From the Mor (Aramaic for St.) Gabriel Monastery in Turabdin in southeastern Turkey, the Danish European Mission has received a letter from the monastery's management asking for help in the form of appeals to the Turkish authorities. Following a nationwide re-survey of land ownership in Turkey in 2008, the Mother Gabriel Monastery has had to go through a series of court cases to obtain protection against unlawful and illegal takeovers of parts of the monastery's land, which had belonged to the monastery for a millennium and a half!
Two municipalities want to get their hands on the soil
Firstly, the monastery had to take legal action against local municipalities in the area that had tried to seize part of the monastery's land by redefining the boundaries of the monastery's landholdings. In the first instance, the monastery was successful, as the evidence of ownership was incontrovertible. Nevertheless, the municipalities appealed to the Supreme Court in Ankara.
Incorrect registration by the authorities
Secondly, the monastery land had been wrongly registered as forest, so the monastery sued the forestry department to overturn this designation, which could lead to the monastery land being used for grazing by local farmers' small cattle. The ruling went against the monastery despite overwhelming evidence that the monastery had paid full property taxes since 1937 and that the Turkish state had recognized the monastery's ownership of the land since 1935. The monastery has appealed this case to the Supreme Court.
The state demands confiscation
Thirdly, the Turkish Treasury has demanded in court to confiscate 12 plots totaling approximately 24.4 hectares of the monastery's land, but the monastery won the case in the first instance. The Treasury has appealed to the Supreme Court, which has scheduled the first hearing for November 10.
Criminal case for "illegal" wall
Fourthly, the state has claimed that the monastery has violated the forestry law by building an outer wall around the monastery. If the aforementioned forest registration case goes against the monastery, the head of the monastery risks a criminal conviction and the wall built by the monastery to protect its property will be demolished. The court hearings in this case continue.
Is Turkey really a rule of law?
The trials will be a test of the Turkish state's commitment to protect the country's minorities. The monastery is concerned that the courts will be used to strip it of centuries-old and time-honored rights and that the cases will be used to further discriminate against the Aramaic Christian minority in the area. For the courts to rule against the monastery in the case that matters most, despite clear evidence, indicates that the court is under political pressure and/or the judge is biased against the Christians. Therefore, there is a need for prayer that the Supreme Court judges according to the evidence. This is hardly a given, which is why the monastery also asks us to appeal to the Turkish authorities to uphold clear rights and prevent discrimination against minorities.
