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The government’s move came amid growing criticism in Turkey over Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s latest remarks on the possibility of deporting illegal Armenian workers in the country if necessary. On March 16, while on a visit to the UK, Erdoğan said Turkey could send 100,000 Armenian workers who are working in the country without the necessary permission back to Armenia. Facing fierce criticism, Erdoğan later complained that he had been misquoted in the media, which he said misrepresented his remarks to mean that they were targeting Turkey’s Armenian community.
In Van, the governor’s office announced on Thursday that Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay had approved an application submitted by the Van Governor’s Office in December 2009 to permit a religious sermon to be held once a year at the Akhtamar Church, which was re-opened as museum in March 2007 following restoration that was undertaken at the behest of the government. At the time, the Armenian community pressed for the 1,100-year-old church on Lake Van’s Akhtamar Island to be made available for religious services.
According to the decision signed by Günay, the church will be opened for religious services only one day every year and this service will take place in the second half of September, to be attended by a limited number of visitors and at a time which will not complicate the movement of visitors to the museum.
On Thursday in Ankara, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç told the NTV news channel that the government has been attempting to create a formula which will allow the children of illegal Armenian workers to attend non-Muslim minority schools.
“The Education Ministry is continuing its studies on the requirements for enrolment in minority schools,” Arınç said. “Up until this date, Turkey has always opened its arms to those who come to this country,” he added.
According to a recent study, the “State of Armenian Irregular Migrants in Turkey,” the children of these workers, especially if they are born in Turkey, face many problems, including being stateless since there is no diplomatic representation for Armenia in Turkey and the children are not registered as citizens of any country. The children are not able to attend school because their parents are irregular workers and they need to keep this fact hidden. There are schools in Turkey for the Armenian minority but under Turkish law only Turkish citizens can attend.
Education Minister Nimet Çubukçu, speaking to reporters in Ankara, however, was cautious regarding the chances of providing opportunities for the children of illegal workers to receive an education, saying the government was considering whether to ease laws that specify only those children who are Turkish nationals and belong to a non-Muslim minority can attend minority schools.
Çubukçu said Arınç thus referred to possibilities for children of foreigners who reside in Turkey legally to attend minority schools. “It’s an issue which is still under consideration. The final decision has not yet been made,” she added.
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In a show of goodwill towards the Armenian people, the Turkish government has decided to take two significant steps to improve relations: allowing a religious service to be held at the Akhtamar Church in the eastern province of Van and launching studies on providing educational opportunities to the children of illegal Armenian workers.
