(AINA) — The final decision of the [Turkish] Supreme Court of Cassation in the legal case of St. Gabriel, ordering it to transfer the lands which the monastery has owned for 14 centuries to the State Treasury marks a major legal scandal. Cynically, it was the same institution which in 1974 ruled against the [non-Muslim] minority foundations in Turkey and has played an important role in intensifying minority problems. The latest ruling, in which the State is designated as the ‚land owner‘ and the ‚other‘ (being St.Gabriel) as the ‚occupier‘ proves that not much has changed in Turkey’s policy towards minorities. The court decision sheds light on an important parameter of the process that has been labeled as „democratization.“ Weiterlesen →