TURKEY PASSES EU-BACKED LAW ON MINORITY SCHOOLS, BUT REMOVES KEY PASSAGE ALLOWING FOREIGNERS TO ATTEND
International Herald Tribune, France
The Associated Press
Sept 26 2006
ISTANBUL, Turkey Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday passed an EU-backed
reform bill broadening opportunities for minority schools, but removed
a key passage that would have allowed foreign students to attend,
a move likely to be seen as another setback in Turkey’s progress
toward EU membership.
The deletion ended a heated debate for the moment about whether
allowing foreign students to attend minority schools in Turkey could
lead to the reopening of a Greek Orthodox theology school shut down
35 years ago.
Turkey has been resisting pressure from the EU to reopen the Halki
Theological School on Heybeliada Island near Istanbul, which was
closed to new students in 1971 under a law that put religious and
military training under state control.
The seminary trained generations of Greek Orthodox leaders including
the current Patriarch Bartholomew I, a divisive figure in Turkey, which
does not recognize his international role and rejects his use of the
title "ecumenical," or universal, arguing instead that the patriarch is
merely the spiritual leader of Istanbul’s dwindling Orthodox community.
The seminary remained open until 1985, when the last five students
graduated.
The passage of the altered bill will likely be seen as another setback
in Turkey’s progress toward EU membership. European officials have
made wide-reaching reforms to improve minority rights in Turkey a
prerequisite if this predominantly Muslim country is ever to join an
expanded EU.
Turkey’s reluctance to concede to demands that it reopen the seminary
stems from a deep mistrust many here feel toward the patriarchate
because of its traditional ties with Greece, Turkey’s historical
regional rival.
The refusal to recognize Bartholomew’s international stature, likewise,
is part of a desire to contain his influence to Istanbul instead
of attributing to him the role of spiritual leader of hundreds of
millions of Orthodox Christians worldwide.
Ultra-nationalist lawyers say they have gained millions of signatures
in Turkey demanding that the patriarch be moved to Greece.
The head of Turkey’s parliamentary commission on education, Tayyar
Altikulac, said the wording of the adopted bill meant the seminary
would remain closed unless the government decided to amend the
constitution to reopen it.
"This bill has nothing to do with the theological seminary. The opening
of the theological seminary is a constitutional matter," he said.
The adopted bill defines minority schools as "pre-schools, elementary
and secondary schools founded by Greek, Armenian and Jewish minorities"
and specifies that they must be attended by "students originating
from the Turkish Republic."
The deleted wording had included "foreign students who belong to
these minorities."
After the theological seminary closed, the Patriarchate tried to
train future leaders of the church by sending them to theological
schools abroad after they finished high school in Turkey. But most
never returned, something church officials complain starves them of
possible new leaders.
Under a 1923 treaty with Greece, the ecumenical patriarch must be a
Turkish citizen. That was the condition set by Turkey for allowing
the Patriarchate to remain in Istanbul.
The patriarchate in Istanbul dates from the 1,100-year-old Orthodox
Greek Byzantine Empire, which collapsed when Muslim Ottoman Turks
conquered Constantinople, today’s Istanbul, in 1453.
In a related development, parliament’s justice commission on Tuesday
was also debating wording of a separate draft law aimed at returning
properties of religious minority foundations confiscated by the state
since 1974.
The planned amendments would allow the foundations to acquire and
register properties that have been donated to them, but it was not
clear if they would allow the groups to reclaim property that has
since been sold to other people.
Although the proposed amendments are hailed as a breakthrough, they
still fall short of expectations of minorities since they do not cover
the issue of some other confiscated properties, such as cemeteries
or properties owned by minority schools which are not foundations,
Murat Cano, a lawyer and an expert on minority rights, told private
Haber Turk television channel on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Islamic-rooted government
on Tuesday insisted that steps be taken by Greece in granting more
"rights to Muslims living in Greece" before Turkey would take any
further steps.
Members of Turkey’s small Armenian and Greek minorities criticized
the government’s stance, saying they were being treated as "hostages"
and not "citizens," Haber Turk reported.
ISTANBUL, Turkey Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday passed an EU-backed
reform bill broadening opportunities for minority schools, but removed
a key passage that would have allowed foreign students to attend,
a move likely to be seen as another setback in Turkey’s progress
toward EU membership.
The deletion ended a heated debate for the moment about whether
allowing foreign students to attend minority schools in Turkey could
lead to the reopening of a Greek Orthodox theology school shut down
35 years ago.
Turkey has been resisting pressure from the EU to reopen the Halki
Theological School on Heybeliada Island near Istanbul, which was
closed to new students in 1971 under a law that put religious and
military training under state control.
The seminary trained generations of Greek Orthodox leaders including
the current Patriarch Bartholomew I, a divisive figure in Turkey, which
does not recognize his international role and rejects his use of the
title "ecumenical," or universal, arguing instead that the patriarch is
merely the spiritual leader of Istanbul’s dwindling Orthodox community.
The seminary remained open until 1985, when the last five students
graduated.
The passage of the altered bill will likely be seen as another setback
in Turkey’s progress toward EU membership. European officials have
made wide-reaching reforms to improve minority rights in Turkey a
prerequisite if this predominantly Muslim country is ever to join an
expanded EU.
Turkey’s reluctance to concede to demands that it reopen the seminary
stems from a deep mistrust many here feel toward the patriarchate
because of its traditional ties with Greece, Turkey’s historical
regional rival.
The refusal to recognize Bartholomew’s international stature, likewise,
is part of a desire to contain his influence to Istanbul instead
of attributing to him the role of spiritual leader of hundreds of
millions of Orthodox Christians worldwide.
Ultra-nationalist lawyers say they have gained millions of signatures
in Turkey demanding that the patriarch be moved to Greece.
The head of Turkey’s parliamentary commission on education, Tayyar
Altikulac, said the wording of the adopted bill meant the seminary
would remain closed unless the government decided to amend the
constitution to reopen it.
"This bill has nothing to do with the theological seminary. The opening
of the theological seminary is a constitutional matter," he said.
The adopted bill defines minority schools as "pre-schools, elementary
and secondary schools founded by Greek, Armenian and Jewish minorities"
and specifies that they must be attended by "students originating
from the Turkish Republic."
The deleted wording had included "foreign students who belong to
these minorities."
After the theological seminary closed, the Patriarchate tried to
train future leaders of the church by sending them to theological
schools abroad after they finished high school in Turkey. But most
never returned, something church officials complain starves them of
possible new leaders.
Under a 1923 treaty with Greece, the ecumenical patriarch must be a
Turkish citizen. That was the condition set by Turkey for allowing
the Patriarchate to remain in Istanbul.
The patriarchate in Istanbul dates from the 1,100-year-old Orthodox
Greek Byzantine Empire, which collapsed when Muslim Ottoman Turks
conquered Constantinople, today’s Istanbul, in 1453.
In a related development, parliament’s justice commission on Tuesday
was also debating wording of a separate draft law aimed at returning
properties of religious minority foundations confiscated by the state
since 1974.
The planned amendments would allow the foundations to acquire and
register properties that have been donated to them, but it was not
clear if they would allow the groups to reclaim property that has
since been sold to other people.
Although the proposed amendments are hailed as a breakthrough, they
still fall short of expectations of minorities since they do not cover
the issue of some other confiscated properties, such as cemeteries
or properties owned by minority schools which are not foundations,
Murat Cano, a lawyer and an expert on minority rights, told private
Haber Turk television channel on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Islamic-rooted government
on Tuesday insisted that steps be taken by Greece in granting more
"rights to Muslims living in Greece" before Turkey would take any
further steps.
Members of Turkey’s small Armenian and Greek minorities criticized
the government’s stance, saying they were being treated as "hostages"
and not "citizens," Haber Turk reported.