U.S. commission notes religious freedom violations in Turkey

Published: 2007-05-02

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom strongly urged the U.S. government to include concerns regarding Turkey's religious freedom violations on the U.S.-Turkey bilateral agenda. The United States should urge Turkey to continue its legal reforms to protect the rights of Turkey's religious minorities, including Catholics, said the commission, an independent, bipartisan, federal agency mandated by Congress to review international religious freedom and provide recommendations for its advancement to the U.S. secretary of state. The Turkish government should take steps to "address the restrictions on the right to own property and train clergy" and "undertake significant steps to establish and enhance trust between the majority and minority" religions in the country, added the commission. Though Turkey did not make the commission's infamous list of countries with egregious human rights violations, the struggle regarding Turkey's policy of secularization, treatment of minority religions and growing Muslim identity earned the country a special section in the commission's 2007 Annual Report. The report was released in Washington May 2. It designated North Korea, Iran, China, Sudan, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia as "countries of particular concern" for their blatant denial of religious freedom.

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