EU Enlargement, Conditionality, and the Protection of Christian Minorities in Turkey

Isaac E Andakian

doi:10.18523/kmlpj220759.2020-6.45-72

Abstract

Turkey has had aspirations to join the European Union (EU) and be part of Europe since 1958. The most recent three EU enlargement rounds in 2004, 2007, and 2013 included most Eastern European countries and kept Turkey aside. Turkey has to comply with numerous enlargement conditionalities imposed by the EU to obtain the status of potential membership eligibility. Among these conditionalities are the Copenhagen criteria, which include but are not limited to the respect of minority rights as an inseparable part of Copenhagen's political criterion. This essay discusses the respect of minority rights in Turkey as a conditionality for its EU accession and focuses on the non-Muslim Christian minorities, namely Armenian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox minorities. The findings of this essay present and demonstrate the persecutions and intolerance these minorities have encountered and still encounter in their everyday life within Turkish society by the current Turkish government and its predecessors. As a result, this essay argues that Turkey does not comply with the 'respect of minority rights' requirement as prescribed by the Copenhagen criteria, a prerequisite for its EU accession. Consequently, Turkey is not eligible for EU accession from the 'respect of minority rights' perspective as it does not fulfill the latter condition.

Highlights

Turkey has always been keen and interested to adopt democratic-E uropean values through the formation of a laic and presumably democratic state in reflection of its European rather than Islamic identity
Turkey’s European identity emerged with the Turkish state’s formation with Ataturk, who “transformed the Ottoman monarchy into a nation-state modeled on the European example.” 1 Turkey took many steps towards reflecting its European identity and getting closer to its potential European Union (EU) membership through becoming a member of the Council of Europe (CoE) in 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1952, Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Pamuk was demonized by the Turkish press and was called a traitor for raising public awareness about the Armenian Genocide. He received life threats and was forced to flee Turkey. When he returned to Turkey a few years later, he was prosecuted and charged with “public denigration of Turkish identity.” 103 Elif Shafak, a best- selling Turkish author and the writer of the “Bastard of Istanbul” in which one of the characters refers to the deaths of Armenians during the First World War as “Genocide,” faced charges of “insulting Turkishness” in 2006 under article 301 of the Penal Code because of mentioning the Armenian Genocide

Summary

Introduction

Turkey has always been keen and interested to adopt democratic-E uropean values through the formation of a laic and presumably democratic state in reflection of its European rather than Islamic identity. The Copenhagen Council imposed four necessary conditions for any Central and Eastern European Country (CEECs) accession, including Turkey and the Balkans Among these four conditions lies the political criterion, which requires that the candidate country meets four requirements, including “stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities.”. It is the “respect for and protection of minorities” that this essay will highlight as one of the four main conditionality requirements for Turkey’s EU accession in any future round of enlargement. The second part considers the respect for and protection of Non-M uslim Christian Minorities in Turkey as part of the political conditionality stated in the Copenhagen criteria of 1993. EU Enlargement, Conditionality, and the Protection of Christian Minorities in Turkey

EU Enlargement and Minority Rights Conditionality Requirements for Turkey

Armenian Orthodox

Greek Orthodox

A Paradigm Shift

Findings

Conclusion