Saturday, May 30, 2009

EFFORTS TO TIE MALATYA MURDERS TO ‘DEEP STATE’ FIZZLE

Compass Direct News : TURKEY - EFFORTS TO TIE MALATYA MURDERS TO ‘DEEP STATE’ FIZZLE
rosecutors’ efforts to tie the murderers of three Christians here to state-linked masterminds were set back on Friday (May 22) when the alleged ring-leader unexpectedly contradicted his previous testimony implicating a suspected “middleman.” As the suspected middleman between the murderers and “deep state” elements, Huseyin Yelki, was testifying at Friday’s hearing, Emre Gunaydin – whose previous private testimony led to Yelki’s arrest – stood up and said, “Huseyin Yelki is not guilty, he’s being held in prison for no reason.” The prosecuting team and judges at the Malatya Third Criminal Court froze at the statement, and then demanded to know why he had previously implicated Yelki. Gunaydin said he did so because Yelki was a Christian missionary. Yelki testified during the court hearing that he had met Gunaydin only once prior to the murders. Gunaydin’s retraction raised suspicion among the judges that in recent months he has received visits in prison from those behind the murders who have pressured him to change his statement. Tired and frustrated, lead prosecutor Orhan Kemal Cengiz told Compass, “My conclusion is that we’re going nowhere, because the powers behind the scenes were very successful in organizing everything.”

Friday, May 22, 2009

Christian monastery in Turkey wins back land

Christian monastery in Turkey wins back land | World | Reuters
One of the world's oldest functioning Christian monasteries has won a legal battle to have land it had owned for centuries restored to it, after a Turkish court ruled on Friday it could not be claimed by the state.

Monday, May 18, 2009

The Great Monastery of St. Gabriel in Captivity

The Great Monastery of St. Gabriel in Captivity | AssyriaTimes.com
A long-standing land dispute between the Syrian Orthodox community in south-east Turkey and the local villagers has finally turned into a legal battle attracting international attention. The disagreement has been closely monitored by the European Union for some time, and US President Barack Obama and the State Department are monitoring the dispute.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Christians urge Turkey to protect ancient monastery

Christians urge Turkey to protect ancient monastery
A leading Syriac Christian group urged Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday to protect a fifth-century Christian monastery in eastern Turkey from local officials claiming land the monastery has owned for centuries.


Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Arameans send letter to president, PM demanding rights

Arameans send letter to president, PM demanding rights
The Turabdin Solidarity Committee (Solidaritattsgruppe), an umbrella organization for the diaspora Arameans from Turkey, sent a letter to President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan about the situation of Arameans in Turkey and asked to be treated in accordance with the Lausanne Treaty and auspices of the state.

In the letter, the Arameans also noted that the Prophet Jesus spoke in Aramaic and the state should give the permission and financial support for Aramaic language courses. The letter also underlined the concerns of the Arameans regarding the ongoing trial over the Mor Gabriel Monastery, which was constructed in A.D. 397.


Cyprus President: Turkey responsible for destruction of religious heritage

Financialmirror.com News - Cyprus President: Turkey responsible for destruction of religious heritage
President of the Republic Demetris Christofias has said that Turkey is responsible to a great extent for the destruction of the cultural heritage in the Turkish occupied north of Cyprus.

He was speaking during an exhibition in London’s Gallery K of 23 artists, including Cypriots and British, inspired by photographs of churches and other holy sites in the Turkish occupied north by Cypriot cameraman and photographer Doros Partasides. The photographs depict the destruction of the country’s religious and cultural heritage.

President Christofias congratulated Partasides and the 23 artists, describing their work as excellent. The government, he said, will use the exhibition in its campaign to put an end to the atrocities which are the result of the continuing Turkish invasion and occupation.

He said Turkey is greatly responsible for the destruction of the island’s heritage, stressing that the cultural heritage belongs not only to the Greek Cypriots but also to the Turkish Cypriots and the whole of humanity.


Report on Religious Freedom

‘Religious freedoms in Turkey curbed by hard-line secularism’
A report presented to US President Barack Obama has added Turkey to a watch list of countries where people's right to worship as they please or not to worship at all are at risk.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom said Turkey's problem was its interpretation of secularism, which has "resulted in violations of religious freedom for many of the country's citizens, including members of majority and, especially, minority religious communities."