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

Authors

  • Isaac E. Andakian Kennesaw State University, United States

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18523/kmlpj220759.2020-6.45-72

Keywords:

EU conditionality, EU accession, Turkey, minority rights, Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox

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.

Supporting Agencies

  • Professor Dimitris Papadimitriou
  • Dr. Fares Zaatar
  • Attorney Shelley White
  • Professor Volker Franke

References

  1. Almairac, Laure, and Paula Tscherne-Lempiäinen. Turkey: A Minority Policy of Systematic Negation. Helsinki: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), 2006.
  2. Armenian Weekly. "11-Month Prison Sentence for 'Gul is Armenian' Comment." The Armenian Weekly. Last modified November 9, 2010. https://www.armenianweekly.com/2010/11/06/11-month-sentence/.
  3. Armenian Weekly. "Funeral of Murdered Armenian Woman in Istanbul Evokes Memories of Earlier Cover-Ups." The Armenian Weekly. Last modified January 6, 2013. https://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/01/06/funeral-of-murdered-armenian-woman-in-istanbul-evokes-memories-of-earlier-cover-ups/.
  4. Associated Press. "Turks Apologize for Armenian Massacres: Prominent Intellectuals Show Regret Online for World War I-Era Atrocities.’" NBC News. Last modified December 15, 2008. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna28240840#.Wrp7TojwZPa%20edam.org.tr/en/turks-regretful-over-the-armenian-tragedy-of-1915-but-refuse-to-qualify-it-as-a-genocide/.
  5. Aybak, Tunc. "Geopolitics of Denial: Turkish State’s ‘Armenian Problem’." Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 18, no. 2 (2016), 125–44. doi:10.1080/19448953.2016.1141582.
  6. Barkey, Karen, and George Gavrilis. "The Ottoman Millet System: Non-Territorial Autonomy and its Contemporary Legacy." Ethnopolitics 15, no. 1 (2016), 24–42. doi:10.1080/17449057.2015.1101845.
  7. Baylies, Carolyn. "‘Political conditionality’ and democratisation." Review of African Political Economy 22, no. 65 (1995), 321–37. doi:10.1080/03056249508704143.
  8. Boia, Lucian. "Minority Issues: Minorities in Southeastern Europe: Legacies of the Past." In Beyond EU-Enlargement Volume 2: The Agenda of Stabilisation for Southeastern Europe Bertelsmann, edited by Wim Van Meurs, 139-54. Gutersloh: Bertelsmann Foundation Publishers, 2001.
  9. Brown, Adele, and Michael Attenborough. “EU Enlargement: The Western Balkans.” House of Commons Library Working paper 07/27, 2007.
  10. Chelala, Cesar. "Erdogan’s Apology." CounterPunch.org. Last modified April 25, 2014. https://www.counterpunch.org/2014/04/25/erdogans-apology/.
  11. Cheterian, Vicken. Open Wounds: Armenians, Turks and a Century of Genocide. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.
  12. Commission, “2003 Regular Report on Turkey’s Progress Towards Accession,” SEC (2003) 1212 Final, 2003.
  13. Commission, “2004 Regular Report on Turkey’s Progress Towards Accession,” COM (2004) 656 Final, 2004.
  14. Commission, “Commission Staff Working Document: Turkey 2008 Progress Report - accompanying the Communication from The Commission to The European Parliament and The Council Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2008-2009,” SEC (2008) 2699, 2008.
  15. Commission, “Commission Staff Working Document: Turkey 2010 Progress Report - accompanying the Communication from The Commission to The European Parliament and The Council - Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2010-2011,” COM (2010) 660, 2010.
  16. Commission, “Commission Staff Working Document: Turkey 2014 Progress Report - accompanying the Document Communication from The Commission to The European Parliament, the Council, The European Economic and Social Committee and The Committee of The Regions,” COM (2014) 700 Final, 2014.
  17. Commission, “Commission Staff Working Document: Turkey 2016 Progress Report - accompanying the Document Communication from The Commission to The European Parliament, the Council, The European Economic and Social Committee and The Committee of The Regions,” SWD (2016) 366 Final, 2016.
  18. Commission, “Communication from the Commission - 2005 enlargement strategy paper,” COM (2005) 0561 Final, 2005.
  19. Commission, “Communication from The Commission to The European Parliament and The Council: Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2006 – 2007,” COM (2006) 649, 2006.
  20. Commission, “Regular Report on Turkey’s Progress Towards Accession,” COM (2002) 700 Final, 2002.
  21. Commission, “Turkey: 2005 Progress Report,” COM (2005) 561 Final, 2005.
  22. Commission, ”Commission Staff Working Document: Turkey 2015 Progress Report - accompanying the Document Communication from The Commission to The European Parliament, the Council, The European Economic and Social Committee and The Committee of The Regions,” SWD (2015) 216 Final, 2015.
  23. Dimitrova, Antoaneta. "Enlargement, Institution-Building and the EU's Administrative Capacity Requirement." West European Politics 25, no. 4 (2002), 171-90. doi:10.1080/713601647.
  24. Dimitrova, Antoaneta. "The New Member States of The EU in The Aftermath Of Enlargement: Do New European Rules Remain Empty Shells?" Journal of European Public Policy 17, no. 1 (2010), 137–48. doi:10.1080/13501760903464929.
  25. Dink, Hrant. "The Water Finds Its Crack: an Armenian in Turkey." Open Democracy. Last modified January 19, 2012. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/europe_turkey_armenia_3118jsp/.
  26. Docent, Robertas P. "The Enlargement of The European Union and the (Non) Membership of Turkey." European Scientific Journal 10, no. 22 (2014), 393–413. doi:10.19044/esj.2014.v10n22p%25p.
  27. Duzgit, Senem A. Seeking Kant in the EU's Relations with Turkey. Istanbul: Tesev Publications, 2006.
  28. EDAM. "Turks Regretful over the Armenian Tragedy of 1915 but Refuse to Qualify It as a Genocide." Edam. Last modified January 1, 2015. https://edam.org.tr/en/turks-regretful-over-the-armenian-tragedy-of-1915-but-refuse-to-qualify-it-as-a-genocide/.
  29. Emmert, Frank, and Sinisa Petrovic. "The Past, Present, and Future of EU Enlargement." Fordham International Law Journal 37, no. 5 (2014), 1349–419. https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj/vol37/iss5/2.
  30. Erdemir, Aykan, and Merve, Tahiroglu. "Turkish Grey Wolves Target ‘Chinese’." POLITICO. Last modified July 30, 2015. https://www.politico.eu/article/turkish-grey-wolves-target-chinese/.
  31. Esayan, Ari. "Armenians in Turkey Today: An Overview." Armenian Youth Federation - Western United States. Last modified March 6, 2009. https://ayfwest.org/news/armenians-in-turkey-today-an-overview/.
  32. European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance. "ECRI report on Turkey 2011 – Fourth Monitoring Cycle." Council of Europe. Last modified February 8, 2011. https://rm.coe.int/fourth-report-on-turkey/16808b5c7e.
  33. Freely, Maureen. "'I Stand by My Words. And Even More, I Stand by My Right to Say Them...'" The Guardian. Last modified October 23, 2005. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/oct/23/books.turkey.
  34. Galbreath, David J., and Joanne McEvoy. "How Epistemic Communities Drive International Regimes: The Case of Minority Rights in Europe." Journal of European Integration 35, no. 2 (2012), 169–86. doi:10.1080/07036337.2012.692117.
  35. Galbreath, David J., and Joanne McEvoy. The European Minority Rights Regime: Towards a Theory of Regime Effectiveness. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
  36. Gateva Eli. “Post-Accession Conditionality: Support Instrument for Continuous Pressure?” KFG Working Paper No. 18, 2010.
  37. Grigoriadis, Ioannis N. "On the Europeanization of Minority Rights Protection: Comparing the Cases of Greece and Turkey." Mediterranean Politics 13, no. 1 (2008), 23–41. doi:10.1080/13629390701862574.
  38. Gultekin-Punsmann Burcu, Gunay Cengiz, Kastoryano Riva, and Ulusoy Kıvanç, “Religious Freedom in Turkey: Situation of Religious Minorities,” The European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs – Policy Department External Policies, Briefing Paper, Brussels, European Parliament, 2008.
  39. Head, Jonathan. "Armenian Church Brought Back to Life." BBC News. Last modified September 19, 2010. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11366201.
  40. Hofmann, Tessa. Armenians in Turkey Today: A Critical Assessment of the Situation of the Armenian Minority in the Turkish Republic. Brussels: The EU Office of Armenian Associations of Europe, 2002.
  41. Hunault Michel, “Freedom of religion and other human rights for non-Muslim minorities in Turkey and for the Muslim minority in Thrace (Eastern Greece)”, Report by Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Doc. 11860, 21 April 2009.
  42. Hurriyet Daily News. "Turkish Interior Ministry confirms ‘race codes’ for minorities." Hürriyet Daily News. Last modified August 2, 2013. www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-interior-ministry-confirms-race-codes-for-minorities.aspx?pageID=238&nID=51898&NewsCatID=339.
  43. Icduygu, Ahmet, and B. Ali Soner. "Turkish minority rights regime: Between difference and equality." Middle Eastern Studies 42, no. 3 (2006), 447–68. doi:10.1080/00263200500521370.
  44. Icduygu, Ahmet, SuleToktas, and B. Ali Soner. "The politics of population in a nation-building process: emigration of non-Muslims from Turkey." Ethnic and Racial Studies 31, no. 2 (2008), 35–89. doi:10.1080/01419870701491937.
  45. Jenkins H. Gareth, “Between Fact and Fantasy: Turkey’s Ergenekon Investigation,” Silk Road paper, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C., Aug. 2009.
  46. Kalaycıoglu Ersin, “The Political Criteria: Fair or Strict Conditionality?” Conference on Turkey, the EU and the 2004 Milestone: Is this Time for Real? (Oxford: St. Antony's College, University of Oxford, 2003) .
  47. Karaca, Ekin. "Sevag Balıkcı Was Shot by Mistake, Court Rules." Bianet – Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Last modified March 27, 2013. https://bianet.org/english/minorities/145402-sevag-balikci-was-shot-by-mistake-court-rules.
  48. Karakas Cemal, “Turkey: Islam and Laicism Between the Interests of the State, Politics, and Society,” PRIF Reports No. 78, 2007.
  49. Karimova Nigar, and Deverell Edward, “Minorities in Turkey,” Occasional papers No. 19, the Swedish institute for international affairs, Stockholm, The Swedish Institute of International Affairs, 2001.
  50. Kasaba, Resat. "Kemalist Certainties and Modern Ambiguities." In Rethinking Modernity and National Identity in Turkey, edited by Sibel Bozdogan and Resat Kasaba, 15–36. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1997.
  51. Kayaoglu, Turan. "Getting Turkey Back on Track to Democracy, Human Rights, and Religious Freedom." The Review of Faith & International Affairs 14, no. 2 (2016), 14–22. doi:10.1080/15570274.2016.1184447.
  52. Killick, Tony. Aid and the Political Economy of Policy Change. London: Routledge, 1998.
  53. Kurban Dilek, “A Quest for Equality: Minorities in Turkey,” Minority Rights Group International Report, United Kingdom, 2007.
  54. Leo Leonard, and Gaer D. Felice, Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Covering April 1, 2009 – March 31, 2010. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, 2010.
  55. MacDonald, S., “Christians in Turkey Find a Champion.” Assyrian International News Agency, July 23, 2010, http://www.aina.org/news/20100722203320.htm.
  56. Marchand, Laure, and Guillaume Perrier. Turkey and the Armenian Ghost: On the Trail of the Genocide. Montreal: McGill Queen’s University Press – MQUP, 2015.
  57. O'Grady, Siobhan. "With Germany's Armenian Genocide Vote, Has Turkey Lost Its Only Friend in Europe?" Foreign Policy. Last modified June 2, 2016. https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/06/02/with-germanys-armenian-genocide-vote-has-turkey-lost-its-only-friend-in-europe/.
  58. Park, Bill. "Turkey's Deep State." The RUSI Journal 153, no. 5 (2008), 54–59. doi:10.1080/03071840802521937.
  59. Radio Free Europe. "Armenian Ruling Party Slams Planned Church Service in Turkey." Radio Free Europe. Last modified August 11, 2010. www.rferl.org/content/Armenian_Ruling_Party_Slams_Planned_Church_Service_In_Turkey/2124612.html.
  60. Rumford, Chris. "Resisting Globalization?: Turkey-EU relations and human and political rights in the context of the cosmopolitan democratization." International Sociology 18, no. 2 (2003), 379–94. doi:10.1177/0268580903018002004.
  61. Sasse, Gwendolyn. "The politics of EU conditionality: the norm of minority protection during and beyond EU accession." Journal of European Public Policy 15, no. 6 (2008), 842–60. doi:10.1080/13501760802196580.
  62. Sasse, Gwendolyn. “EU Conditionality and Minority Rights: Translating the Copenhagen Criterion into Policy.” European University Institute (EUI) Working Paper RSCAS, 2005/16. Italy: EUI, 2005.
  63. Sassounian, Harut. "Sassounian: Istanbul Armenians Document Violations of Minority Rights in Turkey." The Armenian Weekly. Last modified March 1, 2011. https://www.armenianweekly.com/2011/03/01/sassounian-istanbul-armenians-document-violations-of-minority-rights-in-turkey/.
  64. Szocsik, Edina. "The EU Accession Criteria in the Field of Minority Protection and the Demands of Ethnic Minority Parties." Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe: JEMIE 11, no. 2 (2012), 104–27.
  65. Taylor, Adam. "Is ‘Armenian’ an Insult? Turkey’s Prime Minister Seems to Think So." The Washington Post. Last modified August 6, 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/08/06/is-armenian-an-insult-turkeys-prime-minister-seems-to-think-so/.
  66. Today’s Zaman. "Armenian Private Killed Intentionally, New Testimony Shows." Today’s Zaman. Last modified January 27, 2012. www.todayszaman.com/news-269806-armenian-private-killed-intentionally-new-testimony-shows.html.
  67. Toksabay, Ece, and Tulay Karadeniz. "EU Parliament Calls for Turkey Accession Talks to Be Suspended." Reuters. Last modified July 6, 2017. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-eu-parliament/eu-parliament-calls-for-turkey-accession-talks-to-be-suspended-idUSKBN19R194.
  68. Toktas, Sule. "EU enlargement conditions and minority protection: a reflection on Turkey's non-Muslim minorities." East European Quarterly 40, no. 4 (2006), 489–518. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=0F9AB655138BE3B0AA026F0842D4B360?doi=10.1.1.716.934&rep=rep1&type=pdf.
  69. Unver H. Akin, “Turkey’s “Deep-State” and the Ergenekon Conundrum,”, The Middle East Institute Policy Brief No. 23, April 2009.
  70. Usul, Ali R. Democracy in Turkey: The Impact of EU Political Conditionality. London: Routledge, 2011.
  71. Veebel, V. "European Union’s Positive Conditionality Model in Pre-Accession Process." TRAMES: A Journal of the Humanities & Social Sciences 13, no. 3 (2009), 207–31. doi:10.3176/tr.2009.3.02.
  72. Yackley, Joseph. "Turkey, The EU and Democracy: How Public Opinion Divides Ankara and Brussels." Last modified 2008. https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/50025/17_casestudy_turkeyandtheeu.pdf.
  73. Yilmaz Gozde. “Is there a Puzzle?: Compliance With Minority Rights in Turkey (1999-2010),” KFG working paper no. 23, Berlin, 2011.
  74. Zurcher, E. J., and H. Van Der Linden. The European Union, Turkey and Islam. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2004.

Downloads

Published

2020-12-24

How to Cite

Andakian, I. E. (2020). EU Enlargement, Conditionality, and the Protection of Christian Minorities in Turkey. Kyiv-Mohyla Law and Politics Journal, (6), 45–72. https://doi.org/10.18523/kmlpj220759.2020-6.45-72

Issue

No. 6 (2020): Kyiv-Mohyla Law & Politics Journal

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2020 Isaac E. Andakian

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Kyiv-Mohyla Law and Politics Journal provides free access to original research without restriction barriers (i.e. subscription fees, licensing fees etc.).

Unless otherwise indicated, content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which means you are free to:

distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially

...provided that any use is made with attribution to author(s) and Kyiv-Mohyla Law and Politics Journal.

The copyright in the article or any other submission to Kyiv-Mohyla Law and Politics Journal shall remain with the author(s).

The journal allows the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions and will retain publishing rights without restrictions.