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ANKARA: Opposition MP Submits Inquiry On Historical Armenian Buildin

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  • ANKARA: Opposition MP Submits Inquiry On Historical Armenian Buildin

    OPPOSITION MP SUBMITS INQUIRY ON HISTORICAL ARMENIAN BUILDING IN ISTANBUL

    Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
    July 24 2013

    ANKARA - Hurriyet Daily News

    Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu recently
    submitted a parliamentary inquiry directed at Turkish Culture and
    Tourism Minister Omer Celik, questioning reports a building had
    been rented out despite ongoing trials led by Turkey's Armenian
    Patriarchate.

    The inquiry focused on the fate Sanasaryan Han, which the Armenian
    Patriarchate claims ownership of, but asked a broader question about
    foundation properties in general. Tanrıkulu noted the report in the
    Official Gazette announcing the tender allowed for the rental of the
    building for the next two decades and included the cost of renovations
    at around 11 million Turkish Liras.

    The inquiry asked Celik how he felt about the tender, and whether or
    not he had given any instructions regarding the building. Reports
    have surfaced over the months that claimed a hotel was to be built
    instead of the han, Doğan news agency reported.

    Tanrıkulu also questioned whether or not the minister would take any
    initiatives to "return the building to the Armenian Patriarchate" and
    if there was any significance to the date of the tender announcement,
    which came "ahead of the 100th anniversary of the 1915 events."

    The han, after being donated to Turkey's Armenian Patriarchate in
    1881, was confiscated by the then government in 1935. Located in
    Istanbul's Eminonu district, Sansaryan Han was refashioned into the
    Istanbul Police Headquarters in 1944 and eventually gained notoriety
    as a bastion of ill treatment by the police, as many people, including
    a number of prominent poets and writers, had been tortured there.

    The Directorate General of Foundations, on the other hand, claims
    that the building did not fall under the jurisdiction of a law on
    the return of properties to community foundations that took effect
    in 2011 as it had been owned by a person.

    The tender for renting the historical building, organized by the
    Directorate General of Foundations on July 18, was won by Ozgeylani
    Construction Company, despite the ongoing trial over the ownership
    of the building.

    The inquiry also asked the minister about the ongoing struggles of
    several foundations over property ownership, and whether or not the
    ministry was leading any proceedings on related matters.

    July/24/2013

    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/opposition-mp-submits-inquiry-on-historical-armenian-building-in-istanbul.aspx?pageID=238&nID=51310&NewsCatID=338

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