The Assyrian Democratic Organization
Belgium – Brussels
28/04/2010
European Parliamentarians Stressed, at a conference in the European Parliament, on Wednesday afternoon, the need for Turkey to recognize the "Genocide" of the Armenians, Assyrians Chaldeans Syriacs, and Pontic Greeks, as a necessary step prior to its accession to the European Union (EU).
The conference was organized by the Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO / Mtakasta) in cooperation with Seyfo Center, with the participation of a number of European Parliamentarians and our Chaldean Syriac Assyrian institutions. It was held to discuss the situation of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrians in Turkey, under the title of “Assyrian/Syriac Rights in Changing Turkey.”
Mr. Markus Ferber, a German member of the European Parliament for the Christian Social Union and member of the Bureau of the European People’s Party, pointed in the beginning of his speech that the population of the Syriac Assyrians in Turkey in the beginning of the 20th century was estimated to be above one million, but due to the Genocide and displacement, which have claimed many lives and led to the displacement of the remaining, today there only remains an estimated 20,000 Syriac Assyrians in Turkey.
Mr. Ferber criticized the Turkish government for not recognizing the rights of minorities including the Syriac Assyrians. He said: “The Turkish government is still denying the existence of minorities and does not grant them their rights. I oppose this policy because it leads to more human rights abuses and violations where Turkey prohibits minorities from participating in the political life and they are not allowed to publicize their national or religious identity.”
Mr. Ferber also touched on the subject of the Mor Gabriel Monastery and the problems that arose around the Monastery in terms of how some Kurds claimed that the Monastery’s land as their property and he criticized the way the Turkish government dealt with this subject.
He stressed that accession to the EU must be preceded by the implementation of the Treaty of Copenhagen. Upon which, he called on Turkey that if it wants to join the EU, then it must remove Articles 1 and 3 of its constitution.
Another speaker was Ms. Eva-Britt Svensson, who is a Swedish member of the European Parliament and a member of the Left Party, vice-chair of the EUL–NGL group, and chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. For her part, Ms. Eva-Britt Svensson demanded that Turkey should recognize and improve the Human Rights situation in the country. She added, “If Turkey wants to join the EU, then it must recognize the Genocide that befell upon the Armenians and Chaldeans Syriacs Assyrians in the beginning of the 20th century.” She continued, “Today, in Turkey, whoever speaks about the Genocide faces a prison sentence. We cannot create a better future if we do not acknowledge history and recognize what happened. This is an important matter, not only for the victims and their families, but it is also important for everyone.”
Ms. Svensson pointed that Turkey’s fear of recognizing the Genocide is that it would negatively affect past glories. Ms. Svensson explained that Genocide recognition will place additional pressures on Turkey to deal with its history and pay for past mistakes. She also commended the historic step taken by the Swedish Parliament last March by recognizing the Genocide that befell upon the Armenians, Assyrians Chaldeans Syriacs, and Pontic Greeks, on the hands on the Turks in 1915.
Ms. Ria Oomen-Ruijten, a Dutch member of the European Parliament and the European Parliament’s Turkey Rapporteur and MEP for EPP-ED (European People’s Party-European Democrats), commended what she considered ‘slow changes’ in Turkey and said, “There are changes, albeit slowly, but democracy and modernization are being backed by a large segment of the population.” She added, “As a person who is required to prepare an annual report on the conditions in Turkey, we are following the progress of the rights of religious minorities in Turkey, which are positive changes, but it must be pursued in order to be completed and become real tangible steps.”
Ms. Oomen-Ruijten called for an open and genuine dialogue between all the components of the community, and said, “A number of Turkish intellectuals have begun these discussions about what occurred in the past in Turkey.” Then, she confirmed that the case of the Mor Gabriel Monastery is receiving significant attention from the European Union.
Meanwhile, Ms. Zeynep Tozduman, Chairperson of the Izmir Council for Peace, noted, “Since 1840, the Assyrian nation has been subjected to displacement, exile, and hunger, and these acts had been increasing until 1915 which culminated in nearly ending their existence. But the Assyrian people have been able to unite and strengthen themselves in the last thirty years in Europe in order to present their case before the European public opinion. Unfortunately, their case has only been presented as a topic in the agendas without any concrete steps.”
She went on, “Until this day, whenever discussing the calamity that occurred in 1915, Europe and the United States consistently ignore the Assyrian people or they are mentioned as a footnote in addition to the Armenian sufferings.“ Then she gave an example, “At the beginning of this year, the Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, accepted the Armenian massacres as a real Genocide while turning a blind eye or ignoring the Genocide of the Assyrian people. While the Swedish Parliament was more inclusive and did acknowledge that the Genocide did not only fall upon the Armenians and Assyrians, but also the Pontic Greeks.”
Mr. Sabri Alkan, Representative of the Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO), explained that Turkey has many reasons that prevent it from recognizing the Genocide, saying, “Modern day Turkey has built its country on the basis of one national identity and one religion, and if Turkey recognizes the Genocide this means that it recognizes another ethnic group which are an indigenous people on its soil. As well as, it means that it recognizes that it committed Genocide on an indigenous people living on its land, and in turn, paying compensation to the victims.”
Mr. Sabri Alkan added, “Turkey also fears the recognition of Genocide since they are unable to inform the Turkish people after denying the Genocide for ninety-five years, and the political parties do not know how to tell the people the truth about what had happened.” He expressed his belief that Turkey will recognize the Genocide, saying, “The world has changed today and became a small village due to the rapid spread of information, and material cannot remain hidden, and thus Turkey must recognize the Genocide.”
Mr. Sabri Alkan demanded that, “The European Union supports the demands of our people for Turkey’s recognition of our people as indigenous, and Turkey must recognize the national and religious pluralism and grant minorities cultural, linguistic, and political rights.”
Mr. Sabri Atman, Director of Seyfo Center, also presented a lecture in the conference. The conference’s panels were run by the journalist Mr. Nuri Kino, which were attended by many of our people’s cultural and religious institutions.
Santa Mikail ESSA
