This was a step forward, of course, if we consider that they could not acquire properties. But these laws were not capable of solving the problem of “lost properties” which had been taken from them by legal trickery. To solve this problem, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government tried to introduce new legal provisions, all of which met quite a serious resistance by the nationalist front in Parliament.According to provisional Article 7 of the new Law on Foundations, which was enacted on Feb. 20, 2008, minority foundations can get some of their properties back by pursuing several legal avenues. The article reads as follow:
“The non-Muslim foundations shall be entitled to the following deeds: a) Immovables that were included in the 1936 Declaration, are registered to pseudonyms or fictitious names and are still in the possession of the non-Muslim foundation in question; b) Immovables that were acquired by the non-Muslim foundation after the 1936 Declaration or are, despite having been bequeathed or donated to a non-Muslim foundation, currently registered to the Treasury, the Directorate General, the testator or the donor due to the impossibility of acquiring assets.”
I do not want to suffocate you with technical legal details. What this article says in plain English is that some of the immovable properties that were unjustly taken away from the non-Muslim foundations for various reasons could be returned to their owners provided that certain conditions are met. In my opinion this article is still not satisfactory and still has some problems, but it is a step forward.
Now we come to the most critical part, which can really help us to understand who is who in Turkey. After the introduction of this law, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) brought a case before the Constitutional Court for the annulment of this law and especially this provision. I was unable to read their petition to the court, but fellow columnist Ayhan Aktar, from the Taraf daily, quoted relevant parts of this petition in his column on Monday. I would like to excerpt a long quotation from Aktar's June 14 column:
“In the CHP's annulment request it is stated that such a right should not be granted to a non-Muslim foundation because this would be in violation of the Lausanne Treaty. Of course, the issue of parallel responsibilities taken on by Turkish and Greek nations for the minorities living in their lands in Lausanne was completely distorted and interpreted as a matter of reciprocity. But in international law, a state's functioning based on the principal of reciprocity can only be employed by a state towards its citizens. For example, today Turkish citizens can travel to Croatia without a visa. If tomorrow Croatia were to implement a visa requirement, then Turkey could place a visa requirement for Croatian citizens. This is how ‘reciprocity' works. Because those who direct non-Muslim foundations are Turkish citizens, such a process can't be implemented against their foundations!
“From the petition we learn that there are only 160 non-Muslim foundations in our country. They are distributed as follows: ‘Of these foundations, 77 are Greek, 52 are Armenian, 19 are Judaic, 10 are Assyrian, one is Bulgarian, two are Georgian, three are Chaldean and one belongs to tradesmen.' Apparently the CHP is hiding behind the banner of Lausanne in order not to grant the Greek foundations the right to own property. OK, but what could the CHP's excuse be for not granting the same right to Armenian foundations? Read this and relax:
“‘… granting the right to gain immovable property to Armenians today, at a time when the alleged genocide claims are being intensified, would encompass the greatest concession that can be made. Furthermore, it's of a nature that will lay the groundwork for the establishment of a Greater Armenia, which rests on the Sevres Treaty, which was ripped up and thrown away with the War of Independence. Armenians have never concealed their demand for land from our country, and they continue to keep this along with their demand for reparations in the limelight. This is nothing other than the presentation, in a state of full submission, of what the Armenian diaspora is trying to do through lobbyists and the results that the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) is trying to gain through terror.'
“Guess whose signature is on the CHP's petition, which is like a legal monstrosity or a horror film? CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu! Actually, I personally was not all that shocked to see such a text published by the CHP. It's just that while I was reading it I was ashamed for them. However I am very curious as to the Constitutional Court's decision and their reasoning behind their decision.”
I absolutely agree with Mr. Aktar, I was not surprised, either. This petition and the mentality it reflects are quite strong indications of what is going to happen if a nationalist coalition (CHP-Nationalist Movement Party [MHP]) wins the next elections. Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu is being presented as the new leader of the CHP and a hope for the future of Turkey. As soon as he was elected, he gathered the Ergenekon gang's most passionate advocates at the CHP party assembly. If they come to power, they will not only set free all Ergenekon suspects but also declare a full-fledged war against the minorities of this country. In other countries, history may just be a story, but in Turkey history is everything to understanding today. With this petition to the Constitutional Court, the CHP promises to maintain the war against minorities that was declared by the modernist powers of Turkey.
Be careful out there: Appearances might be deadly deceiving in Turkey.
