Halki Seminary - Campaign To Reopen The Seminary

Campaign To Reopen The Seminary

The Halki seminary has received international attention in recent years. US President Bill Clinton visited Halki on his visit to Turkey in 1999 and urged Turkish President Süleyman Demirel to allow the reopening of the school. In October 1998, both houses of the United States Congress passed resolutions that supported the reopening of Halki. The European Union has also raised the issue as part of its negotiations over Turkish accession to the EU. However, the school remains closed, and there is strong opposition to reopening it from Turkey's nationalist and Islamist parties, particularly the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Felicity Party (SP), but also the secular Republican People's Party (CHP), and indeed among the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) as well.

In a speech before the Turkish Parliament on 6 April 2009, US President Barack Obama re-affirmed the need for Turkey to allow the re-opening of the Halki seminary:

"Freedom of religion and expression lead to a strong and vibrant civil society that only strengthens the state, which is why steps like reopening the Halki Seminary will send such an important signal inside Turkey and beyond. An enduring commitment to the rule of law is the only way to achieve the security that comes from justice for all people."

These sentiments were echoed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a dinner in Washington honoring their guest the Ecumenical Patriarch.

Commentators have noted that while the Turkish government may outwardly seem willing to reopen the seminary, actual moves to do so are not underway because of internal political obstacles. Arrangements for reopening necessitate constitutional amendments, which may be used as a tool by opposition parties to fuel nationalist rhetoric.

In 2010, a journalist of the Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman asked officials at the Ecumenical Patriarchate if there were any plans to take the issue to the European Court of Human Rights. Patriarchate officials responded that they did not want to pursue that course of action. However, Patriarch Bartholomew has indicated that they may well have to if there is no progress towards the re-opening of the theological school.