GfbV: Letter to turkish foreig minister and minister of interior

G?ttingen, 24th June 2004

Dear Minister,
in the course of the recent reforms of the government the living conditions of the Assyrian-aramean Christians in the Tur Abdin have
improved considerable. They enjoy New-Aramean as language of instruction at school and more and more families of Assyrian-aramean origin are returning to their ancestral villages from their places of refuge in other parts of Europe and the world. We expressly endorse these reforms as very important steps to strengthen the religious centre of the Syrian-orthodox denomination and
we sincerely hope that the Syrian-orthodox Christians will again strike roots in their ancestral homeland. Moreover, this  evelopment
is a good chance for the international reputation of the Republic of Turkey.

In autumn 1994 the last Assyrian-aramean Christians have left their village Sare (Turkish Sarik?y) in the province Sirnak. Since then so-called ?village protectors?, i.e. armed Kurds instructed to protect the strategically important street against the PKK, were settled
there by the Turkish armed forces. Little by little they took their families in with the result that Sare is occupied today by 30 Kurdish
families making up 300 individuals altogether. 

In June, 2001 the former Prime Minister Ecevit invited the Assyrians in a circular letter to return to their ancestral homeland. In May, 2004 the governor (Vali) of the province Sirnak – Osman G?nes – has called on the ?village protectors? in a decree to leave the village up to the 15th June, 2004 to allow the Christians to return. The resettlement of the ?village
protectors? and their families to their home area would be provided for. Up to now, nevertheless, they did not even start to leave
the village. Dear Minister, on behalf of the Society for threatened Peoples-International I insistently ask you to exercise every possible influence and use all necessary means to quicken the process of vacating the village Sare by the ?village protectors? in order to let the Christians return soon.

I may point out to you the fact that the Society for threatened People (GfbV) since 1970 continuously supports the ethnic and religious rights of minorities in Turkey, especially of Kurds and Christians and with the same energy also always stood against the totalitarian policy of the PKK.

I would like to thank you in advance for any efforts.

Sincerely yours

Tilman Z?lch
President of the Society for threatened Peoples- International

S?leyman Yildirim
Nahost Referat
Gesellschaft fuer bedrohte Voelker
Society for Threatened Peoples
Near East Desk
PO-Box 2024
37010 Goettingen
Tel: 0551. 4990624 oder
4990628
Fax: 0551. 58028
Email: nahost@gfbv.de