From ‘right to be equal’ to ‘right to be’: Greek-Orthodox Community in Istanbul

Abstract

The Greek-Orthodox community, which was granted collective rights by the ‘millet system’ in the Ottoman state and then by the 1923 Lausanne Treaty, today is deprived of the necessary population number to enjoy these rights. Through the brief analysis of the changes from the Ottoman period to the present time in representation in state offices; efficiency in foundation management; functioning of cultural associations; number of MPs; and number of school pupils, the paper argues that protection of the ‘right to be equal’ and ‘right to participate’ are necessities for minority groups to preserve their collective rights including the ‘right to the city’. Although there are several solutions to ameliorate the radical reduction in the Greek-Orthodox population in Istanbul, the present situation signals that the Greek language will not be the dominant element within the Orthodox religion; and religion will be the binding factor replacing Greek ethnic culture. This creates a trade off for the Greek-Orthodox minority, as the existence of the Patriarchate will also be at stake if its community withers away.

Keywords:

• Greek-Orthodox minority
• political participation
• Patriarchate
• Lausanne Treaty

Notes

1. Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, www.mfa.gov.tr/lausanne-peace-treaty-part-i_-political-clauses.en.mfa. It should be noted, even the Orthodox living in both Istanbul and Antiochia are recognized as a religious minority based on Lausanne, they have ethnic and linguistic differences, where the Orthodox of Antiochia are Arabs and of Istanbul are Helen.

2. About 848,000 Greeks had fled from Anatolia with the withdrawing Greek army in September 1922, while 115,000 Muslims had left Greece in 1914 due to Balkan War with the invitation by the Young Turks to repopulate the regions in western Anatolia where they had deported the local Greeks.

3. Mikhail Soutsos, was one of the best known Phanariot who served as Grand Dragoman (chief interpreter) to the Ottoman Port between 1817 and 1818 and as hospodar of Moldova between 1819–21.

4. The Reform Decree of 1856 (Hatt-ı Hümayun) was promulgated following the Crimean War. The Decree from Sultan Abdülmecid I promised equality in education, government appointments, and administration of justice to all regardless of creed. An important motivation behind this Decree was to undermine the Russian claims to the right of protector of the Orthodox population in the Ottoman Empire, a claim qualifying as one of the reasons for the Crimean War and other earlier troubles with Russia as well. For an illuminative account of the challenges for the Ottoman state in the nineteenth century, see Ortaylı (2001).

5. Higher representation for the non-Muslims was thanks to two principles of the revolution, namely equality and justice. It was reasonable and natural because the July Revolution of 1908 had restored the Kanun-i Esasi, which explicitly stipulated that ‘All the Ottomans are equal in rights and duties before the law’ (Article 17) and ‘Civil servants are assigned to appropriate posts in accordance with merit and capability, irrespective of creed or ethnicity’ (Article 19).

6. On 14 September 1933, a Treaty was signed in Ankara in which Greece and Turkey undertook to guarantee their common border, as well as to communicate on any international issues affecting them. As a confirmation of their good will, both Venizelos and İnönü declared that nationalities of their countries (Greeks and Turkish citizens, except the exchanges of the Lausanne Treaty) could have a work and residence permit that they could extend as long as they desire. This permit was unilaterally recalled again by İsmet İnönü in 1964 using the Cyprus conflict as an excuse. Turkey denounced unilaterally the 1930 Conventions of Establishment, Commerce, and Navigation on 16 March 1964, and announced the intention of expelling all the Greek nationals who resided in Istanbul. This measure affected a much larger group than those with Greek passports, since the Greek-Orthodox of Turkey formed one single ethnic group. The expulsion of one person could consequently lead to the departure of a whole family.

7. These amendments were made through ‘package laws’, which contain amendments to various different laws, including the Law on Foundations. These package laws are: Law No. 4771, 03.08.2002, Official Gazette No. 24841, 09.08.2002; Law No. 4778, 02.01.2003, Official Gazette No. 24990, 11.01.2003; and Law No. 4928, 15.07.2003, Official Gazette No. 25173, 19.07.2003. For more on these laws, see Kurban and Hatemi (2009).

8. Interview, conducted at Isik University (Istanbul), on September 2011 and March 2013.

9. The minority primary schools on Gökçeada/Imvros and Bozcaada/Tenedos (1964), the Greek- Orthodox seminary on Halki/ Heybeliada (1971), schools for the Muslims of Rodos and Kos/Istanköy (1971) are closed down as links in a chain reaction to mutually repressive measures. Similarly, the Cyprus events of 1954 (claim for union with Greece – enosis raised by the Greek-Cypriots), which caused the related pogrom against Greeks in Istanbul (6–7 September 1955), the unilateral denouncement by President Makarios of the constituent treaty of Cyprus, the military involvement of Turkey, the atrocities committed against Turkish-Cypriots by Greeks in Cyprus (1964) and the Turkish invasion in Cyprus (1974) constitute the milestones which shaped Greek and Turkish policies towards their minorities: the collateral victims of the Cyprus crisis (Tsitselikis 2012, 97).

10. Interview conducted at Phanar Greek-Orthodox Patriarchy on September 2011.