Turkey

Millions of people in many places across the world celebrated Newroz (the Kurdish and Persian New Year) on March 19-23 with their families and loved ones. Kurds across Turkey also organized mass celebrations, but that came with a heavy price.

The crime of cultural heritage destruction has been committed against the same victims by the same perpetrators again and again—in Turkey, Cyprus, the South Caucuses, and the Middle East.

While religious minorities go back and forth between being scapegoats and props, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has demonstrated that municipalities can play a key role in making their religious minority residents feel welcome as equal citizens and valued stakeholders.

To my frustration, the 1899 Hague Conventions, the 1907 Hague Regulations, and the 1954 Convention have all been flouted in Turkish-occupied Famagusta and in other parts of Cyprus. Just as frustratingly, Turkey has tried to block the road to justice via The Hague.

What is emerging is a return of three ancient regional power centers, would-be Persian and Turkish hegemons wishing to once more dominate in the domain of their past empires. In the middle is an Arab and Jewish coalition, anxious not to fall prey to their old masters.

“Turkey has nothing that contradicts Taliban’s faith,” said Turkey’s president, a country that is also a NATO member. The comments…

In this episode, Mark Melton speaks with Tugba Tanyeri-Erdemir and Aykan Erdemir about religious freedom issues in Turkey.

It is time for the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and the global religious freedom advocacy community to highlight the egregious religious freedom violations that result from Turkey’s restrictions on using the Kurdish language as part of religious services.

Across Turkey and the Turkish diaspora around the world, wariness of the Diyanet, Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs, is growing.