը` գյուղ առ գյուղ:

Status of Christians in contemporary Turkey

Abstract. The paper shows position of some Christian communities and under­ lines their main problems in contemporary Turkey. Position of the minority re­ ligious communities was based on complex legal frame with several restrictions.
This legal frame provides some communities with possibility to partially achieve their rights and with various difculties. In the process of approaching towards the EU, Turkey made some positive steps but without systematic constitutional and legal changes what now leads to uncertainty in lives of minority communities. Believers of minority religious communities are still in daily life faced with severe bigotry, while their rights are still seen as a security matter. Religious minorities expect­ their­ rights to be more­ gua­ran­teed­ in new consti­tu­tion­ of Turkey,­ while­ its passing­ is still in the deba­te­.

Keywords. Turkey, Christians, religious rights and freedom, Eccumenical Patriar­ chate, Armenian Apostolic Church, European Union.

The literature on the Armenian Genocide has been growing steadily in recent years. We now have access to many good books and articles that shed light on the historical background of this tragedy and add to survivor and eyewitness descriptions that have been available since the deportations and killings started in 1915. None of these studies, however, pay much attention to the Armenians who chose to stay in Turkey after the genocide and through the establishment of the Turkish republic. This is not surprising, because this small and dwindling community of at most 60,000 people does not easily fit into the competing narratives of the Armenian Genocide. For those promoting the official Turkish version, the continued presence of Armenians in Turkey is a reminder not only of an earlier, much more diverse and tolerant era but also, more poignantly, of everything that happened during the closing years of the Ottoman Empire, including the deportation and murder of almost the entire Armenian population of Anatolia. For both survivors and historians of the genocide, on the other hand, it is not easy to understand why any Armenian would have chosen to stay in Turkey after 1923, knowing that this would place them under the protection of the very people who had engineered the deportation and mass murder of their communities. With her new book Lerna Ekmekçioğlu takes an important step in filling this gap. She describes how the Bolsahay (the Armenian community of Istanbul) navigated the treacherous currents of the Allied occupation and the early years of the republic to (re)make a place for themselves in a changing country and a changing world. In addition to newspapers, magazines, personal memoirs, and contemporary publications, the book relies extensively on articles that appeared in the journal Hay gin (Armenian woman), which was published in Istanbul from 1919 to 1933 by the Armenian Women's Association. Throughout her analysis Ekmekçioğlu pays special attention to the writings of a handful of feminist intellectuals—in particular

Çokkültürlülük tartışmaları ekseninde Türkiye'deki azınlık okulları üzerine kısıtlı sayıda araştırmalar yapılmış, bu okulların Türk eğitim sistemindeki yeri ve toplumsal biraradalık üzerindeki etkileri hakkında pek de kapsamlı bir araştırma ortaya konmamıştır. Bu noktada Doç.Dr. Süleyman Büyükkarcı'nın İstanbul Ermeni Okulları adını taşıyan araştırması Osmanlı döneminde kurulan ve Türkiye Cumhuriyetinde de varlıklarını devam ettiren Ermeni azınlık okulları üzerine yapılan en kapsamlı çalışmalardan biridir.

Abstract Using ethnographic data gathered in Istanbul and Diyarbakır, this article examines the Kurdish political movement in Turkey and its relationship with other minorities. Turkey, built on a premise of ethno-religious uniformity, long sought to deny underlying multi-ethnic and multi-religious elements and regarded its minorities as suspect. In recent decades, particularly under the government of the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (Justice and Development Party, AKP), broader discourses about national identity and the place of minorities opened up. In this expanded space Kurdish political gathered momentum. With time, Kurdish actors adopted a pro-democracy discourse that privileged human rights and multiculturalism over an exclusive focus on Kurdish rights. More recently, the political arena has shrunk again and the electorate has grown more polarised as the AKP government resorts to nationalist rhetoric and resuscitates an imperative of conformity. This article analyses how, within these shifting dynamics, the Kurdish political movement and individual Kurds acknowledge and protect Turkey’s multi-ethnic and multi-religious fabric. It argues that in doing so, Kurds seek to present an alternative, multicultural politics in defiance of the increasingly authoritarian and increasingly Islamic AKP.

In this paper I consider examples of urban public inscriptions which appeared during the Gezi Park protests of Istanbul in 2013. I consider them both as a form of expression permitting the creation and circulation of utopian messages of resistance, and as relating to the inclusion of a multiplicity of identities in the protest arena, such as Kurdish, Armenian and LGBT identities. I insist on the role the written word plays in forging a specific and non-exclusivist imaginary of the protest, positioned within complex power dynamics and national narratives. I view the physical presence of specific graphic expressions referencing "marginal identities" as part of a set of revolutionary actions, which demonstrate the importance of written-in spaces and surfaces in processes of "symbolic reterritorialization". This theme emerges as one of the central questions in interpretations of events relating to the Gezi resistance.

“Love is magical and mysterious. When you’re in love, you never think of leaving. But if one day you have to, you always long for the day you'll come back and be reunited with your beloved.”
Istanbul...  A city that withholds the modernity of today’s life, together with the mystical past of its great history. A city that has been a refuge during centuries for people from all sorts of cultures and religions. Both eastern and western with different religions and cultures, Istanbul is a chaotic and mysterious city full of surprises.
Istanbul mon amour consists of 2 episodes. The documentary presents the 24 hour-alive city through Istanbulites, its historical buildings, the beliefs and cultures as well as the daily life of the people.

Emine Çaykara, an archaelogist, writer and journalist who was born and raised in this city, tells us about her mystical city and its unfolded stories by plunging into the streets and mingling with the crowds.

The documentary, which begins on the Galata Bridge overlooking the Topkapı Palace and the Old Istanbul at the dawn of day,  explains how different religions and various cultures have been blended into one another in this city. People who live in Istanbul share their feelings about the city and tell us what it means to love Istanbul and be addicted to it.
Who is the Saint Patron of Istanbul? Which is the biggest church in Istanbul? Why did Fatih have to conquer Constantinople? Where is the tomb of Constantine the Great?  What is the life within the city walls of Istanbul like today? Why do Armenians know Muslim prayers? Why do people who have visited Istanbul once always want to come back to it? Why do Muslims light a candle in churches? Why do the Jews always hold their religious ceremonies in their oldest synagogue in Balat? All these mysterious questions and other facts of the unknown İstanbul will be revealed in Istanbul mon amour.

»Dies ist ein Weg, von dem es keine Heimkehr gibt«, notierte Armin T. Wegner im November 1915 in Ras al-Ayn im heutigen Nordsyrien. Wegner, der 1915-1916 als Sanitätssoldat der osmanischen Armee Augenzeuge des Völkermords an den Armeniern wurde, beschrieb mit seinem Tagebucheintrag das Los der vielen Hunderttausend Deportierten, die der sichere Tod erwartete.

Doch eine Heimkehr gab es auch für die meisten Überlebenden nicht. Nicht für Zabel Yesayan, eine der wichtigsten armenischen Schriftstellerinnen und engagierten Frauenrechtlerinnen ihrer Epoche, die sich der Deportation durch Flucht entzogen hatte, der die Erinnerung an den Ort ihrer Kindheit aber ein geistiger Zufluchtsort blieb. Nicht für den Lehrer Hagop Mintzuri, der zeitlebens nicht in das Dorf zurückkehrte, aus dem seine Frau, seine vier Kinder und alle anderen Angehörigen deportiert worden waren.

Dieses Jahr jährt sich der im Schatten des Ersten Weltkriegs begangene Völkermord an den Armeniern zum hundertsten Mal. Die meisten der in diesem Band versammelten Texte sind literarische, häufig autobiografisch geprägte Texte von Armeniern, die damit selbst zu Wort kommen. Einige stammen von Überlebenden der Deportationen, darunter bekannten armenischen Schriftstellern wie Yervant Odian, aber auch von Personen wie Pailadzo Captanian, die aus dem Bedürfnis schrieben, Zeugnis abzulegen über die erlebten, unvorstellbaren Grausamkeiten.

Ein Großteil der Texte thematisiert nicht den Völkermord selbst, sondern die Erinnerungen von ArmenierInnen an ihr Leben vor 1914 oder das Weiterleben im Exil bzw. in der Republik Türkei. Sie vermitteln einen Eindruck der vielfältigen Lebensrealitäten von Armeniern im Osmanischen Reich. Armenier nahmen aktiv Anteil am intellektuellen Aufschwung gegen Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts. Ob Lyrik, Prosa oder Journalismus, von der Satire bis zum Theater, die armenische Literatur war ein entscheidender Bestandteil der osmanischen Literatur jener Epoche. In den Werken der armenischen AutorInnen drückt sich ihre Hoffnung und dann, angesichts der Ausgrenzung und Vernichtung ihres Volkes, ihre Verzweiflung aus, die sich ganz ähnlich dem deutsch-jüdischen Schreiben des frühen 20. Jahrhunderts in hellsichtiger Gesellschaftsanalyse und Satire Bahn bricht.

Die Texte werden gerahmt durch ein Vorwort des Historikers Hans-Lukas Kieser zu den Hintergründen des Völkermords sowie ein Nachwort von Corry Guttstadt und Ragıp Zarakolu zur Erinnerungspolitik in der Türkei.

This article aims to explore one of the critical and relatively understudied dimensions of Turkish politics: the complex characteristics of interactions between the Armenian community (mainly Gregorian Orthodox Christians) and the incumbent government of the Justice and Development Party. Two interrelated questions are raised below: Why did the relationship between the AK Party and the Armenian community become an important topic to discuss? What repercussions did the assassination of Hrant Dink in 2007 have on relations between the Turkish government and the Armenian community? The answers to these questions can help us better understand why a majority party with Islamic roots produced more reliable bonds for the Christian minority than previous governments with their more secular backgrounds and political agendas. I argue that the Armenian community in Turkey is in a constant quest for a secure socio-political climate where it can safely preserve its cultural, ethnic and religious identity. Hence, the political agenda of the AK Party essentially matched the Armenian community’s aspirations for large-scale reforms, which paved the way for a period of vigilant collaboration that remained in effect until the assassination of Hrant Dink.

»Dies ist ein Weg, von dem es keine Heimkehr gibt«, notierte Armin T. Wegner im November 1915 in Ras al-Ayn im heutigen Nordsyrien. Wegner, der 1915-1916 als Sanitätssoldat der osmanischen Armee Augenzeuge des Völkermords an den Armeniern wurde, beschrieb mit seinem Tagebucheintrag das Los der vielen Hunderttausend Deportierten, die der sichere Tod erwartete.

Doch eine Heimkehr gab es auch für die meisten Überlebenden nicht. Nicht für Zabel Yesayan, eine der wichtigsten armenischen Schriftstellerinnen und engagierten Frauenrechtlerinnen ihrer Epoche, die sich der Deportation durch Flucht entzogen hatte, der die Erinnerung an den Ort ihrer Kindheit aber ein geistiger Zufluchtsort blieb. Nicht für den Lehrer Hagop Mintzuri, der zeitlebens nicht in das Dorf zurückkehrte, aus dem seine Frau, seine vier Kinder und alle anderen Angehörigen deportiert worden waren.

Dieses Jahr jährt sich der im Schatten des Ersten Weltkriegs begangene Völkermord an den Armeniern zum hundertsten Mal. Die meisten der in diesem Band versammelten Texte sind literarische, häufig autobiografisch geprägte Texte von Armeniern, die damit selbst zu Wort kommen. Einige stammen von Überlebenden der Deportationen, darunter bekannten armenischen Schriftstellern wie Yervant Odian, aber auch von Personen wie Pailadzo Captanian, die aus dem Bedürfnis schrieben, Zeugnis abzulegen über die erlebten, unvorstellbaren Grausamkeiten.

Ein Großteil der Texte thematisiert nicht den Völkermord selbst, sondern die Erinnerungen von ArmenierInnen an ihr Leben vor 1914 oder das Weiterleben im Exil bzw. in der Republik Türkei. Sie vermitteln einen Eindruck der vielfältigen Lebensrealitäten von Armeniern im Osmanischen Reich. Armenier nahmen aktiv Anteil am intellektuellen Aufschwung gegen Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts. Ob Lyrik, Prosa oder Journalismus, von der Satire bis zum Theater, die armenische Literatur war ein entscheidender Bestandteil der osmanischen Literatur jener Epoche. In den Werken der armenischen AutorInnen drückt sich ihre Hoffnung und dann, angesichts der Ausgrenzung und Vernichtung ihres Volkes, ihre Verzweiflung aus, die sich ganz ähnlich dem deutsch-jüdischen Schreiben des frühen 20. Jahrhunderts in hellsichtiger Gesellschaftsanalyse und Satire Bahn bricht.

In the Ottoman Empire, craftsmanship was considered an indecent occupation for Muslims, so crafts became the monopoly of Christians, especially Armenians. Armenians didn’t have competitors in many spheres of crafts. Armenian craftsman families had a strong influence at the sultan’s court during the XIX century. Many Armenian artisans, with their families, worked specially for the Ottoman sultans, valide sultans and viziers. It is not accidental that at the end of the XIX century, only one of 18 courtier artisans was not Armenian.

Son yıllarda kamuoyunda travmalı geçmişiyle ve 1937-38 katliamlarıyla yer alan Dersim, Ermeni tarihi ve Türkiye'de yaşayan Ermeni nüfusu açısından da önemli bir bölgedir. Bölgede Ermenice isme sahip birçok köy, köylerde kilise kalıntıları bulunmaktadır. Binlerce Ermeni 1915 soykırımında bölgeye sığınmış, 1937-8 katliamlarını bölge halkıyla beraber yaşamış, sadece bu katliamlardan değil, 1980 askeri darbesinden sonra ve 1990’lardaki çatışmalar sebebiyle göç etmek zorunda kalmıştır. Dersimli Ermenilerin, uzun yıllardır birlikte yaşadıkları Kürt Alevi nüfusun içinde büyük oranda asimile oldukları iddia edilir. Ermeni kimliğini unutmayı ya da gizlemeyi seçenler vardır ancak son yıllarda adını ve vaftiz olarak dinini değiştiren, Ermeni kimliğine sahip çıkan Dersimli Ermenilerin de sayısı artmaktadır. Uzun yıllardır sadece devlet tarafından değil, halk tarafından, hatta içinde bulundukları farklı örgütlenmelerde de ayrımcılığa maruz kaldıklarını belirtmektedirler. Bu çalışma, 1915’te hayatta kalan iki erkek kardeşin aile hikayesine odaklanarak Dersimli Ermenilerin sesini duymayı ve duyurmayı amaçlıyor. Çalışmada, aile üyelerinin yaşadıkları farklı ayrımcılıklar, genç kuşağın bu ayrımcılıklarla nasıl baş ettikleri ve aidiyet konusundaki tavırları ele alınıyor. Ailenin maruz kaldığı çok-katmanlı eşitsizlikleri ve ayrımcılığı derinlemesine anlayabilmek için “kesişimsel” yaklaşım benimsenmiş, merkeze, politik bir “silah”a dönüşme potansiyeline sahip “kimlik” değil, “aidiyet” konmuştur.