Patriarch hopes for better days
Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios has expressed hope that the new political party being formed by former Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and other Turkish progressives would lead to better days for the Greek minority and the Patriarchate. In comments at a Greek children’s holiday camp on one of Istanbul’s Princes’ islands on Saturday, Vartholomaios complained that this year the Turkish authorities had delayed «inexcusably» in issuing a license for the camp. «I express the optimism of all of us that tomorrow will be better than today,» he said in comments made available to Kathimerini English Edition yesterday. Vartholomaios, however, did not refer directly to the new party. «We hope that these new political formations will deal with the problems of minorities and our own minority as well as the Patriarchate, without prejudice and with greater understanding,» he said. «The Greek community is made up of law-abiding citizens and will never create problems for the State. On the contrary, it is the State which creates problems for us and it should help us to solve them and to prevent them,» he added.
