SAINT GEORGE, EUROPEAN COURTS AND TERRITORIES SEEN IN THE DISTANCE
by Shahan Kandaharian

Aztag Daily
Dec 19 2008
Lebanon

The movement of demanding rights is in its peak ardour. It’s not only
the Armenian side, through its intellectual power, presenting itself as
right demanding group in front of the international community but also
Turkish intellectuals are disregarding passages from article 301 of
the Turkish Penal Code and are demanding the inevitable pardon. While
the Turkish media is giving much space to the voice raised by the
Armenian intellectuals, the international media is widely covering
the pardon demands of the Turkish popular movement. Internet websites
are adding up names to the list of the thousands of intellectuals
demanding a pardon by the hour.

Apparently the issue has gone out of the Armenian and Turkish
boarders. A British musician has already joined in the movement of
demanding a pardon. The influx of others is anticipated as well.

In this developing atmosphere, the "Hurriet" Turkish newspaper wrote
about the European court ruling, which stated that Turkey has violated
the property rights of Saint George Armenian church and the Armenian
hospital in Istambul. The court has demanded from Turkey to give back
the deeds and 600 thousand euros to Saint George Armenian church as
well as 275 thousand euros to the Armenian hospital as compensation.

The news is shocking. First of all of course the courage refers
to the faction of Armenians living in Turkey, namely the boards
of trustees of the Saint George Church and the Armenian hospital,
who had filed the complaint at Strasbourg. Let’s not forget: they
are the representatives of a minority living under a deep state or a
military regime protesting against the authorities, filing a complaint
to European courts for the restoration of national rights.

Besides the courage, the step of filing the complaint can be
interpreted in terms of political tactical shades. The complaint
was addressed to one of the most important departments of the
European justice system; therefore, the choice of the court is not
accidental. The claimant is the representation of one of Turkey’s
minorities that has placed itself in the Europeanization process. The
complaint was made against the Turkish government itself. This fact
without any more explanations is descriptive.

It is highly probable that the Turkish government is strained in its
decision to choose to carry out the verdict or to refuse to do so. The
judiciary aspect of the obligatory nature of the verdict is not a
necessity at this point. In its obvious efforts to be assimilated in
the European value system, the Turkish government has a very narrow
space of maneuvering in regard to discarding the decision of the
corresponding European structure.

However, the phenomenon and the reality are much more than that. This
will open the door to the restoration of the ecclesiastic rights
movement. A movement that will go beyond the jurisdiction of the
national authorities of the Saint George Church and the Armenian
hospital; it will expand and become a discussion concerning the
Western-Armenian ecclesiastic rights. And perhaps the national
authorities of the Saint George Church have made the right choice with
the European court. This is the alarm of the expansion of the matter
that starts with the Turkish Armenians, will reach Europe and back
to Turkey. Let us not get this wrong. With the step it has taken,
the Armenian minority doesn’t have the intention to take the matter
to its farthest point as described above. At this point the verdict
just includes European recommendations and the initiators only have
the intention of returning the assets to their owners. We must also
mention that the phenomenon does not concern a faction of the Armenian
community exceptionally. At least the Greeks are in the same situation.

But.

We are once again convinced that working behind the castle walls is
one of the most effective means of stirring up national matters. We
must have a full understanding of the delicacy, the singularities
and the sensitivities of the efforts made by our compatriots. And
also the effectiveness of every step taken in that all.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress