Hearing Turkey’s Armenians: Issues, Demands and Policy Recommendations Günay Göksu Özdoğan Ohannes Kılıçdağı Hearing Turkey’s Armenians: Issues, Demands and Policy Recommendations Türkiye Ekonomik ve Bankalar Cad. Minerva Han Sosyal Etüdler Vakf› No: 2 Kat: 3 Turkish Economic and Karaköy 34420, İstanbul Social Studies Foundation Tel: +90 212 292 89 03 PBX Fax: +90 212 292 90 46 Demokratikleşme Program› [email protected] Democratization Program www.tesev.org.tr Authors: Publication Identity Design: Rauf Kösemen Günay Göksu Özdoğan Cover Design: Banu Yılmaz Ocak Ohannes Kılıçdağı Page Layout: Gülderen Rençber Erbaş Coordination: Sibel Doğan Edited by: Production Coordination: Nergis Korkmaz Mehmet Ekinci, Pınar Çanga Printed by: İmak Ofset Basım Yayın San. ve Tic. Ltd. Şti. Translated by: Atatürk Cad. Göl Sok. No : 1 Yenibosna Suzan Bölme Bahçelievler/İSTANBUL-TÜRKİYE Tel: 0212 656 49 97 Cover Design: Copies: 250 Banu Soytürk TESEV PUBLICATIONS ISBN 978-605-5332-01-3 Copyright © May 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced electronically or mechanically (photocopy, storage of records or information, etc.) without the permission of the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV). All views and opinions appearing in this publication belong to the author and may be partially or completely against the institutional views of TESEV. TESEV would like to extend its thanks to Open Society Foundation, Chrest Foundation and TESEV High Advisory Board for their contributions with regard to the publication of this report. Contents PREFACE, 5 INTRODUCTION, 7 SECTION ONE, 11 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL BACKGROUND, 13 SECTION TWO, 21 THE ARMENIAN IDENTITY AND DISCRIMINATION, 23 Religious Discrimination, 23 The Perception about “Armenian” or Armenian as an “Insult”, 25 Discrimination in Public Employment, 26 Hiding Identity to Avoid Discrimination, 27 Discrimination and the Self-Perception of the Armenians, 28 Relations with State Institutions and Legal Remedy, 29 Evaluation and Recommendations, 30 SECTION THREE, 35 EDUCATION, 37 The Discrepancy between Legal Status and Actual Situation, 37 Vice Principals and Culture Course Teachers, 38 Enrolments, 40 Education and Language, 40 Introduction of 8-Year Compulsory Primary Education and Changes in the Education System, 42 Financial Problems, 42 Teachers’ Education and Investments, 43 Discriminatory Practices in Schools: Textbooks and Other Issues, 43 Bilingual Education, 44 Children from Armenia, 44 Situation in Anatolia, 45 Evaluation and Recommendations, 46 SECTION FOUR, 49 THE ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE OF ISTANBUL AND THE PATRIARCHAL ELECTIONS, 51 Civic Representational Power and Capacity of the Patriarchate: Spiritual Leader of the Congregational Community or Head of the Society?, 52 The Patriarchal Election Crisis, 54 Is A Legal Entity Status Necessary?, 58 Evaluation and Recommendations, 59 SECTION FIVE, 61 VIOLATIONS OF FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS RIGHTS, 63 Freedom of Religion, Faith and Worship, 65 Destruction of Churches and Cemeteries, 65 Maintenance, Repair and Opening of Churches, 67 Clergy Education, 68 Evaluation and Recommendations, 69 SECTION SIX, 71 FOUNDATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS: LEGAL STATUS AND PROBLEMS RELATED TO PROPERTY OWNERSHIP, ADMINISTRATION AND ORGANIZATION , 73 The Legal Status of Community Foundations and their Property Ownership Problems, 75 Administration of Foundations and Election of Their Directors, 79 Foundation Elections, 81 Associations, 82 Evaluation and Recommendations, 85 SECTION SEVEN, 89 COMING TO TERMS WITH HISTORY, 91 Understanding of a Sacrosanct History, 91 Textbooks, 92 1915 and Turkish Nation-State, 92 1915 and the Property Ownership Issue, 93 ‘Coming to terms with’ 1915, 93 1915 and the Identity of Turkey’s Armenians, 94 Genocide Commemoration Ceremonies and Apology Campaigns, 95 Joint History Commission, 96 Evaluation and Recommendations, 97 SECTION EIGHT, 99 ARMENIA AND DIASPORA, 101 Armenia, 101 Border and Protocols, 103 Armenians from Armenia in Turkey, 103 Diaspora, 104 Genocide bills, 105 Evaluation and Recommendations, 105 SECTION NINE, 107 CONCLUSION: GENERAL EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS, 109 Between Lausanne and Contemporary Human and Minority Rights Codes, 109 Positive Discrimination, 111 Political and Ideological Attitude, 111 Initiatives, 112 From a Community to Citizenship, 113 Introspective Criticisms and Discussions, 114 Dialogue and Negotiation for Solution, 114 Recommendations, 116 LIST OF PERSONS WHO PARTICIPATED INTO THE CLOSED WORKSHOPS, 120 BIBLIOGRAPHY, 122 ABOUT THE AUTHORS, 126 4 Preface Özge Genç, TESEV Democratization Program This report was prepared for publication as part of the process of rethinking amongst decision-makers, TESEV’s Democratization Program (DP) Minority academics, media and society at large in terms of the Rights studies. It is an outcome of a series of policies and attitudes towards Armenian citizens in workshops that engaged different groups within the particular, and all minority groups in general. Armenian society in Turkey. During the project, four During the public discussions of the systematic workshops were organized which brought together massacre and slaughter of Armenians, different sides journalists, artists, civil society representatives, of the discussion with different motivations are in a administrators and directors of the Patriarchate, state of denial rather than discussing it in detail. It is churches, schools and hospitals, professionals, hard to support the ideas claiming that everything publishers, academics, students and Armenian should be left in the past in order to move into a new migrants in İstanbul, Ankara and Antakya. The aim of phase. Moreover, Armenian citizens in Turkey are still this report is not only to introduce the problems that experiencing difficulties in maintaining and sustaining Armenian population have been living with, but it also their language, culture and religion. Furthermore, they includes the opinions of the different segments of the have been exposed to direct and indirect Armenian society about the democratization process discrimination as well as hate speech. Their freedom in Turkey. The next step to reach this aim is to convey of expression has been extorted, their access to public the demands and expectations of this community to sphere has been restricted and their exercise of the related social and political addressees. religious freedom has been limited. In this report, all “Hearing Turkey’s Armenians: Issues, Demands and these violations are explained in detail under related sections. Policy Recommendations” focuses on the issues that are mostly ignored by policy makers and society in As it is also seen from the general evaluation and Turkey such as access to right of education and work; recommendations section of the report, current assuring the freedom of faith and religious practices; democratization and demilitarization processes freedom of intellectual, cultural and artistic unfolding in Turkey necessitate the disclosure of the expression; elections of the Patriarch and directors of archives by state and administrative authorities with a the community foundations, and demands concerning view to reveal historical facts; reinforcement and the confiscated property. assurance of legal and institutional equality; and the sincere inception of a coming to terms with the past at This report is a product of a sincere and open effort individual and societal level. Throughout this process, - with no pre-set limits - undertaken to ‘listen’ and it will be a true and positive step for policy makers and ‘hear’ Armenians of Turkey and give them the public and intellectual opinion leaders to embrace the opportunity to tell their experiences and perceptions. principle of equal citizenship rather than sympathy or These issues raised by the participants have then tolerance towards diversity. been transformed into policy recommendations at the 5 end of the report. The report is expected to trigger a 6 Introduction Views put forward with regard to or in reference to the existence, history and suffering of the Armenians of Armenians in Turkey until recently have appeared, to a Turkey, their request to enjoy equal citizenship and large extent, in the debates on the “events of 1915” respect to their cultural identities, and a new voice and, within this context, mostly in the framework of proposing joint civil action for democratization of the Turkey-Armenia and Armenian diaspora relations. Turkey within the public domain. Aras Yayıncılık [Aras These views have in general reiterated the theses of Publishing] also accompanies this process with the the official historiography in Turkey that rejects the literary works and research it publishes on the genocide allegations. As part of this process, centuries Armenian history, literature and culture. of Armenian residency and presence in this land and Despite exposure to many hindrances and attacks, the the economic/social/cultural roots of Turkey’s conference on “Ottoman Armenians During the Armenians have been ignored, torn away from their Decline of the Empire: Scientific Responsibility and historical context, or even “de-historicized”. On the Issues of Democracy” (İmparatorluğun Çöküş other hand, neither the discriminatory attitudes, Döneminde Osmanlı Ermenileri: Bilimsel Sorumluluk ve pressures and “othering” discourses targeting the Demokrasi Sorunları), held on 23-25 September 2005, Armenian citizens of Turkey, due to their different and attended by many historians,