Saturday, June 28, 2014

Turkey criticizes "anti-Turkish" bill on Christian properties

......."While the clear and concrete steps that Turkey has taken for the improvement of the rights and freedoms of all of its citizens, including for the non-Muslim minorities are evident; attempts by anti-Turkish circles in the U.S. Congress, driven by domestic political considerations, to push such unconstructive and baseless initiatives are unacceptable," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement June 27.

The bill, which passed through the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday, requires the U.S. secretary of state to provide an annual report to Congress regarding Washington's efforts to secure the return and restoration of "stolen, confiscated, or otherwise unreturned Christian properties" in Turkey and the northern Cyprus.


Terming the bill as "null and void as far as Turkey is concerned," the statement stressed that such initiatives were incongruous with the existing spirit of partnership and alliance between the two traditional allies.

Introduced by Republican Committee Chairman Ed Royce and ranking Democrat Eliot Engel in March, the bill received bipartisan support in the committee, but was met with opposition from Democrats Gerry Connolly and Gregory Meeks......................http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-criticizes-anti-turkish-bill-on-christian-properties------.aspx?pageID=238&nID=68403&NewsCatID=510

28/6/14
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......"As has been well documented, by virtue of the reform process that has been ongoing for more than a decade, hundreds of properties, belonging to non-Muslim religious foundations which have made the necessary applications, have been returned and many others have been duly compensated. Within the context of this process, many historical non-Muslim places of worship have been restored by Turkish authorities and inaugurated for religious services.
While the clear and concrete steps that Turkey has taken for the improvement of the rights and freedoms of all of its citizens, including for the non-Muslim minorities are evident; attempts by anti-Turkish circles in the US Congress, driven by domestic political considerations, to push such unconstructive and baseless initiatives are unacceptable. That these circles have focused on the heritage of a single religion, and have neglected negative developments occurring at the expense of other religions and their heritage is inconsistent with universal values and contrasts starkly with the multi-culturality of the United States.

Apart from being null and void as far as Turkey is concerned, such initiatives are also incongruous with the existing spirit of partnership and alliance that we enjoy with the United States, with whom we aim to be in even closer cooperation and solidarity, especially in confronting the regional and global challenges we are faced with.".......http://www.mfa.gov.tr/no_-214_-27-june-2014_-press-release-regarding-the-h_r_-4347-adopted-yesterday-by-the-house-_of-representatives_-committee-on.en.mfa

27/6/14
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