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GOV'T GIVES GO AHEAD FOR RETURN OF SEIZED PROPERTY TO NON-MUSLIM FOUNDATIONS
Today's Zaman
Aug 28, 2011
Turkey
The Turkish government has adopted a decree to return all confiscated
immovable property belonging to minority foundations in Turkey,
a long-overdue step to expand the rights of minorities in the country.
According to this decree, which was published in the Official
Gazette on Saturday, minority foundations will be able to reclaim
real property that they had declared back in 1936. All real property,
cemeteries and fountains will be returned to their rightful holders.
Immoveable property currently belonging to third persons will also
be paid for.
The government's move to return seized property to non-Muslim
foundations came just before a fast-breaking (iftar) dinner during
which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan came together with the
representatives of non-Muslim communities in Turkey at the Ä°stanbul
Archeology Museum on Sunday evening.
"This is a first in the history of the Turkish Republic and a very
significant move," said Kezban Hatemi, an attorney specializing in
minority rights.
"This is restoration of a right. This is a move that is a requirement
of the Lausanne Treaty and one which makes our non-Muslim citizens
feel like equal citizens in Turkey," Hatemi told Today's Zaman.
She also noted that returning the seized properties of the non-Muslim
foundations is the second most important thing following the end of
the military tutelage in Turkey.
Minority foundations will have to apply to the Turkish authorities
within 12 months to reclaim their property.
Confiscation of the properties of the minority foundations dates
back to the early days of the Turkish Republic. The 1936 Law on
Foundations, known as the 1936 Declaration, ordered all foundations to
submit a property declaration listing immovables and other properties
possessed by each and every foundation. Following the death of the
nation's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, those property declarations
were forgotten. When the Cyprus problem escalated in the 1970s, the
General Directorate of Foundations asked non-Muslim foundations to
resubmit their regulations. Yet those foundations did not have such
regulations because of a practice during the Ottoman Empire where
such foundations could only be established by individual decrees of
the sultan of the day. Having received negative response from these
foundations, the General Directorate of Foundations made a ruling that
the declarations of 1936 would be considered their regulation. In
case these declarations did not carry a special provision entitling
the foundation to acquire immovable property, the General Directorate
expropriated all the immovable property acquired after 1936.
These expropriation acts were in violation of both the Lausanne
agreement and property rights.
The government's move has been welcomed by great joy among non-Muslim
communities. Markar Esayan, a journalist of Armenian background, has
said the move is of particular importance because it shows that the
mentality of the state is undergoing a transformation in addition to
making up for the unfair practices that were imposed on non-Muslims
by the state for a long time.
"The decision means more than eliminating unfair treatment against
minority groups. The state mentality is changing. The state no
longer sees its Greek, Armenian and Jewish citizens as the 'other'
or a threat," Esayan said.
Turkey's population of nearly 70 million, mostly Muslim, includes
nearly 65,000 Armenian Orthodox Christians, 23,000 Jews and fewer
than 2,500 Greek Orthodox Christians.
Although Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a lawyer and a contributor to Today's
Zaman, has found the government decision to return the confiscated
property of the non-Muslim foundations a belated move, he said it is
of crucial importance for ending longstanding unfair policies related
to minority matters.
"The new law was set after several trials in the European Court of
Human Rights that had previously decided Turkey must pay compensation
to the victims. The court then decided that the situation could not
be dealt with compensation anymore. This law is a sign of change
in state mentality. The unmovable property of minority communities
will be given back due to a new codification of the law on immovable
property," he said.
Most recently, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ordered
the Turkish government to reregister a historic Orthodox orphanage
to the Ä°stanbul-based Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and also
told Ankara to pay 26,000 euros in total to the patriarchate for
both non-pecuniary damages and costs and expenses. Turkey returned
the orphanage to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in November 2010.
Turkey has so far been ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of euros
to minority foundations in accordance with European court rulings.
With the government's latest move, Turkey will have returned the
property of the minority foundations even before some of the ongoing
cases are concluded at the ECtHR.
Professor Ayhan Aktar, author of various books on minorities, said the
decision on minority property is a revolutionary one which deserves
applaud, adding that this step may encourage the government to take
further steps to expand the rights of minorities in Turkey who have
long been deprived of their rights.
"The most important thing is Turkey has done it with its own will
before facing foreign pressure. If government didn't take any
initiative, Turkey would have been faced with severe sanctions from
the ECtHR regarding ongoing trails," Aktar told Today's Zaman.
Some of the properties that will be returned to minority foundations
Gulbenkyan Selamet Public House, GedikpaÅ~_a Armenian Protestant
School, a house, dining hall and playground belonging to GedikpaÅ~_a
Armenian Protestant School, six houses, a shop and various buildings
belonging to Yedikule Surp Pırgic Armenian Hospital, Yeniköy Panaia
Church, two houses and one piece of land in Sarıyer, one cemetery,
properties belonging to the Surp Harutyun Foundation, properties
belonging to Balıklı Greek Hospital -- including 157 houses, 21
apartment complexes, one factory, three cemeteries and three night
clubs -- and property belonging to the Yeniköy Aya Nicola Church
Foundation.
*Abdullah Ayasun contributed to this report.
Today's Zaman
Aug 28, 2011
Turkey
The Turkish government has adopted a decree to return all confiscated
immovable property belonging to minority foundations in Turkey,
a long-overdue step to expand the rights of minorities in the country.
According to this decree, which was published in the Official
Gazette on Saturday, minority foundations will be able to reclaim
real property that they had declared back in 1936. All real property,
cemeteries and fountains will be returned to their rightful holders.
Immoveable property currently belonging to third persons will also
be paid for.
The government's move to return seized property to non-Muslim
foundations came just before a fast-breaking (iftar) dinner during
which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan came together with the
representatives of non-Muslim communities in Turkey at the Ä°stanbul
Archeology Museum on Sunday evening.
"This is a first in the history of the Turkish Republic and a very
significant move," said Kezban Hatemi, an attorney specializing in
minority rights.
"This is restoration of a right. This is a move that is a requirement
of the Lausanne Treaty and one which makes our non-Muslim citizens
feel like equal citizens in Turkey," Hatemi told Today's Zaman.
She also noted that returning the seized properties of the non-Muslim
foundations is the second most important thing following the end of
the military tutelage in Turkey.
Minority foundations will have to apply to the Turkish authorities
within 12 months to reclaim their property.
Confiscation of the properties of the minority foundations dates
back to the early days of the Turkish Republic. The 1936 Law on
Foundations, known as the 1936 Declaration, ordered all foundations to
submit a property declaration listing immovables and other properties
possessed by each and every foundation. Following the death of the
nation's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, those property declarations
were forgotten. When the Cyprus problem escalated in the 1970s, the
General Directorate of Foundations asked non-Muslim foundations to
resubmit their regulations. Yet those foundations did not have such
regulations because of a practice during the Ottoman Empire where
such foundations could only be established by individual decrees of
the sultan of the day. Having received negative response from these
foundations, the General Directorate of Foundations made a ruling that
the declarations of 1936 would be considered their regulation. In
case these declarations did not carry a special provision entitling
the foundation to acquire immovable property, the General Directorate
expropriated all the immovable property acquired after 1936.
These expropriation acts were in violation of both the Lausanne
agreement and property rights.
The government's move has been welcomed by great joy among non-Muslim
communities. Markar Esayan, a journalist of Armenian background, has
said the move is of particular importance because it shows that the
mentality of the state is undergoing a transformation in addition to
making up for the unfair practices that were imposed on non-Muslims
by the state for a long time.
"The decision means more than eliminating unfair treatment against
minority groups. The state mentality is changing. The state no
longer sees its Greek, Armenian and Jewish citizens as the 'other'
or a threat," Esayan said.
Turkey's population of nearly 70 million, mostly Muslim, includes
nearly 65,000 Armenian Orthodox Christians, 23,000 Jews and fewer
than 2,500 Greek Orthodox Christians.
Although Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a lawyer and a contributor to Today's
Zaman, has found the government decision to return the confiscated
property of the non-Muslim foundations a belated move, he said it is
of crucial importance for ending longstanding unfair policies related
to minority matters.
"The new law was set after several trials in the European Court of
Human Rights that had previously decided Turkey must pay compensation
to the victims. The court then decided that the situation could not
be dealt with compensation anymore. This law is a sign of change
in state mentality. The unmovable property of minority communities
will be given back due to a new codification of the law on immovable
property," he said.
Most recently, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ordered
the Turkish government to reregister a historic Orthodox orphanage
to the Ä°stanbul-based Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and also
told Ankara to pay 26,000 euros in total to the patriarchate for
both non-pecuniary damages and costs and expenses. Turkey returned
the orphanage to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in November 2010.
Turkey has so far been ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of euros
to minority foundations in accordance with European court rulings.
With the government's latest move, Turkey will have returned the
property of the minority foundations even before some of the ongoing
cases are concluded at the ECtHR.
Professor Ayhan Aktar, author of various books on minorities, said the
decision on minority property is a revolutionary one which deserves
applaud, adding that this step may encourage the government to take
further steps to expand the rights of minorities in Turkey who have
long been deprived of their rights.
"The most important thing is Turkey has done it with its own will
before facing foreign pressure. If government didn't take any
initiative, Turkey would have been faced with severe sanctions from
the ECtHR regarding ongoing trails," Aktar told Today's Zaman.
Some of the properties that will be returned to minority foundations
Gulbenkyan Selamet Public House, GedikpaÅ~_a Armenian Protestant
School, a house, dining hall and playground belonging to GedikpaÅ~_a
Armenian Protestant School, six houses, a shop and various buildings
belonging to Yedikule Surp Pırgic Armenian Hospital, Yeniköy Panaia
Church, two houses and one piece of land in Sarıyer, one cemetery,
properties belonging to the Surp Harutyun Foundation, properties
belonging to Balıklı Greek Hospital -- including 157 houses, 21
apartment complexes, one factory, three cemeteries and three night
clubs -- and property belonging to the Yeniköy Aya Nicola Church
Foundation.
*Abdullah Ayasun contributed to this report.