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TURKISH GOV'T TO RETURN PROPERTIES TO MINORITIES
Hurriyet
Aug 28, 2011
Turkey
Turkish government signs a historic decree to return property taken
away from minority foundations by the 1936 proclamation. The decision
includes schools, churches, stores, houses and even nightclubs.
Surp Pırgic Armenian Hospital Foundation in Istanbul has six houses,
stores and buildings that will be returned. Other foundations are
also expecting to receive theirs. Hurriyet photo
The Turkish government has signed a historic decree to return property
taken away from minority foundations 75 years ago, a decision announced
ahead of the prime minister's Ramadan fast-breaking dinner Sunday
with minority group representatives.
Published in the Official Gazette on Saturday and made by the order
of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the decision also states that
minority groups will be paid market value for property that was sold
to third parties.
The Treasury or the General Directorate of Foundations will be
responsible for the payments, with the amounts to be determined by
the Finance Ministry.
Under the new decree, the minority properties that were claimed in
the 1936 proclamation but had been registered as public or foundation
property will be returned to their rightful owners.
According to information obtained by the Anatolia news agency from
the General Directorate of Foundations, minority groups gave the
government a proclamation in 1936 detailing their immovable property.
However, over the years, these properties were not registered under the
minority foundations' names, and some were even sold to third parties.
In 2008, the government took steps toward remedying this problem,
but the efforts fell short and caused some foundations to take their
cases to the European Court of Human Rights. The court ruled in
favor of the minority groups and sentenced Turkey to pay large sums
in compensation to the foundations.
'Revolutionary' decree
The new decree, while labeled "revolutionary" and a step toward "equal
citizenship" by the foundations' lawyer Kezban Hatemi, is still seen as
insufficient by those who think the properties sold to third parties
should also be returned to their rightful owners.
The problem stemmed from the 1936 proclamation, and the European court
did not find it enough to define real estate by that alone, said Rıza
Turmen, a member of the main opposition Republican People's Party,
or CHP.
Some of the property set to be returned to Armenian, Greek and Syriac
foundations include schools, churches, stores, hundreds of houses,
buildings and apartments, cemeteries, factories, and even nightclubs.
Minority foundations have 12 months to apply, with the Foundations
Assembly set to review each case before making the final decision to
return the property to its rightful owner.
Hurriyet
Aug 28, 2011
Turkey
Turkish government signs a historic decree to return property taken
away from minority foundations by the 1936 proclamation. The decision
includes schools, churches, stores, houses and even nightclubs.
Surp Pırgic Armenian Hospital Foundation in Istanbul has six houses,
stores and buildings that will be returned. Other foundations are
also expecting to receive theirs. Hurriyet photo
The Turkish government has signed a historic decree to return property
taken away from minority foundations 75 years ago, a decision announced
ahead of the prime minister's Ramadan fast-breaking dinner Sunday
with minority group representatives.
Published in the Official Gazette on Saturday and made by the order
of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the decision also states that
minority groups will be paid market value for property that was sold
to third parties.
The Treasury or the General Directorate of Foundations will be
responsible for the payments, with the amounts to be determined by
the Finance Ministry.
Under the new decree, the minority properties that were claimed in
the 1936 proclamation but had been registered as public or foundation
property will be returned to their rightful owners.
According to information obtained by the Anatolia news agency from
the General Directorate of Foundations, minority groups gave the
government a proclamation in 1936 detailing their immovable property.
However, over the years, these properties were not registered under the
minority foundations' names, and some were even sold to third parties.
In 2008, the government took steps toward remedying this problem,
but the efforts fell short and caused some foundations to take their
cases to the European Court of Human Rights. The court ruled in
favor of the minority groups and sentenced Turkey to pay large sums
in compensation to the foundations.
'Revolutionary' decree
The new decree, while labeled "revolutionary" and a step toward "equal
citizenship" by the foundations' lawyer Kezban Hatemi, is still seen as
insufficient by those who think the properties sold to third parties
should also be returned to their rightful owners.
The problem stemmed from the 1936 proclamation, and the European court
did not find it enough to define real estate by that alone, said Rıza
Turmen, a member of the main opposition Republican People's Party,
or CHP.
Some of the property set to be returned to Armenian, Greek and Syriac
foundations include schools, churches, stores, hundreds of houses,
buildings and apartments, cemeteries, factories, and even nightclubs.
Minority foundations have 12 months to apply, with the Foundations
Assembly set to review each case before making the final decision to
return the property to its rightful owner.