Turkey - Still no real 'freedom of Religion' for Non-Muslim communities, we want deeds, not words from gov't.

Turkey - Still no real 'freedom of Religion' for Non-Muslim communities, we want deeds, not words from gov't.(TZ).

Representatives of non-Muslim minorities are cautiously optimistic about the possible benefits that a recently unveiled democratization package could have for the proselytizing of religious beliefs but stress the importance of implementation.

“The implementation of the regulations mentioned in the democratization package is the most significant point that would help to decide whether they will ease our grievances regarding the communication of our beliefs,” Soner Tufan, the spokesman of the Association of Protestant Churches in Turkey, told Sunday's Zaman.

He added that the mere inclusion of such issues in the package is a promising step for non-Muslim groups in Turkey.While explaining the details of the package on Sept. 30, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said it included amendments that will make it easier for groups and individuals to freely practice their religion. He said the new measures will protect religious freedom.Though they praised the reforms in the package, representatives of non-Muslim groups say they would have liked to see more and deeper changes regarding non-minority rights.

“We need clergyman raised and educated in Turkey to continue our efforts in the church,” he said. Under current law, non-Muslim religious communities are barred from educating clergy on Turkish soil.

If the package passes in Parliament, a council tasked with fighting discrimination will also be established.Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a human rights lawyer, told Sunday's Zaman that though he doesn't want to be pessimistic about the efforts of the government, he is concerned about the implementation of the package.

“We need to wait and see whether non-Muslim citizens, as the victims of discrimination, will be members of the council,” he said.The democratization package also aims to reduce hate crimes by setting harsher punishments. Erdoğan said prison sentences for crimes involving racist, hate or discriminatory speech or attacks will be lengthened. He noted that someone convicted of a hate crime could face between one to three years of jail time, depending on the type of the crime.

Cengiz said the reforms, if properly implemented, could prevent crimes against non-Muslim groups like the murders of three missionaries employed at the Zirve Publishing House in Malatya in 2007 and the assassination of Hrant Dink, the editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos.

On April 18, 2007, Christians Necati Aydın, Uğur Yüksel and German national Tilmann Ekkehart Geske were tied to chairs, stabbed and tortured before they were killed at the Zirve Publishing House in the southeastern Anatolian city of Malatya. The publishing house they worked for printed Bibles and Christian literature.

Suspects Abuzer Yıldırım, Cuma Özdemir, Salih Gürler and Hamit Çeker were apprehended at the scene and taken into custody, while another suspect, Emre Günaydın, jumped from a third-story window in an attempt to escape from police and was taken into custody after being treated for injuries he sustained in the fall.

Evaluating the reforms and their effects on non-Muslim minorities, Sait Susin, the head of the Syriac Church of the Virgin Mary Foundation, claimed that introducing new laws won't help. “Without adequate measure to address prejudices, laws may not solve the problems that we face.

It would be more effective to educate and raise awareness in society,” he said.Pakrat Estukyan, the current editor of Agos, said that the reforms introduced in the package have no social basis since propagating one's religious beliefs, which could be called a missionary activity, is still perceived as an attack against Islam although it is really just communicating a belief that one has adopted.Read the full story here.