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UK: #TwitterKurds Organize First Social Media Gathering in London

Nigar Hacizade — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:15:46 +0000

A group of Kurdish Internet activists that have been organizing around the #TwitterKurds hashtag on Twitter have come together for the first Kurdish Social Media Gathering earlier this month in London.

The event, which was followed through the #KSMG (Kurdish Social Media Gathering) tag, was live streamed and joined in via Skype and YouTube by those who could not be there physically, although there were participants who had traveled from as far as Australia to participate. It was held on January 21, 2012.

@xoshink: @TaraFatehi speaking at the #KSMG in London! She travelled all the way from Australia! #Bijî!#TwitterKurds

One of the organizers, @kurdishblogger, tweeted a photo of @TaraFatehi speaking to the participants:

@TaraFatehi is here from Australia to talk about Kurdish issues&Kurds in Australia #Twitterkurds#KSMG12 #Kurdistan pic.twitter.com/wVTqS0k3

A Kurdish Twitter user @TaraFatehi flew in from Australia to attend the KSMG in London. Photo shared by @kurdishblogger on Twitter

Others who were not physically there joined in the conversation with how they use the #TwitterKurds tag to communicate.

@xoshink: Social media connected me to amazing people around the globe; helped me find Kurds locally with ambitions to make a change.

@Vexhevxwaz: I totally agree with @apogeeculture1.#TwitterKurds inspired me to organize actions in my local Kurdish community.

Participants focused on social media strategies, Twitter in particular, to attract attention to a given news story, as well as carry out a campaign.

@Shakawan: Q: where do we go from here ? should trending kurdish issues be the top priority?

@B9AcE: Tactics should be chosen from a strategic goal. TT reaches mainly new mainstream. Directed campaigns a #TwitterKurds

@B9AcE: Need new, high impact topic. Send it to large noise makers, asking for it to be spread starting at same time.

@WRyaM: social media tools are also podcasts, Events, collective bookmarking wikis… so let us use them all

Organizers then showed a video sent from Diyarbakır, “sent to them for this gathering by Abdullah Demirbaş, who is the mayor of Sur Municipality in Diyarbakır.” The presenter also noted it was

“worth making a mention at this moment of a very important agency in Amed (Diyarbakır) called @AjansAmed - it's a new social media organization website, a group of social media activists who have put together these videos that you are seeing tonight. Abdullah Demirbaş was part of a campaign to get people tweeting. Every Thursday we were tweeting #abdullahdemirbas, because he has a medical condition he needs to leave America for but he can't travel, because he was taken to court and now he has a travel ban.”

Xende Biradostî tweets:

@Wekhevxwaz Thank you, #KSMG for raising awareness of the plight of #AbdullahDemirbas. #TwitterKurds

Image shared by Halkevi Media on Twitter of the event

One of the speakers was Mehmet, from Halkevi Media, in London. His presentation also included strategies to use social media towards what he saw was beneficial to the Kurdish communities:

This gathering to me is one of the most important events of 2012. I work for Halkevi, the social media part at @halkevimedia, so social media is very important to me. I think we have been lacking in the social media area for quite a while and our numbers are not maximized, there are more Kurds on the internet but they are using it more for their personal stuff, but (social media can also be used) to create awareness and consciousness of Kurdish issues and democratic struggle of Kurdish people and people in the region. I want to talk about the importance of social media in diplomacy - we need to increase the social media effect in diplomatic spheres. We need to determine the agenda rather than having our agenda formed by outside events, such as arrests, operations, etc. We need to have our agenda and initiate to lead rather than be led by political developments that constantly change. Also, we constantly tweet the same thing, it's not getting outside. We need to target certain individuals, for example Middle East correspondents of every single international media organization and MPs. Social media needs to be not separate from grassroots, there are 200,000 Kurds in this country, we needed to have more people here. We need to use different strategies to engage them.

Reactions to his presentation were quite positive:

@JowanM: ”We have to determine the news” rather than waiting for them. Well said by current speaker #KSMG #TwitterKurds

@apogeeculture1: Kurds from all over are coming together for the first time in history through social media.@halkevimedia #twitterkurds #ksmg #KurdishRights

Next, @quzzulqurt from Turkey joined in via Skype. He noted that “this (social media) is a big chance for us around the world to come together. Before there was only Roj TV but now we have this chance and must use it to create awareness, for non-Kurds and Kurds in the region.”

@Zurdosh: @Kurdishblogger has just asked @quzzulqurtabout reporting in English more in North Kurdistan (turkey) #TwitterKurds #KSMG

@PerwinBerdizi: #KSMG #TwitterKurds it is our job, we kurds who can speak ceveral language to translate to the diasporan people

Participants elaborated more on reaching out to professional journalists during breaking news events.

@kurdishblogger: in order to attract the attention of international media, it is extremely important to have a photo, video or witness who can testify. Say, a BBC journalist needs at least 2 witnesses. They don't have that much time, you have to help them. You need to have a photo and you need to give context. People post photos on facebook without any explanation, I am Kurdish and I might know but you can't expect an international journalist to know (what the context is).

@PerwinBerdizi: #KSMG #TwitterKurds unfortunately today's journalism is about copy+paste therefore, do half of their job and contribute with throughout news!

@B9AcE: @AbsoIuteBanana Nowadays activists must basically write journos articles with pictures & quotes for them. Complete work. #KSMG #TwitterKurds

Tweeps deemed the gathering an overall success, with many people asking if there will be similar events in the future.

@apogeeculture1: We have now had participants from all parts of Kurdistan and Australia, Japan, Turkey, Israel! Kurds go International! #ksmg #twitterkurds

@kurdishblogger: “Tweets are more powerful than bullets” Quote of the day at first Kurdish Social Media gathering#Twitterkurds who said this? #Kurdistan

Further reading:

More reactions are available on this Storify compilation by Nigar Hacizade.

Turkey: Post-Murder Trial, Thousands Remember Hrant Dink

Onnik Krikorian — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:46:41 +0000

Thousands have marched in Turkey to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist and Agos newspaper editor Hrant Dink. Angering Turkish nationalists with his outspoken position that the 1915 massacre and deportation of as many as 1.5 million ethnic Armenians as the Ottoman Empire collapsed constituted genocide, Dink was shot dead outside his office in Istanbul on 19 January 2007.

His killer, Ogun Samast, was sentenced last year, but the end this week of the trial of others involved continues to leave many questions relating to official involvement in the assassination unanswered. Writing on Critical Legal Thinking, Basak Ertür provides a comprehensive background to the case as well as the events leading up to Dink's death.

Hrant Dink’s murder was the culminating point of a persecution campaign that can be traced back to February 2004, when he published claims to the effect that Sabiha Gökçen, the adopted daughter of Atatürk and the first woman war pilot of the Turkish Republic, was of Armenian descent. Dink’s claim provoked a public statement from the Chief of Staff, the highest echelon of the Turkish army. A few days later he was summoned to the Istanbul Governor’s Office and “warned” by two people who were introduced to him as “friends” of the then Deputy Governor. Three and a half years after the assassination, the Intelligence Service admitted that these two people were its operatives.

[…]

[…] The deep state lurks menacingly behind the innumerable assassinations, disappearances, provocations, threats, disinformation campaigns, psychological operations and dirty deals of the past few decades. Though providing much fodder for what can be dismissed as conspiracy theorising, the very style and structure of deep state plots render them almost immediately recognisable to a public that has become all too familiar with them. Hrant Dink’s assassination was instantly widely recognised as one such plot.

Certain pieces of information that surfaced during the trial corroborated this view. One of the defendants testified that in his capacity as a police informant, he had repeatedly warned the security forces of the plan to assassinate Dink in the months leading to his death. Some documentary evidence supported the claim that the police was informed of the plan as early as eleven months before the assassination. Key defendants were remarkably smug during the hearings, occasionally signalling, though never disclosing their deeper connections.

[…]

This is what Fethiye Çetin, the lawyer representing the Dink family, meant when she spoke after the decision, referring to the case as a comedy: “They’ve been mocking us all along. And today, we saw that they saved the punch-line for the end.”

Nevertheless, if Dink was loathed by Turkish nationalists, he was also disliked by their counterparts in Armenia and its large Diaspora. Also calling for reconciliation and brotherhood between Armenians and Turks, it's therefore perhaps no wonder that most of those protesting the outcome of the trial as well as commemorating yesterday's anniversary were Turks, Kurds and Armenians living in Turkey.

@UtkuCakir: İnsanlık ölmemiş… Agos'un önünde görmüşler - Fotoğraf: Tolga Bozoğlu #kardesimsinhrant - Hrant Dink pic.twitter.com/ojlyXWoD

Humanity has not died… In front of Agos #you'remybrotherhrant

@BerxwedanYARUK: Ankara da Hrant Dink anması pic.twitter.com/KdA1Px1m

Hrant Dink commemoration in Ankara

Erkan Saka, a Turkish academic and blogger, posts some of the many updates and photos sent out on Twitter in Turkish. However, there were also updates, with some translation into English, from commemorative marches throughout Turkey.

@umitalan: Taksim'le Agos arasında müthiş bır kalabalık var. Devlete, yargıya ve tüm katillerine en ıyi cevap bu. Bu dava burada bitmeyecek.

There is a huge crowd between Taksim and Agos. This is the best answer to the state, prosecution and all criminals. This struggle will not end here.

@449981: CNNTurk 30 bin kişi oldugunu soyledi şimdi.yayını taksimden yapıyorlardı galiba,grubun en arkası gözüküyordu roportaj yaptıkları yerden.

CNNTurk just reported that there are 30,000 people. Looks like they're showing footage from Taksim. […]

@pinarinfanta: Belki de içimi en çok burkan ayakkabısının altındaki delikti,sessizce kaldırımda yatıyordu..suçu sadece ‘Ermeni' olmaktı #kardesimsinhrant

Perhaps the most heart wrenching [image] was the hole in his shoe. He was silently lying there on the ground… His only guilt was that he was “Armenian”. #you'remybrotherhrant

@ETemelkuran: 2nd march in Istanbul today for #hrantdink case.1st one gathered thousands, ppl r gathering again. http://pic.twitter.com/FG1XEgSd via@efkanbolac

@ETemelkuran: One of the most prominent writers Vedat Türkali joined the protests for #hrantdink today. via @mungan_murathan http://pic.twitter.com/BenLfLQo”

@ETemelkuran: The protest in Bodrum tdy.In several cities ppl protested the unjust verdict in #hrantdink case via @beynigezmelerde http://pic.twitter.com/vmtJpkvo”

@ETemelkuran: Ppl of Istanbul r gathering to protest the unjust closure of #hrantdink case for the 2nd time today. The morning march was thousands.

@ETemelkuran: The march is begining inIstanbul.Ppl chanting:”Long live the brotherhood of the peoples!” #hrantdink http://pic.twitter.com/d3ok5oQ4 via@efkanbolac

@ETemelkuran: The streets of İstanbul city centre is shaking with slogans for #hrantdink! http://pic.twitter.com/4XMF4Duh via @efkanbolac

@ETemelkuran: The march in Ankara. After thousands gathered in Istanbul for #hrantdink now it is Ankara's turn. twitpic.com/896b80 via @matakanfoca

@techsoc: I keep thinking: This huge march symbolizes everything Hrant was. Such a shame that it was only his death that brought it about.

@techsoc: Here's a photo of Hrant's dead body. My grandma said: “I cried for days. Who could kill a man with holes in his shoes?” http://bit.ly/yqDn2N

@ETemelkuran: There was a whole under his shoe when #hrantdink was shot.pic shows”the crack in the justice system” pic.twitter.com/jgE3CjYn via@denizmistepe

Başka simply posted the statement in Turkish by ethnic Armenian journalist and writer Karin Karakaşlı made at the commemoration.

19 Ocak bir anma günü değil. Hiçbir zaman da olmadı. Zaten bu topraklarda ayrı ayrı yaşatılmış ne kadar acı varsa, hiçbirinin anma günü olmadı. Herkes acısının yaşatıldığı o tarih geldiğinde, kendince, bir başına kahroldu.

[…]

Dosya kapandı diyorlar bize. Kapandı mı bu dosya? Hrant Dink dosya değil ki kapatasın, o bir yara… Artık köprüden önceki son çıkıştayız. Oradan hakkıyla geçmeden tamamlanacak ödeşme, kurulacak düş, inanılacak adalet, yaşanacak memleket yok. Öbür türlüsü sadece yalan olur ve bir gün başımıza yıkılır. Altında kalırız hep birlikte.

O yüzden gün, sadece söz söylemek değil söz vermek zamanı.

Söz verelim mi birbirimize? Bu dava daha bitmedi.

Söz verelim mi birbirimize? İnsanlık daha ölmedi.

Söz verelim mi birbirimize? Devlet daha hesabını vermedi.

Sözümüz söz olsun. Bu adaletsizlikle yaşamak hepimize haramdır. Aksi için uğraşan hepimize helal olsun.

19 January is not a comemmoration day. It has never been. There has never been a comemmoration day for every other single pain caused in these lands. Everyone lived the pain alone in the period when it was caused, everyone suffered by themselves.

[…]

The dossier has been closed, we are told. Is this dossier closed? Hrant Dink is not a dossier to be closed. He is a wound. We are in the one but last exit before the bridge. There is no score to settle, no hope to harbour, no justice to believe in, no country to live in until you cross it properly. Any other way would be a lie and one day will come upon us. We will stay under the heaviness of it.

This is why it is time to make a promise, not to simply say we will.

Shall we make a promise to each other that this struggle has not ended.

Shall we make a promise to each other that the humanity has not died.

Shall we make a promise to each other that the state is yet to account.

We promise. Living with this injustice is forbidden for all of us. Be blessed all who struggle otherwise.

Judging from the commemorations in Istanbul and elsewhere, as well as from prominent figures and online commentary in Turkey, many appear to agree.

Global Voices Azerbaijan author Pervin Muradli provided the translations from Turkish into English for this post.

Greece: Cretan Masterpiece “Erotokritos” Translated into Turkish

Veroniki Krikoni — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:05:29 +0000

Stella Tsolakidou of the Greek Reporter website writes about the recent publication of the Cretan literature masterpiece “Erotokritos” in Turkish. Erotokritos is a 17th century epic romance, and has been translated by Professor Hakki Bilgehan, a Turkish microbiology professor, and published by the Foundation of Lausanne Treaty Emigrants [Turkish].

Turkey: Hrant Dink Murder Trial Closes

Nigar Hacizade — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:32:32 +0000

Five years and 25 hearings later, the trial to convict those responsible for the murder of Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist, has come to a close. The gunman, 17-year-old Ogün Samast, as well as over a dozen others accused of involvement in the gunning down of Dink in Istanbul in January 2007, were caught almost immediately afterwards.

However, according to Dink's family, friends and lawyers, the case is linked to Turkey's so-called deep state structures and the real perpetrators, meaning those who masterminded the crime, have not been brought to justice.

While Samast was sentenced to 22 years in prison last year, yesterday's verdict, which ruled that three other defendants acted as individuals rather than as part of a criminal organization, was a disappointment many had seen coming. From the pre-hearing statement of the group “Hrant's Friends” to the lawyer's statement after the verdict, and throughout a procession from the Beşiktaş Court House to Agos, the newspaper Dink edited, one sentiment stood out.

Journalist Yavuz Baydar summed up that feeling.

@yavuzbaydar: Dink davasına doğru, yolda. Karar çıkacak herhalde, ama bu dava bitmeyecek.

On my way to the court. Seems like a verdict will be issued today, but this trial will not end here.

Indeed, the same sentiment was also echoed in chants and placards. Çiğdem Mater tweeted a photo:

@cigdemmater: Mahkemeye yuruyoruz: oldur diyenler yargilansin #hrantdink http://twitpic.com/85jf4s

We are walking to the court: (the chant is) indict those who ordered the murder.

Mehmet Demir also tweeted a photo from in front of the court where Hrant Dink's widow Rakel Dink was among those standing behind the banner:

@memediko: 5. Yılında, 25. duruşmasında Hrant için, adalet için Beşiktaş Adliyesindeyiz… http://twitpic.com/88bgwi

On the 5th year and 25th hearing, we are at the Beşiktaş Court House for Hrant and for justice.

Another person for who seemed to anticipate the verdict was lawyer Efkan Bolaç.

@efkanbolac: Hrant icin Beşiktaş adliyesine gelinsin ancak adalet icin Beşiktaş adliyesine gelinmesin. Bugün adalet tam tecelli etmeyecek.

Come to the court today for Hrant, but not for justice. Justice will not be fulfilled today.

The group calling themselves “Hrant's Friends” made a statement before the hearing began. The video segment above contains footage of crowds walking towards the court house and chanting several slogans. The statement at 2:19 reads:

We know how they will decide. This is the state's decision, including its security forces, gendarmerie, intelligence, judiciary, media, government, opposition, those who decided to take Hrant away from us 5 years ago will make another decision today saying this was the work of a few hoods. They will try to hide in their dark world. How can they do this? We know who they are. There is something they don't know: before we say it is over, this trial is not over.

Some attending the trial also tweeted from inside the court. Özlem Dalkıran of the Hrant Dink Foundation, for example, quoted the lawyers for the prosecution.

@OzlemDalkiran: Kamu görevlilerinin kapsamlı soruşturmaya tabi tutulmasını defalarca talep etmemize rağmen bu talebimiz karşılanmadı #HrantDink

Our continuous demands for a comprehensive investigation of public officials as part of this case have not been met.

Efkan Bolaç also tweeted a part of their statement mentioning other similar cases in Turkey:

@efkanbolac: Rahip santaro ve zirve yayıncı cinayetinde bu örgütün eylemleri arasındadır. Devlet görevlileri bu davada dosyaya eklenememistir

Priest Santaro and Zirve Publishing House murders are among the actions of this organization. Public officials have not been included in this trial's file.

Bolaç also considered that the question of whether the crime was organized or not would have an impact on the sentence of the killer.

@efkanbolac: Eğer htant dink cinayeti örgütlü halde işlenmişse bu durum agirlastirici sebep olacaktır.

If the Hrant Dink murder was perpetrated by an organized group it will mean aggravated circumstance.

@efkanbolac: davada eğer suc örgütünün varlığı kabul edilip sanıklar örgüt üyeliğinden ceza alırsa karar cocuk Mah.De yargılanan samast'i da etkileyecek

If the existence of a criminal organization is affirmed in this case and the accused are sentenced under that crime, this will affect (the shooter) Ogün Samast, who is being tried at a children's court.

With journalist Yavuz Baydar tweeting that it would be a surprise if no verdict was announced, the Friends of Hrant then announced that whatever the outcome they would organize a procession to where Dink was shot.

@hrantinarkdslri: Bir saat ara verildi. Ardindan karar aciklanacak. Karardan sonra Besiktas'tan Agos'a yuruyoruz!

An hour long break, then the verdict will be announced. After the verdict we will be walking from Beşiktaş to Agos.

There has also been online and offline mobilization for a protest-walk from Istanbul's Taksim Square to the Agos newspaper on Thursday 19 January, the 5th anniversary of Dink's murder, as columnist Hilal Kaplan tweeted.

@hilal_kaplan: Hrant Dink suikasti davasından ne karar çıkarsa çıksın, adalet çıkmayacağını biliyoruz. Perşembe günü 13′te Taksim'den Agos'a yürüyoruz.

Whatever comes out of the Hrant Dink murder trial, we know it won't be justice. We will be walking from Taksim to Agos on Friday at 13.00

Waiting for the verdict in what was reported to be a packed courtroom, Özlem Dalkıran agreed:

@OzlemDalkiran: Bekliyoruz. Verilecek karar devletin kararı olacak, bizim degil. Biz #HrantDink in gercek katillerini buluncaya kadar pesindeyiz davamızın.

We are waiting. It will be the state's verdict, not ours. We will be chasing this case until Hrant Dink's real murderers are found.

Finally the verdict was read aloud and simultaneously tweeted.

@_chiquitita_: Osman Hayal beraat. Erhan Tuncel orgut lliderliiginden beraat. #hrantdink

Both Osman Hayal and Erhan Tuncel have been acquitted on the counts of membership of criminal organization, Tuncel having been accused of being the leader.

@cigdemmater: Tutuksuz yargılananlar da terör örgütüne yardımdan beraatine

Defendants who were being tried without detention have been acquitted on the count of aiding a terrorist organization.

@cigdemmater: Salih hacisalihoglu ruhsatsız silahdan 2 ay 15 gün

Salih Hacısalihoğlu is convicted to 2 months 15 days on possession of unlicenced gun.

@cigdemmater: Ahmet İskender ruhsatsız silahdan 10 ay

Ahmet İskender is sentenced to 10 months on the possession of an unlicensed gun.

@cigdemmater: Yasin hayalin Orhan pamuğu tehditten 3ay hapsine

Yasin Hayal is sentenced to 3 months on the count of threatening Orhan Pamuk.

@cigdemmater: Yasin hayal tasarlanmış adam öldürmeye azmettirmekten agirlastirilmis muebbetine

Yasin Hayal is sentenced to life sentence in solitary confinement with no possiblity of parole on the count of soliciting voluntary manslaughter.

@cigdemmater: Erhan Tuncel Mcdonakdsa dahilinden 10 yıl altı ay hapsine

Erhan Tuncel is sentenced to 10 years and 6 months on being involved in the bombing of the McDonald's in Trabzon.

Journalist Şirin Payzin offered their own interpretation of the verdict:

@siring: Örgüt yok demekle aslında sanık avukatlarının savunmaları kabul edilmiş oldu. Yani cinayeti bu isimler kendi kafalarına göre işlediler.

By denying the existence of organized crime, in a way the defense of the accused was affirmed. So it is as if these people committed the murder out of their own whim.

A press statement outside of the court from the Dink family lawyer Fethiye Çetin immediately followed.

Five years have passed since the murder. (His son) Arat had said they are making fun of us. They've saved the best for last, and we learned that today. It appears Hrant Dink was killed not by planned action but by a few hoodlums. Apparently there is no organization here. We did not expect this much, truly. What does this verdict mean? It means a deep tradition is not broken, and it is not allowed to be broken. This is the state's tradition of political murders, excluding its minorities and making enemies out of them - today's verdict affirms this tradition once again. Those who are extremely disturbed by the state becoming synonymous with adjectives such as the bomber of its own people, the perpetrator of massacres, arsonists, did not make any effort to get rid of these adjectives and turned down the opportunity. This trial was a chance to confront a history full of blood and pain, to cleanse, to say “never again” to murders like this, to democratize, but they did not use this chance. Those who were the “others” and the targets of the state, meaning the politicians and the ruling government of today, seem to have forged an alliance with the tradition that used to marginalize them. But they should know that unless the state is transformed, this alliance is temporary. […] Today, here, this verdict has closed the first phase where the murderers were tried, but this trial is not over. This is a farce, and for us this trial is only starting now. In this process of trying assassins a torch has been held to the darkness that has created killers out of babies. And the real culprits that had been trying to hide in that darkness have emerged. That is why this trial is only beginning now. There are many ways we can go and many areas we can use. We will use all of them with great determination, until the darkness is questioned, the culprits are convicted and we decide this trial has ended.

The crowd then started walking to Agos.

Hrant icin, adalet icin! #hrantdink http://pic.twitter.com/IO9sSZOD

For Hrant, For justice.

Meanwhile, journalist Hanım Büşra Erdal summed up the outcome of the trial.

@busra_erdal: dink cinayetinde sadece yasin hayal ve ogün samast tutuklu kaldı. erhan tuncel tekirdağ cezaevinden tahliye ediliyor #hrantdink

Only Yasin Hayal and Ogün Samast are now in prison in the Dink murder case. Erhan Tuncel has been released from the Tekirdağ Prison, where he was during his trial for the past 5 years.

As of the evening of 17 January, the first reaction from the government side was from Ertuğrul Günay, Minister of Culture and Tourism. According to various news sources, Günay called the verdict “grave,” believing that it will now go to the Supreme Court of Appeals. The verdict, as well as the five-year long judicial process, will also likely remain on Turkey's agenda, but for now all eyes are on a march to mark the fifth anniversary of Dink's murder to be held on Thursday 19th January.

Attendance, which has been significant in the past, is likely to be an indicator of public support for any continuation of the case.

Turkey: Trici Venola's Istanbul Drawings

Veronica Khokhlova — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:41:32 +0000

Trici Venola's wonderful Istanbul drawings and reflections - at her Drawing On Istanbul blog: “Plein Air drawing in Turkey: blogging about the site and the process.” More drawings by Trici are here.

Georgia: Return of the Meskhetian Turks

Onnik Krikorian — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:45:03 +0000

The repatriation of the Meskhetian Turks to Georgia from Azerbaijan, Russia and Central Asia is not just a priority for the Georgian government, but also an obligation it has had to fulfill to the Council of Europe since becoming a member in 1999. Over 100,000 people were deported by Stalin in 1944, from the Meskheti region of Georgia, among them Hemshin (Muslim Armenians), Kurds, and Karapapakhs. By far the largest group relocated, however, were the Meskhetian Turks.

At least 400,000 Meskhetian Turks now live outside of Georgia, although it has been unclear how many would return in a process that should have officially ended last year, but which might be extended. This has been one of the reasons why the process of resettlement has taken so long, especially as ethnic Armenians now make up the majority population in what is now the Samtskhe-Javakheti region. As a result, in order not to strain inter-ethnic relations, the Georgian government is settling Meskhetian Turks throughout the country.

East of Center recently touched upon the sensitivities surrounding the issue:

Thanks to Stalin’s paranoia, millions of Muslims and members of various non-Slavic ethnic groups in the Soviet Union were forcibly relocated to Central Asia during the ’30s and ’40s. It’s hard to think of any of these communities that has been victimized more often and so thoroughly ignored by the wider world as the Meskhetian Turks. […]

Clearly, however, Georgia is not capable of resettling that large a population anywhere on its territory, much less the underdeveloped Samtskhe-Javakheti region where the Meskhetians originally lived. And then there is the Armenian question, and a large dose of anti-Muslim feeling. […]

Salim Khamdiv of Abastumani village. Khamdiv was 14 when the deportation happened © Temo Bardzimashvili

However, in a two-year application period ending in July 2010, the Georgian government received only 5,841 eligible applications according to the European Center for Minority Issues (ECMI). This amounted to just 9,350 individuals. Ahıska Türkleri – Ahıskalılar explains what the Meskhetian Turks hope for:

We want to return our lands from which we were expelled unjustly. As of today, we have been settling down in 2000 different settlements at 9 different countries including USA. We have difficulty in getting citizenship, settlement permission and work permission in the countries where we live. Our culture and language is on the edge of vanishing. We want to return our country as Georgian citizens and to live in our lands from now on.

Osman Mekhriev (left) and Islam Niazov, elders of the Abastumani Meskhetian community, take a break from the holiday prayers during the end of Ramazan celebrations © Temo Bardzimashvili

Last year, Zaka Guluyev's Blog detailed the situation of some of those that have returned, mainly from Azerbaijan, to Samtskhe-Javakheti:

Muslim Arifov and his family has come back to Akhiltskhe three years ago from Saatly, settlement of Azerbaijan. Arifov says that now he feels happy coming back and live in his motherland Georgia. “My parents were unfairly deported from this region. Now I’m happy that I managed to come back and live in my home Georgia with my family.”

Two months ago Muslim’s relative Mehemmed Rehimov also decided to come back with his family from Azerbaijan and to live in his motherland Akhlstkhe. Mehemmed Rehimov says that Georgia seems better place to live in. “It’s very good sense to live in my motherland Georgia. two months already past after my coming to Georgia. I’m happy here with my family and I’m feeling myself very well”.

[…]

Ismayil Moidze, the chairman of the [Vatan Georgian Axhiska Turks] society says that, their organization was expecting more people to apply for returning. But he explains that many families refused to apply because […] many documents are required for applying [for] repatriat status in Georgia. […] That’s why many families decided to stay where they live”.

Rana Rajabova, a 24-year-old bride in the Azerbaijani village of Shirinbeili. Rana's grandparents, natives of the Arali village in Georgia's Adigeni region, were deported to Uzbekistan. Before the deportation they were told by the soldiers that they would return in 7 days, so no belongings should be taken. Her grandmother hid her gold jewelry at home with the hope of returning after a week. Rana's family has applied for the repatriation and says that they do not want to be "refugees." © Temo Bardzimashvili

Georgian Youth | Multiculturality | New Challenges looks at how the new arrivals are reintegrating:

In Samstkhe-Javakheti, the regional association “Toleranti” provides families of repatriated Meskhetians with legal counseling, medical assistance and language support. In the frame of its 3-year project “Provision of humanitarian assistance to repatriate Meskhs and prevention of “self-repatriation”, the association noticeably organizes classes for young repatriated Meskhetians twice a week. Youth who attend the classes hope to improve their chances of success at school, where they receive tuition in Georgian, and to support their integration in the community.

Considering how motivated they are to learn Georgian, and as quickly as possible, this integration is usually 100% successful.

[…]

As many others however, one thing prevents them from totally feeling home in Georgia: they are waiting for an answer to their application for the Georgian citizenship, which they sent two years ago. Without citizenship, they are not fully-fledged citizens in Georgia, and therefore struggle to have access to basic services like medical assistance. They have no choice, though: just like the others, they have to wait […] – this means a life of uncertainty in the long-term…

Portraits of Abdullah Gamidov, his wife Khalida, and her father Zia Chumidze lie on the checkerboard in the Gamidov's house in Kant, Kyrgystan. Zia Chumidze was fighting at the frontline when the deportation happened and never made it home. © Temo Bardzimashvili

Where's Keith comments on the work of Georgian journalist and photographer Temo Bardzimashvili who has been documenting the return of the Mskhetian Turks to Georgia as well as their lives in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. Some of Bardzimashvili's work, “The Unpromised Land – the Meskhetians’ Long Journey Home,” was exhibited in Tbilisi, sponsored by the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI), and accompanies this post with kind permission.

Delizia Flaccavento also posts photographs of a Meskhetian refugee community in Buffalo, New York, as does Meskhetian Turk Refugees in Atlanta, Georgia (the US State). Meanwhile ECMI says there is a “serious need […] to enhance public awareness on the right of deported persons to return and on the repatriation process […], in particular through the media and the educational system.”

Turkey: Remembering the Turkish Schindlers

Onnik Krikorian — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:50:52 +0000

Writing on the Huffington Post, Ziya Meral explains why honoring those Turks that saved Armenians during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire is important. Meral argues that recognizing these ‘Turkish Schindlers' would go some way in defusing tensions between Armenia and Turkey, making the events of 1915 a shared tragedy. For this reason he has launched his own blog-based project to honor those that did save Armenians in what many consider to be the first genocide of the 20th Century at http://www.projectcommonhumanity.net.

Macedonia, Greece, Turkey: Bridging the Divides Through Multilingual Reporting

Filip Stojanovski — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 01:21:51 +0000

Two recent initiatives by civic-minded journalists added value to the e-content in local languages from Macedonia and nearby countries: Diversity Media is offering news analysis through text and audio podcasts in Macedonian and Albanian, and Balkon3.com is enabling “peeking over the neighbors' fence” in Macedonian, Turkish, Greek, and English. The former also started a competition for news bloggers [mk, sq], ending Jan. 31.

Macedonia: Ajvar, Glorified

Filip Stojanovski — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 09:03:54 +0000

Jovana Tozija wrote lovingly about making ajvar, a traditional favorite winter provision in Macedonia and some other post-Ottoman countries.

Europe: A Song Criticizing Schengen Visa Procedure

Veronica Khokhlova — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:54:11 +0000

At BlogActiv.eu, Kader Sevinc writes about “a creative way of criticizing the Schengen visa procedure” - Schengen Macht Frei, a song by Sarp Yeletaysi/Sarpinto, who writes this on SoundCloud: “[…] This song is the product of many visits to embassies of European countries to obtain a visa which is a painful, costly, time-consuming and humiliating process. […] This is my attempt to raise awareness about the Schengen Problem which I believe is a violation of basic human rights […].”

Armenia: Impressions and reflections on Turkey

Onnik Krikorian — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:16:28 +0000

Back in Armenia from his motorcycle ride through Turkey, Areg Harutyunyan reflects on the journey and shares his impressions of the country. Despite its political and historical problems with Armenia, the motorcyclist and blogger says Turkey is fascinating, hospitable, complex, and diverse.

Catalonia: From Arab Spring To Islamic Autumn

Claire Ulrich — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:20:35 +0000

Pepe Nieto from SODEPAU, a Catalan international aid organization, published a post entitled: “From the Arab Spring to the Islamic Autumn“ [cat]. Nieco forecasts that political Islam will be the great benefactor of the recent events unfolding in the Arab world, after the elections in Tunisia and the statements from the new Libyan leaders. He adds that media should not be surprised by the turn of event given that similar outcomes took place in Algeria, Palestine and Turkey, where repressions never succeeded in stifling Islamic movements.

Armenia: Earthquake in Turkey felt in Yerevan

Onnik Krikorian — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 11:07:58 +0000

On Sunday 23, October, 2011, the earthquake that struck Van, a city in South Eastern Turkey, was felt in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, and other parts of the small South Caucasus country. No stranger to earthquakes having suffered its own tragedy in 1988, the tremor was larger than those that have been experienced since.

With few media updates on the situation, and some even reporting that there were no news announcements at all until much later, the first reports materialized on Twitter and Facebook, and while buildings were still literally swaying from side to side.

@onewmphoto: There must be an earthquake. My apartment in Yerevan is still wobbling… #uneasyfeeling

@myrthekf: I think I just felt an earthquake in #yerevan.

@onewmphoto: @myrthekf Yes, you did just feel an earthquake. My apartment was wobbling for longer than when it usually happens so must have been big.@myrthekf: @onewmphoto I know. It was much stronger than previous ones I have felt over the years.

@blansharm: #earthquake #Yerevan Earthquake, again, second or third within last two weeks! Scary!

@albertpoghosyan: Earthquake again in Yerevan! Strong actually!

@onewmphoto: We felt it in Armenia RT @Reuters FLASH: Magnitude 7.6 earthquake hits 35 kilometres northeast of Van, Turkey - USGS (via @oemoral)

@unzippedblog: Was speaking to parents in #Yerevan TV/radio #fail provide news coverage re #Earthquake it's me who provided them with online news #Armenia

With the memory of the Spitak earthquake which killed 25,000 still fresh in the minds of many Armenians, Журнал настоящего армянина noted that some families even evacuated their apartment buildings [ru]:

Только что выходил […] и как только вернулся во двор вижу чё то люди выходят в спешке, в начале не сообразил потом когда увидел общую картину подумал что это землетрясение. Особенно впечатляющим были мамы которые обернув детишек в одеяло выбежали во двор. Сразу перед глазами пробежал 1988 год когда еще детишками были и нас тоже родители точно так же завернули в одеяло и бежали во двор. Вот вам картина моего двора после толчков.

I just went out […] and as soon as I got back to the yard I saw that people were walking out in a hurry. At the beginning I could not figure it out, but later it sank in that it was an earthquake. What particularly made an impression were the mothers who wrapped their kids in duvets and ran out. Suddenly 1988 flashed in front of my eyes and when we were kids and our parents wrapped us in duvets and ran out in much the same way. This is the picture of my yard after the tremors.

Some families evacuate their apartments in Yerevan (Журнал настоящего армянина)

Soon after, some speculated that the tremor felt in Yerevan might not have been that from the Van earthquake, but another likely triggered off by it. There were also concerns about the safety of the ageing Metsamor nuclear reactor.

@reporter_arm: this one was earthquake that we felt? emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/ear…

@kutkut16: @ditord what news about Metsamor NPP after the earthquake?

@ditord: @kutkut16 Metsamor reactor is currently shut down for maintenence, but even if it were a powerful earthquake, the NPP is well protected

Concerns with the situation in Armenia soon gave way to updating followers on the situation in Van, re-tweeting updates from tweeps in Turkey. Later in the day, Tigran Balayan, the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also tweeted updates as it pertained to Armenia and Armenians who might be resident or working in Turkey.

@tbalayan: President Sargsyan offered rescue assistance to earthquake hit Turkey president.am/events/news/en…

@tbalayan: According to the information available no #Armenian citizens among victims of #Turkey #earthquake.

Despite there being no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey, the offer of assistance nonetheless resulted in the Prime Minister and President of Turkey thanking the Armenian President for his offer. However, at time of writing, an Armenian emergency rescue team still remains on standby.

Turkey: Online Relief Efforts for Van's Earthquake Victims

Kubra — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:11:09 +0000

Eastern Turkey was hit by a large earthquake of magnitude 7.2 yesterday. The earthquake, whose epicentre was about 16 km north of Van province, devastated the area where many buildings were demolished with many people buried under the ruins.

As the government of Turkey started the official relief efforts, many Turkish citizens both in the country and abroad showed interest in helping those effected on the ground. As a result, within a couple of hours after the earthquake several different campaigns were launched on social networks to help with rescue and relief operations.

One interesting campaign that quickly grabbed the attention of many on social media networks was “EvimEvindir”. The campaign was started by Turkish journalist Ahmet Tezcan when he declared on Twitter [tr] that he was ready to welcome a family which was left homeless due to the quake to his home:

Vanlı bir aileye evimi açmaya hazirim. Kamu kuruluşları bunu da organize etmeli!

I am ready to open my [door and] home to a family from Van. Public institutions should organise this as well!

Ahmet Tezcan continued to promote the idea and soon another Turkish journalist Erhan Çelik started promoting the campaign strongly. In a couple of hours, hundreds of tweets and thousands of e-mails were received by the two journalists regarding the campaign and Erhan Çelik mentioned his thanks for the attention [tr]:

Mail kutumda 17 bin mail var. Bunlardan ilgili olanları İstanbul Valiliğine iletiyorum. İlginize depremzedeler adına çok teşekkürler!

There are 17,000 e-mails in my inbox. I am transferring interested parties to Governorship of Istanbul. On behalf of earthquake victims; thanks a lot for your interest!

Soon two new hashtags “#EvimEvindir” [“#MyHouseIsYourHouse” in Turkish] and “#EvimEvindirVan” spread in Turkey and a new website for the campaign was set up at www.evimevindir.com. Ahmet Tezcan reported that Governorship of Istanbul had stepped in to help the campaign:

İstanbul Valimiz H.Avni Mutlu #EvimEvindirVan kampanyasindan haberdar edildi. Çok sevindi. Gerekenin yapilmasi icin talimat verecektir!

The Governor of Istanbul H. Avi Mutlu has been informed of #EvimEvindirVan campaign. He was very happy. He will be giving instructions to carry out what’s necessary.

According to the campaign's website, the Governorship of Istanbul is now the coordinator of the campaign to locate and connect families from Istanbul to families in the earthquake zone.

Another campaign that was launched on Twitter and gained support via the hashtag “#HaydiGsmciler” [“#ComeOnGsmOps” in Turkish] called on the three leading GSM operators in Turkey, namely Turkcell, Vodafone Turkey, and Avea, to provide free minutes to its customers in the earthquake zone, as it is expected that many victims who were buried alive under the rubble would attempt to use their cell phones to contact for help. Journalist Erhan Çelik avidly promoted this campaign, posting [tr]:

GSM şirketleri de üzerine düşeni yapsın! Deprem bölgesinde kontörlü hatlar ücretsiz olsun, mağdurlar rahatça konuşsun! #HaydiGsmciler

GSM Operators should do their part as well! Prepaid lines in earthquake zone should be free [of any charge for transactions], so that victims can talk freely! #HaydiGsmciler

Soon after the hashtag was launched, all three leading GSM operators declared that they would be providing free minutes to their customers in Van, which had suffered losses due to earthquake. Both Turkcell and Avea reported [tr] this news through their official Twitter accounts respectively as follows:

Van'da bulunan ön ödemeli müşterilerimize her yönü arayabilecekleri 100 dk. ücretsiz konuşma süresi ve 100 kısa mesaj (SMS) yüklenecektir

Our prepaid customers in Van will be provided with 100 free minutes and 100 short messages (SMS) available to use for all calls.

Van'da yaşanan felaket nedeniyle bölgede bulunan tüm Avealı'lara her yöne kullanabilecekleri 100dk konuşma ve 100 sms tanımlanmıştır #van

Due to the disaster that occurred in Van, all Avea customers in the regions are given 100 free minutes and 100 SMS available to use for all calls. #van

A few hours after the earthquake, several activist bloggers created a blog, named “Yalnız Değilsin Van” [“You are not Alone Van” in Turkish], to provide information on contact and coordination points for relief efforts in the earthquake zone. Heavily promoted in the blogosphere and Twitter, the blog describes itself as:

This page has been created to keep track of, gather and post updates on the relief efforts towards the 2011 Van Earthquake, including transportation of aid, coordination numbers and a continuously updated list of goods and equipment in demand

The blog contains information in both Turkish and English and also has a Facebook page called: “Van’la Dayanışma” [“Solidarity with Van” in Turkish].

One last addition to web-based help to relief efforts for the victims of the Van earthquake came from Google in the form of Google Person Finder which was activated in Turkish. Zeynep Tüfekçi reported this as:

Google Person Finder now up in Turkish for the Van earthquake: http://turkey-2011.googlepersonfinder.appspot.com/

Thumbnail image is a screenshot from yalnizdegilsinvan.wordpress.com.

Turkey: 1,000 People Feared Dead in Van Quake

Amira Al Hussaini — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:52:24 +0000

A Pray for Turkey poster by Twitter user @mbahTonno

A massive earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 hit eastern Turkey a few hours ago. Up to 1,000 people could be feared dead from the quake, which hit Ercis, in the mountainous province of Van close to the Iranian border, the hardest.

On Twitter, users are checking on loved ones and exchanging updates on the toll as well as humanitarian and rescue efforts.

Selin shares live pictures from quake hit Van, taken from news footage on television:

@Selintellect: Live pictures from #Van in Turkey #earthquake

In follow up tweets, she brings us closer to the devastation:

@Selintellect: CNN TURK is currently showing live pictures of a collapsed 8 storey apartment, estimated 50-90 people stuck in the rubble #Van

She adds:

@Selintellect: Man crying on his knees “My wife and my 4-month baby are there, my wife and baby” - #Van

Selin continues:

@Selintellect: Local men in #Van have organised themselves some with shovels some with bare hands, digging into the rubble to find earthquake victims

The toll, though not final, continues to rise.

@Selintellect: 10 dead, 60 injured so far in 7.3 earthquake, in Ercis district of #Van

@Selintellect: 80 buildings in total have collapsed in Ercis disctrict of #Van, death toll is expected to increase rapidly #Turkey

Ruwayda Mustafah says the toll could be in multiples.

@RuwaydaMustafah: 10 confirmed dead but at least a 1000 are expected to be. Many are stuck inside buildings + dozens injured #earthquake #Turkey

This figure is confirmed by news agencies.

Turkish Esra Dogramaci explains:

@EsraD: Van is mostly fine but phones are down. Very few buildings have collapsed. It's Ercis, a district, which has suffered big damage.

And she adds:

@EsraD: Turkish Red crescent sending 1162 tents, 1000 heaters, 4250 blankets, 500 supply kits #deprem #Van #earthquake

Quoting initial estimates, she tweets:

@EsraD: 25-30 building reportedly collapsed including 1 student dormitory #Turkey #earthquake #deprem

JYJTurkey reminds us:

@JYJTurkey: Unfortunately there aren't enough teams in #van to help people out, so everyone is waiting for help from other city's. #prayforTurkey

Meanwhile, people around the world are worried for loved ones.

NPR's Andy Carvin tweets:

@acarvin: So worried for my friend in Van RT @richardengelnbc: #Turkey, hearing many dead in quake near van in the east. Hundreds. phones in area out

On YouTube, user Onur1301 shares a video of the moment the quake hit Van: