Islamist Turkey seizes ALL Christian churches in city
and declares them 'state property'
TURKEY'S
Islamist government has stepped up its war on Christianity by seizing all the
churches in one city and declaring them state property.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
taken control of six churches in the war-torn southeastern city of Diyarbakir
in his latest move to squash freedom of speech and religious movement.
The state-sanctioned seizure is just
the latest in a number of worrying developments to come out of increasingly
hardline Turkey, which is in advanced talks with the EU over visa-free travel
for its 80 million citizens.
Included in the seizures are
Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches, one of which is over 1,700 years
old.
They have now effectively become
state property - meaning they are run by the government - in a country with a
dire human rights record where about 98 percent of the population is Muslim.
The order to seize the churches was
made on March 25 by Erdogan's council of ministers, according to the website
World Watch Monitor.
They claim it was made on the
grounds that authorities intend to rebuild and restore the historical centre of
the city, which has been partially destroyed by 10 months of urban conflict
between government forces and militants from the Kurdish Workers' Party
(PKK).
President Erdogan has overseen a
crackdown on freedom of expression
Christians in the Middle East are
under increasing attack
But the seizures have outraged
worshippers at the churches, who fear a government coup against their religion
are now threatening to take legal action against the decision.
Ahmet Guvener, pastor of Diyarbakir
Protestant Church, said: "The government didn't take over these pieces of
property in order to protect them. They did so to acquire them."
And the Diyarbakir Bar Association -
which represents Christians worshipping at one of the churches, has now
officially filed an appeal the government's action.
In a statement the group said:
"Among the expropriated plots, there are structures belonging to public
institutions ... and places of worship and residences considered as historical
and cultural heritage.
"This decision, which seems to
be made by the request of the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning
without any reason or justification, is unacceptable within the limits of
constitutional order."
The government didn't take over
these pieces of property in order to protect them. They did so to acquire them
Ahmet Guvener, pastor of Diyarbakir
Protestant Church
Local government officials are also
thought to be critical of the decision, claiming that the seizures lack legal
justification and will cause cultural damage to the town.
In response ministers have insisted
the order to take control of the churches was not religiously motivated,
pointing out that they have also occupied a number of historic mosques in the
city.
But, unlike Christian churches which
are maintained by the generosity of their congregations, all mosques in Turkey
are state-backed and funded, meaning their futures are secure.
Reacting to the seizure Victoria
Coates, who is foreign policy advisor to US Presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, said
the seizure fits into a pattern in the Middle East, where Christians are
systematically displaced and persecuted.
She told PJ Media: "What's
happening in southern Turkey is all too typical in the Middle East today, as
ancient Christian communities are displaced and persecuted by sectarian
violence.
"The government of Turkey
should move swiftly to return these churches to their rightful owners, and not
take advantage of the situation to seize them permanently."
Erdogan has courted open controversy
in recent months with the seizure of opposition newspaper Zaman, which has
unsurprisingly since toed a sycophantic pro-government line.
His apparently anti-democratic moves
have provoked outrage in Europe, where politicians have been left bowing and
scraping at his feet in a desperate bid to resolve the migrant chaos.
As part of a deal designed to stem
the flow of people entering the continent EU leaders have promised to open up
Europe to 80 million Turks and to accelerate talks on the country joining the
28-nation bloc.
Source: http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/663089/Islamist-Turkey-Erdogan-seize-Christian-churches-Diyarbakir-persecution-state-property
