Refworld Case Law Collection Survey
Turkey: Composition of the "Laz" ethnic group; perception and treatment of by society (2000-2002)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 8 February 2002 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | TUR38419.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Turkey: Composition of the "Laz" ethnic group; perception and treatment of by society (2000-2002), 8 February 2002, TUR38419.E, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4beb524.html [accessed 11 January 2017] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Estimates of the number of Laz in Turkey range from approximately 90,000 (RFE/RL 25 June 1998; Ethnologue 2001) to some 150,000 (The Swedish Institute of International Affairs 2001, section 3.3.2). Of these, some 30,000 speak Laz as their mother tongue (RFE/RL 25 June 1998; Ethnologue 2001).
A 25 June 1998 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty article described the Laz people as follows:
Physically, they tend to have light complexions, freckles and sandy-colored hair. They are Muslims and speak a Kartvelian language related to Mengrelian and more distantly to Georgian. Until recently, Laz had only an oral tradion. In the 1980s, a German scholar, Wolfgang Feuerstein, developed an orthography for Laz, but it until now has failed to attract a significant following.
The Laz are passive, lacking organization and any formal education in their mother tongue.
The Swedish Institute of International Affairs described Laz as a "South-Caucasian language related to Georgian" (2001, section 3.3.2). The Laz speakers in Turkey are Hanafi Sunnis, and live mainly in the region between Trabzon on the Black Sea to Batumi, inside the Georgian border (ibid.). The term "Lazistan" is used to describe part of the region inhabited by the Laz, however it does not cover all the Laz territory (ibid.). Specific towns with large populations of Laz include Rize, Kemer, Atin, Artasen, Vitse, Arkab, Hopa and Sarp (Ethnologue 2001), as well as villages in the provinces of Artvin, Sakarya, Kocaeli and Bolu (ibid.; IND Oct. 2001, section 6.37).
Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law provides that "no one may engage in written and oral propaganda aimed at disrupting the indivisible integrity of the State of the Turkish Republic," effectively banning the use of words such as "Lazistan or Kurdistan (The Swedish Institute of International Affairs 2001).
The National Security Council determined that although several foreign languages were permitted to be taught in Turkey, Laz was not among the languages allowed (IHF 2001; HRW Sept. 2000). Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that certain local newspapers publish columns in Laz, and that a Laz-language magazine, Ogni, is published in Istanbul (25 June 1998).
No further information on the perception and treatment of the Laz in Turkey was found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate, however for additional information on the Laz people please refer to TUR13564 of 2 April 1993.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 2001. 14th ed. "Laz: A Language of Turkey (Asia)."
Human Rights Watch (HRW). September 2000. Vol.12, No. 10 (D). "Turkey: Human Rights and the European Union Accession Partnership."
Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND). October 2001. "Turkey"
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF). 2001. "Human Rights in the OSCE Region: The Balkans, the Caucasus, Europe, Central Asia and North America: Turkey."
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 25 June 1998. Jolyon Naegele. "Turkey: Laz Minority Passive in Face of Assimilation."
The Swedish Institute of International Affairs. 2001. Nigar Karimova and Edward Deverell. "Minorities in Turkey."
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB Databases
NEXIS
US Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
US Library of Congress Country Studies
WNC
Internet sites including:
Amnesty International
Derechos Human Rights
Human Rights Action
Human Rights Foundation of Turkey
HR-Net
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
Lazebura (in Turkish)
Minorities at Risk
Minority Rights Group International
Ozgurluk Press Agency
Turkish Press
UNHCHR
UNHCR
