CBS Exposes Turkey’s Violation of Greek Minority Rights, but Ignores Armenians

CBS Network's "60 Minutes" program aired on December 17 a devastating exposé of the violations of the rights of the Greek minority in Turkey.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of the Greek Orthodox Church, headquartered in Istanbul, courageously criticized the Turkish government for treating him as a "second-class citizen." He went on to state that he felt like he was being "crucified."

This is perhaps the first time that a major American TV network has dared to broadcast a program that reveals the discriminatory practices of the repressive Turkish regime against the Greek minority. It would appear that CBS was able to withstand the intense pressure Ankara and its highly-paid Washington lobbyists routinely apply to censor programs that expose the Turkish government's abusive behavior.

Not surprisingly, various Turkish officials, including Pres. Gul, reacted angrily. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu disingenuously suggested that the Greek Patriarch should have submitted his complaints to the authorities in Ankara. The Foreign Minister acted as if he was unaware that for years countless complaints had been lodged by the Patriarch about the injustices suffered by his people. The Turkish government not only has remained unresponsive to these complaints, but has carried out a deliberate policy of harassment and intimidation to force thousands of Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians and Jews to abandon their homes and businesses and relocate overseas.

Bob Simon, the correspondent for "60 Minutes," reported that "at the turn of the last century, there were nearly 2 million Orthodox Christians in Turkey; 1.5 million were expelled in 1923, and another 150,000 left after violent anti-Christian riots in Istanbul in 1955. Today, in all of Turkey, there are only 4,000 Orthodox Christians left." The figures quoted by Simon refer only to Greeks.

"I have visited the Prime Minister, many Ministers, submitting our problems...asking to help us," Patriarch Bartholomew told Simon. He never got a response.

"60 Minutes" further reported on its website that "Turkish authorities have seized Christian properties and closed Christian churches, monasteries and schools." The Greek "parishioners are afraid that the authorities want to force Bartholomew and his church -- the oldest of all Christian churches -- out of Turkey." The Turkish government "would be happy to see the Patriarchate extinguished or moving abroad, but our belief is that it will never happen," Bartholomew told Bob Simon.

Periodically, the harassment of Greeks and other minorities becomes deadly, as was the case with Armenian journalist Hrant Dink who was assassinated in January 2007 in front of his Istanbul newspaper office. In fact, just as Simon was ending his tour of the Greek Patriarchate's headquarters, a Turkish policeman reported that there was a threat on Bartholomew's life. Previous threats had been serious enough for the Turkish authorities to place cameras and barbed wire around the Patriarchate and provide the Patriarch with 24-hour protection.

Simon was soon to uncover that despite its Islamist façade, Prime Minister Erdogan's government routinely violates the tolerance preached by the Prophet Muhammad who had written a letter to the Greek monastery on Mt. Sinai almost 1,400 years ago, offering protection and religious freedom to Christians. Simon lamented the fact that Muhammad's message of goodwill had not been put into practice by the Turkish authorities. The Halki School of Theology, the only Greek Orthodox seminary in Turkey, was closed down by the government in 1971. Since Turkish law requires that all priests and Patriarchs be native Turkish citizens, the shutting down of the seminary made the training of new priests impossible, jeopardizing the Church's continued existence in Turkey.

Unfortunately, CBS completely ignored the fate of Armenians and other persecuted minorities in Turkey, never once mentioning any of them! In fact, Simon seemed to be deliberately ignoring their existence.

In one particular segment of the program discussing the location of the Greek Patriarchate in Istanbul, Simon went as far as describing the neighborhood as having been "Greek and Christian." This was yet another attempt to avoid acknowledging the Armenians. Without diverting attention from the trials and tribulations of the Greek Orthodox Church in Turkey, Simon could have made a passing reference to Armenians -- the country's largest Christian minority - who also suffered many injustices, including genocide!

Readers are urged to post a comment on the CBS website, praising the network's outstanding exposé of the abuses and persecutions experienced by the Ecumenical Patriarch and his flock in Turkey. Readers should also inquire as to why there was not a single mention of Armenians or other minorities who have also suffered under the Turkish yoke. To post a comment, please click on the following link: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6001717n&tag=mg;mostpopvideo

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier