Today’s Zaman, Turkey
May 20 2012
Minority foundations’ property being returned
20 May 2012 / ALÄ° ASLAN KILIÃ?, ANKARA
Eighteen properties have been returned to their owners in the eight
months since the amendment that enabled the return of property
belonging to minority community foundations to their owners was
instituted.
Since the Aug. 27, 2011 amendment to the Law on Foundations came into
force, minority community foundations have been able to request the
return of property that previously belonged to them.
The Foundations Assembly, a subsidiary of the Directorate General for
Foundations (VGM), looked through the applications and decided to
return 18 of 88 properties to their owners. According to the VGM, the
Foundation Assembly, which considered some demands to be inadequate,
is still processing the other applications.
Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç, who spoke to Sunday’s Zaman on the
issue, noted that it was impossible for the government to approve of
practices that have worked against minority community foundations for
so many years. Reiterating that they made such an amendment to the Law
on Foundations because they did not approve of Turkey’s treatment of
minorities, which have been living together for centuries, Arınç said
the return of property belonging to community foundations is a crucial
step.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an, who attended an iftar
(fast-breaking dinner) given by non-Muslim minorities in 2011, then
said his government would not let any single citizen living in Turkey
be offended or exposed to discrimination.
The transfer of property that was declared to belong to minority
community foundations in 1936 to the foundations has been a nine-year
process. In January 2003, Parliament passed a `harmonization package’
aimed at bringing Turkish laws in line with EU standards, which, among
other things, paved the way for minority foundations to own property
upon obtaining permission from the VGM. As a result of the sixth EU
Harmonization Package, passed in July 2003, the deadline for the
minority foundations to apply to the directorate to formally certify
ownership of property that has been proven to belong to them was
extended as a further step to make it easier for these foundations to
own property. The amendment to the Law on Foundations on Feb. 27, 2008
as part of the ninth EU Harmonization Package was a step taken across
an historic threshold.
As a result of the amendment in August of last year, minority
foundations were asked to apply within 12 months to register claims
for property.
During this time, the Akdamar Church (Church of the Holy Cross) in Van
and the Sümela Monastery in Trabzon were permitted to hold religious
ceremonies following restoration. Additionally, great progress was
made in the restoration of the Hagia Nikolai Church in Gökçeada,
Ã?anakkale, both the Assyrian Catholic Church and the Greek Catholic
Church in Ä°skenderun, Hatay, the Armenian Protestant Church in Sur,
Diyarbakır, and the Great Synagogue in Edirne.
Civilization of foundations
Arınç told Sunday’s Zaman: `We don’t just refer to foundations
associated with the government when we say `our civilization is a
civilization of foundations.’ We have the same respect and attention
for the foundations formed by people who had different faiths and
ideas but shared the same destiny with us, who lived on this land with
us although they had a different faith, a different religious and
racial background.’
He went on to explain that they cannot condone ending the activities
of foundations created for charitable purposes or sequester their
property for whatever reason, adding that this approach would not be
in accordance with their understanding of fairness and justice.
From: A. Papazian