Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Wednesday said that Turkey reacted strongly to and was disappointed over the adoption of House Resolution 306 in the U.S. Congress.
In a written statement released Wednesday, the MFA said that Turkey was disappointed over the adoption of H.R. 306 that was baseless and did not represent the will of the whole House of Representatives.
"The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted H.R. 306 which deals with the return of properties to churches in Turkey. The resolution was adopted with the intention to pass by the process in the appropriate committee and was brought to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives," the MFA stressed.
The fact that H.R. 306 was voted by only three individuals shows the lack of seriousness in handling the matter, the MFA noted.
We are highly disappointed over the adoption of H.R. 306 whose vote process did not reflect the whole House, the MFA underlined.
Every citizen, regardless of his/her religion, race, color, ethnic roots and language, is equal in Turkey based on the Constitution. It is baseless to argue of a religious discrimination in Turkey, the MFA said.
More than 300 non-Muslim religious centers and more than 50 churches in Turkey reflect the freedom of religion in Turkey, the MFA noted.
"Recent arrangements made in the Foundations Law in Turkey facilitated the return or compensation of properties to non-Muslim foundations," the MFA stressed.
"It is clearly evident that there is an important will in Turkey to tolerate differences. Such unilateral attempts as in the House of Representatives have no value. It is also clear that the U.S. House of Representatives needs to make more serious evaluations before deciding on relevant issues," the MFA also said.
AA
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