TURKEY/ Minister of EU Affairs: Our Government is committed to guaranteeing more religious freedom

“Reforms are important in terms of change. But what is more important is the change in mentality in Turkey”. The Turkish government, under Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is reaching in both of these directions, is what Egemen Bagis, the Minister of EU Affairs and the head of Negotiation, asserts in an interview with Ilsussidiario.net. Among the reforms cited by Bagis are: increasing sentences for the crime of discrimination against religious minorities, a campaign to foster tolerance, and the reopening of churches and monasteries that have been closed for hundreds of years. The interview also touches on some hot issues such as the relationship between Islam, the State and the society, the war on terrorism, their relationship with the European Union, the revelations of Wikileaks, and the breaking off of diplomatic relations with Israel.

Minister Bagis, you wrote that the «government is giving priority to the issues of non-Muslims». Which improvements in freedom of religion for Christians are you making?

Freedom of religion is firmly guaranteed by the Constitution and relevant legislation. In line with our tradition of religious tolerance, we are taking care of the current issues of our citizens with different faiths, with whom a constructive and consistent dialogue is ongoing. Reform Monitoring Group composed of four Ministers, namely, the Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Interior has become a very active instrument and an important mechanism in overseeing the political reform process.

Our Government has established direct dialogue with our citizens with different faiths and beliefs. Periodic meetings are being hold with the representatives of religious communities to address their problems. These communities include Jews, Catholic Syrians, Orthodox Syrians, Orthodox Armenians, Orthodox Greeks, Orthodox Bulgarians, Catholic Georgians, Catholic Armenians, Protestant Armenians, Catholic Keldanis and Latin Catholics. Comprehensive meetings were held twice this year, with the participation of representatives of 11 different religious groups.

A circular on this matter was issued by Prime Minister Erdogan in May 2010. He directed the bureaucracy to take care of the problems of our citizens with different faiths with compassion.