The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has released its annual report where Turkey has now been added to the list of countries found to be the among the worst in violating religious rights within the country.
ABC News reports the commission as citing Turkey for "systematic and egregious limitations" against religious freedom.
Among other problems, the report criticizes Turkey for regulating non-Muslim groups by restricting how they can train clergy, offer education and own their places of worship.Turkey joins a list of countries that includes
Tajikistan, Myanmar, North Korea, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.Not great company in regards to respect for religious liberty.
UPDATE: Thanks to Pager for the link to the report here
Excerpts from the report....
Due to the Turkish government‘s systematic and egregious limitations on the freedom of religion or belief that affect all religious communities in Turkey, and particularly threaten the country‘s non-Muslim religious minorities, USCIRF recommends Turkey be designated a ―country of particular concern.The Turkish government, in the name of secularism, has long imposed burdensome regulations and denied full legal status to religious groups, violating the religious freedom rights of all religious communities. These restrictions, including policies that deny non-Muslim communities the rights to train clergy, offer religious education, and own and maintain places of worship, have led to their decline, and in some cases, their virtual disappearance.Other concerns include the Turkish government‘s intervention into minority religious communities‘ religious affairs; societal discrimination and occasional violence against religious minorities; limitations on religious dress; and anti-Semitism in Turkish society and media. Additionally, Turkey‘s military control over northern Cyprus supports numerous arbitrary regulations implemented by local Turkish Cypriot authorities. These regulations limit the religious activities of all non-Muslims living in northern Cyprus, deny these religious communities the right to worship freely and restore, maintain, and utilize their religious properties, and threaten the long-term survival of non-Muslim religious communities in the area.
The chickens always come home to roost. Pity poor Turkey for being shocked (shocked!) at this simple rule of nature. There's a surefire easy way to NOT be included on this list, though if their authorities cared about that they never would have appeared there in the first place. So I guess there's that.
ReplyDeleteHow dare you mention that. Now they're going to cut off diplomatic ties with you...
ReplyDeletePromise?
ReplyDeleteYou are the pushiest, noisiest diplomat. Goodbye.
ReplyDeleteAside from the link to the report itself, good to note that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress.
ReplyDeleteA "Country of Particular Concern has a government that engages in or tolerates particularly severe violations of religious freedom. "Particularly severe violations" are are "systematic, ongoing, and egregious," including acts such as torture, prolonged detention without charges, disappearances, or "other flagrant denial[s] of the right to life, liberty, or the security of persons." After a country is designated a CPC, the President is required by law to take one or more of the actions specified in IRFA, or to invoke a waiver if circumstances warrant.
The report said that systematic changes in constitutional and legal structures are necessary to remedy violations of religious freedom for non-Muslim minorities.
This is the world in which we live, where severe discrimination against religious minorities is often the norm, and often lost in the shuffle of battles that are petty by comparison, yet treated otherwise.
Yup, the Turkish government has ZERO credibility on any subject remotely related to human rights or international law, so long as it continues to sweep the Armenian genocide under the turkish carpet. Next time Prime Minister Erdogan opens his mouth, everyone should just respond "Sorry, couldn't hear you over the sounds of Armenians screaming while Turkish soldiers slaughter them. Were you saying something?"
ReplyDelete