Istanbul-based Camp Armen returned to Armenian Community

Istanbul-based Camp Armen returned to Armenian Community

PanARMENIAN.Net - Camp Armen, the former Armenian summer camp located in the Tuzla district of Istanbul, was returned to the Gedikpasha Armenian Protestant Church Foundation on October 27, the Armenian Weekly reports citing Agos.

The foundation’s lawyer, Sebu Aslangil, announced that the return process had been finalized. The camp was returned after 175 days of resistance by the Nor Zartonk Armenian movement of Istanbul.

Nor Zartonk had led a campaign to occupy the grounds of the camp since bulldozers arrived to demolish it in early May. After weeks of protest, the owner of the campground, Fatih Ulusoy, said he would sign the transfer of the property over to the Gedikpasha Armenian Evangelical Church Foundation.

“On the 175th day of resistance, Camp Armen was returned to the Armenian people. Our thanks to all of you,” said Nor Zartonk activist Sayat Tekir in a video message posted on the Camp Armen Facebook page. The group also posted videos of activists celebrating the return of the camp, congratulating one another and line-dancing in celebration.

Reacting to the news, ARF Bureau member and scholar Khatchig Mouradian told the Armenian Weekly, “A new chapter opens today in the decades-old story of this phenomenal site. May we write it with the same dedication that the indomitable Hrant Guzelian demonstrated over decades, and Nor Zartonk exhibited in recent months.”

Guzelian, who was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, founded Camp Armen, as well as the Youth Home of Istanbul, in the basement of the Armenian Evangelical Church of Gedikpasha, and dedicated his life to rescuing Islamized Armenian youth living in Western Armenia.

In early June, Nor Zartonk activist Sayat Tekir said that negotiations were ongoing between the government and Ulusoy to agree on a price for the ‘donation’ by the owner to the Gedikpasha Foundation. Tekir said the Turkish government was in favor of resolving the issue outside of the courts, as a trial would set a precedent for other confiscated properties.

In June, in an interview with the Armenian Weekly, Tekir explained the significance of Camp Armen, noting that the confiscation of the camp was in essence an assault on Armenian identity. “Taking these properties from us also means taking our identity from us. It’s not a small matter - it’s not only an issue of property, but also identity,” he said.

 Top stories
The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says.
Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer.
A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says.
London’s Armenian community has been left feeling “under attack” after the city’s Genocide monument was vandalised.
Partner news
---