European Council calls for religious reforms in Turkey

NTV MSNBC, Turkey
Feb 15 2005

The Turkish government is opposed to the European Council report on
issues of the Kurdish question being covered in the weak groups
section and to Jewish animosity in Turkey.

February 15— A report prepared by the European Council on religion in
Turkey has called on Ankara to implement a series of reforms to bring
the country’s standards into line with those of Europe.

The report said that the identity cards issued to all Turkish
citizens at birth should have the religion section removed and that
schools should abolish compulsory religious classes.
It also warned that it was the best to not force the religious
classes, especially if they were only to focus on the teaching of
Islam.
The report also said that although the rights of religious
minorities were covered under the Lausanne Treaty, further freedoms
should be granted and warned that the public and the media in Turkey
held an attitude that looked down upon minorities.
In Turkey’s schools books, especially those referring to the
Armenians and Greeks, had humiliating and slanderous statements in
them, the report said, adding that Turkey should see these elements
of society as being part of its cultural wealth.
The report also cited instances of some people being attacked
for being Jewish and that some parts of the Turkish media made
anti-Semitic statements.
Referring to the issue of the Kurdish question the report said
that many of Turkey’s 10 to 15 million Kurds who had lived in south
eastern Turkey had moved either to urban areas or left the region due
to the armed conflict between the state and the terrorist group the
PKK. It said that there were now problems being faced by those
citizens trying to return to their home villages. The report said
that some of these persons had been killed by the state village
guards when they had tried to return to homes which was occupied by
the village guards.

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