Turkeys requirements in relation to the Hague Convention Aysun Ozkose, Turkey AsistProf. Dr.

Aysun Qzkose is a lecturer at the Zonguldak Karaelmas University

We survive thanks to our culture and our natural environment WAR destroys them all Abstract Besides work by the Ministry of Culture on the preservation of cultural heritage, universities, associations, professional associations, and charitable foundations are currently learning to raise awareness about preservation efforts. The most important is The Association of Historical Towns and Regions. This non-governmental organization was established in 2000 with the support of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Society of Turkish Architects, universities, the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Culture to help preserve Turkey's cultural heritage. Keywords: cultural heritage, preservation, non-governmental organization Rezumat Pe lng efortul depus de Ministerul Culturii, instituiile de nvmnt superior, asociaiile, asociaii profesionale, precum i fundaii de caritate contribuie i ele la sensibilizarea populaiei cu privire la eforturile de conservare. Cea mai important este "Asociaia oraelor istorice i a regiunilor". Aceast ONG s-a nfiinat n anul 2000 cu sprijinul Ministerului Afacerilor Externe, Societ ii arhitec ilor turci, universit ilor, Ministerului Mediului i Ministerului Culturii avnd ca scop conservarea patrimoniului cultural al Turciei. Cuvinte cheie: conservare, patrimoniul cultural, ONG It is much more important to take measures to ensure the preservation of the rich cultural heritage of developing countries, which tends to be at serious risk. Due to its specific geopolitical situation, Turkey has to tackle this subject with more realistic, accurate and applicable policies. Since signing the Hague Convention, the Rules and

Regulations on its application and the First Protocol in 1965, Turkey has been striving to meet the necessary requirements to preserve its cultural heritage. Turkey has participated in preparatory studies and joined the Hague Diplomatic Conference, but has not signed the Second protocol. Why? It does not believe that it would benefit the country for the following reasons: * * * Consensus is needed due to 39/5, as the Second Protocol is not simply an Military necessity* restrictions Enhanced *special protection* for the preservation and protection of cultural amendment but an entirely new protocol *' Extending the rights of non-state combatants in the event of armed conflict. heritage. A report on the issues that were re-examined, suggestions and Turkey's requirements in relation to the Convention as well as problems it encountered has been presented to the Council. It looked at the following: * Ruies and regulations of the Protocol have been systematically violated by many countries, including some signatory states. This situation has given Turkey serious cause for concern. * Due to its geopolitical situation, Article 3 of the Convention is of particular importance to Turkey. The Ministry of Culture, responsible for the preservation of cultural heritage in Turkey, has entrusted the central units and organizations in the provinces with the application of Article 3. * * * The Military Obligation*, discussed in Article 4 of the Protocol, is deemed According to Article 8, a country must register all museums, tumuli, urban and The special marking of cultural heritage objects is mentioned in Articles 6 and 16 "Controversial by Turkey. natural sites and ancient ruins. This is very difficult for Turkey to implement fully. of the Protocol and Article 20 of the Rules and Regulations. However, the presence of these emblems did not prevent monuments from being destroyed during the war in exYugoslavia. Turkey believes that this marking is simply not effective. Within the scope of the Convention, the Ministry of National Defence and the Directorate of Wakfs, under the leadership of the Ministry of Culture, are currently

finishing an inventory of cultural property in Turkey. A database of more than 70,000 items has been established (see Plate 1, List 1). * Turkey's rich cultural heritage, the existence of traditional Ottoman cities on these archaeological sites and the ongoing development of these regions makes it difficult to select sites for special international protection status*. As a result, only eight sites have been registered in the UNESCO World Heritage List (see Plate 2, List 2), but 30 sites were put forward for inclusion in 1993 (see Plate 3, List 3). Turkey has also requested that they be given ^special international protection" status. *Special removal plans* have been prepared by the Ministry of Culture for movable cultural property in the event of armed conflict in the region. These plans include: determination of the cultural heritage to be removed, conservation and pakking, and the supply of the necessary transport vehicles. 62 state museums, 49 archaeological sites, 3 private museums and 12 individual collectors were given the special emblems to mark their cultural property. Studies on the widespread use of these emblems in Turkey are ongoing. * Currently, studies on the formation of a National Consultancy Committee are being conducted jointly by representatives of the Turkish General Staff, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the General Directorate of the Wakfs, and the Office of the Ataturk Supreme Council for Culture, Language and History. The formation of the National Committee will speed up the process of determining sites eligible for international special prevention status. The Ministry of Culture continues its activities aimed at instructing civil society, the general public and governmental organisations how to prevent the destruction and smuggling of cultural property. * Conferences and educational seminars on the preservation of cultural heritage in Anatolia are organized twice a year by the Ministry of Culture to inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of National Education, the Gendarmerie Headquarters, the Ministry of Forests, the General Directorate of Highways, the Genera! Directorate of State Hydraulic Works, the Turkish Naval and Land Forces Commands, the Turkish Coast

Guard Commands, primary schools and the public. In addition, programs on this subject are broadcast on national TV and radio channels. * * Ministry of Culture staff is trained in civil defence, security, fire fighting, first aid Lectures on the preservation of cultural heritage are given in schools. and rescue, Several requirements in the Second Protocol have serious economic consequences for developing countries like Turkey, which are rich in cultural property. For this reason, Turkey must be given financial assistance in order to compile inventories, select cultural property eligible for international special prevention status, and to mark those items to be protected. Besides work by the Ministry of Culture on the preservation of cultural heritage, universities, associations, professional associations, and charitable foundations are currently learning to compile Inventories and raise awareness about preservation efforts. The most important is The Association of Historical Towns and Regions^, This non-governmental organization was established in 2000 with the support of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Society of Turkish Architects, universities, the Ministry of Forests and the Ministry of Culture to help preserve Turkey's cultural heritage. It has become a suitable platform to bring together Turkey's mayors and develop a common stance on cultural property. More than 100 historical city municipalities participated in 2000. !t has organised lectures and exhibitions on the preservation of historical cities, produced restoration projects, compiled cultural heritage inventories and educated the public and their leaders on the need for preservation. One of the association's most recent decisions is the campaign, 2003 - the Year of Preservation. In accordance with the Hague Convention of 1954, it believes that cultural heritage for individuals and peoples is key to their identity and the source of their inspiration. For that reason, they should not be targeted or destroyed during war, nor should cities rich in cultural heritage become battle grounds. We want to see ICOMOS, ICCROM, the United Nations, the European Union, the Council of Europe, especially UNESCO and all partners in our common heritage join forces against the possible war in Iraq for the sake of generations to come. These studies were sped up because of the possibility of war in Iraq. The Turkish Embassy in

Washington has requested protection for cultural property in the region. Furthermore, the Turkish Ministry of Culture has also called on the General Director of UNESCO for help in meeting the necessary protection requirements. In reality, it is not possible to meet all the requirements to protect cultural property in the event of armed conflict. The only way we can safeguard our cultural heritage is to stamp out war completely. Plate 1 Plate 1: Registered immovable cultural property and natural heritage sites in Turkey, List 1 Registered Sites Type of Sites Natural Sites Urban Sites Historical Sites Other Sites Total 6,381 Number 4,920 787 182 121 371 Archaeological Sites

Registered immovable cultural property and natural heritage sites outside the province of Ystanbul Type of immovable Number Examples of Residential Architecture 24,010 Religious Constructions 5,170 Cultural Constructions 4,996 Administrative Constructions Military Constructions Cemeteries Martyrdom184 Monuments and Memorials Natural heritage 2,500 Ruins 866 253 1,647 696 1,604 1,419

Industrial and Commercial Constructions

Streets under preservation Total 43,379

34

Registered immovable cultural property and natural heritage sites around Turkey. Registered immovable cultural and natural heritage in the province of Istanbul 19,512 (as of end of 2001)* Work in progress for the province of Istanbul. PIate 2; List 2, Cultural heritage inscribed in the world heritage list in Turkey Name 1) Goreme National Park and the Sites of Cappadocia 1985 1985 2) Great Mosque and Hospital of Divrigi 3) Historic Areas of Ystanbul 1985 4) Hattusha (BoSazkoy) 5) Nemrut Mountain 7) City of Safranbolu 1987 1988 1994 6) Hierapolis-Pamukkate 1986 Year of Inscription

8) Archaeological Site of Troy 1998 Plate 3: List 3, Tentative list of properties which Turkey nominating for the world heritage list A) Prehistoric period 1) Karain-a Paleolithic cave 2) Catalhoyuk-a Neolithic settlement B) Historic period 4) Kultepe (kanesh)-a trade colony where the first written documents of Assyrian cuneiform tablets were found. a) Phrygian civilization 5) Gordion capital of the Phrygian Kingdom and Phrygian Tumulus

6) Phrygian rock-cut monuments {Kyrka, Yakyk Asian Tab, Asian Kaya, Maitab, Aresastis etc.) b) Urartian civilization 7) The oid city of Van and Lake Van-aamran canal c) Lydian civilization 8) Sardis capital of Lydian Kingdom and the TumuSus at Fin Tepe d) Lycian civilization 9) Lycian rock.cut tombs in Myra-Limyra e) Greek and Roman civilization 10) Ephesos/Selcuk, an Ionian capital 11) Apollo Tempie at Didyma 12) Haiikarnassos 13) Assos-Hellenistic city wails 14) Priene, Hellenistic settlement, built on Hippodamos plan 15) Pergamos, a Hellenistic settlement, built on a terrace system 16) Aspendos theater and the Roman Aqueduct f) Byzantine civilization 17) Sumela Monastery 18) Alahan Monastery and University complex 19) Church of St. Nycoiaos in Demre (Myra) g) Umayyad period 20) Harran University complex and typical Umayyad civic buildings h) State-ruled regions and Seljukian civilizations 21) Monumental tomb stones yn Ahlat 22) Diyarbakyr city walls 23) Caravan routes and Sultan Han Caravansarai in Aksaray 24) Konya-Seljukian capital 25) The fortress of Alanya and the dockyards

26) The old city of Mardin i) Ottoman civilization 27) Bursa, the first capital of Ottomans with monuments and old districts 28) Ottoman monuments in Edirne the second capital of Ottoman Empire 29) The complex of Ishakpasha in Dogu Beyazit 30) Kula-a typical town near Manisa Die Bedutfnisse der Turkei bezuglich Haager Konvention fassung Die Turkei hat an der Diplomatischen Konferenz 1999 in Den Haag Teil genommen, hat das Zweite Protokoll aber nicht un-terzeichnet, weil sie Vorbehalte zu einigen Punkten hatte, z.B.: * * * im Protokoll vorgesehene Regeln und Bestimmungen wur-den in der Bei den militarischen Bestimmungen vertritt die Turkei zum Teil eine kontroverse Eine positive Wirkung der Markierung von Kulturgutern im Kriegsfall wird, vor Vergangenheit mehrfach missachtet, auch von Signatarstaaten. Meinung. allem auch auf Grund der Erfahrungen im ehemaiigen Jugoslawien, bezweifeit. Dafur ergreift die Turkei im Sinne der Haager Konvention an-dere Massnahmen zum Schutz von Kulturgutern: * * Unter Leitung des Kulturministeriums wird zur Zeit ein Inventar der Kulturguter in Acht Objekte wurden in die Lisle des UNESCO Weltkultur-erbes der Turkei fertiggestelit {vgl. Ta-belle 1, S. 243). aufgenommmen, weitere 30 Objekte fur einen spate-ren Einbezug vorgeschlagen (vgi. Tabelien 2, 3; S. 244/245). * * Evakuationspiane fiir mobile Kulturguter wurden fur den Kriegsfail vorbereitet. Auch der Ausbildung des Fachpersonals, der Information und Sensibilisierung Zusammen-

der Bevoikerung sowie dem Einbezug derThematik in den Schulen wird Rechnung getragen. Bei der Finanzierung soicher Massnahmen stosst die Turkei mit ihrer Fulle an

Kulturgutern jedoch an Grenzen, so dass internationale Unlerstutzung benotsgt wird. Auch die Zusam-menarbeit und der Informationsaustausch auf internationaler Ebene sind bedeutend, insbesondere in Krisenzeiten wie kurz-lich im Srak-Krieg. Der beste Weg, um Kulturguter zu schutzen, ware allerdings jener, dass gar keine Kriege entstehen wurden. Die Stadt Safmnbolu -UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe (Foto: Aysun Ozkose).