http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/01/23/breaking-news-two-armenian-women-attacked-in-istanbul-in-past-24-hours/
January 23, 2013
Second attack not confirmed independently
ISTANBUL, Turkey-Two elderly Armenian women were attacked in
Istanbul's Samatya district on Jan 22 and 23, less than a month after
an 84-year-old Armenian woman was brutally murdered in Istanbul,
raising the number of violent attacks against elderly Armenian women
to at least four in recent months.
Two elderly Armenian women were attacked in Istanbul's Samatya district
on Jan 22 and 23.
The Jan. 22 attack happened around 5 p.m. when the victim, 83-year-old
Sultan Aykar was about to enter her ground-floor apartment. She then
saw the intruder and, frightened, she fell. The attacker proceeded to
kick her. Hearing her screams, neighbors came down, scaring off the
masked man, reported Bianet. The neighbors described the attacker as
a male between the ages of 35 and 40, with gray hair, and dressed in
black. During the attack, Aykar suffered damage to her eye. She has
now lost sight in that eye, despite surgery on Jan. 23. The victim's
daughter, Menzar Etik, said her mother did not have any enemies, as
she was a quiet woman. Etik did not believe the attacker's intention
was robbery, as the attacker did not attempt to steal her purse,
and there was nothing more than a broken TV in her apartment.
Today (Jan. 23), another attack was reported on yet another elderly
Armenian woman. The attack happened on the street, near the Samatya
High School, sources reported. The two assailants ran away. The victim
was covered with blood. Shortly thereafter, she disappeared.
Community members and plainclothes policemen have been unable to find
or identify the woman.
The Armenian Weekly could not independently confirm the report on
today's attack.
In turn, Agos editor Rober Koptas told the Weekly, "We spoke to
churchmen, taghagans, shopkeepers, police, and lots of people but
none of them confirmed it."
The Samatya area is home to many Armenians. The community is weary
of these attacks, and calls for caution have been made.
In recent years, there have been several attacks against Armenians
in Turkey. In early December another Armenian woman was attacked and
robbed; while months earlier an Armenian woman was attacked by a taxi
driver and called an infidel.
On Jan. 6, three assailants tried to kidnap an elderly Armenian woman,
according to Turkish sources. The attempt failed.
According to human rights activists, the common thread that runs
through all of these crimes is not just their being motivated by hate
or being committed in an environment that breeds intolerance against
Armenians, but also the efforts of the authorities to play them down
and cover them up.
The Armenian Weekly will continue following up on this issue.
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