Agence France Presse — English
February 20, 2008 Wednesday 5:51 PM GMT

Turkish parliament adopts EU-required law on non-Muslim properties

ANKARA, Feb 20 2008

Turkish lawmakers on Wednesday adopted for a second time a bill to
improve the rights of Turkey’s tiny Christian and Jewish communities,
a key demand of the European Union that Ankara is seeking to join.

The legislation, which had been vetoed by former president Ahmet
Necdet Sezer in November 2006, garnered ‘yes’ votes from 242
lawmakers in the 550-seat house which is dominated by the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AKP), deputy parliament speaker Meral
Aksener announced.

The bill, an overhaul of the Foundations Law, paves the way for
mainly Greek, Armenian and Jewish foundations to recover some of the
properties seized by the state since 1974.

However, community representatives have criticised the bill for
failing to provide for the return of or compensation for properties
that the state has since sold to third parties.

They have also denounced a provision that limits the period for
applications for the return of properties to 18 months.

The legislation also loosens the tight state control over all
foundations and broadens their rights on property and administration.

It allows foundations to operate abroad, receive foreign funds and
set up or become a partner in a company to generate revenues.

The bill, which now needs the president’s approval to come into
force, faced harsh objections from opposition parties on the grounds
that it amounted to compromising Turkey’s interests under EU
pressure.

Non-Muslims in Turkey are mostly Greeks and Armenians, often viewed
with suspicion because of deep mistrust towards Greece, a historical
rival, and Armenia, which accuses Ottoman Turks of having committed
genocide against its ancestors during World War I.