MINORITY REPORT: LACK OF POLITICAL REPRESENTATION

BIA, Turkey
Dec 12 2007

The Minority Rights Group International has published a new report on
the status of minority rights in Turkey. It has criticised the high
electoral threshold and the ban of minority languages in political
life.

Minority Rights Group
12-12-2007

In a report entitled "A Quest for Equality: Minorities in Turkey",
the Minority Rights Group International says that there is still a
ban on minority languages in political life and public services and
that school books reinforce stereotypes about minorities.

In the press release announcing the publication of the report, the
group further says:

Millions of ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities remain
unrecognized by the Turkish state, face discrimination and are now
increasingly under threat as a result of a growing wave of violent
nationalism, Minority Rights Group says in a new report.

International standards not met

The report says that whilst the accession process to become a EU member
state has forced Turkey to make significant strides in minority rights,
much more remains to be done. The report titled "A quest for equality
– minorities in Turkey" is the most up-to-date analysis available on
the situation of all minorities in Turkey.

"Turkey is a country where a centuries-old mix of languages, religions,
cultures and traditions is practiced within its borders, but minority
protection still falls far short of international standards," says
Ishbel Matheson, MRG’s Head of Policy and Communications.

"Turkey’s multi-cultural heritage is one of its biggest assets. But
this positive aspect is not embraced at the highest level. Instead,
mention of minorities and minority rights triggers nationalist
reactions by certain sectors of society," she adds.

Lausanne Treaty limited to some religiously defined minorities

The only protection for minorities in Turkey has been set out in the
1923 Treaty of Lausanne but in practice its scope is limited only to
Armenians, Jews and Rum (Greek orthodox) Christians.

But Turkey is home to a vast number of minorities including ethnic
Kurds, Caucasians, Laz and Roma. The country’s other religious
minorities include Alevis, Assyrians, Caferis and Reformist Christians.

These groups are legally not recognized as minorities and simply
referring to their minority status, let alone working for their rights,
could lead to a jail sentence.

Linguistic and religious rights limited

According to the report, minorities excluded from the Treaty of
Lausanne are very limited in their rights to use their languages in
schools and in the media. Their religious rights are also curtailed.

The report also says a 10 percent electoral threshold prevents minority
pro-Kurdish parties from getting elected to parliament.

These parties have repeatedly failed to surpass the national threshold
despite having received the highest percentage of votes in some of
the Kurdish populous southeastern provinces.

Minorities have also increasingly becoming victims of a rising trend
of nationalism in the country. In January 2007, journalist and Armenian
human rights activist Hrant Dink was shot dead in Istanbul.

The suspect told police that Dink was Armenian and had "insulted
Turkishness".

The report says that the EU accession process and the proposed new
constitution in 2008 give plenty of opportunity for Turkey to make
legal changes to protect minorities.

"We recommend speedy legal reforms – this is crucial, but to bring real
change to Turkey’s minorities there has to be radical transformation
of the prevalent mentality towards minorities of both the state and
society," Matheson says.

Some events concerning minorities in Turkey:

1934: Mass attacks on Jews in Thrace, northern Turkey

1949: Law changing non-Turkish village names into Turkish names passed

1955: Mass attacks on non-Muslims in Istanbul

1982: New constitution which limited basic freedoms and rights was
passed. Obligatory religious education (Sunni Islam).

1991: Kurdish MP Leyla Zana spoke in Kurdish in parliament; she and
three other MPs were imprisoned for 15 years.

1992: 20,000 Turkish soldiers entered the security zone in Northern
Iraq in operations against the PKK.

1994: The Constitutional Court closed the pro-Kurdish Democracy Party
(DEP).

2003: Laws passed which relaxed restrictions on freedom of expression
and the use of Kurdish. However, mostly children are still not
allowed to be given Kurdish names. The Constitutional Court closed
the pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy Party (HADEP).

2004 The first private Kurdish language course was opened, and a
state channel began its weekly half-hour broadcast in Kurdish.

2005: It was decided to nationalise the Roma areas in Istanbul. The
Roma were not fairly treated.

27 April 2007: The Chief of General Staff said in a press statement,
"Whoever cannot say ‘How happy I am to be a Turk’ is and will remain
an enemy of the Turkish Republic."

2007: Because mayor Abdullah Demirbas of the Sur municipality in
Diyarbakir offered multilingual municipal services, he was taken from
office by the State Council and the municipal council was dissolved.