CoE urges Turkey to broaden definition of minorities
The Turkish interpretation of the Lausanne Treaty regarding the status of minorities is very restrictive, according to a new report from Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg. He says the situation raises concerns over Turkey’s refusal to recognize the existence of minorities other than Greeks, Jews and Armenians.
The Strasbourg-based Council of Europe’s human rights report has urged Turkey to broaden the definition of minorities set out in the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, underlining that the interpretation of the treaty is “over-restrictive.” Thomas Hammarberg, commissioner for human rights of the Council of Europe, drafted the report after a fact-finding mission in Turkey from June 28 to July 3 and meetings with representatives of various communities as well as government officials. “Whilst the Commissioner appreciated the positive signs of goodwill shown by the Turkish authorities for resolving a number of issues concerning human rights of minority groups, he remains concerned by the authorities’ refusal to recognize the existence of any other minorities except for the tripartite non-Muslim one (Armenians, Greeks and Jews), following an over-restrictive interpretation of the 1923 Lausanne Treaty,” read the report on minorities.
The commissioner said there was quite a bit of progress over the recent years in the government’s approach toward religious and cultural groups as he spoke with the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in a telephone interview. He gave examples such as the prime minister’s visit to the Greek Orthodox Church and meetings with the deputies of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP. “I welcome the increased contacts between the government and some of the minority groups but we’d like to recommend more thorough discussions on minorities in Turkey,” Hammarberg told the Daily News.
Full story on: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=human-rights-chief-urges-turkey...
CoE report:
https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1511197&Site=CommDH&BackColorInternet...
Source: ERIO
