E/CN.4/1988/45 page 11 about 5,000 students are offered education in their own language. Currently, there are approximately 400 students of Armenian origin in Turkish universities and a large number of students study abroad. More than half of the Jewish community of 3,000 live in Istanbul. The community owns 74 synagogues, 4 educational institutions, 8 social establishments, 14 associations, 3 hospitals and 2 cemeteries. There is a Greek community of 6,000 living in Istanbul. Although the total number of Turkish citizens of Greek origin is about 70,000, many of them live abroad and maintain their Turkish nationality, properties and their ties with Turkey. Turkish citizens of Greek origin have been freely practising their religion for centuries in the 70 religious institutions in Istanbul. The status of the Greek Orthodox Church has been recognized since 1454. In Istanbul, the community has 30 schools, about 80 foundations and 2 publications. Out of the 2.5 million Assyrians all over the world, approximately 55,000 are Turkish citizens. At present, 30,000 Assyrians live in Turkey. Since the 1970s, as other Turkish citizens have done, citizens of the Assyrian faith have emigrated to Western European countries for purely economic reasons. For the purpose of easily obtaining residence and work permits abroad, most of the Turkish immigrants of the Assyrian faith have found it convenient to claim that they had been subjected to discrimination in their country of origin. The motive behind such abuses has been acknowledged by the authorities of the receiving countries. One third of the Assyrians living in Turkey are in Istanbul and the rest are in south-eastern Anatolia. The Assyrians also enjoy all their rights emanating from the Constitution and freely practise their faith in their own churches. The allegations that the Bible is considered as a prohibited book are far removed from reality. There is no restriction whatsoever on the publication and dissemination of the Bible, which is recognized and respected as a holy book by Islam. Moreover, the allegation that non-Muslim pupils have been compelled to follow Muslim religious courses is entirely unfounded. Non-Muslim pupils have the right not to attend courses on religious and moral culture offered in schools of primary and secondary education. This principle has recently been explicitly underlined with the instruction of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, issued on 29 January 1987 and addressed to the educational institutions concerned. As can be concluded from the foregoing, allegations that religious intolerance has been practised against non-Muslim minorities in Turkey can by no means be substantiated. Religious minorities in Turkey enjoy fully equal rights with any other Turkish citizen, practise their faith in their own churches and synagogues and teach their own language in their schools. They publish newspapers, periodicals and books in their own language, have their own social and cultural institutions. Racial and religious differences have never been a basis neither in the Republic of Turkey, nor its predecessor, the Ottoman Empire. This has been the case for more than six centuries. In short, Turkey rightfully takes pride in its historical tolerance and understanding towards religious minorities. When one evaluates the past objectively, the historical feature is not that of discrimination against religious minorities whose identity has been kept intact throughout centuries. Rather, it is that of attempts to exploit the subject with the aim