IHF Report

[Joseph]

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

http://www.ihf-hr.org

Turkey: A Minority Policy of Systematic Negation


Vienna, 10 October 2006-- The International Helsinki Federation for Human
Rights (IHF) today published a 26-page briefing paper entitled Turkey: A
Minority Policy of Systematic Negation. The briefing paper discusses the
legal basis for Turkey's restrictive minority polices, its interpretation by
authorities, and an abundant misuse of laws against minority members and
individuals who seek to promote minority rights and protection. It also
takes up case examples of how the rights of various ethnic, religious and
linguistic minority groups including the Kurds, the Armenians, the Greek,
the Alevis, the Laz, the Circassians, and the Roma are violated. In
addition, the paper addresses the situation of sexual minorities in Turkey.

`When discussing Turkey's possible membership in the European Union, the
manner in which Turkey treats its minorities should constitute a central
criterion in judging the country's observance of human rights. Today,
Turkey's minority protection still falls seriously short of European
standards. A policy that is characterized by the failure to recognize the
mere existence of most minorities, continued legal prosecution of people who
speak about minorities or historical facts about them, and the reluctance to
solve basic problems faced by minorities, is unacceptable from a human
rights point of view,' said Ulrich Fischer, president of the IHF.

Turkey continues to practice a policy of `Turkification,' which it adopted
in the early 20th century. This policy amounts to a form of cultural
assimilation that fails to recognize individuals' rights to ethnic,
national, and religious self-identification, and aims at forced assimilation
with a Turkish identity. It encompasses several strategies whose rationale
violates, in one way or another, internationally guaranteed standards for
minority rights. These strategies still include: denying formal recognition
of minority groups; hindering their access to the media; limiting their
political participation; violating their freedom of expression (especially
in their own language); impeding their freedom of religion; refraining from
facilitating their freedom of movement and to choose their place of
residence; and practicing or tolerating various other forms of direct and
indirect discrimination.

Turkey bases its minority policies on the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 and
claims to be bound only by this treaty c which itself is entirely obsolete
in light of current international standards for minority rights and
protection. Moreover, while the treaty provides for protection for all
non-Muslim minorities, all Turkish governments in the past more than 80
years have interpreted the treaty to guarantee protection only to three
minority groups: the Armenian Orthodox Christians, the Greek Orthodox
Christians, and the Jews. What is more, these groups are recognized only as
religious minorities r not as ethnic.

While Turkey has no laws in place specifically addressing minority issues,
an abundance of laws are misused against individuals who have sought to
promote minority rights, or even to address the existence of minorities.
These include inter alia the penal code, anti-terrorism legislation and laws
regulating the operation political parties and other associations.

For example, addressing the issue of discrimination against minorities, or
considering that Armenians in Turkey were victims of genocide, has been
prosecuted under the penal code for `inciting enmity or hatred among the
population' or `denigration of Turkishness.' Further, in 2005, Turkey's
largest teachers' union, Egitim Sen, was closed down for defending the right
to education in children's mother tongues. In addition, the formal closure
of the pro-Kurdish DEHAP and HAK-PAR parties are pending with the
Constitutional Court for `creating minorities' and using prohibited
languages in election activities.

Police continue to interfere in demonstrations and open-air meetings
organized by Kurdish activists many of whom have stood trial for
participating in them. Recent reforms that have lifted some language
restrictions in broadcasting and education of minority languages have been
clearly insufficient. By law, it is prohibited to use any other language but
Turkish in political activities.

Legislation regulating the operation of religious minorities treats Muslim
and non-Muslim religious communities in different ways and therefore amounts
to a serious challenge to freedom of religion and religious tolerance. In
practice, non-Muslim minorities enjoy restricted property rights, face
interference in the management of their `foundations, ' and a ban on
training their own clergy. But also Muslim minorities, such as the Alevis,
for example, experience difficulties in having their places of worship
recognized because authorities regard them as a cultural group, not
religious. In addition, reports persist that all religious minority leaders
remain under government surveillance.

While, under the Lausanne Treaty, non-Muslim religious minorities have the
right to give language education in their own language, in practice the
proper functioning of minority schools is hindered in several ways.

An old settlement act from 1934 explicitly discriminates against Roma
(`itinerant gypsies') by forbidding their settlement in Turkey. In addition,
Roma are frequently treated as second-class citizens and therefore
discriminated against in employment, housing, and in access to medical care.


In the 1980s and 1990s, more than 378,000 Kurds were displaced and more than
3,000 villages completely destroyed under the pretext of combating the PKK
insurgency. Despite some legal steps and projects to ensure the return of
IDPs, the measures taken so far are clearly insufficient and partially
discriminatory.

Homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey but sexual minorities are exposed to
various forms of discrimination and harassment. For example, groups
promoting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights have faced
difficulties in trying to register officially; they have been under the
threat of closure; gay marches have been banned and police have failed to
protect their participants against angry mobs; and a whole print run of a
gay magazine was recently confiscated.


The IHF briefing paper Turkey: A Minority Policy of Systematic Negation is
posted at
http://www.ihf-hr.org/documents/doc_...id=3&d_id=4318 (under
Recent Reports)


For more information:
Ulrich Fischer, IHF president, tel. +49-170-807 24 13
Henriette Schroeder, press officer, +43-1-408 88 22 or mobile +43-676-725 48
29

[Alexandros]

New minorities report limits status of Patriarch


ANKARA - The minority population of Turkey as defined by the 1923 Lausanne Treaty stands at a diminished 89,000, according to a new report by the Foreign Ministry and submitted to Parliament.

The report, which the Daily News learned of Friday, was submitted to the Parliament’s Human Rights Commission in November. In addition to confirming the decline of the country's main non-Muslim communities, the report also reasserted limits on the controversial term "ecumenical" for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate headquartered in Istanbul.

For centuries, the Istanbul patriarch was regarded as titular leader of all Orthodox Christians, or "ecumenical," a status still acknowledged internationally. But the new reports reasserts that the Lausanne accord which ended Turkey's War of Independence, converted the patriarch's status to only that of local community leader. According to the treaty, Turkey granted specific rights of worship and education to non-Muslim citizens of Greek or Armenian origin and to Jewish citizens.

Some groups, notably Syriac Christians in Turkey, rejected the designation of minority and remain outside the regulations of the statute. The report said, "Just to meet the religious and spiritual needs of the Greek Orthodox population in Istanbul, the Patriarchate is allowed to maintain a presence in the city." Nevertheless, Patriarch Bartholomeus uses the title "Ecumenical," during his foreign visits and has not been prevented from using this title in Turkey.

Assigning foreign bishops after synod elections in 2004 was also not opposed," the report said. The report also stated the Constitution does not allow religious institutions to become incorporated commercially.

The report includes some information about minorities generally and states there are more than 270 non-Muslim places to worship in Turkey, 108 belong to the Greek Orthodox minority which among the other minority groups has the smallest population.

The population of the Greek minority in Turkey is between 3,000 to 4,000. They have 15 primary schools, six high schools, 75 foundations, a hospital and 108 places of worship, of which 90 are open, in Turkey. But the report said the Greek minority’s demand to reopen the Halki Seminary could not be granted due to the Constitution. It added that the government’s proposal to establish a unit within Istanbul University’s Faculty of Theology where it could continue its education had not been accepted by the Patriarchate.

While Greeks are the smallest minority group, Armenians are the largest with a population of 60,000. Aside from the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul, Armenians have 55 churches open for worship as well as a kindergarten, 17 primary schools, five high schools and two hospitals. There are also 52 Armenian foundations currently operating in Turkey.

Jewish citizens follow Armenians with a population of around 25,000. They have 36 synagogues open for worship, a kindergarten, a primary school and a high school in Turkey. They also have 18 foundations and two hospitals.


What does 'minority' mean in Turkey?
In diverse Turkey, the word "minority" is a subject of ongoing sensitivity and debate. While the word in common usage can refer to distinct social groups whose numbers are relatively small, there are three legally established, statutory minorities in Turkey: Greeks, Armenians and Jews.

This definition was made in the Lausanne Treaty in 1923 at the behest of Western powers and obligated the new Turkish Republic to acknowledge the special status of these groups. Some small groups, notably the Ancient Syriac Orthodox community, rejected the status at the time as divisive and remained outside the legal definition. The Jewish community also rejected portions of the Lausanne designation as a violation of social cohesion. Reflecting the sensibilities of the time, Lausanne regarded all Muslims of Turkey as a single "majority." The Constitution, however, does not recognize religious or ethnic affiliation in defining citizenship. The word "Turk," while regarded in some quarters as an ethnic label, does not under the law mean anything more than a person of Turkish citizenship.

In the cultural realm, however, the many groups that demographically or culturally may be described as minority in Turkey include the Alevi religious sect, the ethnic Kurdish population and many others, ranging from the "Laz" population which hails from the Black Sea region in Turkey's north, to a large Arab-speaking community in southeastern Turkey to the Roma (or Gypsy) population which has lived in Istanbul since Byzantine times. Some demographers will argue that Turkey has no "majority" population in the sense in which it is used in Europe or the United States and count more than 30 languages spoken in Turkey as evidence.

Periodically, calls are made within Turkey and without to expand the "Lausanne definition." To date, this suggestion has been rejected. Those rejecting the argument, including many within the groups that might be affected, who suggest expansion of special categories is an outdated notion but who do defend acknowledgement of the growing awareness of Turkey's many unique cultures and sources of identity. Use of the word "minority" in the TDN does not imply endorsement of any side in this ongoing debate.

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