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U.S. REPORT LISTS TURKEY AMONG WORLD'S WORST VIOLATORS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS
PanARMENIAN.Net
March 20, 2012 - 21:25 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - A U.S. report has listed Turkey among the world's
worst violators of religious freedoms.
According to Today's Zaman, the report, which was leaked to the
Associated Press on Monday by the bipartisan US Commission on
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), grouped Turkey among 15
other nations in its "countries of particular concern" category for
its "systematic and egregious limitations" of religious freedoms. The
ranking was a sharp downgrade from Turkey's less-severe status as a
watch-listed country in years past.
Expected to be released on Tuesday, the report also listed Tajikistan,
Myanmar, North Korea, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan,
China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam in
its "countries of particular concern" category.
Namık Tan, Turkey's ambassador to Washington, defended recent efforts
by the Turkish government to reverse decades of discrimination, telling
AP that "any unbiased eye will immediately realize that that's not
where Turkey belongs in the USCIRF annual report."
Among other problems, the report criticizes Turkey for regulating
non-Muslim groups by restricting how they can train clergy, offer
education and own their places of worship, AP stated.
PanARMENIAN.Net
March 20, 2012 - 21:25 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - A U.S. report has listed Turkey among the world's
worst violators of religious freedoms.
According to Today's Zaman, the report, which was leaked to the
Associated Press on Monday by the bipartisan US Commission on
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), grouped Turkey among 15
other nations in its "countries of particular concern" category for
its "systematic and egregious limitations" of religious freedoms. The
ranking was a sharp downgrade from Turkey's less-severe status as a
watch-listed country in years past.
Expected to be released on Tuesday, the report also listed Tajikistan,
Myanmar, North Korea, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan,
China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam in
its "countries of particular concern" category.
Namık Tan, Turkey's ambassador to Washington, defended recent efforts
by the Turkish government to reverse decades of discrimination, telling
AP that "any unbiased eye will immediately realize that that's not
where Turkey belongs in the USCIRF annual report."
Among other problems, the report criticizes Turkey for regulating
non-Muslim groups by restricting how they can train clergy, offer
education and own their places of worship, AP stated.