FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief
========================================== ======
Tuesday 15 April 2008
TURKEY: ONE YEAR AFTER MALATYA MURDERS, TIME TO ADDRESS THE CAUSES
Turkey’s Protestants are this week commemorating the first anniversary of
the murders of three Protestants – Necati Aydin, Tillman Geske and Uður
Yüksel – in Malatya. Güzide Ceyhan, a Turkish Protestant, in a personal
commentary for Forum 18 News Service <;, notes that
Turkey’s Alliance of Protestant Churches described 2007 as a "dark year"
for their community. She says little has changed to give greater protection
for the religious freedom of small religious communities, with some hiring
private security companies or locking their doors during worship services.
Ceyhan argues that dialogue with all religious communities and
non-believers must begin so that the State’s claim of being "equally close
to all religions" becomes a reality; long-term educational efforts must be
initiated to foster pluralism and the equality of all citizens; and the
state must urgently take steps to remove imminent threats of attacks on
smaller communities, as well as punish those who have committed attacks. If
Turkey does not do this, she argues, "we will not have started to genuinely
address the causes of the three murders."
TURKEY: ONE YEAR AFTER MALATYA MURDERS, TIME TO ADDRESS THE CAUSES
By Güzide Ceyhan
Turkish Protestants are this week commemorating the deaths one year ago of
Necati Aydin, Tillman Geske and Uður Yüksel. On 18 April 2007, the three –
two Turks and a German national – were brutally murdered in their office in
the south-eastern town of Malatya. The murders left behind grieving
families, a community in fear and a country with mixed emotions about the
incident.
The trial of the five alleged killers of Aydin, Geske and Yucel – finally
begun late last year in Malatya – drags on. But it raises numerous
questions as to who else was involved in planning or inciting this terrible
attack (see F18News 29 November 2007
< e_id=1053>).
In its January 2008 report of violations of the human rights of the
Protestant community, Turkey’s Alliance of Protestant Churches described
2007 as a "dark year" for the community. The motivation to compile such a
report was to draw attention to the community’s problems and provide
concrete information for those concerned for the protection of human
rights. Sadly, Turkish media coverage of the report was minimal.
The report includes a long list of incidents of alleged violations of
human rights and provides a chilling insight into the hardships and attacks
this group is subjected to.
First of all, it is interesting to note that all the incidents were
committed by non-State actors, not by the State as such. This of itself
indicates enormous societal intolerance against Protestants in Turkish
society. Yet this does not relieve the State of its obligations to protect
the life, liberty and freedom of religion or belief of its citizens.
Secondly, as well as the horrendous murders in Malatya, the list includes
many other attacks against members of this community or their places of
worship. These include seven attacks on church buildings (ranging from
attempts to burn the building to throwing stones), four threats to kill
church leaders, one plot to murder a church leader, and two attempts to
kidnap a church leader and his 11-year-old son.
The report stresses that this list contains only those incidents where the
victims were willing to come forward. It also acknowledges that many other
incidents occur, where people are not prepared to make a public complaint
for fear of being exposed.
The third striking feature of the report is that, with few exceptions, the
authorities have not been able to find the perpetrators. The report calls
on the Government and State institutions to take a proactive attitude to
the "lynching campaign" directed against the Protestant community, whose
members are mainly people who have converted to Christianity from Islam.
But it is not only Protestants who have suffered violence. This year a
Catholic priest, Fr Adriano Franchini, was stabbed by the 20-year-old R.B.
in Izmir, though thankfully the priest survived. The statement of R.B. at
the start of his trial on 9 April is a striking testimony to the causes of
violence against Christians in Turkey (see F18News 29 November 2007
< e_id=1053>). He testified that he
had observed that after the murders in 2006 of the Catholic priest Fr
Andrea Santoro and in 2007 and of the Armenian Turkish journalist Hrant
Dink, the alleged killers were received as heroes (see eg. Compass Direct 6
February 2007
< hp?page=news&lang=en&length=long&idele ment=4764&backpage=archives&critere=&c ountryname=Turkey&rowcur=0>.
R.B. thought he would become a hero like them.
R.B. also said that he was inspired by the popular television series "The
Valley of Wolves", which in some episodes portrayed Christian missionaries
in Turkey as enemies of the nation and (see F18News 29 November 2007
< e_id=1053>). His statement
confirms that he sees his act as a commitment to nationalism (see Hurriyet
9 April 2008
< ber.aspx?id=8661073&tarih08-04-09>).
A number of church leaders had already complained about the broadcast of
this series both to the public prosecutor and to the RTUK (Radio Television
Supervisory Organ), regarding it as incitement to hatred. However, the
prosecutor did not regard it as constituting a crime, while the RTUK took a
long time to issue a warning to the producers and the channel which
broadcast it (see Hurriyet 11 April 2008
< 659378.asp?gid=222&sz=62545>).
The current President of the Alliance of Protestant Churches, Zekai
Tanyar, warns that in the past year Protestants, particularly in smaller
cities and towns, have felt intimidated by rising intolerance against their
community. He says they are reluctant to go to the police when they receive
anonymous threats or face what can only be described as discrimination in
their dealings with public authorities: they fear they will only draw more
attention to themselves and, in any case, will not succeed. Only in some
cases where there have been serious attacks on church buildings and serious
threats to the lives of church leaders, as referred to in the Alliance’s
report, has the State provided protection.
A number of churches have instead hired private security companies, while
others make sure they lock the doors during worship services. While they
are thankful for the cases where the State has provided protection, they
are also troubled by the constant reminder of the need for such protection
against potential attacks. Inevitably, questions are raised. Why is police
protection needed for a place of worship, where it ought to be possible for
the fundamental right to freedom of religion or belief to be exercised
without interference by anyone? Why should a church leader need
round-the-clock protection wherever they are? How long will such protection
be needed? Increased worries about security have also frightened church
members when coming to worship services with their families and children.
According to Tanyar, the Protestant Churches’ concerns and expectations
are no different than in 2006, before the Malatya murders, as the
conditions have not changed. He acknowledges that the necessary changes
will need a long time to take effect. Securing freedom of religion or
belief for all belief communities requires work on many different fronts;
it has political, legal and societal aspects. Creating conditions conducive
for a tolerant society – where not only Protestants, but a wide range of
groups that are distinct from the dominant or majority of the population
will be tolerated – will take a long time.
Tanyar also notes that, for many months, the Government has been held up
by successive crises in domestic politics, such as the problems around
lifting the ban on the wearing of headscarves by female university students
and the recent lawsuit aiming to close down the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP). Like many other reforms, legal steps that need to
be taken for better protection of everyone’s freedom of religion or belief
are postponed, while the government deals with what it regards as more
urgent matters. However, concrete steps must be taken in this direction,
otherwise this goal can never be achieved.
But despite the progress that has been made in the legal sphere, even the
steps that have been taken are sadly incomplete. The long-promised new
Foundations Law does not allow Muslim or non-Muslim religious communities
to legally exist as themselves, and so they are not themselves allowed to
own their own places of worship. As Dilek Kurban of the Istanbul-based
TESEV Foundation noted, the Law is "incompatible with the principle of
freedom of association, which is guaranteed by the European Convention on
Human Rights, the Constitution and the Treaty of Lausanne" (see F18News 13
March 2008 < 1100>).
Tanyar is clear that, as a community, the Protestant Churches do not wish
to become simply a tool for the political ends of various groups. In this
context he points to politicians who exaggerate the level of missionary
activities and numbers of those who have converted to Christianity as a
result of these activities. Such politicians do this to reinforce criticism
of the Government which has enacted legislation making spreading a religion
a legal activity.
Amid all these debates, it seems that the small Protestant community’s own
voice is not heard by the Turkish public and state officials. There is no
forum or tool whereby the community could effectively respond to
allegations, or take part in a meaningful discussion, involving all Turkish
citizens, that might contribute to clarification and allow for the
Protestant perspective to be heard. In addition it lacks the resources to
respond to everything that is said in public about it. The voice of
Turkey’s other smaller religious communities also needs to be heard by our
fellow Turks.
While it is difficult to remain hopeful about what the future might hold
for Turks in general and religious or belief communities in particular, it
is vitally important to continue to strive for better protection of freedom
of religion or belief. In this context I believe four concrete steps which
would have the effect of better protection for all belief communities are
essential.
The first step in the right direction would be for relevant state
officials and institutions to engage in dialogue with leaders of believers
of both religions that have existed in Turkey for centuries and those
groups that are new. This would of course also include atheists and
agnostics, as freedom of religion or belief is also a right for
non-believers. Such a dialogue would enable individuals and communities to
voice the difficulties they encounter in the exercise of their right to
freedom of religion or belief. It would also send a strong message to
Turkish society that the secular State is "equally close to all religions",
as the authorities like to proclaim. Such a dialogue would also enhance the
prestige and societal acceptance of groups that now face intolerance.
The vital second step would be to engage in long-term educational efforts
to foster pluralism, the equality of individuals with different religions
and beliefs, and a culture of democracy that would encourage and teach
discussion of different ideas without resorting to violence. This would
also include reforms in public education of religion which would bring it
up to a standard reflecting true freedom of religion for all non-Muslim
groups, as well as various groups within Islam such as the Alevis (see
F18News 29 November 2007
< e_id=1053>). Extreme nationalism
is a major obstacle to this within the educational system (see F18News 26
July 2006 < 817>).
Thirdly, there is in Turkey great controversy around the term "missionary
activity." Some use it as a negative term, while others recognise that
everyone being able to share their beliefs in a non-coercive way is
inseparable from everyone’s freedom of religion and belief. In 2005 a
parliamentary motion was brought to the Ministry of Interior about
missionary activities in Turkey. The response of the then Minister of
Interior Abdulkadir Aksu named three groups as engaging in missionary
activity: Protestants, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Baha’is. He stated that this
activity is watched closely in the interests of national security – even
though this is in international law an unacceptable reason to limit freedom
of religion and belief. Sadly, such comments are common from both
politicians and officials (see F18News 10 July 2007
< e_id=990>.) So Turkish society
needs to discuss what is meant by "missionary activity": if it is different
from exercising one’s religion or belief, and maybe examine what is proper
and improper proselytism. It is my opinion that Turkey would gain much from
a genuine public debate on this, based firmly upon respect for pluralist
democracy and tolerance.
Finally, the fourth important step – and one that needs to be taken
immediately – is for the state to enact measures to remove imminent threats
of attacks against places of worship and religious leaders. Doubtless
finding and punishing the perpetrators of previous attacks would have a
deterrent effect on those who contemplate further such attacks. The
authorities must strongly condemn such threats and attacks and do their
utmost to enforce laws protecting members of belief communities who are
vulnerable to such attacks. It is important that such attacks are condemned
by the whole of society, so that the perpetrators will not have the
perception that they will be received as heroes by a significant group in
society.
If Turkey wishes to seen as a republic genuinely committed to a secular
pluralist democracy, it is necessary for our government to: have an open
public dialogue with all religious communities, as well as non-believers;
initiate long-term educational efforts to foster pluralism and the equality
of all citizens; have a public discussion on what missionary activity
actually means in a pluralist democracy; and, most urgently, take steps to
remove imminent threats of attacks against places of worship and religious
leaders, as well as punish those who have committed attacks. For if we do
not, we will not have started to genuinely address the causes of the three
murders whose first anniversary we are marking this week. (END)
– Güzide Ceyhan, a Turkish Protestant, contributed this commentary to
Forum 18 News Service <;. Commentaries are personal
views and do not necessarily represent the views of F18News or Forum 18.
PDF and printer-friendly views of this article can be accessed from
< e_id=1115>. It may freely be
reproduced, redistributed or quoted from, with due acknowledgement to Forum
18 <;.
More analyses and commentaries on freedom of thought, conscience and
belief in Turkey can be found at
< mp;religion=all&country=68>.
A printer-friendly map of Turkey is available at
< s/atlas/index.html?Parent=mideast&Rootmap=turk ey>.
(END)
© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News
Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at