Turkey Policies on Minorities Spark Debate

December 3, 2004
Turkey Policies on Minorities Spark Debate
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 8:10 a.m. ET

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -- 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 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.

In Athens, the head or the Orthodox Church of Greece, Archbishop
Christodoulos, defended the patriarchate Thursday and accused Turkey
of violating its obligation toward the EU.



Copyright 2004 The Associated Press