PanARMENIAN.Net

Armenian community largest in Turkey
13.12.2008 15:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ 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 Turkish 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,
Hurriyet Daily News reports.

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, 5 high schools and 2
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.

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.