MINORITIES

CHP MP Özcan Purçu visited the family of Ünzile Türkmen (55) who died because of the cold weather in a tent made of nylon and canvas in Ezine province of Çanakkale.

CHP Vice Chair Sezgin Tanrıkulu, who is in charge of issues concerning human rights, presented a legislative proposal for a change in Turkish citizenship law to the parliament.

Hanukah celebrated in Ortaköy, Beşiktaş for the first time.

Death threats against Protestant churches continue. In the video with ISIS flag that is published online, people from clergy and community are pointed as targets.

Fourth book of Hrant Dink Foundation’s oral history project “Sound of Silence”, which has been going on since 2011, “Armenians from İzmit Speaking” is published.

According to the unofficial results, Armenian, Syriac, Mhalmite, Yazidi and Roman MPs who were elected to the parliament on June 7 remain in the parliament.

Mor Hananyo Monastery got its land back after 12 years of legal struggle.

Working on the Christians in Turkey and Middle East, journalist and historian Sebastien de Courtois was in İstanbul to attend “Minorities in Middle East: A Tough Future” conference that was held in French Cultural Center on October 9. We talked to Courtois about the Shingal exile, refugees’ condition in France and the ancient minorities of Middle East.

After the MA program in Syriac Language and Literature that Mardin Artuklu University has been offering for six years now, preparations for launching an undergraduate program in Syriac Language and Literature within the Faculty of Arts were started. The next step is to launch departments of Armenian Language and Literature and Hebrew Language and Literature.

A series of commemoration events and actions have been held in Dersim, Ankara, Antep and Adana on the 78th anniversary of “Tertele”, the Dersim Massacre. The centre of the commemoration in Dersim was the Seka Sure area, the site of mass graves in Hozat.