The experts participating in the fact-finding mission observed on-site the issues of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and the rights violations they are subjected to.
The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) organised a fact-finding mission to the Western Thrace region of Greece with a delegation of academics and experts from Europe on 4 March 2024.
International Relations Director Melek Kırmacı Arık, representing ABTTF, Head of the Cluster ‘‘Danish-German Minorities Issues’’ of the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) and Associate Professor of the University of Southern Denmark Dr. Martin Klatt and Petranka Nedelcheva and Magdalena Marinova from the National Museum of History of Bulgaria (HYSTORYSMUS) participated in the fact-finding mission.
Within the framework of the organisation and programme prepared by ABTTF, the delegation first visited the Elected Mufti of Komotini and Chairman of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board (BTTADK) Ibrahim Şerif in his office and was informed about the systematic violation of the religious autonomy of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and the issues they are faced with in the field of religion.
Immediately afterwards, the delegation visited the headquarters of the Friendship Equality and Peace (FEP) Party in Komotini, which is the political representative of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and was informed about the targeting of politicians belonging to the Turkish community in Western Thrace and the 3% election threshold applied to independent candidates throughout Greece and other related issues.
During the delegation’s visits to the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (WTMUGA), the Culture and Education Foundation of Western Thrace Minority (PEKEM) and the Western Thrace Turkish Teachers Union (BTTÖB), the issues faced by the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the field of education, as well as the closure of autonomous Turkish elementary schools and the refusal of the Greek authorities to allow the opening of bilingual Turkish minority kindergartens in the region were discussed.
Furthermore, the delegation visited the Komotini Turkish Youth Union (GTGB), which was banned because it bears the word ‘‘Turk’’ in its name and was briefed regarding the history and activities of the association.
The delegation met with Elected Mufti of Xanthi Mustafa Trampa in his office and the activities of the mufti office were explained to the delegation. It was indicated that with the law titled ‘‘Modernisation of the Mufti Offices in Thrace’’, there are attempts at disbanding completely the autonomous structures of the mufti offices belonging to the Turkish community in Western Thrace.
Moreover, the delegation paid a visit to the Xanthi Turkish Union (ITB) and learned about the legal struggle of the association, which was banned due to the word “Turkish” in its name, which has been going on for more than 40 years, and Greece’s failure to execute the relevant judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for the past 16 years.
The delegation also visited Gündem and Millet newspapers and was briefed about the discrimination and hate speech targeting the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the mainstream media in Greece.
