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RETURN OF SEIZED PROPERTY TO MINORITY FOUNDATIONS REMAINS AT 16 PERCENT
Today's Zaman, Turkey
July 24 2013
24 July 2013 /TODAY'S ZAMAN, Ä°STANBUL
Representatives from non-Muslim foundations have announced that
they have received a positive response for only 16 percent of the
applications they made for the return of their property seized by
the state, the Taraf daily reported on Wednesday.
Recent remarks by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who spoke
during an iftar dinner, saying his government has returned property
that valued at $2.5 billion to non-Muslims, has brought the issue of
property seized from Turkey's minorities back on the nation's agenda.
In 2011, Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party)
government adopted a decree to return all confiscated immovable
property belonging to minority foundations in Turkey.
According to the decree, minority foundations are able to reclaim real
property they had declared back in 1936. All real property, cemeteries
and fountains will be returned to their rightful owners. Immovable
property currently belonging to third parties will also be paid for.
The 1936 Law on Foundations aimed to control non-Muslim foundations
by placing them under the guardianship of the Directorate General
for Foundations (VGM).
Since 2011, non-Muslim foundations have applied to the VGM demanding
the return of 542 properties. However, they have been unable to get
back most of their seized property over the past two years.
In remarks to Taraf, Laki Vingas, head of the Minorities Foundation,
explained: "One hundred and sixteen minority foundations have applied
for the return of 542 properties, but only 253 properties have been
returned. Applications for the return of 829 seized properties were
rejected. No assessment has been made about the situation of 460
properties. With regard to 18 properties, which were acquired by
third persons, a decision was made for compensation to be paid,"
adding that only 16 percent of the applications have been responded
to in the affirmative.
According to Vingas, the process concerning the return of seized
property of non-Muslims will be concluded within three months and
the rate of the return will remain at 25 percent at most.
With regard to the rejected applications, Vingas said rejections
mostly happen due to missing documents and failure to determine the
exact location of the property, adding that some minority foundations
have taken legal action concerning their rejected applications.
Å~^ahin Gezer, a member of the real estate commission of the Turkish
Armenian Patriarchate, told the daily that he finds the figure cited
by Erdogan exaggerated, adding that if all the seized property of
non-Muslim foundations had been returned, it would be about $2.5
billion.
Voicing his disapproval of the slow progress in the return of seized
property, Gezer said: "The process is running very slowly. The state
knows it better than us what place was ours and what was not. We need
to take back the documents from the state which the state wants from
us. But, we cannot get these documents from many institutions. What
we want is covered-up documents at the end of the day. When we cannot
get these documents, our applications are rejected and we cannot
prove that that property was ours."
The Diyarbakır Surp Giragos Armenian Church Foundation is another
non-Muslim foundation most of whose applications for the return of
seized property were rejected.
Foundation head Vartkes Ergun Ayık told Taraf that they applied for
the return of 190 properties to the foundation but that only 17 have
been given back to them.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-321719-return-of-seized-property-to-minority-foundations-remains-at-16-percent.html
From: A. Papazian
Today's Zaman, Turkey
July 24 2013
24 July 2013 /TODAY'S ZAMAN, Ä°STANBUL
Representatives from non-Muslim foundations have announced that
they have received a positive response for only 16 percent of the
applications they made for the return of their property seized by
the state, the Taraf daily reported on Wednesday.
Recent remarks by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who spoke
during an iftar dinner, saying his government has returned property
that valued at $2.5 billion to non-Muslims, has brought the issue of
property seized from Turkey's minorities back on the nation's agenda.
In 2011, Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party)
government adopted a decree to return all confiscated immovable
property belonging to minority foundations in Turkey.
According to the decree, minority foundations are able to reclaim real
property they had declared back in 1936. All real property, cemeteries
and fountains will be returned to their rightful owners. Immovable
property currently belonging to third parties will also be paid for.
The 1936 Law on Foundations aimed to control non-Muslim foundations
by placing them under the guardianship of the Directorate General
for Foundations (VGM).
Since 2011, non-Muslim foundations have applied to the VGM demanding
the return of 542 properties. However, they have been unable to get
back most of their seized property over the past two years.
In remarks to Taraf, Laki Vingas, head of the Minorities Foundation,
explained: "One hundred and sixteen minority foundations have applied
for the return of 542 properties, but only 253 properties have been
returned. Applications for the return of 829 seized properties were
rejected. No assessment has been made about the situation of 460
properties. With regard to 18 properties, which were acquired by
third persons, a decision was made for compensation to be paid,"
adding that only 16 percent of the applications have been responded
to in the affirmative.
According to Vingas, the process concerning the return of seized
property of non-Muslims will be concluded within three months and
the rate of the return will remain at 25 percent at most.
With regard to the rejected applications, Vingas said rejections
mostly happen due to missing documents and failure to determine the
exact location of the property, adding that some minority foundations
have taken legal action concerning their rejected applications.
Å~^ahin Gezer, a member of the real estate commission of the Turkish
Armenian Patriarchate, told the daily that he finds the figure cited
by Erdogan exaggerated, adding that if all the seized property of
non-Muslim foundations had been returned, it would be about $2.5
billion.
Voicing his disapproval of the slow progress in the return of seized
property, Gezer said: "The process is running very slowly. The state
knows it better than us what place was ours and what was not. We need
to take back the documents from the state which the state wants from
us. But, we cannot get these documents from many institutions. What
we want is covered-up documents at the end of the day. When we cannot
get these documents, our applications are rejected and we cannot
prove that that property was ours."
The Diyarbakır Surp Giragos Armenian Church Foundation is another
non-Muslim foundation most of whose applications for the return of
seized property were rejected.
Foundation head Vartkes Ergun Ayık told Taraf that they applied for
the return of 190 properties to the foundation but that only 17 have
been given back to them.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-321719-return-of-seized-property-to-minority-foundations-remains-at-16-percent.html
From: A. Papazian