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PEOPLE IN SAMATYA ANXIOUS OVER ATTACKS TARGETING ELDERLY ARMENIAN WOMEN
Residents are concerned over increasingly growing attacks on elderly
Armenian women in Fatih's historic Samatya district. (Photo: Today's
Zaman, Celil Kırnapcı)
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-305064-.html
24 January 2013 / İPEK UZUM, İSTANBUL,
People living in the Samatya neighborhood of İstanbul's Fatih district
are anxious and fearful following four successive attacks on elderly
Armenian women, one of whom was killed, within the past two months.
Four women have been assaulted in the last two months in Samatya,
leaving residents living in fear for their safety. Speaking to Today's
Zaman, Antranik Yontan -- an Armenian living in the same neighborhood
as the women assaulted -- said that Armenian people have been avoiding
speaking Armenian since the first assault took place in the early
days of December 2012.
"Middle-aged and elderly Armenian women have started to be afraid
of going to pray in an Armenian church nearby. Some people are even
thinking of moving their home to another neighborhood due to the
assaults. A climate of fear is prevalent around the neighborhood among
the Armenian communities. Furthermore, not only Armenian people living
in Samatya but also Armenians residing in other districts of İstanbul
began to feel fear as result of the assaults. Those Armenians living
at other parts of İstanbul avoid visiting their relatives in Samatya.
Children are also psychologically affected due to the assaults. They
are also afraid," he stated.
Managing Editor of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos Aris Nalcı told
Today's Zaman that he doesn't believe these successive assaults taking
place in Samatya are isolated incidents, adding that he believes the
assaults are organized.
"The Police Department states these incidents are unrelated, but
they generally say such things in similar incidents in order not to
unsettle people. I think a climate of fear is being created in the
neighborhood," Nalcı noted. He also said a large-scale investigation
should be launched and the perpetrators should be tracked down as
soon as possible.
Garo Paylan, an activist working for an Armenian civil society
organization, told Today's Zaman that when the first incident took
place, they thought it might be an isolated incident, but when the
assaults continued, they started to think these incident could not
be isolated incidents at all. Stating that they believe the assaults
are organized crimes, Paylan pointed out that the police department
has been very slow in investigating the incidents, adding that these
incidents should examined and the perpetrators should be found as
soon as possible.
An 80-year-old Armenian woman, Sultan Aykar, was assaulted on Tuesday
by a masked man in Samatya. Speaking to Agos, Aykar's daughter, Maryam
Yelegen, stated that her mother was hit on the head by a masked man at
around 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday as she was entering her flat. According to
Yelegen, after her mother fell, the assailant repeatedly kicked her,
adding that he also tried to drag the elderly woman into the flat.
"When my mother screamed for help, the neighbors came and the man fled
the scene. We took my mother to the hospital immediately as she was
in critical condition. Her eyes were seriously injured. The doctors
said my mother might lose her sight," Yelegen said.
On Jan. 6, another elderly Armenian woman was assulted when she was
going to church to pray in Samatya. She was assaulted by three men who
attempted to kidnap her. As a result of the help of people passing by,
the woman was saved from the hands of the assailants.
Maritsa Kucuk, 85, who also lived on her own in Samatya, was attacked
in her apartment on Dec. 28, 2012. She was brutally killed by repeated
stabbing. Her valuables were also taken. The police have yet to find
the elderly woman's murderer.
In the early days of last December, an 87-year-old Armenian woman
was also attacked in her Samatya apartment, where she lived on her own.
Her valuables were taken, she was severely beaten and as a result
she lost one eye.
Residents are concerned over increasingly growing attacks on elderly
Armenian women in Fatih's historic Samatya district. (Photo: Today's
Zaman, Celil Kırnapcı)
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-305064-.html
24 January 2013 / İPEK UZUM, İSTANBUL,
People living in the Samatya neighborhood of İstanbul's Fatih district
are anxious and fearful following four successive attacks on elderly
Armenian women, one of whom was killed, within the past two months.
Four women have been assaulted in the last two months in Samatya,
leaving residents living in fear for their safety. Speaking to Today's
Zaman, Antranik Yontan -- an Armenian living in the same neighborhood
as the women assaulted -- said that Armenian people have been avoiding
speaking Armenian since the first assault took place in the early
days of December 2012.
"Middle-aged and elderly Armenian women have started to be afraid
of going to pray in an Armenian church nearby. Some people are even
thinking of moving their home to another neighborhood due to the
assaults. A climate of fear is prevalent around the neighborhood among
the Armenian communities. Furthermore, not only Armenian people living
in Samatya but also Armenians residing in other districts of İstanbul
began to feel fear as result of the assaults. Those Armenians living
at other parts of İstanbul avoid visiting their relatives in Samatya.
Children are also psychologically affected due to the assaults. They
are also afraid," he stated.
Managing Editor of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos Aris Nalcı told
Today's Zaman that he doesn't believe these successive assaults taking
place in Samatya are isolated incidents, adding that he believes the
assaults are organized.
"The Police Department states these incidents are unrelated, but
they generally say such things in similar incidents in order not to
unsettle people. I think a climate of fear is being created in the
neighborhood," Nalcı noted. He also said a large-scale investigation
should be launched and the perpetrators should be tracked down as
soon as possible.
Garo Paylan, an activist working for an Armenian civil society
organization, told Today's Zaman that when the first incident took
place, they thought it might be an isolated incident, but when the
assaults continued, they started to think these incident could not
be isolated incidents at all. Stating that they believe the assaults
are organized crimes, Paylan pointed out that the police department
has been very slow in investigating the incidents, adding that these
incidents should examined and the perpetrators should be found as
soon as possible.
An 80-year-old Armenian woman, Sultan Aykar, was assaulted on Tuesday
by a masked man in Samatya. Speaking to Agos, Aykar's daughter, Maryam
Yelegen, stated that her mother was hit on the head by a masked man at
around 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday as she was entering her flat. According to
Yelegen, after her mother fell, the assailant repeatedly kicked her,
adding that he also tried to drag the elderly woman into the flat.
"When my mother screamed for help, the neighbors came and the man fled
the scene. We took my mother to the hospital immediately as she was
in critical condition. Her eyes were seriously injured. The doctors
said my mother might lose her sight," Yelegen said.
On Jan. 6, another elderly Armenian woman was assulted when she was
going to church to pray in Samatya. She was assaulted by three men who
attempted to kidnap her. As a result of the help of people passing by,
the woman was saved from the hands of the assailants.
Maritsa Kucuk, 85, who also lived on her own in Samatya, was attacked
in her apartment on Dec. 28, 2012. She was brutally killed by repeated
stabbing. Her valuables were also taken. The police have yet to find
the elderly woman's murderer.
In the early days of last December, an 87-year-old Armenian woman
was also attacked in her Samatya apartment, where she lived on her own.
Her valuables were taken, she was severely beaten and as a result
she lost one eye.