A/55/280/Add.1 (g) The Government should guarantee nonintervention in the internal affairs of minorities, in particular in the election and appointment of religious leaders. 161. With respect to all of the above points, the Special Rapporteur believes that the State should establish precise rules to protect the fundamental rights of minorities, as derived from the Treaty of Lausanne and from international law. These rules should be defined in consultation with minority representatives, they should be guaranteed in the form of regulations and laws and they should be enforced by policies and administrative actions that are respectful of minority rights. 162. With respect to the Greek Orthodox and Armenian minorities, the Special Rapporteur considers it essential that the guarantee of their rights should not be conditional upon the status of relations between Turkey and Greece, on one hand, and of those between Turkey and Armenia and its diaspora, on the other. In this regard, the State must live up to its responsibilities to protect minorities against all acts of aggression and violence. 163. With respect to the minority communities not recognized as such or not deemed to be covered by the Treaty of Lausanne, the recommendations outlined above are relevant for non-Armenian Catholics. 164. With respect to the non-Armenian Protestants, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government provide a full guarantee of this religious community’s rights. To this end, owing to the fact that the enjoyment of rights to religious freedom depends in critical ways on the legal structures available to religious communities to organize their affairs, it is essential for the Protestants to have appropriate legal mechanisms for acquiring and managing their own properties, including places of worship. It would seem that the current device, i.e. the creation of associations, is inadequate in light of existing legal restrictions that make it impossible to establish religious associations. In any event, a legal entity that will meet the needs and respect the rights of all religious communities is strongly recommended. This would also help to minimize the risk of interference by the authorities, especially the police. 165. The recommendations for treating Protestants as a legal entity are equally applicable to the AssyroChaldeans and are in fact essential for maintaining the cultural and religious identity of this community. Regardless of the issue of recognition of its minority status, this community has a legal structure that allows it to have its own educational, social and religious training institutions. As in the case of the Armenian minority, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government should satisfy legitimate demands for the construction of new places of worship, in particular in Istanbul. It is also urgent to put a stop to the arbitrary and discriminatory confiscation of Assyro-Chaldean places of worship by the General Directorate of Foundations and to the abuse of power in procedures for authorizing the renovation of religious establishments. The recommendations made with respect to instruction and religious culture are relevant here as well. Furthermore, while appreciating the situation created by the armed conflict in southeastern Turkey, the Special Rapporteur believes that the State must fulfil its responsibilities to protect the AssyroChaldeans and to identify and prosecute those who violate their human rights. 166. The Special Rapporteur also offers the following general recommendations, applicable to all religious communities in Turkey: (a) The Government should ensure that Islam does not become a political tool, a situation that could escalate in ways that would promote religious extremism; (b) The Government should combat all manifestations of intolerance whenever they appear; (c) The Government should combat extremism in all religions, wherever it appears, while respecting international human rights standards and being careful not to affect minority religious communities, directly or indirectly, in the enjoyment of their legitimate rights and freedoms; (d) The Government should take all necessary measures, consistent with international human rights standards, to combat hatred, intolerance and acts of violence, intimidation and coercion motivated by religious intolerance; (e) The Government should ensure both more legal protection against discrimination based on religion or belief, and the implementation and respect of these legal safeguards; (f) The interpretation of the constitutional principles of secularism and nationalism, and policies 29