Pastor Shocks Turkish Tv Viewers By Bold Remarks On Genocide

[Tongue]

PASTOR SHOCKS TURKISH TV VIEWERS BY BOLD REMARKS ON GENOCIDE



Even though the Turks are supposed to be on their best behavior in order to convince the Europeans that they are civilized enough to join the European Union, they are still extremely intolerant of anyone who dares to bring up the taboo subject of the Armenian Genocide.

Last month, when Orhan Pamuk, an internationally-known Turkish novelist, boldly told a foreign reporter that one million Armenians were killed around 1915, just about all Turkish commentators, historians (government-paid propagandists) and politicians severely condemned the writer for making such a statement. A radical Turkish group even called for the murder of this "traitor." Furthermore, a Turkish publisher is being prosecuted by the government for releasing the Turkish translation of an English language book that urges the acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide. Around six months ago, in the midst of trying to qualify for the start of membership talks to join the EU, the Turkish Parliament adopted a new law that makes it a crime for anyone to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. If this is how the Turkish government is acting, while trying to impress the Europeans, imagine what it would do if its actions were not under scrutiny!

Given all the controversy this issue has generated within Turkey, the Turkish "Flash TV" decided to air earlier this month a five-hour live talk show on the Armenian Genocide. The host of the program requested that the Armenian Patriarchate send a representative to take part in this show. However, the Patriarchate refused to participate by saying that it did not have an expert on the subject to be discussed. The host then invited Rev. Krikor Aghabaloghlu, the outspoken and courageous pastor of a local Armenian evangelical church, to present "the Armenian point of view." Rev. Aghabaloghlu is a well-known activist who has already been jailed once for challenging the confiscation of his church’s property by the Turkish government.

While there have been many talk shows on the Armenian issue, no one has ever dared to go on Turkish TV and repeatedly assert in a bold and brazen manner, as Rev. Aghabaloghlu did, that there is no doubt a genocide was committed against the Armenians. Both Hulki Jevizoglu, the host of the show, and his main guest, historian Mehmet Saray were dumb-founded and tongue-tied by the Armenian clergyman’s unexpectedly outspoken remarks. In a very calm and congenial manner, and with always a smile on his face, Pastor Aghabaloghlu said on national Turkish TV that all Turks in Anatolia know the truth about the Armenian Genocide. He said that no one dared to talk about this subject and that anyone who had the courage to speak about it, is called a traitor, condemned by the media, taken to court, and sent to jail.

Despite all attempts to shut him up during the show, Rev. Aghabaloghlu kept on insisting that as a clergyman he has the obligation to tell the truth. When asked to back up his comments, he said that he knew the facts first-hand from the experiences of his own family. Besides, he added, there is plenty of evidence for the Genocide in thousands of books and that everyone knew that the Armenians in Anatolia were the victims of Genocide. Otherwise, he said, what did happen to the Armenians inhabiting that region? Did they evaporate? Did they decide to migrate en masse? Are there any Armenians left in Anatolia?

Making the Turks even angrier, Rev. Aghabaloghlu said that since Armenians are mistreated in Turkey today, one can only imagine how much worse their treatment must have been back then under the Ottoman Empire?

Mehmet Saray, the Turkish historian, was so enraged by the Armenian clergyman’s assertions that he kept asking the host of the show, "where did you find this man?" Saray said he would have refused to appear on the show if he had known that he would take part in such a "low quality" discussion and that his years of research and his books on this issue would be ignored.

When a viewer from Erzeroum called to say that mass graves of Turks were recently uncovered, Rev. Aghabaloghlu immediately retorted: "How do you know that these bones did not belong to Armenians?"

This astounding conversation, broadcast live to millions of Turkish viewers, went on until the wee hours of the morning.

Rev. Aghabaloghlu is the courageous shepherd not only of his own flock, but that of all Armenians in Turkey who dare not to speak out fearing for their lives! The good pastor risked his life by making such bold remarks on a taboo subject in Turkey. European Union officials should warn the Turkish government that Turkey’s EU membership prospects would be seriously jeopardized should anything happen to this brave Armenian servant of God who, as he says, has an obligation to tell the truth!

Link

[Gavur]

Hrant Dink was a member of the Gedikpasa Armenian Evangelical Church in Istanbul, the pastor of which is Rev. Krikor AghabalOghlu (the famous pastor who defended about the Armenian Genocide in front of millions of viewers during a debate on a Turkish TV). The Gedikpasa Armenian Evangelical Orphanage took care of Hrant Dink after his parents were seperated. The Orphanage raised and educated him. There he met his wife and they married.

http://emmanuel-chanitz.blogspot.com/2007/01/blog-post_23.html

[Gavur]

A testimony to grace

A testimony to grace, from a land of captivity. At a San Francisco church, a brave Armenian pastor speaks of life in Turkey
By Taleen Nazarian

http://www.armenianreporteronline.com/article.php?id=14870&issuedate=2007-06-16

San Francisco, Calif. -- It is rare enough to hear powerful, inspiring words from a man who spends his life in harm’s way. But it’s rarer still to come across a man like Arapkir native Rev. Krikor Aghabaloghlu. He captivated his audience at the 81st anniversary banquet of the Calvary Armenian Congregational Church (CACC) on May 19. Ironically, his message of grace and peace, coupled with truthful insights into the lot of his fellow Armenians in Turkey, has brought Rev. Aghabaloghlu anything but peace in the land where Hrant Dink was assassinated mere months ago. Dink himself was a friend and a member of Aghabaloghlu’s parish, Istanbul’s Gedik Pasha Armenian Evangelical Church.



In his presentation, Rev. Aghabaloghlu said he keenly feels the attention the country’s officials give to every word he utters on Turkish radio, television, and elsewhere. He has received intimidating visits from uniformed Turkish police, and is well aware that he could someday share Dink’s fate. But for Rev. Aghabaloghlu, submitting to pressure and standing silent on the question of Armenian history in Turkey would be contrary to his very essence. At Calvary Church, he noted the irony of how Armenians are repeatedly told that they enjoy many freedoms living in Turkey. But in reality, he said, they are held captive. Armenians are ordered to forget their language and history, and at the same time, encouraged to support their oppressive leaders. The Turkish government allows Armenians to study Turkish history, but forbids them from teaching their own. To his congregation and to any who will listen, Rev. Aghabaloghlu’s message is one of reclaiming “ownership” of the Armenian heritage and Christian religion. Conveying the sense of Psalm 137, he told the crowd at Calvary Church: “Psalms says that in a land of captivity, our captors asked us to sing. They told us, ‘Sing. Sing the Lord’s songs.’ Psalms says that in the land of captivity, we sat by the rivers; our harps hanging in the trees. How were we to sing the Lord’s songs?” In response to the question, Aghabaloghlu quoted Psalm directly -- emphasizing its meaning of never abandoning one’s religious identity: “‘If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.’” He added, “If I forget you, let my tongue be silenced.”



A life transformed



No one could accuse Rev. Aghabaloghlu of forgetting who he is – just as he cannot forget that his ancestors were massacred precisely because of who they were. He said that Turkey’s Armenians were targeted for genocide for two reasons: first because they were Armenian; second, because they were Christians. As Rev. Aghabaloghlu sees it, these are the same reasons for their persecution today, and to forget either identity would be tantamount to cutting off one’s right hand. With great seriousness, Rev. Aghabaloghlu expressed his ongoing commitment to keeping true to his faith and heritage. But it was not always that way for him, and to a rapt audience he related the story of the terrible event that first motivated him along his present life’s course. It happened after he and his family ate poisoned food, which resulted in the death of his two young children. Recovering in the hospital, Aghabaloghlu’s eye caught sight of a bible on a shelf nearby. His anguish over his loss had been unbearable, he said, until that moment when he felt moved to read the word of God waiting for him on that shelf. The experience ignited his passion to read the bible in what was at that time an unfamiliar language to him: Armenian. Rev. Aghabaloghlu revealed that he only learned Armenian six years ago, and with a warm, enveloping smile, he told his audience: “I love it. It is our mother tongue. It is very sweet to me.”



The greatest weapon



It would be easy to appear fearless and strong among lambs, but Rev. Krikor Aghabaloghlu has tested his mettle among wolves. A 1979 graduate of the University of Istanbul with a major in Turkish history and a bachelor’s degree in Education, he was denied a teaching position at every school he applied to in Turkey -- which he attributes to prejudice against his ethnicity and religion. He eventually enrolled in and graduated from Bitinia Bible School, becoming an ordained minister in 2002. He achieved broad public notoriety in 2005, when he appeared on a live television broadcast in Turkey, and forthrightly defended the historicity of the Armenian Genocide before a panel of deniers. The appearance made him a hero to many Armenians, but also a threat to “Turkishness.” Hardly ignorant of the risks he takes, Aghabaloghlu says that his acceptance of God’s grace allows him to be at peace with the truth and the consequences of declaring it. He related a story, half amusing and half horrifying, of the warm reception he gave to Turkish police officers who had knocked on his door to question him in the middle of the night. With his uninvited guests seated and being served coffee by his wife, Rev. Aghabaloghlu was asked whether he kept any weapons. He pointed to a box on the table, and replied that he did. Then he asked his visitors if they would like to see it. Naturally, the policemen said they would. At that point, the reverend obliged, reached into the box -- and pulled out a bible. He explained that he held the strongest weapon on earth. Smiling broadly to his audience at the Calvary Church, Aghabaloghlu added that the policemen, sensing a sermon, quickly excused themselves from the Aghabaloghlu home.

Aghabaloghlu on the right