Turkey remains on a US panel’s watch list of 11 countries for the third year in a row for its violations of religious freedom, according to the annual country report released by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
“Turkey was first placed on the USCIRF watch list in 2009, and the commission notes with concern that conditions have deteriorated further since then, underscoring the need for continued vigilance in monitoring,” the report states. According to the report, the Turkish government continues to impose serious limitations on freedom of religion or belief, thereby threatening the continued vitality and survival of minority religious communities in Turkey. The USCIRF report recognizes that Turkey has a democratic government and an energetic civil society and media, and that the country’s Constitution protects the freedom of belief and worship as well as the private dissemination of religious ideas, but it also criticizes the Turkish government’s formal and longstanding efforts to control religion by imposing suffocating regulations by denying full legal status to religious institutions, resulting in serious violations of religious freedom.
Moreover, according to the said report, the government in Turkey has failed to take decisive action to correct the climate of impunity against religious minorities and to make the necessary institutional reforms to reverse these conditions.
“Instead, Turkey continues to intervene in the internal governance and education of religious communities and to confiscate places of worship,” the commission states. The alleged involvement of state and military officials in the Ergenekon conspiracy, which includes alleged plans to assassinate minority religious leaders and to bomb mosques, is also of serious concern, according to the USCIRF report. It also criticizes the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) for the alleged use of preventive arrests to repress critics.
The report says it is concerning that there is a rise in anti-Semitism in Turkish society and media. “Due to these concerns, and others set forth in the related chapter, USCIRF continues to place Turkey on its watch list in 2011,” the report notes.
Link
Sunday, May 01, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Another obstacle to justice in the Malatya deaths
As it relates to the Malatya murder case in Turkey, the refrain "Justice moves very slowly" is becoming all too common.
April 18 marked four years since the brutal murders of three Christian missionaries in the bookstore they ran.
Delay after delay slowed the process until the case appeared to have stalled out. Then, on March 23, police arrested 27 people in six days for their connections to Ergenekon and the Malatya slayings. Rody Rodeheaver with IN Network says, "I think there was a lot of hope on the part of the plaintiff's attorneys that with the recent movement against Ergenekon and the arrest of 20 people, they were hoping that would really lead to a possible merger of the case in Malatya and the case against Ergenekon."
Subsequent investigation linked the Ergenekon (Deep State) to the slayings in such a way that they began to look like an ordered "hit" from the highest levels of government.
Now, word is that the prosecutor who has overseen the investigation into Ergenekon from the beginning is no longer on the case. Zekeriya Oz has apparently been promoted to deputy chief prosecutor of Istanbul. He joins three other prosecutors digging for the truth who were removed from the investigation. Rodeheaver says, "Since there've been all of these changes in the makeup of the people who are taking the lead in some of these investigations, it's unfortunate and will probably lead to more delays."
These events are disappointing to the Christians in Turkey. The seeming lack of energy with which this case has been pursued also sends a message to believers that not only are they second-class citizens, but that the government may not protect them from the nationalists. "All of these things tend to create emotional insecurity. When you see these things happen over and over again, it's just human to be concerned."
However, says Rodeheaver, from what he's seen of the national Church, "If you're a Christian, you really need to trust in the sovereignty of God and know that your days really need to be ordered by your Savior."
Link
April 18 marked four years since the brutal murders of three Christian missionaries in the bookstore they ran.
Delay after delay slowed the process until the case appeared to have stalled out. Then, on March 23, police arrested 27 people in six days for their connections to Ergenekon and the Malatya slayings. Rody Rodeheaver with IN Network says, "I think there was a lot of hope on the part of the plaintiff's attorneys that with the recent movement against Ergenekon and the arrest of 20 people, they were hoping that would really lead to a possible merger of the case in Malatya and the case against Ergenekon."
Subsequent investigation linked the Ergenekon (Deep State) to the slayings in such a way that they began to look like an ordered "hit" from the highest levels of government.
Now, word is that the prosecutor who has overseen the investigation into Ergenekon from the beginning is no longer on the case. Zekeriya Oz has apparently been promoted to deputy chief prosecutor of Istanbul. He joins three other prosecutors digging for the truth who were removed from the investigation. Rodeheaver says, "Since there've been all of these changes in the makeup of the people who are taking the lead in some of these investigations, it's unfortunate and will probably lead to more delays."
These events are disappointing to the Christians in Turkey. The seeming lack of energy with which this case has been pursued also sends a message to believers that not only are they second-class citizens, but that the government may not protect them from the nationalists. "All of these things tend to create emotional insecurity. When you see these things happen over and over again, it's just human to be concerned."
However, says Rodeheaver, from what he's seen of the national Church, "If you're a Christian, you really need to trust in the sovereignty of God and know that your days really need to be ordered by your Savior."
Link
Sunday, April 24, 2011
‘Monstrosity’ in Kars is striking back
We can see from the cables disclosed by WikiLeaks that the prime minister and some ministers were present at the National Security Council (MGK) in 2002 when missionary work was being defined as an internal threat and that they took part in this decision.
In light of the information we have today we understand that having the MGK define missionary activities as a “threat” was part of a big plot against the government. I have tried to explain this in my earlier articles. After the classification of missionary activities as a threat in 2002, a campaign was launched against missionaries that resulted in attacks against them. The great plan was this: The deep state would create a connection between the presence of an “Islamic party” in power and attacks against Christians. In this way, the world would see the intolerant nature of “Islamists” and Europe would cut off its support for the government. The attacks on Christians were being used to lay the groundwork for a coup against the government.
In Turkey, all political parties have been influenced by nationalism to varying degrees. Even though the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is a political party that consists mainly of religious Muslims, it also has a nationalist component. Those who planned coups aimed to use missionary work as a scapegoat to seize religious people and push them towards a nationalist course, which they managed to do to a certain degree.
Nationalism in Turkey is a dominant idea in the mentality of Turkish society, which several surprised foreign observers have come to realize. Even though the intensity of nationalism rises and falls from time to time, it remains an unchangeable, main current in the background of the political scene.
Of course there are many reasons for why nationalism is as strong as it is. Turkey’s “founding myth” is based on the struggle for the independence of a state that is encircled by enemies and under the occupation of foreign forces. Turkish nationalism emerged quite late, which is why it is very reactive. Since Turkey became a racially diverse country, the concept of “being a Turk” was defined through religion rather than race. A Turk was a Muslim, or more precisely, a Turk was not a non-Muslim. This is a key part of the issue; modern Turkey was constructed on the expulsion and exclusion of non-Muslims from these territories. The modernizing force that excluded non-Muslims also kept Islam and Muslims under its control. I have tried to explain how all these things happened in the past many times.
Link
In light of the information we have today we understand that having the MGK define missionary activities as a “threat” was part of a big plot against the government. I have tried to explain this in my earlier articles. After the classification of missionary activities as a threat in 2002, a campaign was launched against missionaries that resulted in attacks against them. The great plan was this: The deep state would create a connection between the presence of an “Islamic party” in power and attacks against Christians. In this way, the world would see the intolerant nature of “Islamists” and Europe would cut off its support for the government. The attacks on Christians were being used to lay the groundwork for a coup against the government.
In Turkey, all political parties have been influenced by nationalism to varying degrees. Even though the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is a political party that consists mainly of religious Muslims, it also has a nationalist component. Those who planned coups aimed to use missionary work as a scapegoat to seize religious people and push them towards a nationalist course, which they managed to do to a certain degree.
Nationalism in Turkey is a dominant idea in the mentality of Turkish society, which several surprised foreign observers have come to realize. Even though the intensity of nationalism rises and falls from time to time, it remains an unchangeable, main current in the background of the political scene.
Of course there are many reasons for why nationalism is as strong as it is. Turkey’s “founding myth” is based on the struggle for the independence of a state that is encircled by enemies and under the occupation of foreign forces. Turkish nationalism emerged quite late, which is why it is very reactive. Since Turkey became a racially diverse country, the concept of “being a Turk” was defined through religion rather than race. A Turk was a Muslim, or more precisely, a Turk was not a non-Muslim. This is a key part of the issue; modern Turkey was constructed on the expulsion and exclusion of non-Muslims from these territories. The modernizing force that excluded non-Muslims also kept Islam and Muslims under its control. I have tried to explain how all these things happened in the past many times.
Link
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Christian missionaries in Turkey become targets for militant nationalist
When a Protestant minister in the city of Izmir left his church one day this month, he saw a man pointing a weapon at him and shouting: "Stop proselytizing! You will pay!"
The attacker in front of the Dirilis Kilisesi, or Church of the Resurrection, was quickly overwhelmed, but the incident on the evening of April 1 was a reminder of the hatred that some radical Turkish nationalists feel for Christian missionaries. Radical nationalists in Turkey are not opposed to Christian missionaries for religious reasons, Ferhat Kentel, a sociologist at Istanbul's Bilgi University, said about the hatred against missionaries.
"It is an effort by nationalists to create enemies, a perception of threat," Dr Kentel said. "It has nothing to do with Islam. It is an ideological phenomenon." He said the fear of missionaries was "a symbol for dangers coming from outside". Turkish nationalists see Islam as a unifying force of the country that will be undermined if Christians are allowed to proselytize.
Link
The attacker in front of the Dirilis Kilisesi, or Church of the Resurrection, was quickly overwhelmed, but the incident on the evening of April 1 was a reminder of the hatred that some radical Turkish nationalists feel for Christian missionaries. Radical nationalists in Turkey are not opposed to Christian missionaries for religious reasons, Ferhat Kentel, a sociologist at Istanbul's Bilgi University, said about the hatred against missionaries.
"It is an effort by nationalists to create enemies, a perception of threat," Dr Kentel said. "It has nothing to do with Islam. It is an ideological phenomenon." He said the fear of missionaries was "a symbol for dangers coming from outside". Turkish nationalists see Islam as a unifying force of the country that will be undermined if Christians are allowed to proselytize.
Link
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Big Changes Open Politics to Turkish Minorities
Markus Urek was 15 when his Syriac Christian family grew so fearful for the lives of their children in Turkey that they sent them abroad.
Syriac Christians have lived in southeastern Anatolia for almost two millennia, but over the past decades they have dwindled to a tiny minority in the Turkish republic, their numbers reduced by poverty, persecution and the war fought between Kurdish rebels and the Turkish Army on their ancestral homeland.
Mr. Urek spent years shuttling between Germany, Turkey and the United States to complete his education before returning to settle in Ankara last year.
Now he is running for Parliament. “If I am elected, I will be the first Syriac deputy in the history of this country — not only in the Turkish Republic, but the Ottoman Empire as well,” Mr. Urek, 33, said in an interview. “Turkish democracy has improved. That’s why I have the courage to try.”
Just eight years ago, such a run for office would have been unthinkable, Mr. Urek said. “Every Syriac knew it was impossible to be in Parliament, that’s why no one tried.” Now, he said, “I think I have a chance.”
Mr. Urek, a devout Christian, is hoping for a place on the ticket of the Islam-rooted Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Turkey’s governing party, which he credits for much of the country’s political progress.
Turkey is preparing for a general election on June 12, and though little suspense surrounds the outcome, the campaign reflects just how radically this society has transformed itself in the past decade by widening individual, religious and ethnic rights under Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.
Link
Syriac Christians have lived in southeastern Anatolia for almost two millennia, but over the past decades they have dwindled to a tiny minority in the Turkish republic, their numbers reduced by poverty, persecution and the war fought between Kurdish rebels and the Turkish Army on their ancestral homeland.
Mr. Urek spent years shuttling between Germany, Turkey and the United States to complete his education before returning to settle in Ankara last year.
Now he is running for Parliament. “If I am elected, I will be the first Syriac deputy in the history of this country — not only in the Turkish Republic, but the Ottoman Empire as well,” Mr. Urek, 33, said in an interview. “Turkish democracy has improved. That’s why I have the courage to try.”
Just eight years ago, such a run for office would have been unthinkable, Mr. Urek said. “Every Syriac knew it was impossible to be in Parliament, that’s why no one tried.” Now, he said, “I think I have a chance.”
Mr. Urek, a devout Christian, is hoping for a place on the ticket of the Islam-rooted Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Turkey’s governing party, which he credits for much of the country’s political progress.
Turkey is preparing for a general election on June 12, and though little suspense surrounds the outcome, the campaign reflects just how radically this society has transformed itself in the past decade by widening individual, religious and ethnic rights under Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.
Link
Monday, April 04, 2011
Zirve as litmus test for Ergenekon
Last week, it published correspondence displaying how paranoia about missionaries and Christians in Turkey was manipulated by Ergenekon, and with the publication of this correspondence, the big picture of the murder of Christian missionaries in Malatya was completed. And prosecutor Zekeriya Öz was “promoted” away from the Ergenekon investigation the day he touched on the “theologians” factor that provided the link between the missionary issue and the Zirve massacre. The timing of his removal was really meaningful.
We have been informed that the US Embassy in Ankara sent a letter to Turkish officials, expressing their concerns about the emerging harsh discourse targeting minorities and Christian missionaries, particularly in 2005, and warning that it may lead to violence. In his letter to then-State Minister Mehmet Aydın, then-US Ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman said: “As you will recall, during our meeting I had said that I was concerned that Turkish officials’ anti-Christian discourse, coupled with a general rise in nationalist sentiments, may pave the way for violence against Christians. Shortly after our meeting, I learned that two assailants threw incendiary bombs at the International Protestant Church in Ankara early in the morning on April 21.”
On April 1, 2005, political counselor in Ankara John Kunstadter sent a cable to Washington, reporting two years before the Zirve Massacre that the situation in Malatya was very serious. He wrote that he went to Malatya on March 22, 2005, and met the members of the Protestant community there. A Christian British national told him that the Protestant community in Malatya consisted of 20 people from four families and they were concerned about the recent increase in publications against Protestants in local papers during the past 18 months.
By looking at future developments in the Zirve case, we will understand whether the Ergenekon investigation is going to continue at full speed, as officials promised, after the removal of prosecutor Öz.
So I call on everyone to watch this historic case attentively.
Link
We have been informed that the US Embassy in Ankara sent a letter to Turkish officials, expressing their concerns about the emerging harsh discourse targeting minorities and Christian missionaries, particularly in 2005, and warning that it may lead to violence. In his letter to then-State Minister Mehmet Aydın, then-US Ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman said: “As you will recall, during our meeting I had said that I was concerned that Turkish officials’ anti-Christian discourse, coupled with a general rise in nationalist sentiments, may pave the way for violence against Christians. Shortly after our meeting, I learned that two assailants threw incendiary bombs at the International Protestant Church in Ankara early in the morning on April 21.”
On April 1, 2005, political counselor in Ankara John Kunstadter sent a cable to Washington, reporting two years before the Zirve Massacre that the situation in Malatya was very serious. He wrote that he went to Malatya on March 22, 2005, and met the members of the Protestant community there. A Christian British national told him that the Protestant community in Malatya consisted of 20 people from four families and they were concerned about the recent increase in publications against Protestants in local papers during the past 18 months.
By looking at future developments in the Zirve case, we will understand whether the Ergenekon investigation is going to continue at full speed, as officials promised, after the removal of prosecutor Öz.
So I call on everyone to watch this historic case attentively.
Link
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Turkish police search theology professors' homes in murder probe
Police searched the homes of a handful of Turkish theology professors on Wednesday in connection with a probe into the 2007 murder of three Christian missionaries, Turkish media reported.
Police raided the Istanbul apartment of Zekeriya Beyaz, a well- known theologian who had written an unpublished manuscript on the political activities of certain religious movements in Turkey, along with the homes and offices of at least four professors in other provinces.
Wednesday's raids came just a week after police searched the offices of a publishing house and the mainstream newspaper Radikal, confiscating copies of an unpublished manuscript, 'The Army of the Imam.'
The book, which prosecutors said was a document of interest in the Ergenekon investigation, alleges infiltration of the police force by Gulenists, members of a controversial Islamist group.
Its author, investigative journalist Ahmet Sik, is one of nearly 10 journalists and writers who have been arrested in the Ergenekon case within the last two months.
Link
Police raided the Istanbul apartment of Zekeriya Beyaz, a well- known theologian who had written an unpublished manuscript on the political activities of certain religious movements in Turkey, along with the homes and offices of at least four professors in other provinces.
Wednesday's raids came just a week after police searched the offices of a publishing house and the mainstream newspaper Radikal, confiscating copies of an unpublished manuscript, 'The Army of the Imam.'
The book, which prosecutors said was a document of interest in the Ergenekon investigation, alleges infiltration of the police force by Gulenists, members of a controversial Islamist group.
Its author, investigative journalist Ahmet Sik, is one of nearly 10 journalists and writers who have been arrested in the Ergenekon case within the last two months.
Link
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Day of prayer marks martyrdom of Christians in Turkey Read more: Day of prayer marks martyrdom of Christians in Turkey
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April 18 has been designated by an alliance of Christian groups as International Pray for Turkey Day in remembrance of three Christian missionaries who had agreed to meet with a group of Muslims as part of their ministry there and were slaughtered for their willingness to discuss Christianity.
A Christian film company, the Alliance of Protestant Churches of Turkey, and a Christian human rights group chose that day because it's the fourth anniversary of the murder of Turkish Christians Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel and German missionary Tilman Geske – apparently by five Muslim Turkish nationalists in Malatya.
Read more: Day of prayer marks martyrdom of Christians in Turkey
Monday, March 28, 2011
Zirve victim’s widow: Massacre’s codes in Ergenekon, Cage
The widow of German national Tilman Geske, who was brutally killed along with two colleagues at a Christian publishing house in Malatya in 2007 at the hands of young ultranationalists, has said her husband's murder was part of a greater plan to provoke chaos in society and increase pressure on the government, as mentioned in the plans of Ergenekon and those who devised the Cage plan.
“We had known that the Zirve massacre was not the individual work of the suspects mentioned. It is understood it was carried out to put the government in a tight spot. The Cage plan clearly exposes everything. The aim of the massacre is mentioned there,” Suzanna Geske told Today’s Zaman.
The Malatya murders are thought to be a part of the Cage Action Plan, a subversive plot allegedly devised by military officers that sought to undermine the government through the assassination of non-Muslims and other acts of terror. The Cage plan was allegedly drawn up at the order of Ergenekon, a clandestine criminal network charged with plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government by creating large-scale chaos in the country.
According to Geske, shedding light on the Malatya massacre will be a turning point for Turkey. She thinks the revelation of the actual perpetrators of the murders will contribute a lot to Turkish democracy. “I love my country [Turkey.] My husband was killed but solving this case is more important for my country than for myself,” she added.
The link between the missionary murders and Ergenekon has long been suspected and the ongoing case in the Malatya 3rd High Criminal Court is expected to be merged with the ongoing Ergenekon case once the prosecutor’s investigation into the instigators of the Zirve murders is completed.
Link
“We had known that the Zirve massacre was not the individual work of the suspects mentioned. It is understood it was carried out to put the government in a tight spot. The Cage plan clearly exposes everything. The aim of the massacre is mentioned there,” Suzanna Geske told Today’s Zaman.
The Malatya murders are thought to be a part of the Cage Action Plan, a subversive plot allegedly devised by military officers that sought to undermine the government through the assassination of non-Muslims and other acts of terror. The Cage plan was allegedly drawn up at the order of Ergenekon, a clandestine criminal network charged with plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government by creating large-scale chaos in the country.
According to Geske, shedding light on the Malatya massacre will be a turning point for Turkey. She thinks the revelation of the actual perpetrators of the murders will contribute a lot to Turkish democracy. “I love my country [Turkey.] My husband was killed but solving this case is more important for my country than for myself,” she added.
The link between the missionary murders and Ergenekon has long been suspected and the ongoing case in the Malatya 3rd High Criminal Court is expected to be merged with the ongoing Ergenekon case once the prosecutor’s investigation into the instigators of the Zirve murders is completed.
Link
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
More suspects arrested today in 2007 murder of three Christians in Turkey
According to Associated Press, World Bulletin, and other sources, the Turkish government today arrested seven suspects for plotting and inciting the murder of three Christians in 2007. The victims had distributed Christian literature in a country that is only 1% Christian. The men, Necati Aydun, Ugur Yuksel, and Tilmann Ekkehart Geske (a German national), were killed at the Zirve Publishing House in Malatya. At the time, five young men were arrested at the crime scene, yet their trial is still ongoing.
Those arrested include five military officers and two civilians. The government claims that these suspects, as well as others that have been recently arrested, were part of a coup plot begun in 2003. As part of this plot, the predominantly military suspects are thought to have incited and helped in the murders of various minorities to help create chaos and destabilize the present government. There has always been tension between the secular military and the Islamic-based government, headed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who came to power in 2002. The plot and investigation is called Ergenekon. The evidence used for the arrests varies according to the reports, it coming from a 2008 audio cd provided by a secret witness or a letter provided by a whistle-blower.
Link
Those arrested include five military officers and two civilians. The government claims that these suspects, as well as others that have been recently arrested, were part of a coup plot begun in 2003. As part of this plot, the predominantly military suspects are thought to have incited and helped in the murders of various minorities to help create chaos and destabilize the present government. There has always been tension between the secular military and the Islamic-based government, headed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who came to power in 2002. The plot and investigation is called Ergenekon. The evidence used for the arrests varies according to the reports, it coming from a 2008 audio cd provided by a secret witness or a letter provided by a whistle-blower.
Link
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Christians in Turkey Face Harassment; Murder Trial Stalls
Though the horrific scale of the 2007 Malatya murders has not been repeated in Turkey’s Protestant church, a recent report shows harassment continues to be a daily problem for the country’s Christians and churches.
Discrimination, slander and attacks against churches were among the examples of ongoing harassment that the Turkish Association of Protestant Churches (TEK) recorded in 2010.
In an eight-page report published earlier this year, TEK’s Committee for Religious Freedom and Legal Affairs outlined problems Protestants face. Turkish laws and “negative attitudes of civil servants” continue to make it nearly impossible for non-Muslims to establish places of worship, the committee reported. Three churches faced legal problems last year regarding their buildings, according to the report.
Missionary activities are still considered a national threat despite the existence of Turkish laws guaranteeing citizens the freedom to propagate and teach their faith, and children are victims of discrimination at school, according to the report. Though the Religious Education General Directorate for Higher Education and Training Committee allows non-Muslim students to stay out of religious classes, parents have reported cases in which they were not able to take their children out of such courses.
“After four years [since the Malatya murders], Turkey’s religious freedoms have not improved as desired,” said attorney Erdal Dogan. “Christians, Alevis [a Shiite sub-community] and people of other beliefs are still not protected by law. And people of other faiths apart from Muslims have no legal status. Since racism is still prevalent in the context of freedom, discrimination in its turn has become a fact of life.”
About a third of Turks are estimated to be Alevis.
Turkey rose to 30th place in Open Doors’ 2011 World Watch List of nations in which persecution against Christians takes place, up from 35th place the previous year. The Christian support organization cited deteriorating conditions as the secular country applied some laws in discriminatory ways against Christians.
Lınk
Discrimination, slander and attacks against churches were among the examples of ongoing harassment that the Turkish Association of Protestant Churches (TEK) recorded in 2010.
In an eight-page report published earlier this year, TEK’s Committee for Religious Freedom and Legal Affairs outlined problems Protestants face. Turkish laws and “negative attitudes of civil servants” continue to make it nearly impossible for non-Muslims to establish places of worship, the committee reported. Three churches faced legal problems last year regarding their buildings, according to the report.
Missionary activities are still considered a national threat despite the existence of Turkish laws guaranteeing citizens the freedom to propagate and teach their faith, and children are victims of discrimination at school, according to the report. Though the Religious Education General Directorate for Higher Education and Training Committee allows non-Muslim students to stay out of religious classes, parents have reported cases in which they were not able to take their children out of such courses.
“After four years [since the Malatya murders], Turkey’s religious freedoms have not improved as desired,” said attorney Erdal Dogan. “Christians, Alevis [a Shiite sub-community] and people of other beliefs are still not protected by law. And people of other faiths apart from Muslims have no legal status. Since racism is still prevalent in the context of freedom, discrimination in its turn has become a fact of life.”
About a third of Turks are estimated to be Alevis.
Turkey rose to 30th place in Open Doors’ 2011 World Watch List of nations in which persecution against Christians takes place, up from 35th place the previous year. The Christian support organization cited deteriorating conditions as the secular country applied some laws in discriminatory ways against Christians.
Lınk
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Turkish Protestants still face 'long path' to religious freedom
A senior Turkish Protestant has said his country's small Christian churches still face severe hardships, despite recent pledges by the government to improve protection of religious rights - writes Jonathan Luxmoore.
"We can't deny certain positive steps - since 2005, we've been able to apply for legal status as registered associations," said Zekai Tanyar, executive board chairman of Turkey's Association of Protestant Churches.
"But full religious freedom is still a long way off here, and all Christian denominations face difficulties. Government officials assure us they'll look into our problems, such as by offering us police protection. But no attempt is being made to present us in a more positive light."
The 58-year-old Protestant official was speaking after publication in early February of a letter to the Turkish government by Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner, which welcomed a "constructive dialogue" now underway on religious rights, but also highlighted continuing restrictions.
In an ENI interview, Tanyar said Protestants differed from Turkey's Armenian and Greek Orthodox Christians, since most came from recent Muslim Turkish backgrounds, rather than from ethnic minorities, and did not have historic claims to churches and properties in the country.
However, he added that, despite being ethnic Turks, they were viewed as "not belonging," and as "collaborators with the forces of Christendom which are out to break up the country." All Turkish governments had sought to avoid any impression of "compromising with Christians," Tanyar said.
"The dialogue occurring is a polite, diplomatic process, which hasn't so far achieved anything very concrete - mentalities haven't changed and the same age-old prejudices live on," said Tanyar, whose association includes about 4,000 members in 33 churches.
Turkey has been negotiating accession to the EU since 2005, but has faced opposition to its membership bid because of a lack of internal reforms, as well as persistent complaints from ethnic and religious minorities about being denied equal rights and protections in the country, most of whose 71.5 million inhabitants are Sunni Muslims.
In his letter to Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hammarberg said he welcomed recent government efforts to act against publications inciting hatred and hostility towards non-Muslims, and to comply with judgments by the European Court of Human Rights.
However, he added that "outstanding issues" remained to be tackled, including restrictions on training Christian clergy, and a lack of "objectivity and pluralism" in religious education that respected the rights of non-Muslim parents.
In an official reply, Turkey's EU ambassador, Daryal Batibay, said religious freedom had seen "positive developments," adding that his government had established "direct dialogue" with several Christian denominations, and was reviewing religious education and the insertion of religious affiliations on Turkish identity cards, which has been ruled a violation of rights by the European Court.
However, in the interview with ENI, Tanyar said the inclusion of a "religion box" on IDs still caused difficulties for Christians, adding that six Protestant pastors were currently under police protection after death threats.
The association chairman said Protestants were now receiving responses when they complained about the contents of schoolbooks, but added that the education directors had refused to remove a passage from one textbook for 12-year-olds, which branded Christian missionaries a "major danger to the country."
"The authorities know Turkey has to provide religious freedom as a democracy - but they don't like it," Tanyar told ENI. "We are much more proactive than other Christian groups in looking after our rights, and people are generally less fearful and more hopeful about the future. But government ministers know they will lose support if they show the slightest co-operation with Christian churches."
Among recent gestures, Erdogan ordered local authorities last May to "uphold the rights of the Christian and Jewish minorities" and "behave with respect towards their clergy," while the government returned several early medieval churches to Orthodox Christians and promised Turkish citizenship rights to Orthodox metropolitans serving with the Istanbul-based Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Link
"We can't deny certain positive steps - since 2005, we've been able to apply for legal status as registered associations," said Zekai Tanyar, executive board chairman of Turkey's Association of Protestant Churches.
"But full religious freedom is still a long way off here, and all Christian denominations face difficulties. Government officials assure us they'll look into our problems, such as by offering us police protection. But no attempt is being made to present us in a more positive light."
The 58-year-old Protestant official was speaking after publication in early February of a letter to the Turkish government by Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner, which welcomed a "constructive dialogue" now underway on religious rights, but also highlighted continuing restrictions.
In an ENI interview, Tanyar said Protestants differed from Turkey's Armenian and Greek Orthodox Christians, since most came from recent Muslim Turkish backgrounds, rather than from ethnic minorities, and did not have historic claims to churches and properties in the country.
However, he added that, despite being ethnic Turks, they were viewed as "not belonging," and as "collaborators with the forces of Christendom which are out to break up the country." All Turkish governments had sought to avoid any impression of "compromising with Christians," Tanyar said.
"The dialogue occurring is a polite, diplomatic process, which hasn't so far achieved anything very concrete - mentalities haven't changed and the same age-old prejudices live on," said Tanyar, whose association includes about 4,000 members in 33 churches.
Turkey has been negotiating accession to the EU since 2005, but has faced opposition to its membership bid because of a lack of internal reforms, as well as persistent complaints from ethnic and religious minorities about being denied equal rights and protections in the country, most of whose 71.5 million inhabitants are Sunni Muslims.
In his letter to Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hammarberg said he welcomed recent government efforts to act against publications inciting hatred and hostility towards non-Muslims, and to comply with judgments by the European Court of Human Rights.
However, he added that "outstanding issues" remained to be tackled, including restrictions on training Christian clergy, and a lack of "objectivity and pluralism" in religious education that respected the rights of non-Muslim parents.
In an official reply, Turkey's EU ambassador, Daryal Batibay, said religious freedom had seen "positive developments," adding that his government had established "direct dialogue" with several Christian denominations, and was reviewing religious education and the insertion of religious affiliations on Turkish identity cards, which has been ruled a violation of rights by the European Court.
However, in the interview with ENI, Tanyar said the inclusion of a "religion box" on IDs still caused difficulties for Christians, adding that six Protestant pastors were currently under police protection after death threats.
The association chairman said Protestants were now receiving responses when they complained about the contents of schoolbooks, but added that the education directors had refused to remove a passage from one textbook for 12-year-olds, which branded Christian missionaries a "major danger to the country."
"The authorities know Turkey has to provide religious freedom as a democracy - but they don't like it," Tanyar told ENI. "We are much more proactive than other Christian groups in looking after our rights, and people are generally less fearful and more hopeful about the future. But government ministers know they will lose support if they show the slightest co-operation with Christian churches."
Among recent gestures, Erdogan ordered local authorities last May to "uphold the rights of the Christian and Jewish minorities" and "behave with respect towards their clergy," while the government returned several early medieval churches to Orthodox Christians and promised Turkish citizenship rights to Orthodox metropolitans serving with the Istanbul-based Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate.
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Sunday, March 06, 2011
Anti-terror police foil alleged plot to kill Christian cleric in Istanbul
Istanbul police’s anti-terror unit apprehended two suspects accused of plotting to assassinate a priest in the city’s Fatih district, Doğan news agency, or DHA, reported Saturday.
Law enforcement officers alleged that a suspect who was identified only as E.T., and who was reported to be under 18 years of age, offered 18-year-old Okan G. 50 Turkish Liras to kill the unnamed priest.
Police raided the suspects’ homes in Istanbul’s Gaziosmanpaşa district and detained the pair, seizing two guns in the process. Officers later revealed that one of the guns could be altered to shoot metal balls.
The suspects were later taken for questioning at the Istanbul Police Department on Vatan Avenue in the Fatih district.
Link
Law enforcement officers alleged that a suspect who was identified only as E.T., and who was reported to be under 18 years of age, offered 18-year-old Okan G. 50 Turkish Liras to kill the unnamed priest.
Police raided the suspects’ homes in Istanbul’s Gaziosmanpaşa district and detained the pair, seizing two guns in the process. Officers later revealed that one of the guns could be altered to shoot metal balls.
The suspects were later taken for questioning at the Istanbul Police Department on Vatan Avenue in the Fatih district.
Link
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Right To Have Places Of Worship – A Trapped Right
The right to establish, own, and maintain places of worship is a fundamental part of the right to freedom of religion or belief. This is very clear in the international human rights standards – such as Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Turkey is a party. Yet religious communities in Turkey face serious obstacles – both formal and informal – preventing them from enjoying this right effectively, Forum 18 News Service notes. For example, only the Diyanet, or Presidency of Religious Affairs which reports to the Prime Minister’s Office, can open mosques and administer them.
These obstacles are in addition to the fundamental problem that no community – whether Muslim, Jewish, Armenian Apostolic, Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Baha’i, Jehovah’s Witness, or any other – has any legal status in Turkish law. This leads to situations such as communities being unable to legally prove they own buildings they pay property tax on.
Link
These obstacles are in addition to the fundamental problem that no community – whether Muslim, Jewish, Armenian Apostolic, Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Baha’i, Jehovah’s Witness, or any other – has any legal status in Turkish law. This leads to situations such as communities being unable to legally prove they own buildings they pay property tax on.
Link
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Turks restore Armenian Churches “to draw faith tourists from around the world”
According to the Turkish media publication, after Surb Khach (Holy Cross) Church in Akhtamar Island, another Armenian Church, Surb Giragos in Diyarbak?r is now preparing for a religious ceremony.
The Istanbul Armenian Foundation undertook the restoration of the church, bringing together Turkey and the Armenian Diaspora.
Officials from Turkey, Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora are expected to attend a Divine Liturgy to celebrate the church’s reopening, which is scheduled for later this year, Turkish Hurriet informed.
“After the restoration process, we are planning to draw faith tourists from around the world,” Surb Giragos Armenian Church Foundation Chairman Ergun Ayik said.
Note, according to some art historians, the church is the largest in the Middle East. The complex sprawls over 3,200 square meters and includes priests’ houses, chapels and a school. The church was seized by the German army in 1913 and served as their local headquarters until 1918, when it was converted into a fabric warehouse.
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