25 January 2013 /İPEK ÜZÜM, İSTANBUL

Four elderly Armenian women have been assaulted in the last two months in the Samatya neighborhood of İstanbul’s Fatih district, raising suspicions of a shady plot being orchestrated to disturb the peace between Turkish and Armenian communities living in the area.

An 80-year-old Armenian woman, Sultan Aykar, was assaulted on Tuesday by a masked man in Samatya, leaving her with serious injuries. On Jan. 6, another elderly Armenian woman was assaulted as she was walking to the local church. Thanks to help from passersby, the woman was saved from the hands of the three assailants. Maritsa Küçük, 85, who 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. In the early days of last December, an 87-year-old Armenian woman was also attacked in the Samatya apartment where she lived on her own. Her valuables were also taken, she was severely beaten and as a result she lost one eye.

Garo Paylan, an activist working for an Armenian civil society organization, told Today’s Zaman that when the first incident took place, the group thought it was an isolated incident, but when the assaults continued, they started to think there was more to the attacks. Stating that they now believe the assaults are part of an organized scheme, Paylan claimed that the police have been very slow in investigating the incidents.

“It is impossible for a police department not to find the perpetrators of the incidents despite the presence of many security cameras in the neighborhood. We are deeply concerned that these incidents are an organized crime targeting Armenians. This is why the police department should be more attentive to these assaults. The fact that no concrete development has taken place regarding the assaults gives us doubt about the sincerity of the police,” Paylan stressed.

Managing Editor of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos Aris Nalcı told Today’s Zaman that he doesn’t believe the successive assaults taking place in Samatya are isolated incidents. “The police say 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 said.

Nalcı also stated that the assaults are reminiscent of the Operation Cage (Kafes) Action Plan, a recently discovered plot that targeted non-Muslim minorities and the Alevi community and which prosecutors say is linked to the terrorist Ergenekon group — a clandestine organization nested within the state suspected of trying to overthrow the democratically elected government.

A provocative Facebook account

Nalcı told of a Facebook account that was created shortly after the assault on Tuesday’s victim, Aykar. He said: “I saw a Facebook account that was opened under the name of Sultan Aykar following the assault. The profile picture of the account was attention grabbing and highly provocative. The profile picture was a white text on black background that reads ‘She is offed!.’ What is more attention-grabbing is there were 177 followers of the account. The police department can follow this account and find out by whom the account was opened easily or whether this Facebook account has any link with the Samatya assaults or not.”

Nalcı also complained about the slowness of the police work, adding that there is camera footage showing the assailant who attacked Aykar. “He is seen smoking in front of the building where Aykar was attacked on Tuesday. The police have issued a sketch of the assailant. If this assailant is found, the other attacks will also be clarified. Whether the assaults are organized or isolated incidents will be determined in the interrogation of the assailant if the police are able to find him,” Nalcı noted.

A Turkish Armenian, Vartkes Hergel, who spoke with Today’s Zaman, said that the incidents cannot possibly be a case of simple thefts. “I heard a cross was drawn across the breast of Küçük, who was brutally murdered in her apartment on Dec. 28, 2012. I personally know some relatives of Küçük, therefore I could find the opportunity to ask whether this is true. They also confirmed this. Why would a thief do such a thing? Such incidents remind us of the Sept. 6-7 events,” he said, referring to mob attacks that were directed primarily at İstanbul’s Greek minority but also targeted non-Muslim groups in 1955.

Samatya Armenians live in fear

People living in Samatya are anxious and in a state of fear after the four successive attacks. Speaking to Today’s Zaman, Antranik Yontan — an Armenian living in the same neighborhood — said that Armenian people there have been avoiding speaking Armenian since the first assault took place in the early days of December 2012.

“Middle-aged and elderly women are afraid of going to the nearby church. There are even some thinking of moving to another place. A climate of fear is prevalent around the neighborhood. Armenians residing in other places of İstanbul also uneasy because of the assaults. Those Armenians living in other parts of İstanbul avoid visiting their relatives in Samatya. Children have also been psychologically affected by the assaults. They are also afraid,” he said.

A Turkish neighbor of Küçük’s, who asked not to be named in print for safety reasons, told Today’s Zaman that local Turks have been living in peace with their Armenian neighbors for many years without any problems. The same person further stated that they feel the recent attacks aim to create hostility between local Turkish and Armenian families and that Turkish residents now live in fear and are also very worried for their Armenian neighbors. “We don’t want anything bad to happen to any of our Armenian neighbors and we feel very sorry for the Armenian women who were subjected to violence in our neighborhood,” the neighbor noted.

‘Turkish ultra-nationalism being revived’

Head of the Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER) Ahmet Faruk Ünsal, speaking to Today’s Zaman, described the assaults as “racist” acts.

“These attacks on Armenians are part of an attempt to revive Turkish ultra-nationalism, which is thought to have sustained a major defeat after the start of the new peace process [between the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the government],” he said, adding: “The government should be very be attentive to these assaults and should investigate them in a detailed manner.”

International reaction

The attacks in Samatya also resonated in the US. Organizations representing the Armenian diaspora in US sent a letter to the Department of State, requesting that the US administration be watchful about these incidents. Amnesty International (AI) also released a message calling for attention to the Samatya incidents.

İHD releases report on assaults in which points to organized hate crime

The Human Rights Association (İHD) İstanbul branch released a report on the Samatya assaults on Friday. The report asserts that the attacks are not mere incidents of violent theft. The İHD also said the attacks could be part of what they termed an “ethnic cleansing” campaign. The group said the perpetrators should be captured immediately and it should be established whether they have any link to any illicit groups. The İHD has also sent its report to the Ministry of Interior Affairs, demanding that the case be solved as soon as possible.

Commenting on the İHD’s report, Rober Koptaş — current editor-in-chief of Agos — told Today’s Zaman that it is too early to speak regarding the attack in such strict terms as there is no concrete evidence to suggest that the attacks were staged as part of an organized scheme. However, he also said: “None of the politicians and state officials have released any statement on the issue yet, which also increases the concerns of the Armenians living in Samatya. The interior minister, the İstanbul governor or the İstanbul police chief should give detailed information to the public regarding these incidents. People need such explanations from top state officials to be able to calm down. Now, people are waiting in fear. The Interior Ministry should establish a commission and should conduct a very thorough investigation,” Koptaş noted.