A good sign

With approximately 50% of the vote, the Islamic “Justice and Development” party of Turkish Premier Tayyip Erdogan, emerged victorious in the general elections of 12 June, taking 325 deputies into the new Parliament. In second place, though far behind (with almost 25% of the vote), is the secular-Kemalist “Republican People’s Party, which obtained 135 seats. To complete the new Turkish parliamentary make-up is the “Nationalist and Religious Movement” with 13% of the vote and 53 representatives, and the independents with 36. So Erdogan failed in his bid to obtain an outright majority of 330 seats, which he needed to promote a referendum for changing the Constitution. Any such alteration will therefore have to take place through negotiation and with the consensus of the opposition parties. On the result of the vote, which has led to the new intake of MPs including a Christian lawyer, and on the possible repercussions it might have on the Christian minority in the country, SIR asked the spokesman of the Turkish Bishops’ Conference (CET), Rinaldo Marmara, to express an opinion.How do you judge the results of the elections?“With this government various steps forward had been taken and such a result had in some way been expected. If doubts remained, they were only due to the percentages of the vote. The results showed some degree of balance, with Erdogan the victor but placed in a situation of having to negotiate with the other parties if he wants to promote a referendum to alter the existing Constitution. It’s a result that satisfies the local Church, which had begun a dialogue and made some progress with this Government”. Is it a satisfaction that is also increased by the presence of a Christian in Parliament, the first after half a century?“It’s a good sign for the country. The presence in the new Parliament of the Christian MP, the lawyer Erol Dora, 47 years old, member of the Syro-Catholic Church, is a confirmation of the fact that over the last few years progress has been made with the Erdogan Government (editorial note: Dora was elected in the south-east region, at Mardin, as an independent candidate in the ranks of the “Labour, Democracy and Liberty” party, supported by the Kurdish “Party for Peace and Democracy”).You spoke before of progress and dialogue with the Turkish government…“As a Church we are trying to develop relations with the ruling authorities especially from a cultural point of view. I come from the municipality of Istanbul, with which we are trying to organize the presentation of a publication, at the end of September, in the presence of the Prefect of the Vatican Library, relating to a manuscript in the same Library dated 1627 about Istanbul and its religions at that time. This publication has a highly symbolic value, since it sees two continents, two cultures and two religions working in collaboration at the cultural level. It’s a real symbol of union between cultures”.The Turkish Catholic Church has long been waiting for the legal recognition that would help it to enjoy full religious freedom. After this vote, do you think it possible that such recognition will be achieved in the short term?“Before any legal recognition, for which we are working energetically but which still requires time, it might be possible to negotiate a Concordat to enable the Church to conduct its own activities with the necessary safeguards”.Turkey’s entry into the EU, however, is drawing ever closer…“Erdogan’s victory will bring the country’s still closer to the old continent, and we are favourable to Turkey’s membership of the EU. On the other hand, one of the key conditions for entry into the Union is respect for human rights and steps in this direction cannot but be welcomed by the Churches. In this context we should also mention another condition, the ever less centralized redeployment of the army within the Turkish state as a way of preparing the country for entry into the EU”.A few days ago, on the occasion of the first anniversary of his death, there was renewed discussion in the Turkish press about Mgr. Luigi Padovese, vicar apostolic of Anatolia, killed by his chauffeur, Murat Altun, on 3 June last year. When will the trial we held?“We don’t have any announcement yet about when the trial will open, but it has been confirmed that the assassin is not mentally impaired and responsible for his own actions. This is something new, if we think that in similar situations the perpetrators of such violent acts had been declared mentally ill and unfit to stand trial”.