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The government, which has long resisted European Union pressure to reopen the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary after it was closed to new students in 1971 under a law that put religious and military training under state control, now appears to be more willing to reopen the school following US President Barack Obama's visit earlier this week in which he highlighted the importance his administration attaches to the rights of non-Muslim minorities in Turkey.
The theological school, located on Heybeli Island in İstanbul, once trained generations of Greek Orthodox leaders, including the current patriarch. The seminary remained open until 1985, when the last five students graduated.An ethnic Greek who is a citizen of Turkey, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew has warned that the Orthodox community could soon die out in Turkey if the seminary is not reopened.

However, ambiguity still surrounds the future of the seminary, despite the government's recent signs of willingness to reopen it. There must be a series of changes in existing legislation in order to reopen the school, the government points out.

Speaking to Today's Zaman yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek said: "Turkey's Constitution and legislation do not allow the establishment of privately owned religious schools in Turkey. If you are going to make a new regulation regarding religious rights and freedoms, you have to make a general amendment that encompasses all groups. How are you going to treat such demands from other groups if you reopen the seminaries?"

In a statement made on Tuesday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the reopening of the seminary was not yet on the government's agenda but that the necessary information would be shared with the public once it was taken up by the Cabinet.

Part of the problem stems from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate's refusal to have the school linked to Turkey's Education Ministry or the Higher Education Board (YÖK). If these paths were open, the government would not have to pass a constitutional amendment to reopen the school.

Military against reopening seminary

The Halki Seminary was listed in Turkey's national security policy documents as a national security threat until 2004 due to the painful memory of its collaboration with occupying forces during Turkey's War of Independence. Its status as a security threat was cleared at the end of a series of EU-inspired reforms. However, this was not enough to satisfy the EU or the US administration.

But the military is still not keen on the reopening of the seminary, partly from fear that religious attire worn by priests on the island might set a precedent that would allow women to wear the Islamic headscarf at Turkish universities.

Necdet Tekin, a former education minister, told Today's Zaman that it no longer made sense to keep the seminary closed. "This shame should be ended. Turkey is not in the days of the Independence War anymore. Those who would like to water down this deal are using the argument that this would allow religious attire to be worn in schools. If girls in the imam-hatip high schools [state-run religious vocational schools] can wear this, the students of the seminary should have education in religious attire. This should not be feared."

Tekin stresses, however, that the challenge is a legislative issue, as the Constitution and the Law on Higher Education are the biggest obstacles to the reopening of the school.

Patriarchate seeks autonomy for school

The first proposed formula for solving the legislative aspect of the problem is to put the seminary under the control of Turkey's Education Ministry; however, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate is strongly opposed to this. A second formula the government has proposed is the establishment of a new department under İstanbul University's department of theology, in which case the school would be placed under the jurisdiction of the Higher Education Board (YÖK). The patriarchate is also opposed to this.

Patriarch Bartholomew has stated that the Orthodox community demands full autonomy, basing his argument on the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, which stipulates that the state cannot interfere in the curricula of minority schools in Turkey.

The patriarchate's stance has fueled the opposition of nationalists, who are against the school's reopening. These segments argue that the patriarchate is trying to establish a legal precedent for its claim to having "ecumenical" status, which the Turkish state rejects.

Another potential challenge is that the patriarchate would like students from abroad to be able to attend the school, while Turkey does not want people who are not citizens of Turkey to be accepted.

The government is expected discuss these obstacles at the next Cabinet meeting, scheduled for Monday.



10 April 2009, Friday


ERCAN YAVUZ ANKARA