Armenian community largest in Turkey

PanARMENIAN.Net - The minority population of Turkey as defined by the 1923 Lausanne Treaty stands at a diminished 89,000, according to a new report by the Turkish Foreign Ministry and submitted to Parliament. The report, which the Daily News learned of Friday, was submitted to the Parliament's Human Rights Commission in November, Hurriyet Daily News reports.



While Greeks are the smallest minority group, Armenians are the largest with a population of 60,000. Aside from the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul, Armenians have 55 churches open for worship as well as a kindergarten, 17 primary schools, 5 high schools and 2 hospitals. There are also 52 Armenian foundations currently operating in Turkey.

Jewish citizens follow Armenians with a population of around 25,000. They have 36 synagogues open for worship, a kindergarten, a primary school and a high school in Turkey. They also have 18 foundations and two hospitals.



This definition was made in the Lausanne Treaty in 1923 at the behest of Western powers and obligated the new Turkish Republic to acknowledge the special status of these groups. Some small groups, notably the Ancient Syriac Orthodox community, rejected the status at the time as divisive and remained outside the legal definition. The Jewish community also rejected portions of the Lausanne designation as a violation of social cohesion. Reflecting the sensibilities of the time, Lausanne regarded all Muslims of Turkey as a single "majority." The Constitution, however, does not recognize religious or ethnic affiliation in defining citizenship. The word "Turk," while regarded in some quarters as an ethnic label, does not under the law mean anything more than a person of Turkish citizenship.