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December
10, 2005
Mr.
Sugden,
Greetings and Merry Christmas to you sir.
The
following message is intended to follow up on my last one which went
without a
response. I would like to know how the Human Rights Watch report on
religious freedom
in
Turkey is faring? How much of it will pertain to the Ecumenical
Patriarchate and the
Greek
minority in Turkey?
Just to
inform you, the Turkish government continues to prevent the opening of
the
Greek
Orthodox Theological School in Halki. Furthermore, in response to the
latest
Human
Rights Watch press release on Turkey. Although I applaud the support you
have
been giving to Turkish publishers and writers such as Ragip Zarakolu and
Orhan
Pamuk, I
remain disturbed that Human Rights Watch continues to insist that there
has been
progress in Turkey on the matter of human rights.
Once
more, I wish to bring to your attention the violent demonstrations that
continue
to occur
outside the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Considering the history of violence
that
led to
the destruction of the Greek Orthodox communities of Constantinople,
Imbros,
and
Tenedos and in which Turkish leaders were implicated in, it is appalling
that
Ankara
continues to allow the demonstrations outside the Ecumenical
Patriarchate.
In light
of the murders of various Greek individuals in recent years, and in
light of the
bomb
attacks at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, and
2004,
demonstrations outside the Patriarchate should have been banned
outright. Ankara
will not
ban them because Turkish officials are supporting the Grey Wolves and
they
are in
full agreement with their goal of driving out the Ecumenical
Patriarchate. The
Human
Rights situation in Turkey for the Greek minority remains deplorable and
the
insistance
of Human Rights Watch that the situation has improved is contemptible.
I also
wish to remind you of the human rights violations against the Greeks of
Cyprus.
While
Human Rights Watch and your personally, continue to endorse Turkey's
aspirations to join the European Union, over 1,600 Greek Cypriots are
still missing
and the
murderers of Cypriots Tasos Isaac and Solomos Solomou remain at large.
I look
forward to your response.
Theodoros Georgiou Karakostas |