600 Priests and Lausanne...

It is surely no coincidence that a major battle is being waged on the "internal front" while imperialist projects targeting our country are accelerating.

It was only 5 months ago; Erdoğan announced that Israel, acting with the delusion of "promised lands," would set its sights on Turkey after Palestine and Lebanon, and stated that "as a nation, as 85 million, we have strived to keep our 'internal front' strong against attempts at sedition." Furthermore, he said, "I express my gratitude to our Parliament and our political parties, who act in full consensus on the point of upholding the Palestinian cause."

Let us set aside the new opening that began with MHP Leader Devlet Bahçeli's call to the terrorist leader and the developments experienced with the change of administration in Syria; Israel has reached Damascus, meaning it has become our neighbor.

Ankara, meanwhile, is busy pressing all the buttons against the "internal front" with great speed and resentment.

Before we could even discuss the cancellation of Ekrem İmamoğlu's diploma, we moved on to his arrest... The protests initiated in response to this evolved into mass detentions and arrests... Before that ended, a process of leaning on media outlets that do not side with the government began, and "big surprises" to be pulled out of the bag for the CHP started to be expected.

Something, in fact many things, are being missed beyond the struggle for power, but what?!

An Ownerless Country Becomes a Thoroughfare

There are two sayings Erdoğan is very fond of; "We are not a country of no consequence," and "We are not a tent state."

Whether we are or not; before revealing this, let us share two notes regarding our subject.

Greece closed exactly 126 Turkish schools between 2011 and 2021...

It was 22 days ago; Deputy Minister of National Education Nazif Yılmaz and President of Turks Abroad and Related Communities Abdullah Eren wanted to visit the Turkish minority middle school and high school in Xanthi. A welcoming ceremony was organized at the school; however, the Greek official did not allow the President and members of the Minority School Board of Trustees and members of the Parent-Teacher Association to enter the school. Our compatriots had to welcome this delegation from Turkey on the sidewalk of the road in front of the school. The Ministry of National Education denied this scandal, but the incident was widely covered in news sites broadcasting in Turkish in Western Thrace.

The Minister Who Came to "Constantinople"

Let us return to Turkey.

Two days ago, we had an important guest. This guest was Sofia Zacharaki, Greece's Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, who took office on March 15.

But she did not come to visit Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin or anyone like that. In any case, our Minister was busy with other things that day; such as visiting certain businesses on the CHP's boycott list.

My curiosity is this: Did the Greek Minister's visit take place with the knowledge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? If so, shouldn't this lady have met with her Turkish counterpart, even if only out of courtesy, after finishing her program in Istanbul?

Why did Minister Sofia Zacharaki come? Let us explain.

She came to meet with Bartholomew, the head of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, which is a Turkish institution according to Lausanne.

Before the meeting, in the early hours of the morning at the Greek "Consulate General in Constantinople," she met with students and teachers who came from various cities in Greece for the 2nd Environmental Conference titled "Istanbul-Thessaloniki, An Educational Partnership - Citizens of the City, Greeks of the World," chatted with them, and took photos.

As for Minister Zacharaki's meeting with Bartholomew; she used the title "Ecumenical Patriarch," which is again contrary to Lausanne, and reported that she was "received by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew"... After the meeting, she attended the "official" lunch hosted by Bartholomew in her honor.

Regarding the reason for her visit, she made the following remarkable statement:

"After taking over my duties at the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, I came to the Phanar with great respect to exchange views on important issues of common interest, such as education. The Greek government has arranged for 600 new priests to be hired in Orthodox patriarchates very soon. I would also like to mention that thanks to the efforts of Mr. Kyriakos Pierrakakis [the previous minister], temporary teachers arrived at the schools in Constantinople and Imbros [Gökçeada] earlier than ever this year for the first time. We support the work of the teachers and the students' longing for the Greek language with all our might."

For the Theological School?

Based on Zacharaki's visit and statement, let us ask the following:

Are there any among the 600 new priests that Greece will hire for Orthodox patriarchates who are planned to be sent to Turkey?.. If so, how many are they and how will they come?.. Could these preparations have anything to do with the Theological School?

The reason for our questions is this: as is known, the imperialists also have a problem with us regarding the Theological School. For those who do not know, let us briefly explain the issue.

The US, EU, Greece, and the Patriarchate are pushing for this school to be opened with an autonomous and special status, keeping it outside the scope of the Constitution and the Law on Unification of Education. The AKP has also promised to "open" the school since it came to power, but has not been able to succeed until today.

Finally, Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin took on this task; it was said that a "formula" had been found.

On December 26, Patriarch Bartholomew met with Erdoğan. It was reported that during the meeting, Bartholomew "conveyed his thanks for initiating efforts towards the reopening of the Halki Theological School," "requested assistance in accelerating the procedures," and Erdoğan promised "full support."

The Iftar at the Palace and Lausanne

On the evening of the day the Greek Minister came to "Constantinople" and met with the "Ecumenical Patriarch," Erdoğan hosted an iftar for representatives of religious minorities. The guest of honor, of course, was Patriarch Bartholomew.

While the country was practically in turmoil, Erdoğan said the following at this iftar, explaining that "as Turkey, we have the experience of keeping very different beliefs, cultures, and identities living together in peace for centuries":

"In a period when hate speech is increasing and cultural racism and fanaticism are escalating all over the world, we need to protect and strengthen this quality of ours more. We need to embrace our tradition, which sees differences not as a cause for conflict and polarization, but as a source of human wealth, more tightly... Throughout our governments, which are entering their 23rd year, we have tried to expand the freedom of belief of all our citizens. We have fought for every single one of the 85 million to feel equal, regardless of their origin, belief, or community. We have shown maximum sensitivity so that our non-Muslim citizens, in particular, do not feel any spiritual anxiety. Hopefully, we will continue on this path in this way."

We want to draw attention to this; as "representatives of religious minorities," in addition to Bartholomew, the Patriarch of the Armenians of Turkey, and the Chief Rabbi of the Jews of Turkey, Syriac Metropolitans, the Chaldean Archbishop, and the Spiritual Leader of the Catholic Community were also invited.

Let us remember Sèvres and Lausanne.

The imperialists were after even the "ants" in our country being considered minorities. In Lausanne, only the Greek-Orthodox, Armenians, and Jews were accepted as minorities. They also gave up their minority rights with the adoption of the Civil Code and became "Turkish citizens."

But imperialist ambitions began to be revived starting from the 2000s; the EU, the Council of Europe, and the US began to expand the definition of "minority" from four sides, wanting "Catholics, Protestants, Syriacs, Chaldeans, Bahá'ís, Jehovah's Witnesses," and even Laz and Circassian people, especially our citizens of Alevi and Kurdish origin, to be considered minorities.

Let us give a striking example; while we were focused on the May 2023 elections, a Chaldean Archbishop was appointed to our country with the decision of the Synod of the Chaldean Church of Baghdad and the approval of Pope Francis. And with the title of "Archbishop of Turkey, Diyarbakır (Amed)."

And that Archbishop Sabri Anar was also at Erdoğan's iftar.

What we are saying is; they may be called "religious leaders," but don't these programs under the name of "religious minority representative" mean their de facto recognition, that is, the violation of Lausanne?

How painful it is to talk about the arrest of our youth, and even children, while we should be paying attention to these!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

March 29, 2025