{"id":171757,"date":"2012-03-29T12:03:57","date_gmt":"2012-03-29T08:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.epress.am\/?p=171757"},"modified":"2012-03-29T12:05:03","modified_gmt":"2012-03-29T08:05:03","slug":"family-of-turkish-armenian-soldier-murdered-on-apr-24-offended-by-nationalist-leaders-remarks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epress.am\/en\/2012\/03\/29\/family-of-turkish-armenian-soldier-murdered-on-apr-24-offended-by-nationalist-leaders-remarks.html","title":{"rendered":"Family of Turkish-Armenian Soldier Murdered on Apr. 24 Offended by Nationalist Leader’s Remarks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The family of a non-Muslim Armenian private who was killed by a fellow soldier while he was serving in the Turkish military was deeply offended by remarks from Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bah\u00e7eli, implying that non-Muslim individuals who fall while serving the state shouldn’t be considered martyrs, Today’s Zaman reports<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Martyrdom in Turkey is usually associated with nationalism, not necessarily with religion. Anybody who is killed, or sometimes in cases of accidental death, while performing a task considered a service to the country is considered a martyr. Families of individuals who die under such circumstances are also entitled to receive monthly benefits.<\/p>\n

The family of Sevag Bal\u0131k\u00e7\u0131, who was killed last April by a bullet from the rifle of a fellow private, spoke to the Radikal daily, saying Bah\u00e7eli’s words emphasizing religion as a criterion were offensive and discriminatory. \u201cUntil now, I always thought we were one as a nation. Now they have made us feel we are \u2018the other’,\u201d said Ani Bal\u0131k\u00e7\u0131, the private’s grieving mother.<\/p>\n

Ani Bal\u0131k\u00e7\u0131 said the military had requested documents from the family so that they can be a paid monthly survivor’s benefit for their son. \u201cThey wanted an income statement, a statement of assets, Sevag’s birth certificate and documents indicating his education. But no word has come yet. I assume they are waiting for the trial to be over,” she said, referring to the ongoing trial of the private who shot Pvt. Bal\u0131k\u00e7\u0131.<\/p>\n

His death, which was initially believed to be an accident, is now thought to have been a hate crime committed because of the victim’s ethnic background as a person of Armenian origin, based on later testimony from another private. His shooter might face murder charges if the possibility of an accident is ruled out.<\/p>\n

She noted that her son died while serving in the military. \u201cSo if they consider anyone who dies while in the army a martyr, they should count my son Sevag as a martyr, too. This is what we are waiting to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pvt. Sevag \u015eahin Bal\u0131k\u00e7\u0131 was killed on April 24, 2011, the date the Armenian diaspora has chosen to commemorate the incidents of 1915, when hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Officers and other privates in his unit, which is stationed in Batman province, testified that Bal\u0131k\u00e7\u0131 was shot accidentally while \u201cjoking around\u201d with a close friend, K\u0131van\u00e7 A\u011fao\u011flu, who allegedly fired the fatal shot. They were serving at the Kozluk G\u00fcm\u00fc\u015fg\u00f6r\u00fc gendarmerie station at the time of the incident.<\/p>\n

However, Halil Ek\u015fi, a private who witnessed the incident, later changed his testimony, altering the course of the trial. The next hearing is on March 29.<\/p>\n

During a hearing at the Diyarbak\u0131r Second Air Force Command Military Court on Jan. 30, Ek\u015fi, who served in the military at the same time as Bal\u0131k\u00e7\u0131, revised his testimony to say: \u201cK\u0131van\u00e7 pointed his rifle at Sevag and pulled the trigger. His family had asked me to testify in his favor,\u201d implying that A\u011fao\u011flu’s family pressured him into giving false testimony.<\/p>\n

Despite demands made by Cem Halavurt, the Bal\u0131k\u00e7\u0131 family’s lawyer, the court has decided not to arrest A\u011fao\u011flu.<\/p>\n

In similar situations in the past, religion has not played a role in determining whether martyr families are entitled to monthly survivor’s benefits. Incorporating such a criterion would be a violation of Article 10 of the constitution, which states that all citizens are equal. Directive no. 439, which lays out the conditions for martyrdom status, makes no reference to religion.<\/p>\n

Bah\u00e7eli’s words came shortly after Family and Social Policy Minister Fatma \u015eahin said the family of slain Armenian journalist Hrant Dink could be paid regularly as part of the payments program for martyr families.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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