WCA holds extra-ordinary meeting with Turkey's Foreign Minister
- Post 30 May 2018
The World Council of Arameans (Syriacs) (“WCA”) had an extra-ordinary meeting with H.E. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, on 29 May 2018 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The high-level delegation consisted of the WCA President Johny Messo, the WCA Vice-President Shleimun Ego, the WCA Director for UN Affairs Sarah Bakir and the Chairman of the Aramean Federation of Switzerland Melki Toprak.
F.l.t.r. Melki Toprak (Chairman of the Aramean Federation in Switzerland), Johny Messo (WCA President), H.E. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs), Sarah Bakir (WCA Director for UN Affairs) and Shleimun Ego (WCA Vice-President).
Yesterday, the World Council of Arameans (Syriacs) (“WCA”) met with H.E. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, to discuss key issues on the agenda of the Aramean people, including the title deeds of property and land, restoration of ancient buildings, the construction of new places of worship in Turkey, Aramean refuges in Turkey and the case of the abducted Archbishops of Aleppo in Syria.
The WCA delegation expressed its gratitude and welcomed the return of 55 title deeds that were returned to their rightful owners on 22 May; 50 of them were given to the St. Gabriel Foundation. At the same time, WCA stressed that the properties issue relates to at least 110 assets in and around Mardin, which were withdrawn from Arameans following the expansion of Mardin municipality, and the reality that similar land and property cases that emerged in the last decade in Southeast Turkey are also expected to be resolved. Turkey’s Foreign Minister expressed his sympathy and commitment to cooperation on these matters to ensure they will soon be solved.
The issue of restoration of ancient buildings as well as the construction of new places of worship were also discussed. H.E. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu highlighted the already granted building application of a new church for the Aramean community in Istanbul and extended a warm invitation to WCA to join him at the inauguration of this newly to be built Syriac Orthodox Church.
Aramean refugees from Iraq and Syria have increased in Turkey, currently numbering more than 1,200 verified families. In cooperation with the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese in Istanbul, WCA and its Member Federations have been supporting many of these families in recent years. However, aid and support for these dispersed families have also been requested from the Turkish authorities. This summer, a WCA delegation headed by Sarah Bakir and Melki Toprak will travel to the region, including Turkey, to re-assess the current situation of Aramean refugees and liaise with the relevant authorities to explore mutually convenient methods to address this important issue.
On 22 April 2018, WCA organized an international symposium to highlight the lapse of five years of the abduction of the Syriac and Rum (Melkite) Orthodox Archbishops of Aleppo, H.E. Mor Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim and H.E. Paul Yazigi. In this conjunction, WCA requested the Foreign Minister to enquire about this case. The Minister positively engaged with the issue, explaining that circumstances in Syria have changed and this case merits a fresh attempt by governments today. He pledged that Turkey will ask about the kidnapped prelates of Aleppo.
The meeting was concluded by WCA presenting to Turkey’s Minister an encyclopedia by leading scholars in Aramaic (Syriac) Studies titled The Syriac Heritage. This gift is complementary to The Hidden Pearl: The Syrian Orthodox Church and Its Ancient Aramaic Heritage, a multimedia set that summarizes, in three books and three DVDs, the more than 3,000-year-old rich Aramean history and cultural heritage, which was given by the WCA President Johny Messo to H.E. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in 2011, during his Presidency of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
After respectfully receiving the gift, the Minister was kindly willing to convey this (below) video message to the Aramean people around the world: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75HG37l6VQg.
Less than 2,000 Arameans are still living in Tur-Abdin, which is Aramaic for “Mountain of the Servants” of God. This region in Southeast Turkey is sometimes called “The Mount Athos of the East,” owing to its ancient monasteries and churches. In the last decades, thousands of Arameans, who still speak the ‘language of Jesus’, have left their ancestral homeland in this ancient plateau. As explained as well to the Minister, WCA is dedicated to ensure the future presence and growth of the Arameans and their ancient cultural heritage in Tur-Abdin, being part of their ancestral homeland.
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Download the Press Release in PDF here.
