Abstract
Before analyzing the minority issue, we should firstly define what a minority is. No consensus exists on the definition of a 'minority'. In a general sense minorities are groups which are numerically inferior to and distinguishable from the rest of the population through ethnicity, language, culture or religion. Regarding the minorities in Turkey, the Lausanne Convention bases the granting of minority status on religious grounds. Turkey's policy regarding minorities has been shaped based on the Lausanne Convention principles. Turkey has granted minority rights, to its citizens of non-Muslim origin. The minorities recognized by the Lausanne Convention are Jews, Greek Orthodox and Armenians. Among the minority rights that these populations enjoy, are the right to education in own language; the right to publish newspapers and to express one's identity. Non-Muslim minorities in Turkey are to this day able to sustain their separate identities and supposedly enjoy their minority rights.
