Armenian Deputy of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Democratic Party of Nations (HDP) Garo Paylan raised the issue related to the schools of ethnic minorities in the Mejlis. As reports Habervaktim.com, during the session of the Project and Budget Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), Garo Paylan suggested reopening the Greek religious school located on the Heybeliada Island of Istanbul.

“Hasn’t the day come for us to treat the local Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and Jews like citizens? You say you want to raise faithful people (this is the president’s initiative). In that case, why not let the Greeks raise faithful people as well?” Paylan said, according to Ermenihaber.

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu supported Paylan in regard to the opening of religious schools. “I support Paylan. Let them be opened,” he said. However, at the same time, he emphasized that the issue is not within the competence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that it needs to be agreed with the Ministry of Education.

Paylan has also introduced the issue regarding the status of schools of ethnic minorities. Those schools are currently neither public nor private schools. According to the Armenian deputy, the Ministry of Finance claims that national schools need to be formulated as commercial organizations, but those schools don’t have fees and their calling is to be a national school and a national fund or foundation.