Turkey "Country of Particular Concern" for Religious Freedom

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) included Turkey into the group of countries of particular concern in their annual report for 2012.

The report states, "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'".

Besides Turkey, USCIRF recommended that the Secretary of State designate also Burma, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, the People's Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam as countries of particular concern for the 2012 Annual Report.

Ambassador of Turkey to Washington Namık Tan criticized the attitude of the commission as unfair in a statement made to the Associated Press. "Looking from any unbiased perspective it can be seen very quickly that that is not where Turkey belongs in the report", Ambassador Tan argued.

Tan referred to the government's initiative to return immovable property to non-Muslim minorities as implemented last year.

"Denying full legal status to religious groups"

The report summarizes, "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. (...) Longstanding policies continue to threaten the survivability and viability of minority religious communities in Turkey". (EKN)

Source: USCIRF

Click here to read the full report.