ISTANBUL ARMENIANS DOCUMENT VIOLATIONS OF MINORITY RIGHTS IN TURKEY
Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier
01.03.2011 | 12:05
| Noyan Tapan
Two recent documents from Istanbul shed new light on violations of
minority rights in Turkey. The authors of these reports make cautious,
yet accurate assessments of the problems facing the Armenian, Greek
and Jewish communities.
The first document, dated February 2011, is titled: “Report on
non-Muslim Minorities.” It is written by three well-known Istanbul
Armenians: Krikor Doshemeciyan, Yervant Ozuzun, and Murat Bebiroglu.
The authors~R stated aim is to seek solutions to the problems
of minority populations in Turkey, at a time when the government
is planning to revise the constitution to bolster its chances of
joining the European Union. Even though the writers do not indicate
as to whether their report has been submitted to Turkish officials,
the authorities undoubtedly are aware of its contents. It has been
posted in Turkish on the Istanbul-based hyetert.com website. The main
points of the report are presented below in translation:
The authors trace the difficulties facing the non-Muslim minorities to
the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 as a monolithic,
homogeneous state based on a single culture and religion. This policy
had serious consequences for the minorities, forcing them to flee or
be assimilated.
The non-Muslim minorities were viewed either as foreigners or internal
enemies of the state. One cannot find a single policeman or officer
who is a member of a minority group. The 1934 displacement of the
Jews of Thrace, the exorbitant 1942 Wealth Tax on minorities, and the
large-scale attacks on Greeks in Istanbul on Sept. 6-7, 1955, resulted
in the impoverishment of these communities and the devastation of
their culture. Such discriminatory policies and brutal attacks led to
a significant decrease in Turkey~Rs minority population from 350,000
in 1927 to 80,000 today, while the number of Turks increased six-fold.
The writers point out that the Turkish government has recently returned
a few of the properties belonging to minority institutions that were
confiscated starting in 1974. Due to contradictions and shortcomings
in the new law on minority foundations, the returned properties can
not be put to good use, because none of the communities are allowed
to repair them.
The government has further violated Articles 41 and 42 of the 1923
Lausanne Treaty which obligated Turkey to provide funding and
facilities to non-Muslim minorities for educational, religious,
and charitable purposes, and to protect their religious establishments.
Beyond the Lausanne Treaty, several provisions of UN conventions and
the European Convention on Human Rights are continuously violated by
the Turkish government.
One of the most serious problems facing these minorities is the
Turkish government~Rs non-recognition of the Armenian Patriarchate
and the Jewish Rabbinate as legal entities. The Greek Patriarchate
was finally recognized as a legal entity last year.
Another problem is the government~Rs appointment of Turkish Vice
Principals to oversee minority schools which causes deep mistrust. The
preparation of new teachers and clergymen has also become impossible
due to the closing down of religious seminaries by the Turkish state.
The writers of the report request that clergymen be allowed to teach
religion in minority schools, as they had done previously.
In conclusion, the authors urge the Turkish authorities to take into
account all of the foregoing legal issues when drafting a ~Sdemocratic
and modern~T constitution.
The second document is an interview conducted by Agounk Center’s Meline
Anoumyan with Archbishop Aram Ateshian, Vicar General of the Armenian
Patriarchate of Istanbul, as the Patriarchate is preparing to celebrate
its 550th anniversary. According to Abp. Ateshian, 67,000 Armenians
live in Istanbul, while another 3,000 reside in the country~Rs interior
— 500 in Ankara, 300 in Iskenderoun, 70 in Sepastia, 50 in Malatia,
and 20 families in Kharpert. In addition, the Vicar General revealed
that there are 100,000 Armenians in Turkey who fear disclosing their
true identity. This figure does not include the undocumented workers
from Armenia who are not allowed to get married and whose children
cannot be baptized by the Patriarchate due to their illegal status.
Abp. Ateshian is pleased that a few of the confiscated properties have
been returned to Armenian foundations in recent years. He disclosed
that there are 44 functioning Armenian Apostolic churches in Turkey —
37 in Istanbul, 3 in Iskenderoun, 2 in Dickranagerd, 1 in Mardin, and
1 in Gessaria. In addition, there are 12 Armenian schools associated
with the Patriarchate, and Armenian Catholics have 3 schools and
10 churches. A total of 3,000 Armenian Catholics and 1,000 Armenian
Protestants live in Turkey.
It is encouraging that after nine decades Armenian religious and lay
leaders in Istanbul have mustered enough courage to raise their voices
in defense of their violated civil rights!
From: A. Papazian
www.nt.am