Vatican Information Service
10.12.2005
SUMMARY OF SYNOD OF BISHOPS: OCTOBER 11 – 12
Fourteenth General Congregation
Fifteenth General Congregation
VATICAN CITY, OCT 11, 2005 (VIS) – During the Fourteenth General
Congregation of the Eleventh Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of
Bishops, held this afternoon in the Vatican’s Synod Hall, apart from
speeches by the Synod Fathers, the fraternal delegates were given an
opportunity to address the gathering. The president delegate on duty was
Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez.
At the start of this afternoon’s session, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic,
secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, recalled that today is the 43rd
anniversary of the opening of Vatican Council II and the feast of Blessed
John XXIII.
Following are excerpts of some of the speeches delivered by fraternal
delegates and Synod Fathers:
METROPOLITAN JOHANNIS ZIZIOULAS OF PERGAMO, GREECE. “It is a great honor for
me to be given the opportunity to address this venerable episcopal Synod and
bring to it the fraternal greetings and best wishes of the Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew and the Church of Constantinople. The invitation to
our Church to send a fraternal delegate to this Synod is a gesture of great
ecumenical significance. We respond to it with gratitude and love. We
Orthodox are deeply gratified by the fact that your Synod also regards the
Eucharist as the source and summit of the life and mission of the Church. It
is extremely important that Roman Catholics and Orthodox can say this with
one voice. There may still be things that separate our two Churches but we
both believe that the Eucharist is the heart of the Church. It is on this
basis that we can continue the official theological dialogue of our two
Churches, which is now entering a new phase. Eucharistic ecclesiology can
guide us in our efforts to overcome a thousand years of separation. For it
is a pity to hold the same conviction of the importance of the Eucharist but
not be able to share it at the same table.”
REV. FILIPPO VAYLTSEV OF THE PATRIARCHATE OF MOSCOW, RUSSIA. “The Eucharist
is the central and most important point of the life of the Church and of
every Christian. Hence, the weakening of Eucharistic awareness leads to a
destruction of ecclesiastic awareness, … and to errors in the
understanding of Christian values. … We would be very pleased if our
experience of Eucharistic life, both past and present, proves useful and
helpful to the Roman Catholic Church. … It must not be forgotten that
preparation for communion in the Russian Orthodox Church also includes,
apart from inner preparation, ‘The Rule’ (strict fasting for three days,
visits to Church during these three days, prayers for communion, and special
Eucharistic fasting after midnight), and Confession is also compulsory.
However, these strict rules are seen by the Church not as an obligation, but
as a measure that was formed historically in accordance with tradition, and
that people apply to themselves.”
MOR SEVERIUS MALKE MOURAD OF THE SYRO-ORTHODOX PATRIARCHATE, SYRIA. “In our
Syrian Orthodox Church, we celebrate the divine liturgy in Syriac-Aramaic,
the language of our Lord Jesus; and during the divine liturgy the very same
words which Jesus said in the Upper Room are recited. And the priest who
celebrates this Sacrament, has to celebrate it alone. I feel proud that I
live in the Monastery of St. Mark in the Old City of Jerusalem, where Jesus
had His Last Supper. … The presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist is not
only His bodily presence, but all His fullness in humanity and divinity. So
Lord Jesus is present in all parts of the two elements. … St. Paul the
Apostle exhorts the believer to spiritually prepare himself before he comes
to receive holy communion with faith, reverence and a pure conscience, and
should cleanse his body and observe the pre-communion fast at 12 midnight.
We used to give the sacraments of holy communion to the children immediately
after they receive the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.”
BISHOP NAREG (MANOUG) ALEMEZIAN, ECUMENICAL OFFICIAL OF THE GREAT HOUSE OF
CILICIA, ARMENIA. “The Armenian word used to designate the Holy Eucharist is
‘Surp Patarag,’ which means holy sacrifice. In the liturgical life of the
Church we are at God’s service (liturgy) and offer sacrifice of thanksgiving
(Eucharist) for gifts received from Him. Holy Eucharist is centered on the
sacrificial giving of our Savior and generating a communion of love with God
and our fellow beings by the power of the Holy Spirit. … In assessing the
constructive role of bilateral and multilateral ecumenical dialogues in
discussing the theme of ‘Church as Communion,’ I encourage all of us to
engage in the study of Eucharistic ecclesiology, which situates the unity of
the Church in the local celebration of the Holy Eucharist presided over by
the bishop in communion with his brother bishops. In this respect, the
distinctive role of the bishop is underlined as the one who takes care of
the flock entrusted to him by the Good Shepherd, tending it with a love that
is most fully revealed in the Eucharistic partaking of the one bread for a
spiritual and universal communion in the mystical Body of Christ.”
BISHOP LUIGI PADOVESE O.F.M. Cap., APOSTOLIC VICAR OF ANATOLIA, TURKEY. “I
speak as bishop of the Church of Anatolia, an area that saw the first great
expansion of Jesus’ message and in which Christians are now reduced to just
a few thousand. The only Christians in the city of Tarsus, homeland of the
Apostle Paul, are three nuns who welcome pilgrims; pilgrims who must get a
permit in order to celebrate the Eucharist in the only remaining
church-museum. The same is true for the church-museum of St. Peter in
Antioch. In that city was born John Chrysostom, the 16th centenary of whose
death in exile falls in 2007. With his homilies, Chrysostom reminds us that
the Eucharist was and is the privileged place for announcing Christ. His
memory, as well as the more recent recollection of bishops such as Clemens
von Galen and Oscar Romero, is a living testimony of the bond between the
memorial of Jesus’ sacrifice and the people who found therein the motivation
and strength for a proclamation undertaken with intelligence and courage and
frankness.”

Noyan Tapan Highlights” N41
October, 2005
October 10, 2005
Raffi Hovannisian continues political consultations and starts meetings in
Armenian regions
Yerevan–Raffi Hovannisian, founder and head of the Armenian Center for
National and International Studies, Chairman of the Zharangutiun
(“Heritage”) party, starts a series of meetings with representatives of
public and his supporters in different regions of the country. Raffi
Hovannisian informed representatives of mass media about it at the reception
in honor of the 11th anniversary of foundation of the Center. It’s supposed
that during these meetings he will explain party’s negative position on
draft constitutional amendments put to the referendum. Other issues worrying
the Armenian society will be also discussed during the numerous scheduled
meetings.
In his open address, R.Hovannisian also confirmed that he continues
political consultations on the issue of cooperation with both
representatives of opposition and civil society and the representatives of
Armenian power who realize the seriousness of the situation formed in the
country and the necessity in radical changes.
Mr. Hovannisian considers that the most important task at the current stage
is to hold the referendum exactly in correspondence with the international
obligations assumed by Armenia. He especially emphasized that all the stages
of the process should be democratic and transparent, starting from the
moment of agitation up to the calculation of votes, which should guarantee
the trust of the society in the referendum results.
At best Turkey may Become EU member only together with Armenia.
“We have to state loud and clear that Turkey’s aspirations to become a
member of the European Union correspond with Armenia’s political interests,”
Raffi Hovannisian stated. “It is foreseeable that in its best-case scenario
Turkey can only become an EU member in synchronization with the Republic of
Armenia, and in the process it will have to undergo serious and irreversible
reforms, confront its history, reject any imperial ambitions, and so forge a
comprehensive resolution of all outstanding matters with Armenia,” he
stressed.
In the opinion of R. Hovannisian, the animosity may and should grow into a
partnership, of which the past and current relations between Germany and
Russia, Germany and France, Germany and Israel, or the US and Japan bear
evidence. “In order completely to uncover and acknowledge the historical
truth, we must support Turkey’s pioneers, the growing intellectual movement
which is the brave resumption of those exceptional precedents in 1915 and
beyond when thousands of Turkish families, at the risk of losing their own
lives, endeavored to hide and save individual Armenians from certain death.
My grandmother owed her life to one such righteous family of heroes, who to
this day remain unsung because of official Turkish denialism,” R.
Hovannisian stated.
He proposed the following peace initiative of the Armenian side: ” As a
means of building mutual trust, Armenia might invite bilateral consideration
of the idea of creating, under UN or UNESCO auspices, an international and
demilitarized free economic and cultural Belt of Civilization around the
medieval Armenian capital of Ani and the Biblical slopes of Mt. Ararat.” In
his view, in a short period of time this zone may become an international
tourist center, thus developing the deserted regions of both countries and
creating an opportunity for an uunprecedented bilateral cooperation.
“Foreign policy is privatized just like country’s economy”
“We simply do not have the right to entrust our nation’s destiny to those
who have appropriated its foreign policy in the same way as they have done
with the economy, turning one and the other into a shadow structure driven
by personal gain,” Raffi Hovannisian declared in his open address. According
to him, such a conduct became the reason of the fact that “this mode of
operation has made a mockery of the national interest, has alienated the
country’s citizens from their authorities, and has shaken the foundations of
our once-national solidarity. From the standard-bearer of democracy and
liberty in the region, Armenia is now retreating to the backwaters of
cynical authoritarian dominion.”
Monopoly in policy is so much dengerous as in economy, Raffi Hovannisian
highlighted. In summer we became the witnesses and victims of destructive
consequences of such a monopoly. The telephone and computer sphere having
strategic importance is meant here.
In reply to a possible question, why the subject of complete political and
economic monopoly doesn’t become an occasion for everyday anxiety of mass
media, Raffi Hovannisian said: “Because after the shutdown of “A1+” and
“Noyan Tapan” an indirect monopoly has been established in the public
information realm as well.”
“The weakening of democracy gives birth to monopoly, whereas monopoly
strangles the economy, diplomacy, and ultimately democracy itself,” first RA
Foreign Minister emphasized.
R.Hovannisian declared that “as the incumbent administration continues to
pacify itself and the public with economic growth figures, prestigious
international bodies confirm that more than half of the country’s national
product, and thus of its taxation sphere, is hidden in the shadow,
consequently circumventing the official budget and the citizens’ shares in
it.”
One more chance to connect struggle against terrorism with Artsakh conflict
was missed
“This summer the world was shocked by the attacks of terror in London. The
voices of Armenia and Armenians were all but unheard among the many which
condemned those violent acts,” Raffi Hovannisian mentioned. While, according
to him, “the Armenian leaders’ ineptitude in taking our decisive say on the
anti-terrorism front to the world and duly underscoring our commitment is
sidelining the nation from global developments and is belittling the value
and meaning of our casualties to the common cause.”
In R.Hovannisian’s opinion, the authorities missed one more opportunity to c
onnect the general struggle against terrorism with the Artsakh conflict in
the best way. “It was the opportune time to remind the civilized world that,
only a few years ago, the people of Artsakh who were battling for their
right to live also had come face to face with Afghan mujahaddins and
mercenary pilots bombing civilian targets in peaceful towns. By failing to
present to the world the captured foreign mercenaries and the documents
confiscated from them as hard evidence of our noteworthy contribution to the
war on international terror, the mediocre official and his obsequious
diplomacy once again turned out to be spineless.”
“While abroad they were telling duplicitous tales about their own integrity,
they failed widely to publicize the fact that during the
Karabagh-Azerbaijani war the adversary’s positions in Shushi were defended
by the notorious Shamil Bassaev, who later on organized the pogrom of
hundreds of innocent people in allied Russia. Not surprisingly, the heroic
stand of Artsakh in the name of human rights and liberties, which once
enjoyed worldwide support, has turned into a mere territorial issue being
examined within the strictures of international bureaucracy,” Raffi
Hovannisian declared.

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief
================================================
Wednesday 12 October 2005
TURKEY: IS THERE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN TURKEY?
The European Union (EU) must make full religious freedom for all a core
demand in the EU membership negotiations with Turkey which have just
begun, argues Otmar Oehring of the German Catholic charity Missio
<; in this personal commentary for Forum 18 News Service <;. Dr Oehring also calls for people inside and outside Turkey who believe in religious freedom for all to honestly and openly raise the continuing obstructions to the religious life of Turkey's Muslim, Christian and other religious communities. He analyses the limited, complex and changing state of religious freedom in the country. In particular, he notes that Christians of all confessions, devout Muslim women, Muslim minorities, and other minority religions face official obstacles in practicing their faith and (in the case of non-Muslims) strong social hostility. TURKEY: IS THERE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN TURKEY? By Otmar Oehring, head of the human rights office of Missio <; Go to any mosque or church in Turkey and you will see people worshipping. So clearly some religious freedom exists. Yet serious problems persist. Religious communities are not allowed to organise themselves as they choose. Individual religious freedom exists up to a point. For example, you are entitled by law to change your religion and to have the change recorded on your identity documents, but people who have done so have faced hostility from fellow-citizens. As soon as a religious community wants to organise itself, problems arise. This holds just as much for Muslims as for communities of other faiths. Although many Turks dislike the term "State Islam", it has to be stated that Islam is organised by the state. Sunnis who consider this an unacceptable innovation are not allowed to organise. Although Sufi orders exist, some even with a vast membership, they have been officially forbidden banned since the 1920s. The main problem religious communities identify is their lack of legal status as religious communities. In the late Ottoman period some religious minorities had legal status under the millet system, but the Islamic community had no separate legal status as the state was considered to be Islamic. But since the founding of the Turkish republic, any such status has disappeared. Some Muslims are concerned about this lack of legal status, especially minority Muslim groups within the dominant Sunni majority, as well as the Alevis, Shias and the Sufi orders. But few Muslims are prepared to voice their demands for legal status openly, for fear of imprisonment, although in recent years the Alevis have become more vocal. This has led to their gaining some recognition as associations, though not as religious bodies. Religious meetings and services without authorisation remain illegal, though it remains unclear in law what constitutes legal and illegal worship. The Ottoman millet system recognised some religious minorities and the 1923 Lausanne Treaty spoke vaguely of religious minority rights without naming them, but the Turkish authorities interpret this to exclude communities such as the Roman Catholics, Syriac Orthodox and Lutherans, even though these communities have found ways to function. Protestant Christian churches functioning quietly in non-recognised buildings are generally tolerated, but Muslims gathering outside an approved mosque are viewed as a threat to the state and police will raid them. It is not possible for most Protestant Christian churches to be recognised as churches under current Turkish law. But in one bizarre case, a German Christian church was recognised in Antalya, but only by calling itself a "chapel" not a "church." Most Evangelical Protestant churches in Turkey do not meet in private homes, but in rented facilities such as office buildings or other non-residential buildings. These can be fairly large. The Law on Associations - adopted by Parliament in October 2004 - does not allow the founding of associations with a religious purpose, so founding a religious discussion group or even a religious freedom group is impossible, even if some religious communities do try to register as associations. Some Sufi orders and new Islamic movements have registered as businesses, even with religious names. However, the government has changed the building planning laws, replacing the word "mosque" with "place of worship". The government indicated to Protestant churches that individuals cannot ask for buildings to be designated as a place of worship, but individual congregations should try to get recognition as a legal personality first (as a "Dernek" or society) and then try to get their meeting place designated as a place of worship. At least two Protestant churches are now trying this route. There are currently two Protestant churches that are legally recognised by the Turkish state, one of which is in Istanbul. It was recognised as a "Vakf" (charitable foundation) several years ago, after a long court battle, making it a legal entity. Several weeks ago, they finally had their building officially designated as a place of worship. The second example is the Protestant church in Diyarbakir, which has legal recognition as a house of worship under the Ministry of Culture, as a heritage site. Religious education remains tightly controlled. In law such education must be carried out by the state, although in practice Christian churches - Armenian Apostolic, Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant - have been able to provide catechetical training to their children on church premises. The state turns a blind eye to this. But Koranic courses are different. Officially they should take place only under the guidance of the state, yet some 6,000 such courses are widely spoken of as existing clandestinely. Many officials and police officers have good contacts with them, while many senior officials and parliamentarians have been members of Sufi orders which officially do not exist or are forbidden. It is generally impossible to found higher education establishments for Muslims, Christians and others. The Armenian Apostolic and the Greek Orthodox seminaries were closed down in the 1970s and the government has resisted all attempts to reopen them. Protestants cannot normally establish Bible colleges. However, an Evangelical Bible college functions in Selcuk; it is not government recognised and accredited, but it has been providing theological training for several years. Christian clergy and pastors mostly have to train abroad. Alevi Muslims do not tend to demand religious colleges, as they are led not by imams but by elders who are initiated by other elders. The Law on Construction - which came into force into July 2003 - makes it possible to "establish" places of worship. But the law - probably deliberately - does not define if this means "build", "rent" or "buy". Protestant churches face problems trying to build. Any community wishing to build a place of worship officially can do so in an area with a minimum number of adherents of their faith - but the state decides if the community has enough members to get the land it needs. There is no authoritative definition of how the law should be interpreted. The Justice Minister said recently that religious communities intending to establish a place of worship should apply, but how can religious communities apply if officially they cannot exist? Government officials do not want to acknowledge that Alevi Muslims cannot officially establish places of worship. The government is building Sunni mosques in many Alevi villages, but Alevis will not go to them. Instead they meet openly for worship in cemevis (meeting houses), not only in central Anatolia but even in Istanbul. The government stated in parliament in 2004 that such Alevi cemevis are not to be considered as places of worship. Although many of them still function unimpeded, some have been closed down in recent years. Conversion from one faith to another is possible, even from Islam, under the law on personal status (though you cannot be listed officially as an atheist or agnostic). If you convert from Islam you can change your faith on your identity papers, but being Muslim on your identity card makes day-to-day life easier. Christians, Baha'is or Jehovah's Witnesses are often unable to find employment, especially in rural areas. So many who have converted from Islam to another faith prefer to leave their religious designation on their identity papers unchanged. According to information given by the Minister of State in charge of Religious Affairs this autumn, during the last ten years fewer than 400 people officially converted to Christianity and only about 10 to Judaism. Islam is controlled by the Presidency of Religious Affairs, or Diyanet <;, which is directed from the Prime Minister's office. This was deliberately established not as a government ministry, as Turkey claims to be a secular state. Some Muslims do object to this state control, especially those from newer groups, such as the Nurcu movement, the Suleymanci, followers of Fethullah Gulen, and members of Sufi orders. Some religious communities can officially invite foreign religious workers. The Catholics can under the 1923 Lausanne Treaty invite foreign priests up to a certain number, though even then the government makes this difficult, asking why the Church needs so many priests when there are so few Catholics. It is more difficult for Protestant communities, as officially they do not exist as religious communities. Foreign religious workers who come to Turkey under some other guise can face problems, if the government finds out about them. As long as the state does not have to know about their activity they can function, but as soon as the state is forced to take official notice of them, they can face problems. The government knows about most, if not all, Protestant missionaries, because these made a conscious decision to be open about what they are doing. Occasionally they experience some problems but - with occasional exceptions - the government merely monitors what they do, leaving them otherwise undisturbed. All religious communities are under state surveillance, with religious minorities facing the closest scrutiny. Christian leaders know they are listened in to and their telephones are tapped. The Ecumenical Patriarch states that "walls have ears," even when speaking within his own Patriarchate in the Fener district of Istanbul. Police visit individual Christian churches to ask who attends, which foreigners have visited, what they discussed. They are particularly interested in which Turkish citizens attend. Are such visits a threat, or do the intelligence agencies just want to know what is going on? When the police attend Catholic services in Ankara, they say they are there to protect Christians. From my conversations with church members, I'm sure this is not true. When secularism was proclaimed as a guiding state principle in line with French laïcité it was sincerely meant. Kemal Ataturk and his followers aimed to crush Islam. Later on, officials understood that society was not willing to follow this line. Slowly, Islam returned to schools and other areas of life. Now Turkey is a Sunni Muslim state. All those whose mother tongue is Turkish and are Sunni Muslims are considered Turks. Alevis, Kurds, Christians and all other minorities are not considered Turks - they are considered as foreigners. The furore over headscarves - a genuine concern to devout Muslim women - was exploited as a political issue by Islamist parties, eager to demonstrate their opposition to the military authorities which had banned Islamic dress after the 1980 coup. Had there been no headscarf ban, there would have been no problem. This point was illustrated by the case of a non-political devout Muslim, Leyla Sahin. She was barred from wearing a headscarf in Istanbul University in her fifth year of medical studies and subsequently successfully completed medical studies at Vienna University in Austria. This disturbing ban - which de jure bars devout Muslim women from universities - is currently under consideration by a Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). (See <; for more on this and other ECHR cases.) In rural Sunni areas women have always worn headscarves - though not the type seen in Iran or Saudi Arabia - which some women have tried to wear in towns. In some cases, supporters of the Refah (Welfare) party and others have paid women to wear such scarves. Even nationalist politicians say that if women are free to choose whether to wear a headscarf or not, many who have worn them for political reasons would no longer wish to do so. Societal opposition to minorities of all sorts does impact on religious freedom. Such social pressure is felt most keenly among the poor. Members of the urban middle class who convert from Islam to other faiths can freely practise their new faith. In Izmir a Christian church exists where many young converts of university background attend unchallenged. But openly converting to and practising a non-Islamic faith is often impossible in poor neighbourhoods. In former Armenian-populated areas of Anatolia - where there are also people of Syriac descent - many families changed their formal identification to Muslims, but did not convert in reality. Their attempts to practise Christianity face enormous obstacles unless they move to Istanbul or even to Ankara. Back in these towns and villages are no Christian churches, so anyone wanting to meet for Christian worship could be dragged off to the police or suffer beatings. One former Interior Minister stated that Christians should only conduct missionary activity among such people of Christian descent. He estimated the numbers of such people at between 800,000 and three million people. You have to be very courageous to set up a Protestant church in remote areas, as pastor Ahmet Guvener found in Diyarbakir. Problems can come from neighbours and from the authorities. Even if not working hand in hand, neighbours and officials share the same hostility. They cannot understand why anyone would convert to Christianity. People are not upset seeing old Christian churches - Syriac Orthodox and other Christian churches have always existed in Anatolia - but seeing a new Protestant church, even when housed in a shop or private flat, arouses hostility. Officials vary in their attitudes. The Kemalist bureaucracy follows Ataturk's secularist line and is against anything religious. There is a nationalist, chauvinistic wing of officialdom which believes that anything not Turkish is a threat to be countered. The security and intelligence services, including the powerful military, are both Kemalist and nationalist. Anyone considered not to be Turkish and not Sunni Muslim faces problems. Even Sunni Muslim Kurds are excluded, while Alevi Kurds are regarded as even worse. It is very difficult to imagine that in the next decade or so Turkish society will change to allow full religious freedom. To take one example, for the change to be conceivable the chauvinistic content of primary and secondary school education - constant praise of Ataturk, Turkey and all things Turkish - will have to change. Unless this happens, it is very hard to imagine Turkey evolving into an open society that is truly ready to accept European Union (EU) human rights requirements. One non-religious illustration of the lack of openness in Turkish society is the near impossibility of free discussion of the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians and Assyrians in the last years of the Ottoman empire, along with continued official denial that the genocide took place. Christian churches have welcomed the prospect of Turkish EU accession, often due to their own communities' experience and hopes. If negotiations last for more than a few years some improvements for religious minorities - including Islamic minorities - might be possible. Sadly, there appears to be not enough interest among diplomats in Ankara from EU member states - or in their foreign ministries back home - in promoting religious freedom in Turkey. The EU has forced the Turkish government to change the Law on Foundations. This law governs inter alia community foundations (cemaat vakıflar) that act as the owners of the real estate of Armenians, Bulgarians, Greeks and Jews, who are treated by the government as minorities within the meaning of the Treaty of Lausanne as well as some of the properties of the Chaldean Catholic, Syrian Catholic and Syrian Orthodox Christians, who are not treated by the government as minorities within the meaning of the Treaty of Lausanne. But reforms will have to go much deeper for Turkey to meet the EU's stated 'Copenhagen criteria' of being "a stable democracy, respecting human rights, the rule of law, and the protection of minorities." The EU must make full religious freedom for all, including for Muslims, a core demand. Full religious freedom would bring with it an increase in the influence of Islam, which some think would endanger the western orientation of Turkey. Possibly this is the reason that the EU has not pushed Turkey harder on religious freedom. However, it is unwise to see the relationship with Turkey through such "war-against-terror spectacles." It is vital for the future of Turkey that full religious freedom be a core demand, so that Turkish democracy can be strengthened to the point that it can in democratic ways cope with the hostility of some Islamic groups. With so little apparent interest in pushing for full religious freedom from within the EU, local religious communities within Turkey will have to take the lead. They are starting to challenge the denial of their rights through the courts. Protestant Christians have been doing this for almost 10 years, usually with success. The Ecumenical Patriarchate, however, has failed to regain a former orphanage it ran on an island near Istanbul through the High Court in Ankara. It is now taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, to which Turkey is subject as a member of the Council of Europe. I believe this is the right way for such communities to defend their rights and others are already following. The Alevi Muslims have told the government that, if they continue to be denied religious education in state schools to their children according to their own teaching, they too will go to the ECHR. Denial of legal status to religious communities is another possible ECHR case. The most important thing is to put religious freedom on the agenda and talk openly of the problems with full knowledge of the nuances and complexities of the situation. It is important to challenge Turkey's restrictions on religious freedom using Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which Turkey signed in 1954. This article guarantees "freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance." This should be the basis for all discussion of religious freedom, not the 1923 Lausanne Treaty, with its highly restrictive approach to religious freedom. Turkish religious communities will have to speak more on the importance of religious freedom to the outside world, though they will have to be wise in the way they do this. Religious minority leaders are in a difficult situation: they believe that they have to argue in favour of negotiations on EU membership, however sceptical they might be about how ready Turkish society is to make the necessary changes. Foreign churches and religious communities should be talking to their own governments, to press them to promote religious freedom in Turkey. They will have to convince them they are not simply advocating greater rights for their co-religionists but truly advocate religious freedom for all in Turkey, including Muslims. The big question remains: do the Turkish government and people have the will to allow full religious freedom for all? The Turkish media speculates that the current government might not be in favour of EU membership, but is merely using this as a way to introduce domestic developments to achieve Islamist aims. The suggestion put forward in the media is that, if democracy develops, the military will be prevented from mounting a coup and so there will no longer be any obstacle to Islamist aims. Whether or not this media speculation reflects reality, all those who believe in religious freedom in Turkey - both within the country and abroad - must keep the issue on the domestic and international agenda - and be honest about the continuing obstructions to religious life of Turkey's Muslim, Christian and other religious communities. (END) Dr Otmar Oehring, head of the human rights office at Missio <;, a Catholic mission based in the German city of Aachen, contributed this comment to Forum 18 News Service. Commentaries are personal views and do not necessarily represent the views of F18News or Forum 18. A printer-friendly map of Turkey is available at <;Rootmap=turkey>
For a personal commentary on religious freedom under Islam, see
< gt; For a personal commentary assessing western European "headscarf laws," see <;. (END) © Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855 You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to F18News Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at

Sunday, October 09, 2005
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To understand is to forgive. But since human understanding, unlike divine understanding, is limited, our forgiveness is bound to be tainted. The best we can do is to say we will not allow our enemy’s character and conduct to define our sentiments and thoughts.
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To understand another means to see oneself in him because “nothing human is alien to me.” Which may explain why Dostoevsky wrote with some understanding and sympathy about an ax-murderer of old ladies (CRIME AND PUNISHMENT), Nabokov about a child molester (LOLITA), and Richard Stark (real name Donald Westlake) about a ruthless killer (POINT BLANK).
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To be brainwashed means to have a fraction of our brain paralyzed.
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Prejudice is like a knife that maims and castrates our thinking organ.
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I have been exposed to too many patriotic speeches by charlatans to have any respect for verbal professions of patriotism.
#
Monday, October 10, 2005
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TWO MEN OF INTEGRITY
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Thomas Bernhard was an Austrian writer who hated his fellow Austrians with a passion. No other writer has been as relentless as he in his excoriations of his fellow countrymen. Our Raffi too was very critical of Armenians but in his fiction he also created a good number of heroes and noble specimens of humanity. Baronian, Odian, and Massikian couched their attacks in humor and satire. Zarian’s trajectory from great expectations to despair and disgust was gradual and he was careful to confide his denunciations in his correspondence with friends, diaries and notebooks that were published only posthumously. Thomas Bernhard’s hatred seems to have been born in his cradle and continued all the way to his grave at the age of 58. But since he was widely translated and admired throughout the world, the Austrians had little choice but to award him a prestigious literary prize in the hope of that flattery may mollify him. It had the opposite effect. In his acceptance speech Bernhard delivered such a scathing attack on Austrian double-talk, mediocrity, intolerance, and fascism that the Austrian Minister of Culture and half of the audience walked out on him. I dare you not to love and admire such a man!
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When a prominent Soviet official died, a good number of Soviet personalities in the arts, among them Shostakovich, were invited to deliver eulogies. As it was to be expected, all the brown-nosers emphasized the positive and ignored the negative in the deceased, all except Shostakovich who chose to emphasize only the negative by exposing the man’s dishonesty and opportunism. Which is why, ever since I read this, I have had a soft spot for Shostakovich, whose music I also love not because it is elegant, refined, deep, intricate, or noble but because it has a propulsive and sometimes gut-wrenching forward drive.
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Tuesday, October 11, 2005
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Bad news for our massacre pundits: as the number of tragedies around the world rises, the magnitude of our own goes down. This phenomenon is also known as “compassion fatigue.” As a result, the more we talk about our tragedy, the more sympathizers we lose. I suggest therefore, “Less is more.”
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Our massacre pundits remind me of the survivors of another holocaust in the Old Testament who looked back and turned into pillars of salt.
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If a friend “is a masterpiece of nature” (Emerson), what is an enemy if not a curse from hell.
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It is not easy educating those who are infatuated with their own ignorance.
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I have written over a thousand commentaries and letters and I am proud to announce none of them ends with Comrade Panchoonie’s punch line, “Mi kich pogh oughargetsek” (Send us a little money). I am thus in a position to say to my readers, “If dissatisfied, your money will be cheerfully refunded.”
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Wednesday, October 12, 2005
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What’s wrong with assimilation, an assimilated reader demands to know. Nothing, if the assimilation is driven by necessity such economic conditions, unemployment and destitution. But if the economic conditions are results of a corrupt and incompetent administration, then emigration and assimilation become our collective responsibility. Assimilation in the Diaspora is less a result of economic conditions and more of internal conflicts, divisions, mutual intolerance, and inept leadership. In which case, assimilation or “white massacre” may be said to be the death of a thousand self-inflicted cuts.
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Another reader wants to know why I am against millionaires? I am not, provided they mind their own business and don’t get involved in culture and politics, because where benefactors enter, brown-nosers rise to the top. It is worth remembering that plutocracy and democracy are mutually exclusive concepts, and a developed wallet means an underdeveloped intellect.
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TURKEY SAYS NOTHING ABOUT ARMENIAN EMIGRANTS
A1+
| 12:59:13 | 12-10-2005 | Social |
According to the data of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, every year
about 300-350 thousand people leave Azerbaijan and Georgia for
Turkey. There have been 6 352 illegal emigrants from Azerbaijan and
8 113 from Georgia to Turkey in 1995-2002.
The information is taken from the book titled “Anti-Traffic Region
Program: Northern Caucasus: Turkey”. Co-author of the book president
of the NGO “Hope and Aid” Nora Mnatsakanyan mentions that the Turkish
authorities do not give information about Armenian emigrants.
According to Mnatsakanyan, the program has been realized with the
help of the Soros Fund, according to which the corresponding NGOs
of the three South Caucasian countries realized investigations in
the Turkish cities Istanbul, Ankara and Trapizon to find out data
about illegal emigrants and supposed victims of trafficking from RA,
Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey.
Nevertheless, the Azeri NGOs were not financed, and the program was
realized by the Armenian and Georgian NGOs only.
The representatives of the Armenian side spared no effort to gain
information about Armenians. All the corresponding Turkish structures
claimed that they have absolutely no information about the Armenians.
Nevertheless, the organizers of the program had secret conversations
with some people and formed an overall impression about the situation
in Turkey.
As a result of the program the above mentioned book was created where
certain offers have been made, particularly – to establish links
between the police and the pass control offices, to put up notice
boards in the borders and to organize meetings for the workers of the
pass control offices in order to exchange experience and information.
By the way, the offers have been made especially for the Sarpi pass
control point on the border of Georgia and Turkey as that is the main
point where the residents of our region cross the border.

RUSSIAN BUSINESS IS IMPORTANT
A1+
| 14:04:10 | 12-10-2005 | Official |
Today Robert Kocharyan received governor of the Krasnodar region
Alexander Tkachov. The latter mentioned that he is impressed by the
volume of construction carried out in Yerevan.
Robert Kocharyan found cooperation with the regions of Russia important
and said that it is good ground for developing the relations between
the two countries.
The sides have also referred to the course of Armenian-Russian economic
relations. Robert Kocharyan mentioned that thanks to the enhancing
of business links now Russian business has a more important place in
the Armenian economy.

ARMENIAN ELECTRONIC ART IS BEST
A1+
| 15:25:09 | 12-10-2005 | Social |
The Armenian companies have had unprecedented success in the
award-giving competition of the Informational Society World Summit. The
CD “Aram Khachatryan. Life and Work” of the “ITE” company “MultiWeb”
studio has been recognized the Best Culture CD/DVD of the world
in 2005.
The other work of the same company “Great Armenian Genocide, 1915-1923”
has been included in the top ten of the best works of the world
winning a special diploma of the “Electronic Education” nomination.
The award-giving ceremony will take place on November 16 in
Tunisia. The Armenian delegation will be accompanied by the RA Prime
Minister.
By the way, the CD “Aram Khachatryan. Life and Work” will also be
sent to exhibitions in Frankfurt.

REPUBLICAN PARTY RESTORING ITS STRUCTURES
A1+
| 13:20:32 | 12-10-2005 | Politics |
The Republican party intends to open regional organizations in
Echmiadzin and Gyumri. Yesterday one in Ashtarak was opened.
According to the head of the information department of the party
Souren Sourenyants, there are about 100 members in the structure,
but he was not aware who was elected head of the structure.
Les us remind you the all the above mentioned regional structures
were re-shaped as those of the “National Renaissance” party founded
by Albert Bazeyan and Vagharshak Haroutyunyan.
Souren Sourenyants also informed that the members of the political
council with Aram Sargsyan at the head are invited to Sevan to meet
the members of the regional structure. “The asked us to meet them
before the referendum”, he said.
The referendum of the Republican party will take place on October 25.

STUDENTS IN GYUMRI WILL STUDY WITH COMPUTERS
A1+
| 13:09:53 | 12-10-2005 | Regions |
In Gyumri in the journalism faculty of the Pedagogical Institute after
Michael Nalbandyan a new auditorium equipped with all the innovations
of the technique has been created. It gives the students the
possibility to get not only theoretical, but also practical knowledge.
The auditorium has been created by joint effort of the journalism
faculty of the Gyumri Pedagogical Institute, the US Florida Agriculture
and Mechanics University and the Journalism Institute.

ARMENIAN-KAZAKH INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION MEETS IN YEREVAN FOR MAIDEN SESSION
Armenpress
Oct 12 2005
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 12, ARMENPRESS: An extensive Kazakh delegation,
headed by deputy foreign minister, is in Yerevan participating in the
first Armenian-Kazakh intergovernmental meeting, which is to explore
trade boosting and harmonization of relevant legislation.
According to Armenian cochairman of the bilateral commission, Samvel
Avetisian, the trade in 2004 amounted to $14 million, not large,
but a drastic increase against $7 million a year before. Armenian
exports to Kazakhstan last year grew by 66 percent. The main areas
that interest Kazakh businessmen here are agricultural produces
processing and construction.
Armenia in turn is interested in Kazakh fuel sector.
The meeting will end by signing a number of agreements. A Kazakh
Mobilex Energy has pledged today $100 million of investments in
Armenia to build 5-6 enterprises in agricultural sector and also in
processing of stone and glass. The company is managed by an ethnic
Armenian, David Varagian and already owns an agricultural enterprise
in Armenian Etchmiadzin.