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Ragıp Zarakolu Turkish court seeks Interpol Red Notice, intellectual who had recognized Armenian Genocide

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Ragıp Zarakolu

A Turkish court has decided to seek an Interpol Red Notice for Ragıp Zarakolu, a publisher, writer and one of the few Turkish intellectuals, who had recognized the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide, Ermenihaber reported, citing local sources.

The decision for an Interpol Red Notice and extradition to Turkey on terrorism charges was made by a high criminal court in İstanbul six years after Zarakolu’s release from prison, the source said.

As noted, in 2011, a case was launched against the publisher on charges of aiding and abetting a terrorist organization due to a speech he made at the Politics Academy of the now-defunct pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). He was arrested in October 2011 and released pending trial in April 2012.

Zarakolu, who has been living in Switzerland since 2013, called Turkey’s arrest warrant “harassment.” “Apparently, some were disturbed as I have continued to advocate human rights, minority rights, and the freedom of speech, supported peace, and expressed my opinions,” Ahvalnews quoted Zarakolu as saying.

To add, Zarakolu is a well-known political activist who has been fighting for freedom of expression in Turkey for over 30 years, publishing books on issues such as minority and human rights. In 2011, Zarakolu was awarded with Hakob Meghapart medal by the State Library of Armenia for his professional activity and the books and materials donated to the Library.

 

Source Panorama.am

Terrorist State of Turkey: Publisher Ragıp Zarakolu faces probe over interview with Roj TV

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Ragıp Zarakolu (Photo: Cihan)

Ragıp Zarakolu (Photo: Cihan)

An investigation has been launched against publisher and journalist Ragıp Zarakolu on charges of being a member of a terrorist organization over a 2010 interview he gave to Roj TV, a Kurdish-language channel close to the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

According to independent news website Bianet, the investigation was initially launched in 2010 by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and it was recently turned into a new investigation under “probes on crimes against the constitutional order.”

In a separate case, Zarakolu was arrested in October 2011 on terrorism charges as part of an investigation into the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), which is alleged to be an umbrella political organization that includes the terrorist PKK. He was released pending trial after spending five months in prison.

Prosecutors sought up to 15 years for Zarakolu on charges of “knowingly aiding and abetting a terrorist organization.”

He publish several books on Armenian Genocide and recognize Armenian Genocide.

Source: ZAMAN

Ragip Zarakolu: director of Belge Publishing House Turks burned off Armenian history

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ragip Zarakulo

It’s a pity that the era which preceded the past decade became a very ancient history: it’s forgotten and expunged from memory, Ragip Zarakolu, a famous Turkish human rights activist, director of Belge Publishing House and author of a number of books on Armenian  Genocide, wrote the aforementioned in an article on Turkey’s Kegi district (Bingöl Province), published in the Turkish Taraf newspaper.

The article reads, in part:

“Keghi is one of the districts of Bingöl Province. In early 1915, 3900 Armenians and about 1000 Turks with Armenian roots lived in Keghi district. The number of Armenians reached 37,000 in the villages. This region was mainly dealing with agriculture, cattle breeding and spinning wheel…

I first heard about Keghi in 1967. I had a friend named Tulay, a member of Turkey’s Workers Party, who was studying medicine. I remember his mother, who was always sad and worried about something. She was always worrying about her daughter, so that the latter didn’t suffer the same as they did, since they were “leftists.” If her daughter was a bit late, she started to panic…

Yes, perhaps she was right…So much occurred with us and the following generations…

I though about the latent meaning of this woman’s sorrow for many years. Who knows how many misfortunes her family went through, what they saw in 1895-95, 1915, 1938…

When I acquired my friend Osep Tokat’s book i“Keghi in ruins” in three languages (Armenian, English and Turkish), I remembered that sad woman from Keghi…

The book presents rare manuscripts, photos of the region’s wonderful geography, as well as the ancient map of Keghi. Generally, such books are very important in terms of preserving history, especially for the local residents, who seem to be living not in the same country, but, say, on the Moon or in Australia…

And still, it’s a pity that the era which preceded the past decade became a very ancient history: it’s forgotten and expunged from memory…”

‘People Want Truth’ on Genocide, Says Turkish Publisher in Yerevan

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“Genocide means not only the extermination of the nation, but also its generations, culture, traditions, cities and villages, and this is what happened in Turkey,” famous Turkish publisher and activist Ragip Zarakolu Zarakolu1told reporters in Yerevan on Wednesday. Zarakolu is in Armenia to present the launch of the Turkish edition of “Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey: Testimonies of the Survivors,” a book published by his firm.

In 2012, Zarakolu’s Van Publishing House issued the three-volume work titled “Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey: Testimonies of the Survivors,” which presents eyewitness accounts of the Genocide, valuable archival documents, maps, and photos. In 2013 the book was published in English, and now it’s available in Turkish, as well.

“I was greatly excited by the content of this book, because it includes interviews made in 1916; that is, immediately after the Genocide. This is a very valuable document against Turkish denialism,” Zarakolu said.

“This is denialism: once you lie, you have to do that constantly. This is Turkey’s policy, which I have long been fighting against,” he said.

Zarakolu and his wife have been persecuted in Turkey because of their activity. He has published a number of books on the Armenian Genocide, and this one will come to enrich the list of banned literature in Turkey. “Thanks God there is Internet, and the book will reach the reader,” the publisher said.

Zarakolu said much has changed in Turkey over the past years. “People are tired of lies, they want the truth,” he said.

Ragip Zarakolu referred to Turkish Prime Minister Regep Tayyip Erdogan’s address to the Armenian people on the eve of April 24 and Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian’s invitation to the Turkish leader to visit Yerevan on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. He also spoke about the recent article by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, in which the latter notes that “unjust memory has been created around the events of 1915.”

“Davutoglu’s scales are wrong,” the publisher said. “If we look at the period from 1915 to nowadays, we’ll see that two million Armenians living in Western Armenia do not live there anymore. Had there been no genocide, there would be 8-10 million Armenians living there.”

Turkish Activist to Keynote Congressional Remembrance of Armenian Genocide

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zarakolu3Ragip Zarakolu has Faced Persecution and Imprisonment for Advocating Truth and Justice for the Armenian Genocide

WASHINGTON—Ragip Zarakolu, a world-renowned Turkish dissident who has been persecuted and imprisoned for his principled stand for recognition and reparations for the Armenian Genocide, will be the featured speaker at this year’s April 9th Capitol Hill remembrance of the 99th anniversary of this crime against all humanity.

This year’s observance, hosted by the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues and supported by the Armenian Embassy, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic’s office in Washington, and Armenian American organizations, will take place in the historic Gold Room of the Rayburn House Office Building — Room 2168 from 6 to 8 pm on the evening of Wednesday, April 9th.

“We welcome Ragip Zarakolu to America and look forward to his remarks on Capitol Hill, at the April 9th Congressional remembrance of the Armenian Genocide,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Mr. Zarakolu represents the small but growing civil society movement within Turkey that – despite persecution, imprisonment, and even threats of assassination – is working to end their own government’s denial of the Armenian Genocide and to help build a better future based upon a truthful and just resolution of this still unpunished crime. It is this courageous message of truth and justice — not the official genocide denials of Turkish government — that should be encouraged and empowered by President Obama.

Zarakolu is the longtime director of the Belge Publishing House, which has, since the early 1970s, courageously challenged legal restrictions (including the infamous Article 301 of the Criminal Code) and violent threats against public discourse about the Armenian Genocide, Kurdish issues, minority rights in Turkey, and other banned topics. Several titles published by Belge deal directly with the Armenian Genocide, a principled stand that has resulted in him being targeted by official prosecution, death threats, and even assassination attempts.

He serves as chair of the Freedom to Publish Committee of the Turkish Publishers Association, is a leader member of the Turkish PEN Center. He was awarded the PEN Free Expression Award in 2003 and the IPA Freedom to Publish Prize in 2008.