“Turkey pursues systematic policies against Christians”

Alexander Görlach, a researcher on international affairs in the Carnegie Center said in an article on the German DW website that the future of Christians in Turkey is threatened by the persecution and intolerance resulting from the policies of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"With the world preoccupied with combating the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused global stagnation and social unemployment, the Turkish government is trying to use this situation to put more pressure on minorities," said Görlach.

He added that the marginalization of Christians in Turkey is growing rapidly as Erdogan adopts a mixture of Ottoman and Islamic politics, and tries to target religious minorities for his failure in both Syria and Libya.

Recent examples include the confiscation of lands and the destruction of Assyrian churches, which is one of the oldest Christian societies, as well as the persecution of Sefer Bilecen a Syriac Orthodox priest from Mardin in southeastern Turkey, which is evidence of violations of the rights religious minorities in Turkey face.

Görlach concluded: "The fate of Sefer Bilecen, who is still awaiting his sentence, reflects the fate of a minority that has no definite future in its homeland."