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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 1 2010
More `comfortable' after Ergenekon probe, Patriarchate calls for dialogue
A spokesperson for the Ä°stanbul-based Greek Orthodox Patriarchate has
said they are now much more comfortable following the ongoing probe
into the illegal Ergenekon group but that they need more dialogue with
the government in order to discuss issues related to the Halki
(Heybeliada) Seminary, closed since 1971.
`Before the arrests related to Ergenekon, Kemal Kerinçsiz was holding
demonstrations right here to discredit the patriarchate,' Dositheos
Anagnostopulos said pointing at the narrow street in front of his
office window going up to the patriarchate's door. `We have been much
more comfortable since the Ergenekon investigation started.' He was
referring to the ongoing probe into the Ergenekon criminal network
accused of plotting to overthrow the government, and Kerinçsiz,
arrested as part of the investigation.
Kerinçsiz, who filed frequent complaints against authors speaking
outside the official line, is most remembered for having filed a
criminal complaint against Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who he
accused of `insulting Turkishness.' Shortly after this complaint was
filed, Dink was assassinated by an ultranationalist teenager in
January 2007.
The spokesperson told Today's Zaman that the recently exposed Cage
plan, a military plot that planned to assassinate non-Muslim figures
and detonate explosives in a museum in order to scare the public,
making them turn against the ruling party, showed that they had been
right to be scared in the past.
Another exposure within the Ergenekon probe was the gang-linked bogus
Turkish Patriarchate. Based in Ä°stanbul, this self-declared `Turkish
Orthodox Patriarchate' has neither a congregation nor a spiritual base
but turned out to be a creation of the Turkish state together with
some members of the Greek Orthodox community in Turkey in the 1920s
when parts of Anatolia were invaded by the Greeks.
Dositheos Anagnostopulos, a spokesperson for the Ä°stanbul-based Greek
Orthodox Patriarchate, told Today's Zaman that they are now much more
comfortable following the ongoing probe into Ergenekon.
Sevgi Erenerol, who bears the title `media and public relations
officer' of the fake patriarchate, was arrested in early 2008 for
alleged links to Ergenekon. The Turkish Patriarchate served as a
headquarters for the Ergenekon network, according to allegations. Many
observers liken the Ergenekon investigation issue to the fight in
Italy against Gladio, a NATO paramilitary force left over from the
Cold War.
Deadlock continues on Halki Seminary
Despite positive developments after the Ergenekon investigation, some
problems persist for the patriarchate; the most burning issue is the
closure of the Halki Seminary, the only school where Greek minorities
in Turkey used to educate their clergymen. Turkey closed the school in
1971 during a period of tension with Greece over Cyprus and a
crackdown on religious education that also included Muslim religious
schools.
`The revelations of the last 14-15 months under the Ergenekon probe
have shown a lot. Now the patriarch [Bartholomew, spiritual leader of
300 million Orthodox Christians around the world] has a question in
mind even though he is sure the current government is working for a
solution to our problem. So the government is well intentioned, but
the problem has not been solved. So there is a grey area,'
Anagnostopulos said regarding the mystery behind the school's closure.
He added that this `grey area' might well be related to Ergenekon. In
other words, Ergenekon's extensions within the state structure might
be preventing the opening of the Halki Seminary as some government
officials have said that there is no reason to keep it closed.
Anagnostopulos referred back to the Aug. 15 visit of Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an to the patriarchate where ErdoÄ?an said that it
was possible that there would be a solution to the problem in January
2010, even though he did not specify the problem.
ErdoÄ?an's statement came following a presentation by the
patriarchate's lawyer Kezban Hatemi about various problems from seized
buildings and churches to the Halki Seminary.
Accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç, Education Minister
Nimet �ubukçu and Turkey's chief European Union negotiator Egemen
BaÄ?ıÅ?, ErdoÄ?an also paid a visit to the patriarchate's monastery on
Aug. 15.
`The patriarch and Prime Minister ErdoÄ?an were on a balcony which has
a view of Heybeliada Island. The patriarch pointed at it and said
there is the closed school and invited the delegation to the island
for a visit one day. The prime minister did not respond. BaÄ?ıÅ? said,
`Gladly,'' Anagnostopulos said. He added that the education minister
noted that there is no reason to keep the Halki Seminary closed.
Anagnostopulos also said that the school has been under the Ministry
of Education until its closure in 1971.
`There is a misperception about how the seminary school worked. It has
always been under the Ministry of Education. There has always been a
Turkish deputy director. This has never been a problem,'
Anagnostopulos said and corrected another misperception that then
Greek Cypriot leader Archbishop Makarios was not a graduate of Halki
Seminary.
The total number of graduates from the school is 990, and some of them
have become clergymen in various places in Turkey and even in Athens.
The school has been well kept since there is a functioning monastery
on its premises.
Anagnostopulos said the school could be opened with seven or eight
students, and the instructors would most likely to be Turkish citizens
from the Greek minority community.
He said that the patriarchate is `grateful' if the government has
plans to reopen the school but requests dialogue to work on the
curriculum.
`The last regulations regarding the school were approved in 1951. The
school has been closed for 38 years so there is nobody in the Ministry
of Education to deal with a new curriculum. We would be glad if there
could be dialogue between Ankara and the patriarchate regarding this
issue,' he said. Asked whether or not the patriarchate plans to take
the issue to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR),
Anagnostopulos said they do not wish to use that course of action but
that Patriarch Bartholomew said that they will have to do that `if
deadlock persists.'
No dialogue since CBS program
Some newspaper stories said that Ankara and the patriarchate had had
dialogue following a CBS television show where Patriarch Bartholomew
made a remark about feeling `crucified' living in Turkey.
However, Anagnostopulos said Ankara in general never talks to the
patriarchate directly and that communication goes through the Ä°stanbul
Governor's Office but that there has not been any type of dialogue
with Ankara recently.
The patriarch's words on US television saying Turkey's Greek Orthodox
community feels they are treated as `second-class citizens' and he
feels `crucified' living in Turkey angered some but the spokesperson
said that the patriarch's words also demonstrate that people can talk
freely about their hardships and this shows Turkey's democratic
standards.
The demand for the reopening of the seminary has been increasingly
discussed in regard to the improvement of human rights and democracy
in Turkey. Although it is not a direct condition for EU membership,
the EU progress reports regarding Turkey mentioned the issue.
During his official visit to Ä°stanbul in April, US President Barack
Obama highlighted the importance of freedom of religion and the rights
of non-Muslim minorities. Obama held a separate meeting with Patriarch
Bartholomew, whose international role as the spiritual leader of
hundreds of millions of Orthodox Christians worldwide is not
recognized by Ankara.
01 January 2010, Friday
YONCA POYRAZ DOÄ?AN Ä°STANBUL
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Jan 1 2010
More `comfortable' after Ergenekon probe, Patriarchate calls for dialogue
A spokesperson for the Ä°stanbul-based Greek Orthodox Patriarchate has
said they are now much more comfortable following the ongoing probe
into the illegal Ergenekon group but that they need more dialogue with
the government in order to discuss issues related to the Halki
(Heybeliada) Seminary, closed since 1971.
`Before the arrests related to Ergenekon, Kemal Kerinçsiz was holding
demonstrations right here to discredit the patriarchate,' Dositheos
Anagnostopulos said pointing at the narrow street in front of his
office window going up to the patriarchate's door. `We have been much
more comfortable since the Ergenekon investigation started.' He was
referring to the ongoing probe into the Ergenekon criminal network
accused of plotting to overthrow the government, and Kerinçsiz,
arrested as part of the investigation.
Kerinçsiz, who filed frequent complaints against authors speaking
outside the official line, is most remembered for having filed a
criminal complaint against Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who he
accused of `insulting Turkishness.' Shortly after this complaint was
filed, Dink was assassinated by an ultranationalist teenager in
January 2007.
The spokesperson told Today's Zaman that the recently exposed Cage
plan, a military plot that planned to assassinate non-Muslim figures
and detonate explosives in a museum in order to scare the public,
making them turn against the ruling party, showed that they had been
right to be scared in the past.
Another exposure within the Ergenekon probe was the gang-linked bogus
Turkish Patriarchate. Based in Ä°stanbul, this self-declared `Turkish
Orthodox Patriarchate' has neither a congregation nor a spiritual base
but turned out to be a creation of the Turkish state together with
some members of the Greek Orthodox community in Turkey in the 1920s
when parts of Anatolia were invaded by the Greeks.
Dositheos Anagnostopulos, a spokesperson for the Ä°stanbul-based Greek
Orthodox Patriarchate, told Today's Zaman that they are now much more
comfortable following the ongoing probe into Ergenekon.
Sevgi Erenerol, who bears the title `media and public relations
officer' of the fake patriarchate, was arrested in early 2008 for
alleged links to Ergenekon. The Turkish Patriarchate served as a
headquarters for the Ergenekon network, according to allegations. Many
observers liken the Ergenekon investigation issue to the fight in
Italy against Gladio, a NATO paramilitary force left over from the
Cold War.
Deadlock continues on Halki Seminary
Despite positive developments after the Ergenekon investigation, some
problems persist for the patriarchate; the most burning issue is the
closure of the Halki Seminary, the only school where Greek minorities
in Turkey used to educate their clergymen. Turkey closed the school in
1971 during a period of tension with Greece over Cyprus and a
crackdown on religious education that also included Muslim religious
schools.
`The revelations of the last 14-15 months under the Ergenekon probe
have shown a lot. Now the patriarch [Bartholomew, spiritual leader of
300 million Orthodox Christians around the world] has a question in
mind even though he is sure the current government is working for a
solution to our problem. So the government is well intentioned, but
the problem has not been solved. So there is a grey area,'
Anagnostopulos said regarding the mystery behind the school's closure.
He added that this `grey area' might well be related to Ergenekon. In
other words, Ergenekon's extensions within the state structure might
be preventing the opening of the Halki Seminary as some government
officials have said that there is no reason to keep it closed.
Anagnostopulos referred back to the Aug. 15 visit of Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an to the patriarchate where ErdoÄ?an said that it
was possible that there would be a solution to the problem in January
2010, even though he did not specify the problem.
ErdoÄ?an's statement came following a presentation by the
patriarchate's lawyer Kezban Hatemi about various problems from seized
buildings and churches to the Halki Seminary.
Accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç, Education Minister
Nimet �ubukçu and Turkey's chief European Union negotiator Egemen
BaÄ?ıÅ?, ErdoÄ?an also paid a visit to the patriarchate's monastery on
Aug. 15.
`The patriarch and Prime Minister ErdoÄ?an were on a balcony which has
a view of Heybeliada Island. The patriarch pointed at it and said
there is the closed school and invited the delegation to the island
for a visit one day. The prime minister did not respond. BaÄ?ıÅ? said,
`Gladly,'' Anagnostopulos said. He added that the education minister
noted that there is no reason to keep the Halki Seminary closed.
Anagnostopulos also said that the school has been under the Ministry
of Education until its closure in 1971.
`There is a misperception about how the seminary school worked. It has
always been under the Ministry of Education. There has always been a
Turkish deputy director. This has never been a problem,'
Anagnostopulos said and corrected another misperception that then
Greek Cypriot leader Archbishop Makarios was not a graduate of Halki
Seminary.
The total number of graduates from the school is 990, and some of them
have become clergymen in various places in Turkey and even in Athens.
The school has been well kept since there is a functioning monastery
on its premises.
Anagnostopulos said the school could be opened with seven or eight
students, and the instructors would most likely to be Turkish citizens
from the Greek minority community.
He said that the patriarchate is `grateful' if the government has
plans to reopen the school but requests dialogue to work on the
curriculum.
`The last regulations regarding the school were approved in 1951. The
school has been closed for 38 years so there is nobody in the Ministry
of Education to deal with a new curriculum. We would be glad if there
could be dialogue between Ankara and the patriarchate regarding this
issue,' he said. Asked whether or not the patriarchate plans to take
the issue to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR),
Anagnostopulos said they do not wish to use that course of action but
that Patriarch Bartholomew said that they will have to do that `if
deadlock persists.'
No dialogue since CBS program
Some newspaper stories said that Ankara and the patriarchate had had
dialogue following a CBS television show where Patriarch Bartholomew
made a remark about feeling `crucified' living in Turkey.
However, Anagnostopulos said Ankara in general never talks to the
patriarchate directly and that communication goes through the Ä°stanbul
Governor's Office but that there has not been any type of dialogue
with Ankara recently.
The patriarch's words on US television saying Turkey's Greek Orthodox
community feels they are treated as `second-class citizens' and he
feels `crucified' living in Turkey angered some but the spokesperson
said that the patriarch's words also demonstrate that people can talk
freely about their hardships and this shows Turkey's democratic
standards.
The demand for the reopening of the seminary has been increasingly
discussed in regard to the improvement of human rights and democracy
in Turkey. Although it is not a direct condition for EU membership,
the EU progress reports regarding Turkey mentioned the issue.
During his official visit to Ä°stanbul in April, US President Barack
Obama highlighted the importance of freedom of religion and the rights
of non-Muslim minorities. Obama held a separate meeting with Patriarch
Bartholomew, whose international role as the spiritual leader of
hundreds of millions of Orthodox Christians worldwide is not
recognized by Ankara.
01 January 2010, Friday
YONCA POYRAZ DOÄ?AN Ä°STANBUL
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress