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Refugee Review Tribunal

AUSTRALIA

RRT RESEARCH RESPONSE

Research Response Number: TUR30295 Country: Date: 28 July 2006

Keywords: Turkey – Ethnic – Identification of Syriacs

This response was prepared by the Country Research Section of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RRT within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Questions

1. Is there an identifiable Syrian ethnic in Turkey? 2. How are members of such minority group identified within the general population? 3. Are members of any Syrian minority in Turkey discriminated against or harassed either individually or as a group within society? 4. Any other details about the existence of a Syrian minority in Turkey. 5. Please provide information on the Syriacs in Turkey.

RESPONSE

1. Is there an identifiable Syrian ethnic minority group in Turkey? 2. How are members of such minority group identified within the general population? 3. Are members of any Syrian minority in Turkey discriminated against or harassed either individually or as a group within society? 4. Any other details about the existence of a Syrian minority in Turkey.

A search of the sources consulted found little reference to information about an identifiable Syrian ethnic minority group in Turkey. There is mention of a Syrian ethnic minority community in Turkey in an Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada response to information request dated 19 May 2000. The response to information request indicates that constituted Turkey’s “largest ethnic minority” and that “Other ethnic minority communities referred to in the sources consulted include , Syrians, , , , Romani and Caucasians”. However, the response to information request also mentions the Syrian Orthodox in Turkey when referring to reports describing “the situation and treatment of specific ethnic groups in Turkey”, and may be referring to that group when mentioning Syrians in the list of ethnic minority communities in Turkey (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2000, TUR34438.E – Turkey: Treatment of non-Kurdish, non-Alevi ethnic minorities, 19 May – Attachment 1).

A report by missio, the Pontifical Mission Society, dated 2002 notes that as at 1990, the Turkish population was comprised of “70% Turks, 20% Kurds, 2% Arabs, 0.5% Cherkassians, 0.5% Muslim Georgians, among others”. The report includes the following detailed list of ethnic groups in Turkey:

Turks (Sunni), Turks (Alevi), Turks (Yuruks (Sunni)), Turkmen (Sunni), Turkmen (Alevi) including Tahtaci, Abdal; Turks (Azerbaijani (Shiite)), including Karapapachi (Sunni); Uigurs (Sunni, Hanefite); Kyrgyz (Sunni/Hanefite); (Sunni/Hanefite); (Sunni/Hanefite); Uzbek Tatars (Sunni/Hanefite); Crimean Turks/ (Sunni/Hanefite); Nogai Tatars (Sunni/Hanefite); Balkarians/Karachais (Sunni/Hanefite); Bulgarian immigrants (Sunni/Hanefite; Alevi; among the Gagausians some Bulgarian Orthodox Christians); immigrants from other Balkan countries (Sunni/Hanefite; Alevi; Serbian Orthodox Christians); Dagestanis (Sunni Hanefite + Shafiite); Sudanese (Alevi ?); Kurds (Sunni/Shafiite (+ Hanefite)); Kurds (Alevi); Kurds (Jezidi); (Sunni/Shafiite); Zazas (Alevi); (Sunni); Armenians (Armenian Orthodox, Armenian Catholic, Armenian Protestant Christians); Chemshinli (Sunni); gypsies/Roma (??); Greeks (Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Greek Protestant Christians); Greek-speaking (Sunni!?); Arabs (Sunni); Arabs (Nusairian = Alevi); Arabs (/Melchites); Jews; Aramaeans (Syrian Orthodox and Syrian Catholic Christians, Chaldeans, Nestorians); Cherkassians (Sunni/Hanefite); Georgians (Sunni/Hanefite + Georgian Orthodox Christians?); Lasians (Sunni/Hanefite).

The above-mentioned list does not specifically refer to a Syrian ethnic group, although it does mention the “Aramaeans (Syrian Orthodox and Syrian Catholic Christians, Chaldeans, Nestorians)” (Oehring, Otmar 2002, ‘ – Secularism = Religious Freedom?’, Internationales Katholisches Missionswerk e.V. website, p 2 http://www.missio- aachen.de/Images/MR%20T%C3%BCrkei%20englisch_tcm14-11238.pdf – Accessed 14 November 2005 – Attachment 2). However, a submission dated 10 August 1999 in relation to Syrian Orthodox Christians by the Syrian Orthodox Federation of indicates that the use of “Syrian” in describing the Aramean people should not “be confused with Arab Syrians of today”. According to the submission:

The use of the name “Syrian” (not to be confused with Arab Syrians of today) to describe the Aramean people was widely used after the conversion of many of the to . The term Syrian was also used before then to describe the Aramean peoples located in the area known as greater , which covered much of the of today (Syrian Orthodox Federation of Australia 1999, Submission on Human Rights Abuses on Syrian Orthodox Christians, Submission No 77, 10 August – Attachment 3).

The previously mentioned report by missio also refers to an Arab ethnic group in Turkey, mentioning “Arabs (Sunni); Arabs (Nusairian = Alevi); Arabs (Arab Christians/Melchites)” (Oehring, Otmar 2002, ‘Human Rights in Turkey – Secularism = Religious Freedom?’, Internationales Katholisches Missionswerk e.V. website, p 2 http://www.missio- aachen.de/Images/MR%20T%C3%BCrkei%20englisch_tcm14-11238.pdf – Accessed 14 November 2005 – Attachment 2). A paper on Turkey’s minorities dated 2001 mentions that the Arab population in Turkey was “heavily concentrated along the Syrian border”, and notes that most Alevi Muslims in Turkey “have family ties with the Alevis living in Syria.” However, the paper does not specifically mention a Syrian minority ethnic group in Turkey. It is stated in the paper that:

The Arabs are heavily concentrated along the Syrian border. Almost all of the Arabs in Turkey are Alevi Moslems,… and most have family ties with the Alevis living in Syria. They are a distinct religious community from the Turkish Alevis but have in common reverence for Ali, the Prophet’s son-in-law. The Arabs of Turkey believe they are subjected to state- condoned discrimination. Fear of persecution actually prompted several thousand Arab Alevis to seek refuge in Syria following the incorporation of the into Turkey in 1939. Since the mid-1960s, the Syrian government has tended to encourage educated Alevi to resettle in Syria, especially if they seem likely to join the ruling Baath Party. Alevi Arabs have uneasy relationships with Sunnis and are more comfortable with Christians.

There is also a community of Sunni Arabs living in Turkey. Unlike the Turkish Sunni majority its members belong to the Shaji’i tradition (which they share in common with most Sunni Kurds). They are denied the opportunity to use their language officially, e.g., in education and broadcasting.

Finally the Christian Arabs are about 10,000. They call themselves Nasrani and like other Turkish Arabs, they feel under pressure, to ‘Turkicize’ (Karimova, Nigar and Deverell, Edward 2001, ‘’, Occasional Papers No. 19, The Swedish Institute of International Affairs website, p 15 http://www.ui.se/texter/op19.pdf – Accessed 11 November 2002 – Attachment 4).

The above-mentioned paper refers to the incorporation of Hatay province into Turkey in 1939, and an article dated 23 October 1998 notes that the province was once part of ’s “ Mandate over Syria-.” The article provides historical background regarding the province, which was previously a region known as the of Alexandretta. The article notes that the region had “long been ethnically mixed, Arab and Turkish, with Armenians as well.” Following World War One, “France won the inclusion of the Sanjak of Alexandretta in its League of Nations Mandate over Syria-Lebanon.” In 1936, with Syria “slated for independence under the mandate”, Turkey claimed that the majority of the region’s population was Turkish “and that it should revert to the Turkish Republic.” In an attempt to stop Turkey aligning itself with , “efforts were made to accommodate the Turks.” In 1938, the region “elected a Turkish President and renamed itself the State of Hatay.” In June 1939, with war in approaching, “France signed an agreement on mutual assistance with Turkey and separately ceded the Hatay to Turkey. Turkey took over, and pressured non-Turks who would not accept Turkish citizenship to leave.” Hatay’s incorporation into Turkey was not recognised by Syria (‘Syria and Turkey: Many Roots to the Recent Quarrel’ 1998, The Estimate, Volume X, Number 22, 23 October http://www.theestimate.com/public/102398.html – Accessed 22 June 2006 – Attachment 5).

A country study of Turkey dated 1996 by the US Library of Congress Federal Research Division refers to close links between the Alevi Muslim Arabs in Hatay province and the Alevi living in Syria. It is stated in the country study that:

The Arabs are heavily concentrated along the Syrian border, especially in Hatay Province, which France, having at that time had mandatory power in Syria, ceded to Turkey in 1939. Arabs then constituted about two-thirds of the population of Hatay (known to the Arabs as Alexandretta), and the province has remained predominantly Arab. Almost all of the Arabs in Turkey are Alevi Muslims, and most have family ties with the Alevi (also seen as Alawi or Alawite) living in Syria. As Alevi, the Arabs of Turkey believe they are subjected to state- condoned discrimination. Fear of persecution actually prompted several thousand Arab Alevi to seek refuge in Syria following Hatay’s incorporation into Turkey. The kinship relations established as a result of the 1939-40 emigration have been continually reinforced by marriages and the practice of sending Arab youths from Hatay to colleges in Syria. Since the mid-1960s, the Syrian government has tended to encourage educated Alevi to resettle in Syria, especially if they seem likely to join the ruling Baath Party (‘Linguistic and Ethnic Groups – Arabs’ in Metz, Helen Chapin (ed) 1996, ‘Turkey, a country study’, Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, The Library of Congress website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/trtoc.html – Accessed 10 July 2006 – Attachment 6).

According to an article dated 2 May 2006 in the Turkish Daily News, the annexation of Hatay to Turkey “remained a cause of tension in relations between the two neighboring countries until recently, when the Syrian government let go of the issue.” It is stated in the article that:

Hatay is a province of southern Turkey situated between the Mediterranean to the west and Syria to the south and east. Until 1938 it was a province of Syria and was known as Iskandarun Province; its annexation to Turkey in that year remained a cause of tension in relations between the two neighboring countries until recently, when the Syrian government let go of the issue. Some Syrian maps still show it as Syrian territory (‘Syrian maps including Hatay escalate tension’ 2006, Turkish Daily News, 2 May – Attachment 7).

A number of sources refer to the limited recognition of minorities in Turkey. The European Commission’s 2005 progress report on Turkey notes that “According to the Turkish authorities, under the 1923 , minorities in Turkey consist exclusively of non-Muslim communities.” It is stated in the report that:

According to the Turkish authorities, under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, minorities in Turkey consist exclusively of non-Muslim communities. The minorities usually associated by the authorities with the Treaty of Lausanne are Jews, Armenians and Greeks. However, there are other communities in Turkey which, in the light of the relevant international and European standards, could qualify as minorities (European Commission 2005, Turkey 2005 Progress Report, 9 November, p 35 – Attachment 8).

A report on Turkey dated 30 April 2002 by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the ’s House of Commons also comments on what constitutes a minority in Turkey. According to the report:

What constitutes a minority is not always understood in the same way in Turkey as it is in western Europe. The Treaty of Lausanne ascribed special rights to non-Muslim minorities only. Turks often therefore view minorities as people having special rights because of their religion, not, for example, because of their cultural or linguistic heritage. Until recently it was not uncommon for unassimilated Kurds to be referred to as ‘Mountain Turks’, who, it was rather absurdly claimed, had somehow forgotten their Turkish allegiance, heritage and language. In contrast, the submission of the Turkish embassy in London recognises “Turkey’s multicultural heritage”, although the suggestion that the Turkish model has involved fostering this heritage is rather hard to accept (House of Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs 2002, ‘Sixth Report – Turkey’, Session 2001-02, The United Kingdom Parliament website, 30 April, p 15 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmfaff/606/60602.htm – Accessed 1 May 2002 – Attachment 9).

Sources also refer to a lack of census information in relation to ethnicity and . The previously mentioned IRBC response to information request (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2000, TUR34438.E – Turkey: Treatment of non-Kurdish, non-Alevi ethnic minorities, 19 May – Attachment 1), provides information regarding the situation of ethnic minorities in Turkey and includes comments from a report dated February 1999. It is stated in the Human Rights Watch report that:

No official data exist concerning the size of ethnic minorities in Turkey since the early 1960s… The absence of such data on ethnicity stems from the fact that the state has not asked questions regarding ethnicity or religion during census polling… In addition, ethnicity is a rather fluid concept in Turkey…

State-dictated rigidity concerning language and identity is the result of an attempt to build a modern nation-state based on a secular Turkish national identity and the … That process began in 1923, when Mustafa Kemal,Atatürk, proclaimed the Republic of Turkey from what remained of the non-Arab lands of the former … Traumatized by the slow collapse of the multi-ethnic Ottoman empire, a demise accelerated by the nationalism of the ’s Christian subjects and the meddling of the great powers, the new state countered with its own brand of nationalism: “In the circumstances, the need for self-assertion among the Turkish, Sunni majority following the collapse of the Ottoman empire and the struggle to free Turkey from occupying powers proved paramount.”…

Consequently, the many different ethnic groups living in the newly-founded Republic of Turkey were to be subsumed voluntarily or by force into a new Turkish national and linguistic identity that, while open to all, would broach no competitors… For the founders of the new Turkish Republic, the Treaty of Lausanne once and for all ended the “minorities question” by dividing the population into three non-Muslim minorities enjoying minority rights and a Muslim—soon to be Turkish—majority (Human Rights Watch 1999, Turkey: Violations of Free Expression in Turkey, February, Section IX – Attachment 10).

The previously mentioned country study of Turkey dated 1996 by the US Library of Congress Federal Research Division also notes that “Since the founding of the Republic of Turkey, the government has sought to diminish the significance of ethnic, linguistic, and religious distinctions” and that “the 1965 census was the last one to list linguistic minorities” (‘Linguistic and Ethnic Groups’ in Metz, Helen Chapin (ed) 1996, ‘Turkey, a country study’, Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, The Library of Congress website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/trtoc.html – Accessed 10 July 2006 – Attachment 11).

5. Please provide information on the Syriacs in Turkey.

The US Department of State 2005 report on religious freedom in Turkey notes that there are “an estimated 15,000 Syrian Orthodox (Syriac) Christians” in Turkey (US Department of State 2005, International Religious Freedom Report 2005 – Turkey, November, Section 1 – Attachment 12).

The previously mentioned report by missio indicates that the Syrian Orthodox Church is one of “the non-Muslim minorities who were present in Turkey at the time of the Treaty of Lausanne but were not recognised by the state as minorities within the meaning of the Treaty” (Oehring, Otmar 2002, ‘Human Rights in Turkey – Secularism = Religious Freedom?’, Internationales Katholisches Missionswerk e.V. website, p 20 http://www.missio- aachen.de/Images/MR%20T%C3%BCrkei%20englisch_tcm14-11238.pdf – Accessed 14 November 2005 – Attachment 2).

A Reuters News article dated 3 April 2006 includes an interview with a Syriac Christian from in Southeast Turkey, who said that “Twenty years ago, life was quite difficult but now I have no problems. Things are changing, thanks partly to the EU”. He also said that in Mardin, Christians and Muslims “celebrated each other’s religious festivals.” The article also refers to comments by the metropolitan (bishop) of Mardin, Saliba Ozmen, who said that “We have peace now, we can draw breath”. However, the article also indicates that the Syriacs “are not an officially designated minority in Turkey like the Greeks or Armenians and so have no special protection for rights such as private education under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne’s provisions for non-Muslim minorities.” The article also mentions that a teacher of had said that the state was turning a blind eye to local Kurds “taking land that still legally belongs to Syriacs residing abroad.” According to the article, “the overall picture is one of live-and-let-live” (Jones, Gareth 2006, ‘Ancient Christian sect prays for Turkey to join EU’, Reuters News, 3 April – Attachment 13).

The US Department of State 2005 report on religious freedom in Turkey indicates that “Over the last several years, small numbers of Syriacs have returned from overseas to the southeast, mostly from Western Europe.” According to the report:

The number of Syriac Christians in the southeast was once high; however, under pressure from government authorities and later under the impact of the war against the terrorist Workers Party (PKK), many Syriacs migrated to , Western Europe, or North and South America. Over the last several years, small numbers of Syriacs have returned from overseas to the southeast, mostly from Western Europe. In most return cases, older family members have returned while younger ones have remained abroad.

The report notes that there are Syrian Christian “minority foundations” recognised by the “government agency, the General Directorate for Foundations (Vakiflar Genel Mudurlugu),” which “regulates some activities of “non-Muslim” religious groups and their affiliated churches, monasteries, synagogues, and related religious property” in Turkey. The report also notes that “Bureaucratic procedures and considerations relating to historic preservation in the past have impeded repairs to religious facilities, especially in the case of Syrian Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox properties.”

The report indicates that local authorities had “for the first time allowed the Syriac community to hold a Syriac New Year celebration. Members of the Syriac community said more than 3,000 visitors from Europe, , and Syria attended the event, held April 1 in , .” The report also notes that in September 2004, officials in Sirnak Province evicted village guards who were preventing the return of Syriac Christians to their homes. The local authorities were reportedly paid by the Syriacs. According to the report:

In September 2004, the and Jandarma officials in Sirnak Province evicted members of a civil defense force known as the village guards who were preventing a group of Syriac Christians from returning to their homes. The Syriacs, who fled due to the PKK conflict, returned and found 20 village guards occupying their homes in the village of Sarikoy. The Sirnak Governor cut off electricity to the village, and Jandarma officers evacuated the village and disarmed the village guards. The Syriacs reportedly paid local authorities $93,700 for the relocation effort.

However, the report also refers to Syriacs saying that village guards often refused to leave occupied Syriac homes when Syriacs attempted to return from abroad and that unoccupied Syriac homes had been destroyed in Bardakci village in Mardin Province. It is stated in the report that:

In April, Syriacs who had recently returned from abroad to the village of Sari discovered an explosive device in an orchard where they were planning to re-start cultivation. In June, a landmine exploded in the village of Harabele as a car carrying a Syriac bishop and two others passed by. No one was injured in the explosion. The vehicle passengers were working to assist the return of Syriacs from abroad. No suspects were identified in either case. Members of the Syriac community said the bomb incidents discouraged Syriacs abroad from returning to the country.

Members of the Syriac community said local villagers, particularly village guards, often occupied the homes of Syriacs who fled the country, refusing to leave when Syriacs attempted to return. The village guards are a civil defense force of approximately 58,000, mostly in the southeast. They are reputed to be the least disciplined of the security forces and are often accused of drug trafficking, rape, corruption, theft, and other human rights abuses.

According to the Syriac community, more than 50 unoccupied Syriac homes have been destroyed in the village of Bardakci, Mardin Province, since 2000. The majority of the village’s Syriac residents fled the region in the mid-1980s. One of the village’s two Syriac churches has been converted into a mosque, without consulting with the Syriac community (US Department of State 2005, International Religious Freedom Report 2005 – Turkey, November, Sections 1, II & III – Attachment 12).

The European Commission’s 2005 progress report on Turkey notes that “In practice non- Muslim religious communities continue to encounter significant problems: they lack legal personality, face restricted property rights and interference in the management of their foundations, and are not allowed to train clergy.” The report indicates that “Non-Muslim minorities not usually associated by the authorities with the Treaty of Lausanne, such as Syriacs, are still not permitted to establish schools” and that “Nationality criteria restrict the ability of non-Turkish clergy, such as the Syriacs and Chaldeans, to work for certain churches.” The report also notes that:

Very few individuals of Syriac-origin have been able to return from abroad. Those that have lost their Turkish nationality are not able to register their property in the framework of the ongoing land registry in the Southeast. In this context, there has been a worrying increase in the number of complaints from Syriacs in Turkey and abroad regarding the seizure of their uninhabited property by both citizens in the region and the land registry authorities. Moreover, those that do return continue to face harassment from the village guards (European Commission 2005, Turkey 2005 Progress Report, 9 November, pp 29, 31, 37 & 40 – Attachment 8).

An article dated 23 June 2005 indicates that “respecting the religious freedom of non- Muslims will be critical to Turkey’s hopes of joining the EU.” Turkey had removed laws preventing Christians from repairing churches, “enabling the Syriacs to restore the ancient Mar Gabriel monastery near Bardakci. Another law was passed to let non-Muslim religious foundations buy land.” However, the article also notes that “recent attacks against Syriacs, including the detonation of a landmine under a car, have rung alarms—and made fellow Syriacs in Europe reconsider plans to return.” It is further stated in the article that:

The government’s failure to denounce these attacks has been aggravated by its attempts to sell land in Bardakci that the Syriacs claim as their own. They have petitioned the authorities in , who have yet to respond. Some observers see this as a sign of the “reform fatigue” bedevilling the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan ever since he won the date of October 3rd for the start of EU membership talks. Others detect a mounting campaign against Christians by Islamist forces within Mr Erdogan’s party (‘Turkey and its Christians: Persecution complex’ 2005, The Economist Online, 23 June – Attachment 14).

A Council of the report on Turkey dated 15 April 2002 provides background information on Christian minorities in Turkey, including the and the Syriac . The report also includes information on the situation of Syriac Orthodox Christians in Turkey at that time. According to the report: Syriac Orthodox Christians are not a recognised minority in Turkey. Only the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Jewish communities are officially recognised minorities. Syriac Orthodox Christians are therefore not allowed their own schools, for example. A limited amount of religious instruction and teaching takes place in church language and in the vernacular in Istanbul. In 1998 such instruction was prohibited in the monasteries in Midyat and Mardin. In reality, however, instruction simply continues and is tolerated by the local authorities.

The relative peace brought about by the cessation of armed hostilities by the PKK at the end of 1999 (as described earlier) has also had a positive impact on the position of the Syriac Orthodox Christians living in . While in the past they were caught between the Turkish government and the PKK, the situation is now reasonably calm… The Syriac Orthodox priest, Yusuf Akbulut who recently faced prosecution on account of incitement to religious hatred, was acquitted on 5 April 2001…

In May 2001 the local security forces ceased to allow foreigners and Syriac Orthodox Christians residing abroad to enter the villages of Tur Abdin. After protests from the international community, Prime Minister Ecevit issued a circular on 12 June 2001 stating that access to the villages must be guaranteed and that Syriax Orthodox Christians living abroad could return to their villages if they wished. The circular also urged official bodies to safeguard the rights of the Syriac Orthodox population in Turkey… In 2001 President Sezer gave permission for a second Syriac Orthodox church to be opened in Istanbul…

In June 2001, a Syriac Orthodox man living abroad was arrested on suspicion of disseminating separatist propaganda while making video recordings in the area where he had been born… The man was detained for two weeks before being released… As far as is known, the case against him had still not been completed at the beginning of 2002 (Council of the European Union 2002, Official general report on Turkey, 15 April, pp 94-95 & Annex I – Attachment 15).

A report dated 11 August 2000 by the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on the situation in Turkey regarding the elimination of all forms of religious intolerance provides information on the treatment of the Syriacs in Turkey at that time. It is stated in the report that:

The Syriacs, and in fact the entire Assyro-Chaldean community, seem to be gradually disappearing. In the first place, this community faces all of the problems described above: they are not recognized as a minority under the Treaty of Lausanne, although they have been present in Turkey for centuries; they have no legal status as a community; they are denied the right to their own educational, social, charitable and health institutions, and have no religious training seminaries; their places of worship are subject to confiscation and they are prevented from renovating those properties or from building new ones. In addition, they have on a number of occasions been denied the right to teach the Syriac religion, even within their churches and monasteries, while their demands for exemption from religious instruction in the public schools are often ignored. All of these obstacles and restrictions can be explained essentially by the policy of Turkization and by the failure to recognize the Assyro-Chaldeans as a distinct religious and cultural community. To these factors must be added the impact of the armed conflict between the Turkish authorities and Kurdish insurrectionists that has placed the Assyro-Chaldeans in a climate of constant fear from acts of terrorism (assault, robbery, assassination, abduction, forced conversion to Islam, etc.) and has provoked their massive departure from southeastern Turkey. It is also true that this community is rejected by society and by the local authorities, who are generally intolerant of any minority that does not conform to the stereotyped imperatives of the Turkization policy (i.e. to be Turkish by ethnic origin and to be Muslim by religion). This situation is at its worst in eastern Turkey, but it is also reflected in Istanbul, where most Assyro-Chaldeans migrate, and where the rise of Islamism is also viewed as a threat. Finally, the Assyro-Chaldeans feel that they are treated as foreigners, and in growing numbers they are leaving Turkey in the hope of preserving their cultural and religious identity (UN Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights 2000, ‘Interim report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the elimination of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief – Situation in Turkey’, United Nations General Assembly, A/55/280/Add.1, 11 August, pp 27- 28 http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/religion/visits.htm – Accessed 12 July 2006 – Attachment 16).

The IRBC response to information request dated 19 May 2000 comments on the situation of Syrian Orthodox Christians in Turkey at that time (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2000, TUR34438.E – Turkey: Treatment of non-Kurdish, non-Alevi ethnic minorities, 19 May – Attachment 1).

The previously mentioned submission dated 10 August 1999 by the Syrian Orthodox Federation of Australia includes information on the treatment of Syrian Orthodox Christians in Southeast Turkey up to that time and background information on the Syrian Orthodox Church (Syrian Orthodox Federation of Australia 1999, Submission on Human Rights Abuses on Syrian Orthodox Christians, Submission No 77, 10 August – Attachment 3).

The country study of Turkey dated 1996 by the US Library of Congress Federal Research Division provides the following background information about the Syrian Orthodox community in Turkey:

The Syrian Orthodox, or Jacobite, community, which numbered about 50,000 in 1995, ranks as the largest Christian denomination in Turkey. An Arabic-speaking community that uses ancient Aramaic in its liturgy, the Syrian Orthodox historically have lived in villages in the vicinity of Mardin and Midyat in southeastern Turkey. Since the late 1980s, intense fighting in this region between government forces and the PKK has threatened many villages and prompted a migration to local cities and even to Istanbul, where a community of Syrian Orthodox, initially established during the Ottoman era, was estimated to number 10,000 in 1995. The Syrian Orthodox Church has its own head, referred to as a metropolitan. The metropolitan (Timotheos Samuel Aktash in 1995) resides in an ancient mountain monastery near Midyat. Also, an estimated 2,000 Syrian Catholics, whose ancestors converted from the Syrian Orthodox rite, are scattered in small communities in the southeast. Syrian Catholics retain the distinct Syrian Orthodox rite but recognize the spiritual authority of the Roman Catholic pope (‘Non-Muslim Minorities’ in Metz, Helen Chapin (ed) 1996, ‘Turkey, a country study’, Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, The Library of Congress website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/trtoc.html – Accessed 10 July 2006 – Attachment 17).

List of Sources Consulted

Internet Sources: Copernic search engine The Library of Congress website www.loc.gov Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights website www.ohchr.org Amnesty International website www.amnesty.org Human Rights Watch website www.hrw.org BBC News website http://news.bbc.co.uk

UNHCR REFWORLD UNHCR Refugee Information Online

Databases: Public FACTIVA Reuters Business Briefing DIMA BACIS Country Information REFINFO IRBDC Research Responses (Canada) RRT ISYS RRT Country Research database, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, US Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. RRT Library FIRST RRT Library Catalogue

List of Attachments

1. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2000, TUR34438.E – Turkey: Treatment of non-Kurdish, non-Alevi ethnic minorities, 19 May. (REFINFO)

2. Oehring, Otmar 2002, ‘Human Rights in Turkey – Secularism = Religious Freedom?’, Internationales Katholisches Missionswerk e.V. website. (http://www.missio- aachen.de/Images/MR%20T%C3%BCrkei%20englisch_tcm14-11238.pdf – Accessed 14 November 2005)

3. Syrian Orthodox Federation of Australia 1999, Submission on Human Rights Abuses on Syrian Orthodox Christians, Submission No 77, 10 August. (CISNET Turkey CX39858)

4. Karimova, Nigar and Deverell, Edward 2001, ‘Minorities in Turkey’, Occasional Papers No. 19, The Swedish Institute of International Affairs website. (http://www.ui.se/texter/op19.pdf – Accessed 11 November 2002)

5. ‘Syria and Turkey: Many Roots to the Recent Quarrel’ 1998, The Estimate, Volume X, Number 22, 23 October. (http://www.theestimate.com/public/102398.html – Accessed 22 June 2006)

6. ‘Linguistic and Ethnic Groups – Arabs’ in Metz, Helen Chapin (ed) 1996, ‘Turkey, a country study’, Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, The Library of Congress website. (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/trtoc.html – Accessed 10 July 2006)

7. ‘Syrian maps including Hatay escalate tension’ 2006, Turkish Daily News, 2 May. (FACTIVA)

8. European Commission 2005, Turkey 2005 Progress Report, 9 November.

9. House of Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs 2002, ‘Sixth Report – Turkey’, Session 2001-02, The United Kingdom Parliament website, 30 April. (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmfaff/606/60602.htm – Accessed 1 May 2002)

10. Human Rights Watch 1999, Turkey: Violations of Free Expression in Turkey, February.

11. ‘Linguistic and Ethnic Groups’ in Metz, Helen Chapin (ed) 1996, ‘Turkey, a country study’, Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, The Library of Congress website. (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/trtoc.html – Accessed 10 July 2006)

12. US Department of State 2005, International Religious Freedom Report 2005 – Turkey, November.

13. Jones, Gareth 2006, ‘Ancient Christian sect prays for Turkey to join EU’, Reuters News, 3 April. (FACTIVA)

14. ‘Turkey and its Christians: Persecution complex’ 2005, The Economist Online, 23 June. (CISNET Turkey CX125030)

15. Council of the European Union 2002, Official general report on Turkey, 15 April.

16. UN Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights 2000, ‘Interim report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the elimination of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief – Situation in Turkey’, United Nations General Assembly, A/55/280/Add.1, 11 August. (http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/religion/visits.htm – Accessed 12 July 2006)

17. ‘Non-Muslim Minorities’ in Metz, Helen Chapin (ed) 1996, ‘Turkey, a country study’, Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, The Library of Congress website. (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/trtoc.html – Accessed 10 July 2006)