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Today's Zaman, Turkey
June 23 2007
Minorities to choose pro-EU candidates
Turkey's Armenians, Jews and Greeks hope the elections will produce a
government that will accelerate the country's march towards the
European Union as they see this process as the answer to their
feelings of second-class citizenship.
The leaderships of the officially recognized minorities appreciate
the reforms introduced by the Justice and Development Party (AK
Party) government during the past five years, but members of the
three communities may not make the AK Party their first choice when
they vote on July 22. Journalists working for minority newspapers
predict that Armenians and Greeks are likely to vote for independent
candidates, such as Baskýn Oran, the political scientist who is an
expert on minorities and is running in the Ýstanbul second electoral
district.
But where there is no favorable independent candidate, minority
voters are likely to choose the AK Party ahead of other parties. July
22 may be the first time in Turkish electoral history that "the
Islamic party gets at least a third of the votes of the Armenians,"
said Etyen Mahçupyan, a political columnist for Today's Zaman
newspaper and the managing editor of Armenian weekly paper Agos. He
estimated that in the 2002 elections, only 5 percent of Armenians
voted for the AK Party.
The minority communities are tiny -- 60,000 Armenians, 25,000 Jews
and 3,000 Greeks in a population of 72 million. But at a time when
the world is watching Turkey closely, their influence outweighs their
size. The way that the minorities vote is a weathervane of democracy
and human rights in Turkey.
Members of the minorities say their primary grievance is a feeling of
being kept on the margin. "We want to be real Turkish citizens,''
said Aris Nalcý, an Armenian journalist who works for Agos, whose
editor Hrant Dink was shot dead by a teenage nationalist in January
-- a killing that shocked the country.
Turkish Armenians, Jews and Greeks are never appointed to the
country's diplomatic corps, the Interior Ministry, the police and the
professional ranks of the armed forces.
`When you go and apply they reject it, but why? We don't know,''
Nalcý said.
Baskýn Oran, the Ankara University professor who has written widely
on minority issues, said there is an `unwritten law'' that bars
minority citizens from key sectors of the civil service. `In this
country,' Oran said, `Turk means Muslim Turk.'
Mahçupyan said what hurts is not the exclusion from civil service
jobs -- `we are accustomed to not having them' -- but the attitude
and rhetoric that support this discrimination. The state and certain
newspapers virtually tell non-Muslims, `you are different, you have
to know that you are different,'' he said. `This means that you have
to be timid, you have to conceal your feelings, you have to accept
what is given to you because you are not a full citizen,'' Mahçupyan
added.
During the past five years, the AK Party government has passed a raft
of laws and regulations that have made life easier for minorities.
With the aim of promoting Turkey's accession to the EU, PM Recep
Tayyip Erdoðan has enabled the minorities to register new
publications, houses of worship, associations, etc., and he has also
strengthened the legislation on freedom of expression and assembly,
said Ziya Meral, a Turkish rights activist and consultant on Middle
Eastern minorities.
Mihail Vasiliadis, the editor of the Turkish Greek newspaper
Apoyevmatini, commended Erdoðan for abolishing the Minority
Commission (Azýnlýklar Tali Komisyonu), a secretive advisory body
that was believed to exercise wide powers over minorities.
Nalcý said Armenians were particularly pleased by a 2005 regulation
on `the right to savings'' that enabled the community's 17 schools
and 32 churches to earn revenue by renting and selling their
properties.
In a written statement, the Jewish Rabbinate of Istanbul told Today's
Zaman that the reforms passed to bring Turkey in line with the EU's
Copenhagen criteria `are all welcome' because they enabled the
community to `find solutions easily' to the problems of its
foundations and other matters.
Patriarch Mesrob II, the spiritual head of the Armenians, went
further this month when he reportedly told German daily Der Spiegel
that `our choice for the coming elections is Erdoðan.' The patriarch
later issued a clarification that stepped back from this endorsement
but left no doubt as to which way he thought Armenians would vote.
`Speaking truly, the AK Party has lent an ear to our problems,'
Mesrob said in the clarification sent to Today's Zaman. `The
resolution on the Foundations Law, which was vetoed by our President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer, is enough for minorities to favor the AK Party.
Unfortunately the government did not follow the resolution to the
end.''
Passed by Parliament last November, the Law on Foundations would have
enabled minorities to regain some of their expropriated properties.
But it was fiercely opposed by the opposition Republican People's
Party (CHP) as conceding too much, and ultimately vetoed by the
president.
The Greek editor Vasiliadis criticized the government for failing to
override the veto by getting Parliament to approve the law a second
time -- as it did with many other pieces of legislation. Such
failures have convinced many members of the minorities that the AK
Party government does not have a deep commitment to their plight, but
only the same strategic target of getting Turkey into the EU. `Any
party in government would have made these moves during the past five
years,' said Nalcý. `It's about the EU's influence, and the greater
international interest in human rights in Turkey.'
It is worth pointing out that the basis for the AK Party reforms was
laid by the previous government, a three-party coalition, which
changed the constitution and civil code in 2001.
Nalcý predicted that Armenians will vote for independents such as
Ufuk Uras, a left-wing politician who used to lead the small Freedom
and Democracy Party (ÖDP), in Ýstanbul's first electoral district and
Oran in Ýstanbul's second electoral district. Vasiliadis said Greeks
might well prefer the independents, calling Oran a `very attractive
candidate.'
The Rabbinate and a leader of the Jewish community, Bensiyon Pinto,
declined to forecast how Jews would vote, saying each makes up his or
her own mind. Turkish Jews are believed to spread their votes across
the spectrum. But Pinto has previously spoken highly of the AK Party
government.
Everyone agrees that in constituencies where there is no credible
independent, minority voters will most likely back the AK Party.
`For the minorities, what matters is who will bring Turkey closer to
the EU because they believe the answer to their problems lies in EU
membership,' said Vasiliadis. `And it is not only the minorities'
future, but Turkey's future that lies in the EU.'
As to the other two parties expected to win seats in Parliament, the
CHP and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Vasiliadis said a
minority vote for them is `unthinkable.' He said Greeks believe CHP
supporters played a role in the riots of 1955 when nationalists
attacked the shops and properties of non-Muslims in central Ýstanbul.
Mahçupyan said some minority citizens would vote CHP but generally,
`they don't like the CHP and they fear the MHP.' Recalling the CHP's
opposition to the Law on Foundations and the other recent reforms, he
said that the party `represents the state and all the laws against
the minorities.' He added that minorities see the MHP as `an
extremely nationalistic party whose policies could provoke street
violence.''
The deputy MHP leader, Oktay Vural, rejected this as a `totally wrong
misconception,' adding that his party had served in the coalition
government of 1999-2002. `We have no problems with Armenians. They
are citizens,' Vural told Today's Zaman.
A CHP spokeswoman was asked to respond to the criticism, but failed
to do so despite several reminders.
If elected Oran said he would push for the Law on Foundations to be
implemented. He criticized Sezer for vetoing it, saying it would
`alleviate some of the pressures on the [minority] communities and
thus get closer to the Lausanne Treaty' -- the foundation of the
republic.
Oran stressed he did not intend to represent the minorities alone.
`I'm going to be the still unheard voice of the oppressed and the
excluded,' he said, referring to gypsies, homosexuals, Kurds, Alevis,
university students who wish to wear headscarves, as well as
religious minorities. Asked what he hears when he speaks to minority
voters, Oran replied: `I've never spoken to them, but I know what
they want. They want to be equal Turkish citizens -- that's all they
want.'
23.06.2007
JASPER MORTIMER ANKARA
June 23 2007
Minorities to choose pro-EU candidates
Turkey's Armenians, Jews and Greeks hope the elections will produce a
government that will accelerate the country's march towards the
European Union as they see this process as the answer to their
feelings of second-class citizenship.
The leaderships of the officially recognized minorities appreciate
the reforms introduced by the Justice and Development Party (AK
Party) government during the past five years, but members of the
three communities may not make the AK Party their first choice when
they vote on July 22. Journalists working for minority newspapers
predict that Armenians and Greeks are likely to vote for independent
candidates, such as Baskýn Oran, the political scientist who is an
expert on minorities and is running in the Ýstanbul second electoral
district.
But where there is no favorable independent candidate, minority
voters are likely to choose the AK Party ahead of other parties. July
22 may be the first time in Turkish electoral history that "the
Islamic party gets at least a third of the votes of the Armenians,"
said Etyen Mahçupyan, a political columnist for Today's Zaman
newspaper and the managing editor of Armenian weekly paper Agos. He
estimated that in the 2002 elections, only 5 percent of Armenians
voted for the AK Party.
The minority communities are tiny -- 60,000 Armenians, 25,000 Jews
and 3,000 Greeks in a population of 72 million. But at a time when
the world is watching Turkey closely, their influence outweighs their
size. The way that the minorities vote is a weathervane of democracy
and human rights in Turkey.
Members of the minorities say their primary grievance is a feeling of
being kept on the margin. "We want to be real Turkish citizens,''
said Aris Nalcý, an Armenian journalist who works for Agos, whose
editor Hrant Dink was shot dead by a teenage nationalist in January
-- a killing that shocked the country.
Turkish Armenians, Jews and Greeks are never appointed to the
country's diplomatic corps, the Interior Ministry, the police and the
professional ranks of the armed forces.
`When you go and apply they reject it, but why? We don't know,''
Nalcý said.
Baskýn Oran, the Ankara University professor who has written widely
on minority issues, said there is an `unwritten law'' that bars
minority citizens from key sectors of the civil service. `In this
country,' Oran said, `Turk means Muslim Turk.'
Mahçupyan said what hurts is not the exclusion from civil service
jobs -- `we are accustomed to not having them' -- but the attitude
and rhetoric that support this discrimination. The state and certain
newspapers virtually tell non-Muslims, `you are different, you have
to know that you are different,'' he said. `This means that you have
to be timid, you have to conceal your feelings, you have to accept
what is given to you because you are not a full citizen,'' Mahçupyan
added.
During the past five years, the AK Party government has passed a raft
of laws and regulations that have made life easier for minorities.
With the aim of promoting Turkey's accession to the EU, PM Recep
Tayyip Erdoðan has enabled the minorities to register new
publications, houses of worship, associations, etc., and he has also
strengthened the legislation on freedom of expression and assembly,
said Ziya Meral, a Turkish rights activist and consultant on Middle
Eastern minorities.
Mihail Vasiliadis, the editor of the Turkish Greek newspaper
Apoyevmatini, commended Erdoðan for abolishing the Minority
Commission (Azýnlýklar Tali Komisyonu), a secretive advisory body
that was believed to exercise wide powers over minorities.
Nalcý said Armenians were particularly pleased by a 2005 regulation
on `the right to savings'' that enabled the community's 17 schools
and 32 churches to earn revenue by renting and selling their
properties.
In a written statement, the Jewish Rabbinate of Istanbul told Today's
Zaman that the reforms passed to bring Turkey in line with the EU's
Copenhagen criteria `are all welcome' because they enabled the
community to `find solutions easily' to the problems of its
foundations and other matters.
Patriarch Mesrob II, the spiritual head of the Armenians, went
further this month when he reportedly told German daily Der Spiegel
that `our choice for the coming elections is Erdoðan.' The patriarch
later issued a clarification that stepped back from this endorsement
but left no doubt as to which way he thought Armenians would vote.
`Speaking truly, the AK Party has lent an ear to our problems,'
Mesrob said in the clarification sent to Today's Zaman. `The
resolution on the Foundations Law, which was vetoed by our President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer, is enough for minorities to favor the AK Party.
Unfortunately the government did not follow the resolution to the
end.''
Passed by Parliament last November, the Law on Foundations would have
enabled minorities to regain some of their expropriated properties.
But it was fiercely opposed by the opposition Republican People's
Party (CHP) as conceding too much, and ultimately vetoed by the
president.
The Greek editor Vasiliadis criticized the government for failing to
override the veto by getting Parliament to approve the law a second
time -- as it did with many other pieces of legislation. Such
failures have convinced many members of the minorities that the AK
Party government does not have a deep commitment to their plight, but
only the same strategic target of getting Turkey into the EU. `Any
party in government would have made these moves during the past five
years,' said Nalcý. `It's about the EU's influence, and the greater
international interest in human rights in Turkey.'
It is worth pointing out that the basis for the AK Party reforms was
laid by the previous government, a three-party coalition, which
changed the constitution and civil code in 2001.
Nalcý predicted that Armenians will vote for independents such as
Ufuk Uras, a left-wing politician who used to lead the small Freedom
and Democracy Party (ÖDP), in Ýstanbul's first electoral district and
Oran in Ýstanbul's second electoral district. Vasiliadis said Greeks
might well prefer the independents, calling Oran a `very attractive
candidate.'
The Rabbinate and a leader of the Jewish community, Bensiyon Pinto,
declined to forecast how Jews would vote, saying each makes up his or
her own mind. Turkish Jews are believed to spread their votes across
the spectrum. But Pinto has previously spoken highly of the AK Party
government.
Everyone agrees that in constituencies where there is no credible
independent, minority voters will most likely back the AK Party.
`For the minorities, what matters is who will bring Turkey closer to
the EU because they believe the answer to their problems lies in EU
membership,' said Vasiliadis. `And it is not only the minorities'
future, but Turkey's future that lies in the EU.'
As to the other two parties expected to win seats in Parliament, the
CHP and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Vasiliadis said a
minority vote for them is `unthinkable.' He said Greeks believe CHP
supporters played a role in the riots of 1955 when nationalists
attacked the shops and properties of non-Muslims in central Ýstanbul.
Mahçupyan said some minority citizens would vote CHP but generally,
`they don't like the CHP and they fear the MHP.' Recalling the CHP's
opposition to the Law on Foundations and the other recent reforms, he
said that the party `represents the state and all the laws against
the minorities.' He added that minorities see the MHP as `an
extremely nationalistic party whose policies could provoke street
violence.''
The deputy MHP leader, Oktay Vural, rejected this as a `totally wrong
misconception,' adding that his party had served in the coalition
government of 1999-2002. `We have no problems with Armenians. They
are citizens,' Vural told Today's Zaman.
A CHP spokeswoman was asked to respond to the criticism, but failed
to do so despite several reminders.
If elected Oran said he would push for the Law on Foundations to be
implemented. He criticized Sezer for vetoing it, saying it would
`alleviate some of the pressures on the [minority] communities and
thus get closer to the Lausanne Treaty' -- the foundation of the
republic.
Oran stressed he did not intend to represent the minorities alone.
`I'm going to be the still unheard voice of the oppressed and the
excluded,' he said, referring to gypsies, homosexuals, Kurds, Alevis,
university students who wish to wear headscarves, as well as
religious minorities. Asked what he hears when he speaks to minority
voters, Oran replied: `I've never spoken to them, but I know what
they want. They want to be equal Turkish citizens -- that's all they
want.'
23.06.2007
JASPER MORTIMER ANKARA