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CLINTON HAILS IMPROVEMENTS IN TURKISH RELIGIOUS RIGHTS
by Umit Enginsoy
Hurriyet
April 9 2012
Turkey
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has praised the improvements
the Turkish government has secured in the field of religious freedoms
in a letter sent to a prominent congressman.
"I am encouraged by concrete steps the government of Turkey has taken
over the past year to return properties to religious communities,"
Clinton wrote in last week's letter to congressman Howard Berman, a
Democrat from California and the ranking Democrat in the U.S. House
Foreign Affairs Committee. Berman was one of the sponsors of a bill
on the return of properties confiscated from Christian communities,
which was accepted last year. The U.S. Senate has also endorsed
the resolution.
"In August 2011 the government issued a decree allowing religious
minorities to apply to reclaim churches, synagogues, and other
properties confiscated 75 years ago. Several properties have already
been returned to the 24 religious minority foundations that have
applied thus far," Clinton wrote. "Separately, in November 2010, the
government of Turkey returned the Buyukada orphanage to the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, in line with a ruling by the European Court of Human
Rights," she wrote.
"Turkish officials at the most senior levels have told me they are
committed to reopening the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Halki Seminary
in the near future. In March, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag
stated, 'there are no laws in Turkey against opening a seminary to
train Christian clerics; the state will also support such a move,'"
Clinton wrote. "The government is redrafting its 1982 military-drafted
constitution to fully embrace individual rights, including those of
religious and ethnic minorities. Significantly, Parliament Speaker
Cemil Cicek reached out to Orthodox, Jewish, Armenian and Syriac
leaders during this process," she wrote.
"In response, on February 20, the Ecumenical Patriarch addressed the
Turkish Parliament for the first time in the history of the republic,
noting the positive changes taking place in Turkey: 'Unfortunately,
there have been injustices toward minorities until now. These are
slowly being corrected and changed. A new Turkey is being born,'"
Clinton wrote.
"These steps are encouraging and we are urging the government of Turkey
to continue returning other properties confiscated from minority
religious communities to their rightful owners, as well as moving
forward with needed legal reforms in its constitutional redrafting
process," she wrote. "We will continue to remain vigilant of the
situation for religious communities and encourage needed reforms in
the country."
by Umit Enginsoy
Hurriyet
April 9 2012
Turkey
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has praised the improvements
the Turkish government has secured in the field of religious freedoms
in a letter sent to a prominent congressman.
"I am encouraged by concrete steps the government of Turkey has taken
over the past year to return properties to religious communities,"
Clinton wrote in last week's letter to congressman Howard Berman, a
Democrat from California and the ranking Democrat in the U.S. House
Foreign Affairs Committee. Berman was one of the sponsors of a bill
on the return of properties confiscated from Christian communities,
which was accepted last year. The U.S. Senate has also endorsed
the resolution.
"In August 2011 the government issued a decree allowing religious
minorities to apply to reclaim churches, synagogues, and other
properties confiscated 75 years ago. Several properties have already
been returned to the 24 religious minority foundations that have
applied thus far," Clinton wrote. "Separately, in November 2010, the
government of Turkey returned the Buyukada orphanage to the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, in line with a ruling by the European Court of Human
Rights," she wrote.
"Turkish officials at the most senior levels have told me they are
committed to reopening the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Halki Seminary
in the near future. In March, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag
stated, 'there are no laws in Turkey against opening a seminary to
train Christian clerics; the state will also support such a move,'"
Clinton wrote. "The government is redrafting its 1982 military-drafted
constitution to fully embrace individual rights, including those of
religious and ethnic minorities. Significantly, Parliament Speaker
Cemil Cicek reached out to Orthodox, Jewish, Armenian and Syriac
leaders during this process," she wrote.
"In response, on February 20, the Ecumenical Patriarch addressed the
Turkish Parliament for the first time in the history of the republic,
noting the positive changes taking place in Turkey: 'Unfortunately,
there have been injustices toward minorities until now. These are
slowly being corrected and changed. A new Turkey is being born,'"
Clinton wrote.
"These steps are encouraging and we are urging the government of Turkey
to continue returning other properties confiscated from minority
religious communities to their rightful owners, as well as moving
forward with needed legal reforms in its constitutional redrafting
process," she wrote. "We will continue to remain vigilant of the
situation for religious communities and encourage needed reforms in
the country."