Heavy Police Presence in Samatya after Attacks on Armenians

ISTANBUL, Turkey (A.W.)—The Armenian neighborhood of Samatya in Istanbul is now under heavy police patrol after a series of attacks against elderly Armenian women in recent weeks, the Armenian Weekly has learned from activists and sources in Samatya.

Agos headline: Turkey Silent as Attacks Continue
Agos headline: ‘Turkey Silent as Attacks Continue’

The Istanbul Aksaray Police Department announced that there are 20 police patrols in the neighborhood, and that around 100 plainclothes policemen have also been dispatched to Samatya.

The police also announced that one person may be behind the recent attacks; yet, activists the Weekly has communicated with question that scenario.

The Samatya area is home to many Armenians. The community is weary of these attacks, and calls for caution have been made.

Agos: ‘Turkey Silent as Attacks Continue’

The front page headline in this week’s issue of Agos, the Turkish-Armenian newspaper founded by Hrant Dink, reads, “Turkey Silent, Attacks Continue” (see photo).

On Sun., Jan. 27, the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association, Nor Zartonk (an Armenian youth socialist initiative), and AKADER (Anatolian Peoples’ Culture Association) will hold a rally in Samatya in solidarity with the Armenian community there.

In recent days, a few media outlets and politicians have broken the silence on the issue, while overall, Turkey remains silent.

One murder, at least three other attacks in recent weeks

In recent weeks, there have been several attacks against Armenians in Istanbul, mostly in Samatya. In early December 2012, an Armenian woman was attacked and robbed, while months earlier an Armenian woman was attacked by a taxi driver and called an infidel.

On Jan. 6, three assailants tried to kidnap an elderly Armenian woman, according to Turkish sources. The attempt failed.

According to human rights activists, the common thread that runs through all of these crimes is not just their being motivated by hate or being committed in an environment that breeds intolerance against Armenians, but also the efforts by the authorities to play them down.

The Armenian Weekly will continue to closely follow this issue.

56 Comments

  1. I’m just hoping the police presence isn’t increased so the radical Turks can make certain that they “complete the job” entirely.

  2. Of course they will play down these events! Turkey’s government fears Armenian anger and demands for justice. But they fear more the people’s awakening from the ignorance of their own history on which their society has been built. The thought that something may increase or evoke our anger terrifies them. They know that our claim is legitimate and righteous and they are afraid to face the truth and its consequences. Confronting the truth of anti-Armenian elements among them requires acknowledging painful truths about their history and their so-called modern, democratic, ‘no-problems with neighbors’ nation.

    • Nothing is righteous about trying to plot to wipe a country off the map Boyajian. You either respect Turkey’s right to exist because if you demand 1cm of soil of Turkey even, that means you are engaging in a plot to wipe Turkey off the map. History repeats itself, in the early 1900s, the corrupt Ottoman Sultans were collaborating with the imperialist powers who wanted to divide Turkey and we had the rise of the Secular Nationalists who overthrew the Sultanate in the 1920s. Nowadays, you had the Religious AKP who is collaborating with imperialists and the AKP is nearing downfall for their ineffective foreign policy tactics, so that will prove that Secular Nationalists will rise from the ashes once again and imperialist plots to divide Turkey will fail once again like it did in World War 1.

      I would tell your diasporans that it is time to respect Turkey’s territorial integrity, because if you don’t, there will be more extremeism and racism like as you see today.

    • {“Nothing is righteous about trying to plot to wipe a country off the map Boyajian.”}

      Rifat, you are a liar: show us where did Boyajian even hinted at wiping a country (Turkey ?) off the map, much less wrote the words you are accusing her of..

    • Regarding respect for territorial integrity:

      Did Turkey respect the territorial integrity of Cyprus ?

      Did Mustafa Kemal respect the territorial integrity of Democratic Republic of Armenia, with its internationally recognize borders – when he ordered General Karabekir to violate DRA’s territorial integrity, invade it, and wipe it off the map (September 1920)?

      Did Turkey respect the territorial integrity of RoA when it massed troops at its border threatening to invade in 1993 ?

    • Rifat,

      The reason you are so defensive is because Turkey was built by violating other people’s territorial integrity. Both the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey.

    • Rifat your response is so over the top and rife with paranoid fear. You prove my point! You should apologize to your more level-headed countrymen.

      Your ominous warning to the diaspora in the final paragraph would be laughable if it wasn’t so tragically familiar. But to demand respect for Turkey’s territorial integrity is the height of hypocrisy!

      Stop projecting your sick ideas onto Armenians! Apparently in the mind of some terrified Turkish skinheads, to suggest that Turks should respect the rights of Armenians and face justice is tantamount to wiping Turkey off the map. Ridiculous! Did Germany get wiped off the map when it made reparations to the Jewish nation? It’s Turkey that behaves as if there is not enough space in ‘Anatolia’ to share with other nations. Armenians have never plotted such a thing. However, if someday Turkey’s pan-turkic policies based in grandiosity and paranoia bring on its own downfall, I would consider it divine justice.

      Thank’s for backing me up Avery!

  3. Why you commentators are not accepting the fact that turks are against Christianity – learn from the past – need answer?

    • No problems with Christians, but the fact is, citizens of Turkey whether Christian, Jew, or Muslim should defend it’s territorial integrity from internal threats (Erdogan) and external threats. There are Turkish nationalists of Armenian descent even, like Edward Tashji. I even have Arabic Alawi roots myself.

  4. Regarding Rifat’s comments above … Now, first and foremost, of course, no crime can ever be justified, especially the ones inspired by ethnic hatred. Those responsible for these crimes agaiinst the Armenian elderly women must be brought to justice ASAP, and the Armenian population must be provided with extra security in Turkey.

    Having said that, I think there is a point that Rifat is making that should not be demagogued away. He is not encouraging such acts. What he essentially says (although I would not have chosen his wording or attitude) is that there is a price attached to the anti-Turkish campaign waged avidly by the Armenian diaspora. I for one understand and can even sympathize with such a campaign. But nevertheless, such campaigns do further increase the animosity towards Armenians in the minds of ordinary Turks. So you must take this cost into account when you continue besetting Turkey from all corners, whether it be justified or not. No nation is going to watch such campaigns aimed against them, and simply say: ‘Well, we deserved them. They should do more!” Be honest with yourself and ask this: If you were an average Turk, would you not hate the Armenian diaspora? In answering this question, keep in mind that an average Turk feels no responsibility for the crimes committed 100 years ago (would you?). Of course, you can say: “We don’t care about how they feel about Armenians!” But the point being made is precisely just that: You sould care, at least a little. Because there are sill Armenians living in Turkey, and it is a powerful neighbor of Armenian republic. Of course, if you are safely in Glendale, you may feel a little urge to care … and therein lies a conflict of interest between the diaspora and those left behind.

    • Kerim, don’t let yourself fall victim to paranoia, too! There is no anti-Turkish campaign. Let me clarify: it is an anti-genocide, anti-forced Turkification, anti-oppression, anti-get-away-with-murder, pillaging, robbery, rape, destruction of cultural artifacts, and distortion of history campaign. To make it more clear: it is a pro-human rights and self-determination campaign.

  5. Now this is something to lose sleep over! What is going on here is very disconcerting. And unlike Tom Vartabedian’s sleeplessness (article in same issue), the remedy here is not in changing pillows…
    Seriously there must be ways of putting international pressure on Turkey regarding these violent attacks on Armenians. A similar one happened in Cairo in 2004 where 3 Armenians were murdered with kitchen knives (at the hands of an Islamist)… two of them happened to be my dear cousin (43) and uncle (76) and the third our upstairs neighbor (83) all within a 1/2 hour’s interval. Though it would be a bit farfetched and paranoiac to assume it was orchestrated by Turks, still the target was the same and the pattern similar. Egyptian authorities came to the funeral as undercover agents to make sure Armenians did not retaliate. The affair was hushed up and dismissed as some lunatic’s doing…(their approach is very much the same to Turkey’s too – no surprise, after all Egypt was part of the Ottoman Empire and the government and police system as well as legislature still manifest remnants from that past).
    As long as the murderers go unpunished (irrespective of where they take place – including here in the US) and the authorities keep their silence, more murders will occur…silence means openly condoning the crime! The message here is loud and clear to Turkey about its silence both on the human individual and civil levels, as well as on the larger governmental level. We seek justice and will not sleep until justice is granted!
    Mr. Vartabedian, maybe you can use your eloquent pen during your sleepless hours to write protest articles to the sleepless in Ankara who might just read them and do something about this escalating and targeted violence.
    As for Mr. Rifat, he must have been out sick the day the history teacher was talking about a certain battle that occurred on August 26, 1071, where the Seljuk Turks (his ancestors) established themselves for good in Asia Minor stepping on everyone else that was ALREADY inhabiting the peninsula, pillaging, appropriating and Turkifying (if such a thing exists) whatever came their way. And what about the Pan Turanistic Ideals of some other ancestors of his? What lands and what centimeters are we talking about? How far should we go or not go into History? The list is long and the blood stains too heavy to be shaken off easily. The only way for Turkey to rid itself of them is to immerse its bloody hands in a bucketful of Justice and Genuine remorse. With that much crime, a bucketful of Justice may not enough. What is needed is strong and powerful hose that might just wash off the stains, but the culprit must be willing to stand upright in the stream and face Humanity with its crimes.

    • My condolences to you for the loss of your cousin and uncle. Thank you for sharing your story and for your strong response to Rifat. Well written!

    • I could honestly care less about Pan-Turanism, Pan-Turkism or anything of that sort. Infact, I don’t even care for a common border with Azerbaijan, or Macedonia, or anyplace like that. I just believe that Turkey has a right to defend itself from lucrative plans to divide it’s borders, period. I am not even a fan of the MHP/Grey Wolves. Infact, I think they suck honestly.

  6. I never read so much nonsense in a single remark. But I am not surprised. The Mongol trait of brutal force and the strong should dominate the weak the Turks acquired over the years sure has robbed off on pseudo-Turkish Axerbaijanis as well.

    You say no crime can be justified specially the ones inspired by ethnic hatred but then you qualify these crimes by saying there is a price to pay for anti-Turkish campaign and you for one understand and even sympathize with such a campaign. That is truly sick.

    According to your two-faced statements then I would perfectly be within my rights if I were to do to your countrymen at random what the Turkish criminals are doing to the Armenians just because you are spewing anti-Armenian nonsense here, would I not?

  7. It is also entirely possible that these two poor women were victims of violent crimes, though such random violence is rare in Istanbul, it does happen in a city of 15M. Police usually get their man, I hope they do this time too and the vile murderers face justice. In spite of relentless hateful propaganda and terror campaigns by Armenians World over, Turkish Armenians have not suffered any consequences in general. No reason for it to change at this time. One wishes the readers here had the same sensitivity to other victims of violence and injustice.

    • {“In spite of relentless hateful propaganda and terror campaigns by Armenians World over, Turkish Armenians have not suffered any consequences in general. “}

      Hrant Dink murdered.
      Sevag Balıkçı murdered on April 24.
      3 Armenian old women savagely beaten in Istanbul. One or two lost an eye.
      1 Armenian old woman slashed to death in her home.
      1 Turk teacher of an Armenian school slashed to death in his home.

      Yep: Turkish Armenians have not suffered any ‘consequences’.
      I guess Turkish Armenians have to be grateful that Turks have decided to spare the rest of the 60,000 or so who remain.
      We have to be grateful to Turks that only 2 million Armenians ‘suffered consequences’ .

      There you have it folks: ‘suffered consequences’ ; the ever-present Turkish threat. Another one issuing thinly veiled threats.

  8. To wit:You forget history,you forget behavior.—When the mongols left Anatolya,they left behind their cowards,deserters,non-combatants,that is todays nucleus of modern turkey.They have always been cowards,etc.In WW1they were part of the axis,beaten on two fronts by equal forces,they grovelled,on their knees,joined the Allies,then took their anger out on the UNARMED women,children,old people.THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE.If there is a conflict,they will be far,far behind,of a combat force, to dig the toilet trenches,and bring up supplies.Extreme COWARDS.–ALL TAlK, NO ACTION.

    • Turks’ martial prowess is overrated, but Turks fight well. Much better than AzeriTatarTurks. Calling them cowards in general is hyperbole.
      Underestimating one’s enemy is not a good idea.

      And though both Seljuk Turks and Mongols (e.g. descendants of Genghis Khan) originated in East and Central Asia, the Mongolian Steppes, they are not the same.

      And murdering women and children is some kind of a mental disorder, but something other than cowardly. Waffen SS were considered the toughest fighters of WW2, even though they were primarily responsible for the mass murders of Jewish, Slavic, etc civilians (worst of all women, children and babies).

  9. I agree with you Avery in some aspects of your above post/.Turks are not cowards,but they could match the- old time-Armenian fedayyes, much less in number and less armed-with no cannons for example…
    However, one more thing they are overrated-as you write- example. In the korean war it was in the TIME magzine, a turkish soldier had a dozen or so ears dangling from his belt,those of korean dead soldiers..Figure out if he just went around cutting these off the dead and fixin on his belt…
    In a very fatefull fight against Austrailian forces*British in WWI at Galipoli, there were quite a few Armenian soldiers and abit higher rank ones like seargents who fought fiercely alongside the Ottoman s and gave hell to the Aussies.
    Even today the aussies i understand mourn their martyrs of Galipoli…and admit*the british too their defeat at Galipoli.German officers also helped ,trained the ottomans then , in warfare…
    Anyhow it is best not to underestimate the adversaries….
    However, this next time over,heaven forbid if does happen at NK*for that is where the great turlkey may ignit the war*you can rest assured that without the support, back up and day by day encouragements by great Turkey…Axerbaijan wojuld not have gone so far ahead in its rhetorics….
    Few if any Armenians on the scene realize that at the back of the scene ,today it is great Turkley that incessantly gives hope and also materiel to little brother to speak up so loudly….
    Armeniasn therefore must understand that we are dealing with our age old mastermin Genocide State Turkey ,not only*gamagadar( Axerbaijan.
    I have always prompted our people that we should place both our demands at the same time, i.e. the shahumian district plus Nakhijevan, plus all Western armenian losses etc., at thesame time and on the same level.These two go hand in hand.no way we can ope to settle one-say Axerbaijan-then come back to try to settle with great Turkey. Everything we see directed towards us by Axerbaijan comes from mainland great Turkley, so to speak….the head of the adversary is there. …..not Baki.See in very delicate moments Aliev runs to Ankara , for advice etc.,or nowadays of course bt Telecomunications

    • I agree with you Mr. Palandjian,

      “Few if any Armenians on the scene realize that at the back of the scene ,today it is great Turkley that incessantly gives hope and also materiel to little brother to speak up so loudly….”

      I think Turkey is behind Axeri warmongering, aggression and Safarov’s release and pardon. I wonder if Turkey played any role in Sumgait, Baku and Kirovabad pogroms?

    • The Turks are the true definition of cowards. Only cowards would march millions of defenseless Armenian women, children and elderly over the mountains, through the valleys and barren desert and murder them in cold blood. Only cowards would disarm hundreds of thousands of Armenian conscripts in the Ottoman army and shoot them dead in cold blood. Only Turkish cowards would wear masks and murder elderly Armenian women twice and three times their age in the cover of darkness.

      As far as the battle of the Gallipoli is concerned, the first day of the battle alone the Turkish cowards lost 10,000 soldiers. The Aussies, the Brits and others simply got up and left their positions and that is how the coward Turks declared victory.

      Oh yeah the Turks are so brave that they need their NATO masters with their high-tech missiles and their Dutch and German soldiers to operate the missiles to defend its artificial borders from the little and war-torn Syria.

      As far as the pseudo-Turkish Axerbaijanis are concerned, they are far more cowards than their Turkish pseudo-brothers-in crime. Only Axerbaijani cowards would attack with an axe defenseless people in their sleep. Only Axerbaijani cowards would loot the residents of innocent Armenians in Baku, Sumgait and Kirovabad and stab them to death and burn them alive in the streets. Only Axerbaijani cowards would form their front lines with non-Axerbaijani ethnic groups while their coward officers hide behind them.

      Don’t confuse the Turkish opportunistic barbarism while outnumbering and outgunning their foes with bravery. They are cowards, period.

  10. The above article states that there are one person behind this.. It’s BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!!! I talk to my uncle who lives in Samatya and There are 3 people involved.. One waits for the elderly to come home and two Watchdogs who sit outside in their car and watch out for him.. Obviously this is an organized crime and they wear all black so when they get blood on their clothes and they run away you don’t notice the blood.. BASTARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! may they rot in HELL…

  11. Here is a TZ article that in a roundabout way supports Linda’s contention:

    [Zirve killers planned Bible publisher murders well in advance]
    http://www.todayszaman.com/news-305306-zirve-killers-planned-bible-publisher-murders-well-in-advance.html

    {The brutal massacre of three Christian missionaries who operated the Zirve Publishing House in the city of Malatya in 2007 was planned well ahead of time and in a highly calculated manner, documents found on a computer belonging to a suspect in the killings have revealed.}
    {Observers have also recently suggested that extensions of Ergenekon and related structures are possibly still operative and currently very active. Recent attacks on elderly Armenians in İstanbul’s Samatya neighborhood, threats directed at a protestant church in İzmir and the stoning of a Greek Orthodox church as of late might be the work of these same groups, many commentators note.}

    It is also interesting that the Turkish State has trotted out frightened Turkish Armenians to claim they do not believe the attacks were motivated by ethnicity. (yeah, I believe them: btw, the same way they trotted out frightened Turkish Armenians – hostages – to speak out against the AG Denial bill in France a while back).

    Another interesting piece of news that came out just recently was that there was a well organized assassination plot against TZ columnist Orhan Cengiz by some Turk ultra-nationalist group. The story had an obscure tidbit: it revealed that Mr. OKC is Christian.
    So, I am guessing maybe the murdered Turk computer science teacher of the Armenian school was also Christian.

    Also, Turk commentators on Turkish news sites are spreading news that there were 1 or 2 non-Armenian senior citizens who were also attacked in Malatya, attempting to deflect the ethnic angle. (maybe Linda can shed some light on that). Feeble attempt: as was written before, the fact that 4 victims (out of let’s say the 6 claimed by Turks) were Armenian proves it was ethnic based.

    I wrote this in another thread:

    {Given Armenians are such a miniscule percentage of the overall population, by statistics alone, it cannot be random. It would be astronomically improbable to randomly choose 3 (actually 4) victims and they all turn out to be Armenians.}

    A bit of good news is that many of their good neighbors conducted a mass protest in Maltya on Sunday. But the State runs things, so protests by good people, although nice to see, change nothing. To wit: massive protests on behalf of Hrant Dink did not prevent the State from successfully covering up the high-level organized nature of his murder. It is still successfully covered up to this day. The State sacrificed a low-level patsy, Samast, but the real organizers are free and well protected.

    • “So, I am guessing maybe the murdered Turk computer science teacher of the Armenian school was also Christian. ”

      Avery,

      I remember reading in one article, that the teacher had texted christmas greetings shortly before his death. I figured he might have been christian or was sending greetings to his fellow teachers at the Armenian school or to christian friends. But the article did not delve deeper into his background.

  12. Dear Rifraft and other Turks
    You can threathen with your laced comments about the territoroal integrity of Turkey, but intergrity which means adherence to moral and ethical principles is a word that Turkey and the ottomans never understood or applied to their brutal campaigns of terror and against the true people of anatolia.

    There is nothing moral or ethical about Turkeys foundation which is built on the blood and bones and lands of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians and others, everytime Turks excavte a historical site or ruin they stare blankley at ancient artafacts belonging to the Armenians , Greeks, Kurds, Assyrians or our ancestors Uratuians, then they hide them..

    So in essence our bent minded Turk, territorail integrity of Turkey is a fabrication and misuse of the term, much like the history taught at Turkiush schools where even American Red Indians are labelled as from Turkik tribes..

    We have been on our lands for over 4000 years, the Turks are just another nomadic invasion that one day will end much like all the other empires that came and went, so dear rifat take note that the new term you shoukld use iwhen refering to Turkish territory is Stolen Territories of Turkey, as there is absloutly nothing moral or ethical to current Turkish stolen lands.

    • I knew you were going to make statements like these. Predictable Dashnak extremeist Mumbo Jumbo.

  13. I have read the foregoing articles of the jerky turkeys defenders and blinkers,paid stooges I sure.The jerks call it bakschesh,or bribes,they been doing it for years.Too bad you cant make a honest living,other than taking,UNDER THE TABLE MONEY.

  14. RIFAT, THIS IS JUST ABOUT THE SIZE OF YOUR COWARDLINESS, ALL YOU CAN DO IS THREATEN ARMENIANS AND TERRORIZE OLD LADIES.
    YOU KNOW WHAT THIS PROVES, THAT YOU ARE AN ILLITERATE CRIMINAL, AND A BULLY.
    PEOPLE WHO USE FORCE HAVE NO BRAIN TO USE, THEREFORE THEY RESULT TO VIOLENCE.

    • Look I condemn those attacks, okay? But what about the condemnation of the ASALA/JCAG terrorists? Or what about the hypocrisy of the Safarov case, yet demanding the pardon of Hampig Sassounian at the same time. Enough with double standards, period.

  15. Only when Turkey can properly vilify and disavow the criminal leaders of the CUP will such acts come to an end. The underlying problem is that those who created, masterminded and carried out the genocide are still held in high esteem and provide fuel for the ultranationalists. They need to be discredited in the same way Hitler has been in Germany, but that has not happened. As a result, the memory of these long dead criminals against humanity is still allowed to fester in Turkey, like a hidden virus that sprouts and comes to life only to destroy life. All Turks should be thoroughly embarrassed and shamed by these acts, both new and old, and until they feel that shame deep down in their souls, we and they will have to endure more inhuman treatment. Real change must start at the top….so, it is up to today’s Turkish leadership to send a message to all Turkish citizens that these acts are unacceptable in a modern democracy. Of course, we are all still waiting for them to open their mouths to utter a word of defense for the defenseless, but that has not happened yet. Today, the victims are elderly Armenians, tomorrow, if nothing changes, who knows what the victims will look like?

    • Karekin, I completely agree. But with leaders like Erdogan, proclaiming that it is impossible for Turks to commit genocide, it will be quite an uphill climb before witnessing such national soul-searching. Also when heroes who speak up are silenced and or jailed (Dink, Zarakolu), a grassroots movement will have a hard time taking off. I feel sorry for the peace-loving Turks who would like to see improvements in human rights and democracy. They certainly have much work ahead of them.

    • Boyajian,

      My birthplace in Armenia is very close to Turkish border. On one of the mountain that is facing us with very thick white paint is written in Turkish “Happy is the one who is born Turkish or Erdjanik e na ov Turk e tsnvum.” The letters are so huge that they are clearly visible from our side. I do not know how the correct translation will be since I do not speak Turkish.
      A normal person would think what happiness has got to do with nationality? Or which happy person writes on his forehead that he is happy? Turkish society is very difficult to work or deal with. I do not know how long it will take to undo all that heavy brainwashing that were going on for decades.

    • Sella, the need to glorify Turkishness is a form of oppression on a people who might otherwise explore their Greek, Assyrian, Armenian, Chaldean, Kurdish or Jewish roots. Turkey is a completely manufactured nation built on the false notion of homogeneity. The irony is that this oppressive homogeneity is being imposed in the cradle of civilization.

  16. Well, Boyajian…this is the essence of the problem, isn’t it? Yes, it is very difficult to reverse 98 years of lies and propaganda designed to turn natives into foreigners or internal enemies. It is like an invasive tree whose roots have spread throughout the land, choking off the indigenous flora and fauna. But, it is not impossible. If regular Turks can stage their own uprising against such lies, to create a viable grass-level movement on behalf of everyone in Turkey who desires the truth, then it could happen. The ultranationalists, who by the way, are not religous zealots at all…quite the opposite, are racists and fascists at their core, who are basically cowards working thru shady means to strike fear into the general population and into the hearts of Armenians, Kurds and others. They still espouse the xenophobic CUP mantra of ‘Turkey for the Turks’. I’m just surprised that more Turks have not acted on their own behalf yet. Maybe, some day, they will, because if anyone is able to threaten and kill Armenians with impunity, they can do it to anyone, anywhere, at any time. So, unfortunately, all Turks are vulnerable, once again, to the crazies among them and their reign of terror. If, as some have speculated, these acts were done in concert with official support (perhaps on behalf of real estate speculators), it is even more shameful because it echoes the underlying theme of the genocide – murder and theft to steal land and property from Armenians.

  17. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM TURKS ?

    Almost every year there are some Turkish girls killed in Europe, because they have

    a Christian boyfriend. They are killed by their father or their brothers. Killed by

    the nearest possible relative, because of having friendship to a Christian !

    There are almost NO animals in nature that kill their descendants. For many

    Turks this is no problem . The HONOR of the family is not disturbed by murder !

    • While this sort of behavior has no place in a civilized society, it is not in any way a uniquely Turkish problem. Honor killings are more common among Muslim communities in the Middle East and the West. In Turkey there are about 200 honor killings per year. Global estimates are that there are 20,000 honor killings per year, so honor killings in Turkey constitute about 1% of the worlds honor killings. Let’s not forget that Kurds have honor killings at just about the same rate, if not higher, than Turks- so how many of those 200 were committed by Turks?
      If you’re going to make this a violence against women issue, you need only look to the East (Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India) and South (All Arab nations except maybe Lebanon) of Turkey for the people whose “honor” is, just like Turks (so you say), not disturbed by these killings.
      If your aim was to use a widespread, and very serious issue and try and make it into a uniquely Turkish crime to fuel your mini-rant, well done.

    • I will have to agree with RVDV in that pointing out honor killings gets us nothing. There is a domestic violence issue in Armenia as well. Does this say something about us Armenians?

      “There are almost NO animals in nature that kill their descendants.”

      You might want to google that, you’d be surprised what goes on in the animal kingdom.

      Trying to trash Turks by bringing up honor killings is cheap. While it is a real issue in Turkey (and so is domestic violence in Armenia), our issues with Turkey is specific, and honor killings does not enter into it. There are many real Armeno-Turkish issues that we can point to.

  18. RVDV

    Don´t you feel how primitive argumentation you apply ? You are not horrified by the
    number of 200 killed daughters !!! TWO HUNDRED !!!

    You use the Kurds as an excuse for the crimes committed by Turkish fathers !
    According to your argumentation 199 killings could have been committed by Kurds
    so only ONE case was actually a Turkish one. Maybe this was a Cerkes ?

  19. There are more Americans killed in one year, in a single American city (say, Chicago – 500 people), than in most countries in the world. So, the US is clearly more dangerous than most places and, it is the most militaristic. And, if you want a truly dangerous country, stay away from Latin America or Russia. So, let’s not go down that road. However, if someone wants to stir up trouble or instill fear, even in a relatively peaceful society, like Turkey’s, they can certainly do it if there is clandestine help from dark, shadowy forces that operate invisibly. That was the danger in 1915 and is the same danger now, especially if the leadership, local or national, does not speak out against it and lead the charge to find the culprits. The lack of action can easily lead one to make a connection that may or may not exist, since we all know that wolves rarely hunt fellow wolves.

  20. Random Armenian

    First of all I`m absolutely uninterested in which animal kills another !
    But the killing of an old woman has a lot to do with moral and ethics. And it also belongs to the question what can you expect from a human group that kills their
    own children.

    You surely know that certain Turkish Fascist groups want to get all Christians
    OUT of Turkey. I am convinced that that these groups (if not the government) are organizing the killing of Armenians in Turkey to intimidate all others in order to leave the country.

    Karekin

    I am absolutely not thinking about the danger of living in Chicago or Russia. Armenians killed there are hit by chance. But the Armenians killed or heavily hurt in Istanbul are victims of racial hatred organized by Fascists. And to my mind every Turk not protesting against this is a little bit guilty of all that happens there !

    • WR:

      “And it also belongs to the question what can you expect from a human group that kills their own children.”

      I guess you can’t expect much from most, if not all, human groups per that logic. And I believe Karekin was addressing the “200 KILLINGS” thing you thought was unbelievable. And no, I am no longer horrified at the news of men killing and abusing their daughters, sisters, or wives. It happens every day, all around the world. It neither surprises nor horrifies me.

      Yes, according to my argument, 199 and even 200 of those killings in Turkey could have been committed by Kurds. All 200 could also be done by Turks. Neither group, especially in rural regions, treat women equally and sometimes not humanely. Both groups are equally likely to commit such a crime. Which takes me back to my original point that it’s not a uniquely Turkish problem. If you’d like to have a conversation about women rights or lack thereof, there are countries that are incomparably worse than Turkey.

    • RVDV, I can accept that you are not surprised by the idea of honor killings, but whether it is 200 times or 20,000 times or twice, why doesn’t it horrify you? Just because a practice is widespread, does not make it any less horrible.

      Turks may not be the first or the worst in the abuse of females. So what? The question is given the history of abuse and oppression of minorities in Turkish society, how responsive will Turkey be to this latest series of attacks on elderly Armenian women? Will amnesia and numbness to all too common abuse allow it to be brushed under the rug?

  21. Turks will keep silent about this as much as they did regarding Safarov’s exterdition. Because turks keep silent about everything they wish to happen, they have something to do with it, and they are conserned there is something to loos. They need to be loyal to the Turkish KGB which is policing over who ways what and how they are communicated to the rest of the world.
    Also, Turkish government seeks to always down play Armenian conserns and history like it always did for more than 100 years.
    “Lets not blow the wistle to waken emotions towards Armenian”. The major problem is that Istanbul is right at the door step to continent of Europe and any wistle blown will travel through the lands of the free. They have to deal with the countries such as Germany and France, which recognized Armenian genocide. They can’t afford to have that repeat with the rest.

    The crimes against Armenians shows the deep haterate that exists in Turkey against us. Contrary to what some think, Armenians are not the ones who hate Turks. Turkish attitude towards Armenians is to see us in their mercy. They think they are still the boss and we should be the silent lams.

    Ultranationalist and nationalists in Turkey can’t get enough of fanticising about how they will get the opportunity to hurt a Greek or Armenian.

  22. RVDV,

    You know better than any body else, for Mongol Turks “love syndrome” toward Armenians. Since they one, where Altai Turks set a foot in in our holy territories. Blood, rape, abduction, murders, beheading, massacres, burning Churches, and finally genocide of Armenians and other Christians in Turkey was a normal act in Turkey!!

    I wonder how do you convince yourself , that killing of Armenians in Turkey is “somebody else’s problem”, where Turkish “deep state” nationals freely running your beloved country foreign policy, and internal matters, with the help of Allah’s holy code 301.. yah right, all those deep state nationals are “Kurds”

  23. Yes, random acts of violence do occur all around the world, but most especially in the US. However, if one noticed a string of murders of elderly blacks, Jews or even blondes….the authorities would act quickly and publicly to find what is often called a ‘serial killer’. They often engage the public in the search, as well. My comment about wolves seemed to be above some people’s heads, but it was a reference to a government that will not hunt down anyone who is even remotely connected to it. This by itself, doesn’t make it a uniquely Turkish problem, but when it comes down to investigating crimes against Turkey’s largest non-Muslim minority group, it certainly does become a uniquely Turkish problem. Just look at the Hrant Dink investigation….even after massive protests inside Turkey, lawyers are still fighting for the truth about how and exactly who murdered him. It is precisely the lack of honest investigation on such matters that causes many people to question the motives and backbone of those in power within Turkey. True, they don’t openly support the clandesdine groups who are inflicting fear and terror on minorities, but their lack of verbal condemnation and honest action seems to imply tacit support at many levels. I think it is fair to say that there are many in Turkey who do not trust the government to act on the side of human rights, and it’s not just Armenians. There are human rights groups both inside and outside of Turkey who monitor what goes on there. Would you trust any government that’s burned 3000+ Kurdish (or Palestinian, or Navajo or Basque?) villages to the ground? That’s the essence of the issue…their track record…and let’s be fair – it ain’t good.

  24. 4 March 2013 /NECİP SALACAN, İSTANBUL
    Murat Nazaryan, a Turkish citizen of Armenian origin suspected of attacking four elderly Armenian women in İstanbul’s Samatya neighborhood in recent months, killing two of his victims, was arrested by the police earlier on Monday and sent to jail pending trial by an İstanbul court.

    Nazaryan was questioned by a prosecutor and sent to the İstanbul Courthouse later on in the day. The court sent him to jail pending trial during the first hearing on charges of murder and theft.

    The first attack was on Nov. 1 of last year. A woman named Gönül A. was beaten by an intruder and her valuables stolen. On Nov. 28, Tuivat A. (87) was attacked inside her house. She lost one eye in the attack and was robbed as well. On Dec. 28, Maritsa Küçük (85) was brutally murdered in her house, where she lived alone. In the fourth attack, Sultan Aykar (80) was stabbed as she was entering her house.

    The 38-year-old suspect said in his statement to police that he attacked the women for the purpose of theft. He chose lonely elderly women on which to carry out his assault, he said. The evidence that led police to Nazaryan was an envelope found in the purse of Küçük, on which blood stains of the suspect were found. A police operation ran for months to find Nazaryan. He reportedly first denied the charges but later admitted to the assaults after learning of the blood tests. He was due to be referred to a court after police interrogation on Monday.

    Nazaryan had a police record for similar crimes. He was apprehended at a hostel in Fatih’s Vefa neighborhood.

    The incidents involving the women brought up questions over whether racism was a motive behind the attacks. Aykar and her family rejected claims that the attack against her might have been ethnically charged.

    Minority and rights groups have raised suspicions that the recent attacks indicate that illegal networks, most of whose members are in jail standing trial for plotting to stage coups d’état and related charges, are still active through their extensions. Evidence that emerged during several cases related to coup-attempts indicates that the coup plotters had targeted non-Muslims — in particular missionaries — and devised various plots to assassinate non-Muslim community leaders. The 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, the massacre of missionaries in Malatya in the same year and the shooting of a Catholic priest in Trabzon in 2006 are believed by many to be connected to the same network.

  25. When reading the comments It is clear that many will get so sad to hear that all the events were a criminal fact but nothing racial… And whats more that the aggressor also is an armenian – turkish armenians…..

    • Yes Sinan, it is sad to think that an Armenian’might’ have committed these crimes.
      I say ‘might’ because given all the years of lies, distortion and denial, anything coming from Turks regarding Armenians becomes highly suspect. It is not sad to learn that these crimes may not have been hate crimes after all—but one doesn’t know what to believe. Now that is what is truly sad…

  26. Yes babam yes.You are right.Turks are innocent of blood shed not only in such sporadic cases of individual murders Hrant Dink like…but also of…..
    And the 1.5 million Ermenis Evicted…..totured,raped mutilated on Death March a myth ,something that never happened .All fbrication of Armenians!!!!!
    Turks and those bloody odars that kept silent and did not extend a hand to punish the perpetrator should be made TO PAY.
    BLOOD MONEY is to be paid to survivors heirs..
    If not possible to make great Turkey to pay ,then cut from payments to latter.Money that they receive *AIR MONEY,translates into Transit duty of the Oil flowing via BTC in pipelines..HALF OF IT TO ARMENIANS!!!!
    yes,that’s the only way possible.As Turks rather give up their souls and bodies than PAY .Few know their mentalities…they GET ,NEVER GIVE!!!!

  27. Who in their right mind would want to live in that swine animal sewer,istanbullshit,where the mongols turkies police dont police,government dont govern,the putrid smell,and nobody tells the truth,people life is at risk..I bet they arrested a crazy turkey,saying hes Armenian.After lying for years,who would believe the jerky turks,only their paid stooges.

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