Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Turkey under attack

"With Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder visiting Turkey, Germany's Der Tagesspiegel says the problems faced by Christians there represent a "sore point" in the country's bid for EU membership.

"There is hardly any other area in which Turkey is as far removed from the implementation of European norms as that of religious freedom," it maintains.

The paper observes that Christian minorities are at a "strong disadvantage" despite recent reforms, although it adds that the state is also trying to control Islam as much as possible.

It concludes that Turkey will have to "completely reorganise the relationship between the state and religion if it wants to join the European Union"."


BBC NEWS | Europe | European press review

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