[House Hearing, 113 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
CALLING UPON THE GOVERNMENT OF TURKEY TO FACILITATE THE REOPENING OF
THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE'S THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL OF HALKI WITHOUT
CONDITION OR FURTHER DELAY
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MARKUP
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPE, EURASIA, AND EMERGING THREATS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
H. Res. 188
__________
NOVEMBER 19, 2013
__________
Serial No. 113-90
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/
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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American
DANA ROHRABACHER, California Samoa
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio BRAD SHERMAN, California
JOE WILSON, South Carolina GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
TED POE, Texas GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
MATT SALMON, Arizona THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina KAREN BASS, California
ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
MO BROOKS, Alabama DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
TOM COTTON, Arkansas ALAN GRAYSON, Florida
PAUL COOK, California JUAN VARGAS, California
GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina BRADLEY S. SCHNEIDER, Illinois
RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III,
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania Massachusetts
STEVE STOCKMAN, Texas AMI BERA, California
RON DeSANTIS, Florida ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California
TREY RADEL, Florida GRACE MENG, New York
DOUG COLLINS, Georgia LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
TED S. YOHO, Florida JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
LUKE MESSER, Indiana
Amy Porter, Chief of Staff Thomas Sheehy, Staff Director
Jason Steinbaum, Democratic Staff Director
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Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats
DANA ROHRABACHER, California, Chairman
TED POE, Texas WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
PAUL COOK, California BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California
STEVE STOCKMAN, Texas
C O N T E N T S
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Page
MARKUP OF
H. Res. 188, Calling upon the Government of Turkey to facilitate
the reopening of the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Theological
School of Halki without condition or further delay............. 6
APPENDIX
Markup notice.................................................... 14
Markup minutes................................................... 15
Markup summary................................................... 16
The Honorable George Holding, a Representative in Congress from
the State of North Carolina: Prepared statement................ 17
CALLING UPON THE GOVERNMENT OF TURKEY TO FACILITATE THE REOPENING OF
THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE'S THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL OF HALKI WITHOUT
CONDITION OR FURTHER DELAY
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:19 p.m., in
room 2200, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Dana Rohrabacher
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Rohrabacher. This markup and this meeting of the
Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats will come
to order. And right off the bat, I ask for unanimous consent
that Mr. Gus Bilirakis be recognized to briefly explain his
resolution, which we will be marking up. That is H. Res. 188.
And without objection, so ordered.
Mr. Bilirakis, you have been an active, aggressive member
of the Foreign Affairs Committee and a Member of Congress
respected for your opinions. And we know that you have no bias
when it comes to anything to do with Greece.
Mr. Bilirakis. Well, this is an issue for the whole world,
Mr. Chairman. I appreciate that. There are 300 million Orthodox
Christians, and I really appreciate you agendaing this bill. I
really do.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Based on principle, as all of your
decisions are.
Mr. Bilirakis. Absolutely.
Mr. Rohrabacher. And you may proceed with discussing with
us what H. Resolution 188 is all about.
Mr. Bilirakis. Thanks very much. Sir, I really appreciate
it.
Very shortly, Members, this subcommittee will have an
opportunity to pass H.R. 188, which calls upon the Government
of Turkey to facilitate the reopening of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate's Theological School of Halki without condition or
further delay.
I urge you to support this measure, just as you did
unanimously last year when it passed out of the full committee.
This resolution is significant to all Eastern Orthodox
Christians, folks who live in our districts, because of its
importance of making sure the very essence of the church
survives.
The Theological School in Halki, founded in 1844 and
located outside of Istanbul, Turkey, served as the principal
seminary for the Ecumenical Patriarchate until its closure by
the Turkish authorities in 1971. In addition to countless
priests and bishops, the seminary has trained 19 Patriarchs,
including our current Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The
aging population and dwindling numbers of the Orthodox clergy
in Istanbul, combined with the Turkish law which requires that
the Ecumenical Patriarch to be a Turkish citizen almost assures
the ends of the succession process for our spiritual leader. So
you can see why Halki and its Ecumenical Patriarchate is so
essential to Eastern Orthodox Christians.
It is the spiritual home of the world oldest and second
largest Christian church. Essentially it is the Orthodox
Christians--to Orthodox Christians what the Vatican is to
Catholics, Mr. Chairman. More than 300 million Orthodox
Christians around the world and millions of Orthodox Christians
in the United States are turning to find hope in this
subcommittee's approval of H. Res. 188, knowing that the 2,000-
year-old Sacred See of the Ecumenical Patriarchate will be
also--it will be able to teach future religious leaders for
generations. This closure has been an issue of concern for the
American people, Members of Congress, and multiple Presidential
administrations.
Mr. Chairman, while Orthodox Christians and friends of
religious freedom have appreciated over the past decade
encouraging signs from the Government of Turkey related to the
impending opening of the seminary, the deal has not been done
yet. The deal has not been closed. This resolution simply
encourages Turkey to take that last affirmative step.
I can go on, Mr. Chairman, but I know you get my drift.
Will you permit me go on for 30 more seconds?
Mr. Rohrabacher. You go right ahead.
Mr. Bilirakis. I know where you are, and I know you have
cosponsored the bill, and I really appreciate it very much.
And, Members, it would mean the world to the Orthodox
community in the United States, but throughout the world, if we
were to pass this in the subcommittee and ultimately on the
floor of the House of Representatives.
Thank you very much, and I yield back.
Mr. Rohrabacher. All right. And we have with us also, of
course, the ranking member, Mr. Keating. Do you have an opening
statement?
Mr. Keating. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Over the years Greece and Turkey have made great strides in
improving their economic and political ties through increased
exchanges, dialogue and business opportunities. These steps not
only benefit the relations between the two countries, but also
in the development and stability of the wider region of
Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. This region is
also uniquely situated and draws in visitors from all over the
world, who not only want to experience the picturesque
landscapes, but visit the diversity of culture and the
historical sites.
For this reason the increased benefits of measures to
promote diversity are well recognized. I believe Prime Minister
Erdogan understood this well when he and some of his ministers
vowed to reopen the Halki Seminary in Turkey.
The Halki Seminary is the main theological school of
Eastern Orthodox Christianity and was shut down in 1971. The
Justice and Development Party raised the hopes of Orthodox
Christians all around the world when they announced they would
reopen the seminary, and a proposed democratization package
seemed to be an appropriate channel for this change. Many were,
however, surprised to see that the reopening of Halki was not
included under the provisions of this package when it was
announced. Since then, Prime Minister Erdogan's rhetoric on
Halki has taken a turn, and conditions and reciprocity demands
are now attached to reopening of the school.
I fear that this type of rhetoric threatens to undo much of
the progress that has been made in Turkey. And further, it may
have a negative impact of dividing Turks and stalling long-
awaited progress on the issue of Halki as well as other issues
concerning Turkish minority groups. I recognize that Turkey has
come a long way, but hope this is not--that now they are
willing to make this final push for Halki.
I don't think it is too late. I hope that the Prime
Minister will reconsider his new-found position on Halki and
encourage the long-advocated rights for all Turks within the
Turkish Republic. As I said earlier, this is not just important
for Turkey, it is important for the region as a whole.
And with that, I yield back, Mr. Chairman, and thank you.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Thank you very much.
And, Mr. Holding, do you have a statement that you would
like to make?
Mr. Holding. Mr. Chairman, I will submit one for the
record.
Mr. Rohrabacher. All right. And a couple of my colleagues
as well.
Let me just begin by saying that we are very grateful to
Congressman Bilirakis for his leadership on issues like this.
His expertise and his attention that he has paid to this part
of the world is a great asset to the Congress. And just this is
a fine example of what we need to pay attention to, because
sending a message today, which is what we are doing, sending a
message to Turkey today to make sure that they send us a
message back about the way they are going to be dealing with
their part of the world is vitally important for us to
understand.
And our message to them is that, yes, we are concerned that
the Turkish Government not be molded after other governments
that have a certain tie to the Islamic faith. And in other
governments that have a radical commitment to Islam and
promoting Islam, we have found that that type of government
turns--is an anti-Western approach, is a threat to our well-
being. At the same time we know that we need models in the
Islamic world of moderation and of, yes, pro-Western sentiment,
and that is what we have in Turkey today, a country that is--
obviously a country where the vast majority of its population
is Islamic, but we are asking them to send us a message today,
send the rest of the world a message today, that they do
respect--yes, they respect and they identify with Islam, but
they respect human rights. They respect the religious
convictions of others. And nowhere would Turkey be able to not
only say that, but to demonstrate it to the world that they are
indeed respectful and are not going to go this other direction
of repression of other faiths in the name of the majority faith
of that country--there is no better message that they could
send to us and reaffirming their ties with the West than the
seminary in Halki and making sure that that was open and shown
as an example of the positive intent of the Turkish Government
and the Turkish people.
Turkey is an important historical ally, and having been a
key NATO member for decades, it has, for example, played a huge
role in the Cold War. And had it not been for the support of
the Turkish Government and people, the Cold War would have
turned out in a totally different way, and this would be a
different world, a worse world without that.
But despite their initial lack--and, of course, we have had
some problems--despite their initial lack of assistance at the
beginning of the Iraq war, which many of us noted that, which
may have saved some United States lives and some of our troops
that were engaged in Iraq and that part of the world, and, of
course, basing their overflight access and regulating that,
that is something that we have had to pay close attention to as
well recently. And their permitting us these overflights has
been critical to the safety and security of American troops
operating in that region, just as, I might say, unfortunately
their opposition in the beginning in terms of not allowing us
in the beginning of the Iraq war to base our operations, some
of them, out of Turkey was detrimental to that effort.
So I come to this discussion realizing that Turkey is a
free and independent country, a proud country, and they will
make determinations which reflect their values and reflect
their long-term goals, as they should, as they should. But now
we are hoping they will send us a signal today that don't
worry, we are really your friends and friends of the West. I
say that I hope this will spur some action on their part,
because I come to this discussion as a friend and admirer of
Turkey. And I say that personally, and I know that probably
reflects some of my colleagues as well.
Turkey's recent decision, however, to buy, for example,
Chinese long-range antimissiles, this antimissile system, does
trouble me. We do have American companies that were available
who actually sell other weapons systems, antimissile weapons
systems, and I reminded the Turkish Foreign Minister just
yesterday that it might have been better for Turkey to buy the
antimissile system from the United States because it was our
technology that was probably stolen by the Chinese that are now
been sold to them by the Chinese companies.
Well, the resolution before us today is not--we are going
to have agreements and disagreements with every free country in
the world, and this resolution today is not aimed at what some
people would have us do, just taking a gratuitous slap in the
face of Turkey. And I have seen that far too often in the last
25 years that I have been here that people want to just hurt
Turkey, and that is their--you are going to show you are a good
person by--you are allied with us if you hurt Turkey.
Well, the bottom line today, that is not what this is all
about. This is actually a way that if the Turks send us this
message, agreeing with what we are asking them to do, which is
nothing more than to fulfill an agreement they have already
made, and to respect the rights of the Greek people and
actually show a respect for those religious beliefs, just as we
would have the Greek people respect the beliefs of the Turkish
people, that this is a way that we could basically make some
real points that were meaningful in a very easy and quick way.
So we are not asking--this isn't a cheap shot, this isn't
criticism. This is a request in a very dignified way. And I
want to thank Congressman Bilirakis for crafting this so well
that this will be seen as a respectful request of Turkey and
not just condemning them for something that we think is not
right at this moment.
And so there is no better way for the Turks to send us--to
send all of the Western world a message, a positive message,
than to reopen this theological school at Halki.
Long before the introduction of Islam in Turkey, Turkey was
the outpost of the Christianity. This is very--and what we are
talking about is an historic site in that whole history of the
region tied to ancient Constantinople. The school has a history
that spans 17 centuries representing the Orthodox Church and
linking the Christian and Muslim worlds. What a better example
they could have to us of a commitment of a peaceful transition
point. They could be the actual bridge, which is what Turkey
has always been, and just by giving us this sign today about
reopening this theological school.
The reopening of this school has been endorsed by previous
Congresses, the European Court of Human Rights, and even the
Turkish Prime Minister at one point has endorsed this 4 years
ago. Turkey's long tradition of tolerance and peace between the
religions should be maintained and preserved and basically
demonstrated for us in the opening of this theological school
that is so important to their neighbors.
And so I would ask my colleagues to join me today in
supporting this resolution and hopefully, if you could inform
my staff, become a cosponsor, if you are not already a
cosponsor, on this bill.
So as we move forward, at that point is there anyone else
with an opening statement?
If not, does anyone have any amendments to offer?
Mr. Bilirakis. I have none.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Anyone have any amendments to offer?
The bill is before us. I call up for H. Resolution 188,
calling upon the Government of Turkey to facilitate the
reopening of the Ecumenical Theological School at Halki without
condition or further delay.
Without objection, this measure will be considered as read
and open for amendment.
[H. Res. 188 follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Rohrabacher. And as I have stated, there will be--we
have already seen there are no amendments, so I now recognize
the ranking member for his remarks. And would you like us to
proceed with a motion?
Mr. Keating. Yes, Mr. Chairman. Let us proceed with the
motion.
Mr. Rohrabacher. All right. So all of those who agree with
H. Resolution 188, say aye.
And let the record note that Mr. Lowenthal said aye.
Mr. Lowenthal. Aye.
Mr. Rohrabacher. All right.
And all those opposed? All those opposed?
I hear no opposition, so the resolution passes. And without
objection, H. Resolution 188, as amended, is ordered to be
favorably reported to the full committee, and the staff is
directed to make any technical and conforming changes.
Unless someone else has any other business, we are now
adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 2:40 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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Material Submitted for the Record
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