Armenian Church in Turkey to be handed over to Friends of Armenia Society
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend: Baku, Azerbaijan – 10/12/13
A church in the Turkish province of Sivas located in the territory belonging to the Armed Forces will be restored and handed over to the Friends of Armenia Society, Turkish Sabah newspaper reported on Dec.9.
This step will be taken as part of the package of measures for democratisation in the country, according to the newspaper.
It is expected that churches and monasteries located in the territories belonging to the Armed Forces will be handed over to other religious minorities in the near future, the newspaper said.
The democratisation package also envisages lifting the ban on hijab headscarves in the Turkish state organisations, except for the Armed Forces.
The package of measures for democratization was ambiguously perceived by Turkish opposition. In particular, Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli said that the package of measures does not take into account the rights of the Turkish people,and it is detrimental to the interests of the people and contrary to the public interest.
It was also reported that the Republican People’s Party appealed to the Turkey’s Constitutional Court for imposition of a ban on wearing hijab headscarves in the public places.
Translated by lz
Edited by sm
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