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TURKEY CHURCH LEADERS RECEIVE DEATH THREATS, WORLD COUNCIL SAYS
BosNewsLife, Hungary
May 2 2007
ANKARA, TURKEY (BosNewsLife)-- The World Council of Churches (WCC)
said Wednesday, May 2, it has urged Turkish authorities to improve
protection of Turkey's Christian minority amid reports of death
threats against key church leaders following the "savage murders"
of three Christians last month.
In a letter to the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations
Office at Geneva, Switzerland, seen by BosNewsLife, WCC General
Secretary Samuel Kobia said there are reports "of plots against the
lives of the heads of two WCC member churches in Turkey," identified
as Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, and Armenian Patriarch Mesrob
II. He did not elaborate, appatretly for security reasons pending
an investigation.
Kobia suggested the death threats followed the April 18 killings of
German Tilman Ekkehart Geske and Turkish Christians Necati Aydin
and Ugur Yuksel at a Christian publishing in the town of Malatya,
which he described as "the latest tragedy" inflicted on religious
minorities by apparently Muslim militants.
The official said the WCC, which represents 560 million Christians in
over 110 countries, has noted a series of "killings and other threats
directed at members and leaders of religious minorities" in Turkey
which he stressed are of "serious concern" and cause "deep revulsion"
and "dismay."
He added that churches and citizens are therefore "watching the
authorities in the case [of the three murdered Christians] to see
that justice is done and that further crimes are prevented".
"REGRETTABLE LIST"
Besides the latest murders and death threats, his letter also contained
a "regrettable list" of crimes that "appear to be motivated by hatred
for whole groups of people," including the earlier killings of Armenian
writer Hrant Dink and of the Catholic priest Fr Andrea Santano.
Kobia said the attacks were part of "a series of incidents entailing
threats and violence against members of religious minorities." He
said the "appropriate governmental authorities" should "ensure the
respect for human rights and for the rule of law which safeguards
all citizens, including these whose cases we raise here".
The WCC leader added that his grouping WCC wants "to see respect for
human dignity - socially, politically and religiously - reflected in
the treatment of churches and other religious minorities". His letter
came at a time of political tensions over the role of Islam in Turkey.
On Wednesday, April 3, the European Union and the United States
warned Turkey's military to stay out of the country's political
showdown between the Islamic-rooted government and those in the
opposition who fear the country will shift toward Islamic rule. Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has found himself besieged ever since
his party's decision to nominate one of his closest allies, Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul as president.
"ALARMING SYMBOL"
Gul, whose wife covers her hair with an Islamic-style head scarf that
secularists view as an "alarming symbol" of the primacy of religion
over state, has said he will not withdraw his candidacy.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday, May 3, she agreed
with the European Union that the Turkish military, which considers
itself the guardian of secular, must stay out of the political
debate. The military has overthrown governments in the past and Rice
made it clear that "the election, the electoral system and the results
of the electoral system and the results of the constitutional process
have to be upheld."
European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn told reporters that
Turkey must abide by the rule of law and civilian control over the
military, warning that if the government in Ankara wanted to join
the EU "it needs to respect these principles."
The chief of Turkey's electoral board has reportedly proposed July 22
as the date for early general elections - a month later than Prime
Minister Erdogan had wanted. (With BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos,
BosNewsLife reporting and BosNewslife Research).
BosNewsLife, Hungary
May 2 2007
ANKARA, TURKEY (BosNewsLife)-- The World Council of Churches (WCC)
said Wednesday, May 2, it has urged Turkish authorities to improve
protection of Turkey's Christian minority amid reports of death
threats against key church leaders following the "savage murders"
of three Christians last month.
In a letter to the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations
Office at Geneva, Switzerland, seen by BosNewsLife, WCC General
Secretary Samuel Kobia said there are reports "of plots against the
lives of the heads of two WCC member churches in Turkey," identified
as Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, and Armenian Patriarch Mesrob
II. He did not elaborate, appatretly for security reasons pending
an investigation.
Kobia suggested the death threats followed the April 18 killings of
German Tilman Ekkehart Geske and Turkish Christians Necati Aydin
and Ugur Yuksel at a Christian publishing in the town of Malatya,
which he described as "the latest tragedy" inflicted on religious
minorities by apparently Muslim militants.
The official said the WCC, which represents 560 million Christians in
over 110 countries, has noted a series of "killings and other threats
directed at members and leaders of religious minorities" in Turkey
which he stressed are of "serious concern" and cause "deep revulsion"
and "dismay."
He added that churches and citizens are therefore "watching the
authorities in the case [of the three murdered Christians] to see
that justice is done and that further crimes are prevented".
"REGRETTABLE LIST"
Besides the latest murders and death threats, his letter also contained
a "regrettable list" of crimes that "appear to be motivated by hatred
for whole groups of people," including the earlier killings of Armenian
writer Hrant Dink and of the Catholic priest Fr Andrea Santano.
Kobia said the attacks were part of "a series of incidents entailing
threats and violence against members of religious minorities." He
said the "appropriate governmental authorities" should "ensure the
respect for human rights and for the rule of law which safeguards
all citizens, including these whose cases we raise here".
The WCC leader added that his grouping WCC wants "to see respect for
human dignity - socially, politically and religiously - reflected in
the treatment of churches and other religious minorities". His letter
came at a time of political tensions over the role of Islam in Turkey.
On Wednesday, April 3, the European Union and the United States
warned Turkey's military to stay out of the country's political
showdown between the Islamic-rooted government and those in the
opposition who fear the country will shift toward Islamic rule. Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has found himself besieged ever since
his party's decision to nominate one of his closest allies, Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul as president.
"ALARMING SYMBOL"
Gul, whose wife covers her hair with an Islamic-style head scarf that
secularists view as an "alarming symbol" of the primacy of religion
over state, has said he will not withdraw his candidacy.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday, May 3, she agreed
with the European Union that the Turkish military, which considers
itself the guardian of secular, must stay out of the political
debate. The military has overthrown governments in the past and Rice
made it clear that "the election, the electoral system and the results
of the electoral system and the results of the constitutional process
have to be upheld."
European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn told reporters that
Turkey must abide by the rule of law and civilian control over the
military, warning that if the government in Ankara wanted to join
the EU "it needs to respect these principles."
The chief of Turkey's electoral board has reportedly proposed July 22
as the date for early general elections - a month later than Prime
Minister Erdogan had wanted. (With BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos,
BosNewsLife reporting and BosNewslife Research).