The Economist tells plight of Syrians
The Economist tells plight of Syrians
Reporting from Diyarbakir and Mardin, The Economist, this week writes about the plight of the Christians. Referring to the fact that Kurdish tribes took part in the mass slaughter by the Ottomans of around 1 million Armenians in 1915, the Economist points out that there are now some sheik seeking reconciliation with the Kurdish region’s once thriving Christians. Mayor of Sur Abdullah Demirbas says to the Economist: “We are ready to face the past, to make amends.”
"To atone, Mr Demirbas has been providing money and materials to restore Christian monuments in Sur. These include the sprawling Surp Giragos Armenian Orthodox church where, until recently, drug dealers plied their trade amid piles of rubbish. It is now squeaky clean and even boasts a new roof" writes The Economist.
Yet, the magazine points out how "in the neighbouring province of Mardin, Kurdish tribes continue to harass the handful of Christians who remain. Their main target is the Mor Gabriel Syrian Orthodox monastery. Perched on a remote hilltop, this 1,600-year-old monastery faces five separate lawsuits contesting its right to retain land that church leaders say they have owned for centuries but have been unable to register because of bureaucratic stonewalling."
The Economist interviews Otmar Oehring from Missio, a German Catholic charity, who "calls the cases “baseless” and says “the state’s actions suggest it wishes that the monastery no longer existed.” He points to systematic persecution of some 2,000 Syrian Orthodox Christians living in and around Midyat. “The Syrian Orthodox community beyond the monastery has suffered repeated attacks, with land around villages often set on fire. The perpetrators are unknown, but are thought locally to be either local Kurds or the Turkish army, or both, he notes in a report published last month."
According to the report "the plight of the Syrian Orthodox in Midyat flies in the face of AK’s efforts to improve the treatment of Christians. Greater freedom for non-Muslim minorities is among the European Union’s main demands on Turkey, which is hoping to join. The AK government has made a string of gestures: restoring an Armenian church in Van and opening it to worship (if only once); giving free Armenian-language textbooks out in schools; and sending out orders from Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, that Christians must not be ill-treated."
"To atone, Mr Demirbas has been providing money and materials to restore Christian monuments in Sur. These include the sprawling Surp Giragos Armenian Orthodox church where, until recently, drug dealers plied their trade amid piles of rubbish. It is now squeaky clean and even boasts a new roof" writes The Economist.
Yet, the magazine points out how "in the neighbouring province of Mardin, Kurdish tribes continue to harass the handful of Christians who remain. Their main target is the Mor Gabriel Syrian Orthodox monastery. Perched on a remote hilltop, this 1,600-year-old monastery faces five separate lawsuits contesting its right to retain land that church leaders say they have owned for centuries but have been unable to register because of bureaucratic stonewalling."
The Economist interviews Otmar Oehring from Missio, a German Catholic charity, who "calls the cases “baseless” and says “the state’s actions suggest it wishes that the monastery no longer existed.” He points to systematic persecution of some 2,000 Syrian Orthodox Christians living in and around Midyat. “The Syrian Orthodox community beyond the monastery has suffered repeated attacks, with land around villages often set on fire. The perpetrators are unknown, but are thought locally to be either local Kurds or the Turkish army, or both, he notes in a report published last month."
According to the report "the plight of the Syrian Orthodox in Midyat flies in the face of AK’s efforts to improve the treatment of Christians. Greater freedom for non-Muslim minorities is among the European Union’s main demands on Turkey, which is hoping to join. The AK government has made a string of gestures: restoring an Armenian church in Van and opening it to worship (if only once); giving free Armenian-language textbooks out in schools; and sending out orders from Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, that Christians must not be ill-treated."
