Posted on 12/03/2004 6:20:08 PM PST by ionian
Turkey Policies on Minorities Spark Debate
Fri Dec 3, 1:50 PM ET Middle East - AP
By JAMES C. HELICKE, Associated Press Writer
ISTANBUL, Turkey - A furor in Turkey ignited by the title of a Christian spiritual leader on a U.S. embassy invitation has underscored concerns about the largely Muslim country's treatment of minorities two weeks before the European Union (news - web sites) decides whether to open membership talks with Ankara.
The problem revolved around the status of the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, a Turkish citizen and ethnic Greek. He is considered "first among equals" of the world's Orthodox patriarchs and directly controls several Greek Orthodox Churches around the world.
But Turkey has long refused to accept any international role for the patriarch and rejects his use of the title "ecumenical," or universal. It argues the patriarch is merely spiritual leader of Istanbul's dwindling Orthodox community of less than 3,000.
So when the U.S. Embassy sent out invitations for a reception on Thursday hosted by Ambassador Eric Edelman that referred to Bartholomew as "ecumenical patriarch" — a term long accepted by the United States and Europe — Turkish officials were furious.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, which has made EU membership its top priority and hopes to open membership talks with the bloc next year, ordered public officials not to attend the reception.
"We find it wrong that although none of our citizens has such a title, that invitations are issued in this form," Erdogan said in a television interview on Wednesday, adding that the patriarch's status was determined by an international treaty signed in 1923.
The issue goes to the heart of questions about Turkey's commitment to European values. The EU has said that improved rights for ethnic and religious minorities would be a condition for Turkey's EU membership.
Turkey's desire to contain Bartholomew's influence to Istanbul stems from a deep mistrust many Turks feel toward the patriarchate because of its traditional ties with Greece, Turkey's historical regional rival.
But the dispute has flared at precisely the wrong time for Turkey — ahead of a Dec. 17 summit that will decide whether to begin membership negotiations for its entry into the EU.
In October, a parliamentary bill to criminalize adultery also raised questions about Turkey's commitment to European values, just as Brussels was considering a preliminary recommendation on opening talks.
The crisis was defused when Erdogan, whose party has Islamic roots, persuaded lawmakers to back away from the law. But the EU report that eventually cleared the way for the Dec. 17 decision suggested that improved rights for ethnic and religious minorities would be a condition for membership.
It said "religious freedom is subject to serious limitations as compared with European standards" and mentioned the patriarchate's problems with a theology school. It also noted the precise issue that has now emerged, saying disapprovingly that "the ecclesiastical title of Ecumencial Patriarch is still banned."
With EU membership at stake for Turkey, Bartholomew has been heightening his criticism of the Turkish government.
Most notably, he has increased calls for the reopening of a theology school on an island outside Istanbul that trained generations of church leaders, including Bartholomew, until it was closed by Turkey in 1971.
"We are very saddened, both as a patriarchate and as a community. We had expected our problems to end, and now we have all sorts of new issues coming out," Bartholomew said during a meeting in Istanbul Wednesday with Greek Tourism Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos. "None of our problems has been solved. We have more attacks against us even though we are on the brink of a decision to get a date for Europe."
The reception Thursday in Ankara, which Bartholomew did not attend, was for members of the American chapter of the Order of St. Andrew, an organization of prominent Orthodox churchmen from the United States. The group also met with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and pressed demands to reopen the school and resolve the other disputes.
The patriarchate in Istanbul dates from the Orthodox Greek Byzantine Empire, which collapsed when the Muslim Ottoman Turks conquered the city in 1453.
Here we go. Once Turkey gets the jitters and starts behaving like every other Muslim country, Europe is finished. They're starting to seem awefully paranoid.
Admission to the EU will be Europe's first major post-van Gogh test. If the Europeans are able to reject Turkey, then their battle preparations will be much easier.
The general populace in Turkey does seem to be turning towards the Middle East and Islam at a time when the government itself is striving towards EU membership. The EU will take a wait and see approach towards Turkey I do believe.
turkeys "tolerance" is only for the Wests consumption. They have closed Christian radio stations and Churches calling them "an offense to society".
Agreed - Europe is fast waking up. I think they'll be smart enough to send Turkey back to their brothers in the Middle East.
"But the dispute has flared at precisely the wrong time for Turkey — ahead of a Dec. 17 summit that will decide whether to begin membership negotiations for its entry into the EU."
Which, I hope, was precisely why the invitation went out the way it did. Pay back's a... well you know!
According to the muslim philosophy
Christians and Jews in a muslim country have no rights and are to be banned, bannished, subjigated, kidnapped, tortured and murdered. Practice of these religions is to be forbidden.
muslims in any, principally, Christian country demand the right to practice their religion, in any manner, including the murder of those who point out the falacy of the muslim religion. Practice of the Christian and Jewish faith are to be denoucnced and claims of religious bigotry soon follow. Efforts to remove any reference to Christianity or the Jewish faith are constant; often with the aid of atheist and false religious leaders. Once the religion of the founders of the nations has been eliminated, the fast growing population of muslims will then seek to establish the muslim faith as the only acceptable faith. Thank you, anti Christian lawyers union, you are doing the ground work for the muslim terrorists.
To a small degree, even parts of secular europe are beginning to awaken to the terror tactics of muslims. Hopefully, more Americans will wake up to these tactics and fight the efforts of the anti Christian lawyers union and it's efforts to destroy the Christian religion.
I'm beginning to think that Europe has turned the corner and they now understand what's in store for them.
I also think that historians will look at Theo van Gogh's murder as the spark that woke up Europe. The Muslims overplayed their hand, and they lost.
Finally, if I were a Muslim in Europe, I'd have an Air France one-way ticket to Algeirs tucked away in my drawer. It will be needed.
True - but the history of Democracies, as a whole, is somewhat promising. The way I see it, a functioning democratic country is like a large Italian family. If you (an outsider) go there, all you'll see are people arguing and screaming at each other. You'd think that the family was about to collapse. So you take a side in an arguement, and all of a sudden the family gets together and they all look at you - and they all start yelling at you, even the person who's side you took. That's what deceptive about Democracies - they seem disfunctional, until they meet a common enemy. In Europe that enemy has been met, and the Muslims are now being stared down by a giant Italian family.
*rolling eyes* Not this garbage again. Are we planning to give the Southwest back to Mexico, too? The American usurpers conquered it only a little over 150 years ago.
Agreed - the Europeans should be much more worried about holding Paris and their other cities, than marching into Constantinople. Let the Turks have that dust heap.
The Megali Idea died in the flames of Smyrna in 1922. It should stay dead. But it would be nice to attend the Liturgy in Agia Sophia again.
It makes about as much sense as the Islamic nuts wanting to take Spain back.
How did you get that impression living in the US?
It would be to Turkey's advantage to strengthen the Patriarchiate in Istanbul as it would weaken the Russian Patriachate and allow Turkey (and the US) to exert more influence into Russia. However, this may backfire, with the Patriarchiate claiming certain parts of Istanbul to turn into a new Vatican state. This is not so bad, and currently against the Orthodox Christian dogma, but when issues agreed upon in the Treaty of Lausanne are put into question today, there's no knowing how and by whom lineancy on such an important international agreement could be exploited by.
That is why the US is so deeply concerned about what Bartholomeos II should be called.
If all of Greece decided to move into Istanbul, they would still make less than 50% of the population. How do you plan on taking it 'back'? Whatever that means? Get over it. The continent of America hadn't even been discovered when the Turks conquered Istanbul. Besides, if you want the splendour of Istanbul back, you should go to the Vatican which has been holding on to most of its riches since 1299.
BTTT
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