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Global Insight
January 28, 2013
International human rights watchdogs alarmed by brutal murders of
elderly Armenian women in Turkey
BYLINE: Lilit Gevorgyan
Amnesty International and Turkey's Human Rights Association ( nsan
Haklar Derne i: IHD) issued statements last week raising their
concerns over a wave of killings of elderly Armenian women in Samatya,
Istanbul. IHD said in a statement that the violence was a "systematic
campaign" against members of Islanbul's small Armenian community,
adding: "It is a clear message to Armenians that they will not be
allowed to die in their beds in peace." Both statements were made
after an 85-year-old Armenian woman, Maritsa Kuchuk, was beaten,
stripped, stabbed, and decapitated in December 2012. A month earlier,
87-year-old Turfanda Asik was found in her Istanbul flat severely
beaten, as a result of which she lost eyesight in one eye. There were
a number of reports of violent assaults on Armenian women. None of the
cases involved the theft of any property. IHD reported that three more
incidents occurred in January where elderly Armenian women have come
under attack on the streets of Samatya.
Significance:Although Armenia and Turkey do not have diplomatic ties,
thousands of Armenian guest workers found employment in Istanbul. The
string of attacks is likely to deter many from choosing employment
opportunities in Turkey. However, at least 70,000 Armenians live in
Turkey; many of them are survivors of 1915-1922 massacres, recognised
by Armenia and a number of Western states as genocide. The issue is at
the heart of strained Armenian-Turkish relations and could be one of
the motivations behind the recent wave of potentially racially
motivated attacks.
January 28, 2013
International human rights watchdogs alarmed by brutal murders of
elderly Armenian women in Turkey
BYLINE: Lilit Gevorgyan
Amnesty International and Turkey's Human Rights Association ( nsan
Haklar Derne i: IHD) issued statements last week raising their
concerns over a wave of killings of elderly Armenian women in Samatya,
Istanbul. IHD said in a statement that the violence was a "systematic
campaign" against members of Islanbul's small Armenian community,
adding: "It is a clear message to Armenians that they will not be
allowed to die in their beds in peace." Both statements were made
after an 85-year-old Armenian woman, Maritsa Kuchuk, was beaten,
stripped, stabbed, and decapitated in December 2012. A month earlier,
87-year-old Turfanda Asik was found in her Istanbul flat severely
beaten, as a result of which she lost eyesight in one eye. There were
a number of reports of violent assaults on Armenian women. None of the
cases involved the theft of any property. IHD reported that three more
incidents occurred in January where elderly Armenian women have come
under attack on the streets of Samatya.
Significance:Although Armenia and Turkey do not have diplomatic ties,
thousands of Armenian guest workers found employment in Istanbul. The
string of attacks is likely to deter many from choosing employment
opportunities in Turkey. However, at least 70,000 Armenians live in
Turkey; many of them are survivors of 1915-1922 massacres, recognised
by Armenia and a number of Western states as genocide. The issue is at
the heart of strained Armenian-Turkish relations and could be one of
the motivations behind the recent wave of potentially racially
motivated attacks.