Intellectuals remembered in Istanbul

[freakyfreaky]

http://www.armtown.com/news/en/pan/20090424/30841/

EVENTS DATED TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE 94TH ANNIVERSARY TO BE HELD IN ISTANBUL

An event titled “Armenian Intellectuals and 24 April 1915 – They were Arrested, Exiled and Did Not Even Have Grave Stones” will start at 2 pm at Tutun Deposu on Friday, April 24. Armenian intellectuals including poets, authors, musicologists, lawyers, journalists and doctors who were exiled following the arrests that began in April 24th 1915 and most of whom did not return will be commemorated in an event organized by the Istanbul Branch of Human Rights Association. The event will be realized by the contributions of members from Bogazici Performance Arts Group, says a statement obtained by PanARMENIAN.Net. Describing the event, Riza Dalkilis from the Commission Against Racism and Discrimination and a Board member of IHD Istanbul Branch, said: “April 25, 1915 symbolizes the beginning of the process that lead to the annihilation of the physical and spiritual existence of Armenian community; the intellectuals who lost their lives following the arrests on this date are not only a great loss to the language and culture of Armenian community, but also a great loss to us. We regard it as our duty to commemorate them." During the event, members of Bogazici Performance Arts Group will present poems from the three great poets of Armenian language, Siamanto, Taniel Varujan, and Rupen Sevag who lost their lives during the arrest process, and they will enact the life story of poet, author, lawyer and socialist member of Parliament Krikor Zohrab. Editor Ragip Zarakolu will narrate the testimony of author Teotig who was arrested on April 24th and remained alive by a miracle. Musicians from Kardes Turkuler will sing Armenian songs during the event.

[Gavur]

Re: Intellectuals remembered in Istanbul

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[Sako]

Re: Intellectuals remembered in Istanbul

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[freakyfreaky]

Re: Intellectuals remembered in Istanbul

http://www.bianet.org/english/other/220-armenian-intellectuals-exiled-in-1915-commemorated

220 Armenian Intellectuals Exiled in 1915 CommemoratedOn 24 April 1915, over 200 Armenian intellectuals were exiled and then killed. The Human Rights Association commemorated this loss to Armenian, Ottoman and Turkish society.

Bawer ÇAKIR [email protected] Istanbul - BİA News Center24 April 2009, Friday The Human Rights Association’s (İHD) Committee against Racism and Discrimination commemorated 24 April 1915, the day that Armenians worldwide recognise as the beginning of the forced exile of Armenians from the Ottoman Empire, with an event in the Tobacco Depot in Istanbul.

On that day, 139 Armenian intellectuals were arrested in Istanbul and forcibly taken to Çankırı and Ayaş in central Anatolia. They were then killed.



A loss for all of society, then and today


Lawyer Eren Keskin spoke at the event entitled “24 April 1915 and Armenian Intellectuals: They were arrested, they were evicted, they did not even get a grave stone.”



She said that the death of these intellectuals represented a loss not only for the Armenian language, culture, thought and science world, but also for the Ottoman society of the time and for “the world of all of us today.”



An exhibition displayed stories and pictures from a book entitled “Memory of 11 April”, written by Teotig in 1919 and dealing with the deaths of the intellectuals.



Music eliminating borders


The commemorative event started with a concert of the Kardeş Türküler folk group which performed songs in Armenian, Kurdish, Suryani, Arabic and Turkish.



The group members said that they had fulfilled a wish of murdered Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in December, when they had organised a tour in Armenia together with the Turkey-based Armenian choir Sayat Nova.



“We saw that the Ararat mountain embraces Yerevan just as much as it does Ağrı province.”



Keskin said, “We, who believed what we were told, and who stayed quiet even if we did not believe it…we are all guilty.”



Stories of lives cut short


Publisher Ragıp Zarakol and members of the Bosphorus Performance Arts Society (BGST) theatre department read life stories and poems of and by Rupen Sevag, Siamanto (Atom Yerjeyan), Taniel Varujan, Teotig (Teotoros Lapçinyan) and Krikor Zohrab, all of them killed in 1915.



Around 100 people attended the event, among them Hrant Dink’s widow Rakel Dink and his brother Orhan Dink, journalist Sarkis Saropyan, academic Ayşe Gül Altınay and lawyer and IHD branch head Gülseren Yoleri.



After Zarakol recounted the life of Armenian musician Gomidas, Keskin ended the commemoration with a quote from the musician:

“It was spring, but here it was snowing.” (BÇ/AG)

[Alexandros]

Re: Intellectuals remembered in Istanbul


Keskin and Zarakolu address the audience. A photograph of Taniel Varoujan is seen in the background.


Armenian Genocide Commemorated in Turkey

By Ayse Gunaysu • on April 27, 2009

ISTANBUL, Turkey (A.W.)—On April 24, the Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Organization of Turkey organized an event in Istanbul commemorating the Armenian Genocide. The commemoration was held in what was formerly the “tobacco warehouse,” now renovated and being used for exhibitions, events and meetings.

The event opened with the Armenian and Assyrian songs performed by the group “Kardes Turkuler” (Songs of Brotherhood).

Lawyer Eren Keskin’s greeted the audience, numbering around 150, and said, “Today is the 24th of April, the 94th anniversary of the arrests in Istanbul which started the Armenian genocide in 1915.” She added, “The official history [in Turkey] denies the genocide, but we know what happened and we believe it’s important to tell people the truth. So, today we will commemorate the most brilliant intellectuals of the Ottoman Armenians: poets, writers physicians, lawyers, members of parliament, who were taken away on the 24th April 1915 and murdered.”

The Bosphorus Performance Arts Group presented the life stories and poems of three great Armenian poets who perished during the Armenian Genocide—Roupen Sevag, Siamanto, and Taniel Varoujan—as well as the life and work of writer, lawyer and member of parliament Krikor Zohrab, who was also killed during the genocide. The presentation was accompanied by photographs projected on a screen and Armenian folk music played in the background.

Publisher Ragip Zarakolu talked about Teotig, the Armenian writer who was arrested together with others but escaped miraculously, and his famous book Hushartzan Abril Dasnimegi, which will be published in Turkish soon by the Belge publishing house. An exhibition of pages from this book was held in conjunction with the event, with lit candles under each page. A brief Turkish translation of each page was also provided.

In turn, Eren Keskin talked about Gomidas, while songs performed by Gomidas himself (recorded in 1912 in Paris) were played in the background and Gomidas’ photographs projected on the screen. At the end Eren Keskin said, “let’s leave the last word to Gomidas Vartabed.” Then Gomidas song “Karun a” was heard while images of the deportation of Armenians were projected on the screen.

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