Turkey Sets Up EU Bid HQ In Confiscated Church Building
Endangered species? Orthodox Christian church in Istanbul, often presented as evidence of Turkish 'religious tolerance'
‘Little Caliph’ Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Islamist AK Party government want Turkey to join the EU, but clearly still intend to play by their Islamic supremacist rules:
Unbelievable but true: the headquarters of the Secretariat for the entry of Turkey into the European Union is a building confiscated from the Orthodox Christian community in the 90s. The building is located in Istanbul, in the well-known area of Ortakoy, under the first bridge over the Bosphorus.
Before the seizure, the building was used as a primary school for children of the minority Orthodox in Ortakoy. Here, once lived a thriving Orthodox community, now non-existent because of past purges against minorities, executed by the “secular” Turkish State.
Thanks to the policy of purging, the building and many other schools, at one point found themselves without students, unused and then confiscated. The forfeiture rule however prevented foundations – owners of buildings – from allocating them to different uses. The community of Ortakoy appealed to the administrative courts in Istanbul, which have yet to rule on the issue. In case of a ruling to the contrary, the Orthodox intend to apply to the court in Strasbourg. The inauguration of the Secretariat took place in the presence of Prime Minister Erdogan, accompanied by Minister for European Affairs Bajis and by various authorities and European representation.
The event has aroused unease in diplomatic circles in Brussels, so much so that on the eve of the inauguration, a senior government official visited Patriarch Bartholomew I to let them know that the courts decision will be respected. The question also arises whether the current Turkish government aware of the building’s history.
Meanwhile in Brussels some discomfort is spreading towards politicians who are champions of Turkey’s entry into the EU. Ankara has not yet shown a convincing European orientation, it is believed that the “champions” are tied to the country by economic and financial interests.
One suggestion for resolving the issue comes from Lakis Vigas, representative of minorities in Turkey in the General Directorate of Foundations. Interviewed by the newspaper Milliyet on the case of Ortakoy, he says a possible solution would be if the Ortakoy foundation were granted the possibility to lease the building to the Turkish nation. This gesture would have a noble purpose: the entry of Turkey into the EU the “source of our hopes.”
Turkey is often potrayed as a “secular” modern Muslim state. This was indeed the founding vision of the Republic’s ‘Father’, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, when he created the republic out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire in the 1920s.
However, since late 2002, when Erdoğan’s AK Party came to power, a creeping Islamisation of Turkey has been embarked upon – and the small Christian community has been subjected to increasing harassment and persecution (a social norm in Muslim countries – ask any Christian in Egypt or Pakistan, for example).
And it’s not just the government. A recent survey1 of Turks revealed:
How in all conscience can the EU even be considering admitting such a country into the fold?
1 Survey conducted by International Social Survey Programme, a 45-nation academic group that conducts polls and research about social and political issues.
[Source: Asia News]
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Thanks for this article. Another recent survey found similarly bigoted attitudes among ordinary Turks, including the following:
Four out of 10 Turks would not want to have Jewish neighbours.
Three out of 10 Turks would not want to have Christian neighbours.
Half of all Turks thought that non-Muslims should be barred from employment in the Turkish justice system, the army, the police, the intelligence services and political parties.
40% of Turks believe Jews and Christians should be barred from employment in the health or academic sectors.
57% of Turks said they would not want atheists as neighbours.
These findings were reported in the German press but, so far as I could see, completely ignored in the English-language press.
I discussed them on my own site here:
http://stopturkey.blogspot.com/2009/10/turks-dont-wants-jews-christians-or.html
Thanks for your comment. It seems that the AK Party government is stepping up its Islamisation programme – and it is finding favour with the more Islam-oriented sections of the population. I used to think that the large secularist contingent, together with the armed forces, would act as a guarantor against the re-emergence of an Islamist state in Turkey – but become less certain of this by the day.
Damian Thompson’s observation about Turkey becoming Islamic is unfortunately true but it is not news to the Turkish people and the opposition politicians.
His other observation about ‘Turkey’s political elite’ being obsessed about joining the EU is however inaccurate. The majority and the intelligent Turkish people have always had their doubts about the EU and their sincerity, having been aware of the hypocrisies over Cyprus, Aegean waters, PKK, economic agreements and especially over their support and encouragement of AKP – an openly Islamist Party – over the years. It is AKP and their leaders who are the ones obsessed with joining the EU, if you can call them ‘Turkey’s political elite’.
The EU has been warned right from the start about the intentions of AKP and the destination that they want to take Turkey to but unfortunately these have fallen on deaf ears and ignored. Not only the EU leaders but the commentators such as yourself kept on praising AKP over some progress while completely ignoring the human rights, especially women’s rights violations and proven corruption besides many other opressive practices.
The attitude adopted by the EU and commentators makes one wonder about their ulterior motives. Is it not now so easy and obvious to reject Turkey’s membership – a self fulfilling prophecy!
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