Turkish Deputy PM signals re-opening of Heybeliada Seminary Turkish State Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç gave a signal that Heybeliada Seminary will be opened, saying the government found the demand "justified".
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11 Mart 2010, Perşembe
Turkish State Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç met with the spiritual leaders of religious minorities in Turkey and the heads of the congregation foundations over breakfast in Istanbul. Arinc said that each of 71.5 million citizens was fundamental element, sovereign and first class citizen of Turkey.
Following the gathering, Arınç replied a question about the seminary, "we all know that there are some restrictions stemming from the decisions made by the Constitutional Court and the other rules. Our government consider all individuals in this country as our citizens whatever their religious beliefs are. We understand their need to train their clergymen as a requirement of their belief. Therefore, we are in favor of re-opening of the seminary. But there are legal obstacles. We will try to remove those obstacles within Turkey's legal system. We stay in contact together with the patriarch and the other relevant authorities."
Referring to the resolution approved by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs on events of 1915, Arınç told reporters, "we wish that no one had used past events for their political purposes. However, people exploit pains of each other. There are Turkish citizens of Armenian descent. I believe that they are also uneasy about such unserious and baseless initiatives. We will never allow any attempts targeting to disturb peace, tranquillity and prosperity of our people and our country."
(THE ANATOLIA NEWS AGENCY / World Bulletin)
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