Could Turkey’s Christians Wear Police Uniforms?
A police department statement encouraging Turkey’s non-Muslims to become police officers is positive, but Turkey should still revoke the ancestry registry.
![TURKEY-PROTESTS/POLICE Riot police chase demonstrators during a protest in central Istanbul September 10, 2013. Turkish police fired rounds of teargas to disperse a crowd of several hundred demonstrators rallying in central Istanbul on Tuesday against the death of a protester in the southern province of Hatay earlier in the day, witnesses said. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13G62](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2013/10/police%20%281%29.jpg/police%20%281%29.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=_d8aTtfr)
Even though no such rule exists on the books, it so happens that not even one single non-Muslim army officer, policeman or judge exists in Turkey. Non-Muslims are absent not only from the security and judiciary establishment but from the public sector altogether. Why? Is it because of their small numbers?
Turkey’s non-Muslim population today is estimated at about 100,000. According to figures by the London-based Minority Rights Group International, it includes 23,000 Jews, 3,000 Greeks, 60,000 Armenians and 15,000 Syriacs. In addition, there are Turkish converts to Protestant Christianity, estimated to number between 3,000 and 5,000.