Turkish PM Declares an End to Ethnic Discrimination

At an iftar or Ramadan fast-breaking dinner hosted by the Turkish government for representatives of Turkey's religious minorities (none of whom, if the author is not mistaken, actually fast during Ramadan) Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated in part that, "There have been times when people in our country were put under pressure for their beliefs, ethnic background, for the way they dress and their different lifestyles, but those days are over...nobody in this country is anymore privileged than anyone else in the eyes of the constitution or other laws."

Following the end of the iftar Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople, who participated in the event, welcomed the Turkish prime minister's statements as well as the recent decree of the Turkish government returning previously appropriated properties belonging to Turkey's religious minorities and expressed his hope that in the future Turkey would go further in its efforts to undo the injustices suffered by its minorities. More here.

Constantinopolitan Orthodox Metropolitans Abroad Obtaining Turkish Citizenship

Apparently 27 out of the 35 (not 100% sure on the numbers) Constantinopolitan Orthodox archbishops and metropolitans serving outside Turkey have applied for Turkish citizenship under an initiative of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan to ensure the survival of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey. Of the 27 so far 13 have been granted citizenship. More here.

Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Meets with Turkish PM

Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I (Iwas) of Antioch and several metropolitans of the Syriac Orthodox Church met yesterday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, Turkey, to discuss the Turkish government's theft of land from St. Gabriel's Monastery in Tur Abdin. During the meeting Prime Minister Erdogan committed himself to finding a way to have the lands recently appropriated from the Monastery returned to it. More here.

Erdogan Speaks On Thracian Turks, Ecumenical Patriarchate

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has lambasted Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou for failing to keep his promise to Turkish Muslims in Greek Thrace that they be allowed to elect their own grand mufti. In his comments he stated that Turkey itself had not recognized the legitimacy of the election of current Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) because of the involvement of non-Turkish citizens who were members of the Holy Synod of the Church of Constantinople, but had moved to 'legitimize' the situation by granting citizenship to hierarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate outside Turkey. More here.

Armenians Protest Turkish Premier's Visit to Lebanon

Armenians living in Lebanon protested the arrival today of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan. Lebanon's 150,000 Armenians are primarily descended from the survivors of the Armenian Genocide in eastern Anatolia organizedin 1915  by the Turks and Kurds. Armenian politicians in Lebanon were cautious in their comments on the Turkish leader's visit, but the Armenian Orthodox Church of Cilicia spoke against it and the Turkish government's ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide. More here.