Southeast European Times
In Turkey, an historic self-criticism
03/07/2009
The head of Turkey’s government acknowledged that the country has not
stepped up to the plate in dealing with minority issues.
By Ayhan Simsek for Southeast European Times in Ankara — 03/07/09
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month offered a rare critical
assessment of how the country has dealt with minorities during its
recent history. "For years, those of different ethnic identity have
been chased out of the country … In fact that was an outcome of a
fascist approach," he said.
The Jewish community in Turkey immediately acknowledged Erdogan’s
words. "[The] prime minister told the truth," community Chairman
Silvyo Ovadya told the daily.
Before and after World War I — when the Ottoman Empire transitioned
into a modern nation-state — nearly two million Greeks, 1.5 million
Armenians and 500,000 Jews lived in Turkey.
The ensuing turbulence saw massacres and forced deportations, and a
1923 population exchange among Balkan countries thinned the number of
minorities further.
Nearly half a million Turks and half a million Greeks moved to Turkey
and Greece respectively.
While the three non-Muslim Turkish minorities — Jews, Armenians and
Greeks — enjoy equal rights under the Turkish Constitution, they have
faced periodic discrimination. Today, an estimated 60,000 Armenians,
25,000 Jews, and 3,000 to 4,000 Greeks live in Turkey. The EU’s 2008
Progress Report criticised the country for failing to provide
solutions to persistent minority-related issues. "Non-Muslim
communities still face problems due to lack of legal personality,"
said the report.
The Union also criticised Turkey’s continued restrictions on the
training and treatment of non-Muslim clergy. "Turkish legislation does
not provide private higher religious education for these communities
and there are no such opportunities in the public educational
system. The Halki Greek Orthodox seminary remains closed," it said.
The report concluded that "implementation of the Ministry of Interior
Circular of June 19th 2007 on the religious freedom of non-Muslim
Turkish citizens has not yet had the desired effect."
The prime minister’s words seemed aimed at defusing concerns that his
party is not committed fully to minority rights. Defence Minister
Vecdi Gonul, for instance, came under fire for suggesting that Turkey
can "never become a nation-state … if Greeks and Armenians are still
major parts of the society".
According to Vatan columnist Okay Gonensin, Erdogan’s remarks "can be
seen as a big step". A noted expert on minorities in Turkey, Baskin
Oran, also described them as a milestone.
"A taboo has been broken," Oran told the Istanbul-based Armenian
newspaper Agos. "From now on, this is irreversible. A new era is
opening."
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com