RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN TURKEY: ‘AN ENDANGERED SPECIES’?
by Nanore Barsoumian
April 12, 2012
U.S. Religious Freedom Report Serves Tough Warning
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
(USCIRF) in its 2012 annual report recommended designating Turkey as a
“country of particular concern (CPC)” for its “systematic and
egregious limitations on the freedom of religion.” Turkey was on the
commission’s “Watch List” from 2009-11.
The commission found that restrictions on the rights of religious
minorities have led to the “critical shrinkage” and even disappearance
of non-Muslim communities.
The commission found that restrictions on the rights of religious
minorities–from owning, maintaining, and transferring communal and
individual property, to training clergy and holding religious
classes–have led to the “critical shrinkage” and even disappearance of
non-Muslim communities. One senior Christian religious leader grieved,
“We are an endangered species here in Turkey.”
USCIRF charges the Turkish government of interfering in the religious
matters of minorities, and highlights the presence of “societal
discrimination,” occasional violence, restrictions on religious
attire, anti-Semitism in the society and the media, and the
infringement on the property rights of religious minorities. It notes
that religious minorities are targeted within Turkish society “partly
because most are both religious and ethnic minorities and, therefore,
are viewed with suspicion by some ethnic Turks.”
USCIRF relied on the State Department’s estimates on the number of
religious minorities in Turkey, which total about 0.1 percent of the
population. According to those figures, the largest non-Muslim group
is the Armenian Orthodox community numbering at 65,000, followed by
23,000 Jews; 15,000 Syriac Christians; 10,000 Baha’is; 5,000 Yezidis;
3,300 Jehovah’s Witnesses; 3,000 Protestant Christians; 1,700 Greek
Orthodox Christians; and small communities of Georgian and Bulgarian
Orthodox Christians, Maronites, Chaldeans, Nestorians, Assyrians, and
Roman Catholics.
Religious minorities fall into two categories in Turkey, according to
the report: 1) The Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, and Jewish
communities (which are protected under the 1923 Lausanne Treaty),
alongside the Syriac Orthodox, Chaldean, and Roman Catholic
communities (which are not covered by the treaty; referred to as the
“Lausanne Treaty plus three|| minorities”); and 2) religious minorities
that are not bound by ethnicity, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses,
Protestants, and Baha’is. Those in the former category have certain
limited legal rights. Furthermore, only the religious minorities
covered by the Lausanne Treaty can call their religious institutions
churches or synagogues; the other groups must refer to their houses of
worship as cultural or community centers.
Recommendations
In a section titled “Priority Recommendations,” USCIRF advises the
U.S. government to urge Turkey to to comply with the Lausanne Treaty;
to extend full legal recognition to its religious minorities; to allow
clergy to be trained in Turkey; to reopen the Greek Orthodox
Theological Seminary of Halki; and to return the Syrian Orthodox Mor
Gabriel Monastery. The commission also recommended that the U.S.
follow a similar policy in demanding full religious rights for
non-Muslim Cypriots, and called for the “restoration” of their
religious institutions and cemeteries, and an end to “the ongoing
desecration of religious sites.”
USCIRF also recommended that the U.S. government urge Turkey to
eliminate Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code; to end the
requirement of listing religion on national identity cards; to take
away the government privilege of expropriating minority properties; to
“expand and expedite” the process of the return of properties to
minority groups; to allow the Armenian Patriarchate to establish a
theological faculty; to denounce violent speeches and acts against
religious and ethnic minorities; to end the use of Maronite, Jewish,
Greek, and Armenian religious sites in Northern Cyprus as stables,
storage spaces, car repair shops, or entertainment spots; and to
cooperate with UN human rights special rapporteurs. It also
recommended that U.S. officials “speak out publicly” against Turkey’s
human rights violations, especially at the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Violence and arrests
The commission reported on the alleged ultra-nationalist Ergenekon
conspiracy against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and
violence against religious minorities. It noted the alleged connection
of Ergenekon to the 2007 murder of Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink, and an alleged plot to kill the Armenian and Ecumenical Orthodox
Patriarchs. The commission also mentioned the allegation that the
Ergenekon story serves as a cover to arrest prominent members of
society who are opposed to the AKP.
The recent anti-Armenian protests in Turkey did not go unnoticed by
the commission, which charged Turkish officials of possibly inciting
violence. It highlighted Turkish Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin’s
words during the February 2012 anti-Armenian rally at Taksim Square,
where he said, “As long as the Turkish nation stays alive that blood
will be answered for.”
The report also referred to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
ruling against Turkey for failing to protect Hrant Dink, and the many
shortcomings of the murder trials.
AKP rule
In regards to the AKP, in power since 2002, the commission noted that
“While some view the AKP as a moderate party that espouses Islamic
religious values within a modern, democratic society, others contend
that it has more radical intentions, such as the eventual introduction
of Islamic law in Turkey.” USCIRF also noted the concerns of some
critics who believe the AKP is “solidifying power,” especially in the
judiciary.
According to the commission, reforms introduced by the AKP may only be
a temporary fix that could be annulled at a future date–as they are
not encrypted into law or the constitution. The constitutional reforms
the ruling party has promised may take years to materialize, and will
likely face much opposition. “Although most religious minority
communities in Turkey have noted that Prime Minister Erdogan’s
government has made positive gestures toward them in recent years,
these generally have not been through permanent, institutional, or
legal reforms. Rather, rights and privilege have been granted on an ad
hoc basis, leaving open the possibility that they could be revoked or
discontinued,” warned USCIRF.
Expropriation, demolition, and Akhtamar diplomacy
USCIRF lists the periods in Turkish history–within the past 75
years–marked by the expropriation of minority properties: “First, in
1936, with the passage of the Foundations Law; second, with the
passage of the 1971 Private University Law, which required all private
colleges to be affiliated with a state-run-university; and third, in
1974, when Turkey ruled that non-Muslim communities could not own
properties other than those registered in 1936.”
“The government continues to retain the power to expropriate religious
minority properties,” it added.
The 2008 Foundation Law amendment allowed religious communities to
apply for the return of confiscated properties. Some 1,400
applications were sent in; of those, 200 properties were returned by
August 2011. Some 940 applications were returned for not having
sufficient documentation; of those, only 500 were resubmitted.
In August 2011, Erdogan passed a new order that allows individuals or
institutions to apply for the restitution of properties that were not
specifically described during registration in 1936–for instance, they
could be numbered, but not named. Unlike the 2008 decree, the new law
also allows for applicants to receive monetary compensation for
properties that were sold to third parties. Since August, 19
properties have been returned, and the Vakiflar (the General
Directorate for Foundations) is reviewing around 1,500 applications,
noted USCIRF.
The new laws shouldn’t be cause for joy, however, as they are not set
in stone, and the government can still expropriate properties. “While
this action is commendable, it is not codified by law,” the USCIRF
report read. “In addition, the 219 properties returned since 2008
represent only a small portion of the minority properties expropriated
by successive Turkish governments over many years. Moreover, despite
the 2008 amendments and the August 2011 decree, the Turkish government
retains the right to expropriate land from religious communities,
although it has not confiscated any religious foundations’ properties
since 2007.”
USCIRF was also told that some religious minority groups do not
register their properties for fear of harassment or discrimination,
and that officials have used bureaucratic means to prevent groups from
opening and maintaining properties.
On Jan. 12, an Istanbul court banned the Vakiflar from selling or
using an historical Armenian building, the Sansaryan Han. The Armenian
Patriarchate had applied for its return, but the Vakiflar claimed the
Patriarchate did not hold the proper title for it. The report also
notes other victories for religious minorities in recent months, such
as the return of the Greek Orthodox orphanage on the Turkish island of
Buyukada to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
USCIRF also noted instances of recent appropriations, including the
Turkish government’s “attempted seizure” of parts of the ancient
Syriac Mor Gabriel Monastery. The Turkish Supreme Court granted
“substantial” parts of the property to the Turkish Treasury.
The “accidental” demolition in February of an Armenian cemetery was
also mentioned. The property, located in Malatya, included a chapel
and an annex. In response to the demolition, the mayor and governor
publically apologized, vowed to rebuild it, and to, as an expression
of goodwill, also restore an Armenian church in Hrant Dink’s
neighborhood.
Also in recent months, the Turkish government allowed religious
minorities to use certain religious sites, for example the Akhtamar
Armenian Orthodox Church on Lake Van in September 2010 and 2011, and
the re-consecration of the St. Giragos Armenian Church in Dikranagerd
(Diyarbakir) in October 2011. On this latter point, USCIRF failed to
mention that the initiative was not that of Turkish authorities (in
fact, none were present at the ceremony), but of the predominantly
Kurdish Sur Municipality in Diyarbakir, its mayor Abdullah Demirbas,
and Diyarbakir mayor Osman Baydemir. Both are members of the
pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), which has been the target
of government persecution.
In discussing the Turkish government’s interference in religious
minority affairs, USCIRF cited the government’s meddling in the
selection process of the Armenian Patriarch, after Patriarch Mesrop
Mutafian fell ill. The Turkish Interior Ministry, contrary to the
Armenian Orthodox tradition, proposed the selection of a patriarchal
vicar general. The post was filled following the nomination of Aram
Ateshian.
Religious education
The USCIRF noted that despite being the largest non-Muslim religious
minority in Turkey, the Armenian Orthodox community cannot produce
future generations of clerics as it has no seminaries in the country.
“[The Armenian community] today has only 26 priests to minister to an
estimated population of 65,000,” wrote the commission, adding, “The
lack of institutions to train future religious leaders of the
religious minority communities further erodes their long-term
viability.”
As to primary and secondary schools, religious minority schools were
allowed to operate under the supervision of the ministry of education,
and the direct supervision of a Muslim deputy principal. In 2007 that
rule changed; non-Muslims are now allowed to fill that post. However,
conditions still make it difficult for non-Muslim students to attend
their community schools. Ministry of education officials attend
student registrations to verify that a child’s father belongs to the
said community. In February 2011, the acting Armenian patriarch told
USCIRF that around 12,000 children of Armenian migrant workers were
not allowed to attend Armenian school. The ministry of education is
purportedly drafting a bill to allow such students to attend minority
schools as “visiting students.” Since September 2011, some children of
migrant workers have indeed been allowed into the schools.
USCIRF also noted that some Turkish textbooks contained antagonistic
statements towards minorities.
Other issues of concern
The commission discussed issues concerning the country’s Muslim
population, including the marginalized Alevis who face serious legal
restrictions; conscientious objectors to military service who lack
alternative service options, and face the possibility of imprisonment;
and the rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a group that is viewed as a
“sect.”
It also expressed concern for the religious rights of non-Muslim
Cypriots living in northern Cyprus. “…Turkey’s military control over
northern Cyprus supports numerous arbitrary regulations implemented by
local Turkish Cypriot authorities,” the report read. “These
regulations limit the religious activities of all non-Muslims living
in northern Cyprus, deny these religious communities the right to
worship freely and restore, maintain, and utilize their religious
properties, and threaten the long-term survival of non-Muslim
religious communities in the area.”
U.S. Policy
In discussing U.S. foreign policy, USCIRF noted the longstanding U.S.
presidential call to reopen the Greek Orthodox Theological School of
Halki, and to address the concerns of the country’s Kurdish
population; U.S. support of Turkey’s EU accession; the classification
of the PKK as a terrorist organization; and U.S. support of the
reunification of Cyprus.
In a letter in support of USCIRF’s designation of Turkey as a CPC,
commissioners Nina Shea, Leonard Leo, and Elizabeth Prodromou
reiterated some of the findings of USCIRF in regards to Hrant Dink,
and added, “This continues a pattern of impunity in cases of religious
violence. Even starting a discussion on genocide of Christians that
occurred 100 years ago is a criminal offense in Turkey. Dink himself
was convicted of ‘insulting Turkishness’ for trying to do so.”
“After past genocide, and other violence, and current, suffocating
legal restrictions, Turkey’s Christian communities are barely hanging
on,” continued the commissioners. “Every year that passes without
substantial religious reform places these minorities in greater peril
and helps seal their fate. In the Arab Spring, Turkey holds itself out
to be an Islamist model. But it is no model for religious freedom. We
have waited for ten years for the AKP to make a real difference in the
Christians’ fate. We can no longer sit by and just ‘Watch.'”
For the full report, click here.
(2).pdf
From: Baghdasarian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/04/12/religious-minorities-in-turkey-an-endangered-species/
http://www.uscirf.gov/images/Annual%20Report%20of%20USCIRF%202012