The Western Thrace Turkish delegation, consisting of ABTTF and WTMUGA, pointed out that, as an important indicator of the rule of law, the ECtHR judgments regarding the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases have not been executed for the past 16 years and that the organisations and leading representatives of the Turkish community in Western Thrace have been targeted.
The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) and the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (WTMUGA), representing the Turkish community in Western Thrace, attended the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) held in Vienna, the capital of Austria, on 22-23 April 2024.
K. Engin Soyyılmaz from ABTTF and WTMUGA Member Kerem Abdurahimoğlu represented the Turkish community in Western Thrace at the first Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting of the year titled ‘‘The Role of Civil Society in the Promotion and Protection of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law’’.
Organised by the Malta OSCE Chairmanship and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the importance of civil society in documenting violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, especially in times of conflict and humanitarian crises, and the significant threats faced by human rights defenders in the OSCE region and how these challenges confront them were discussed during the meetings. Furthermore, the impact that such challenges have on their safety and ability to conduct their work effectively was addressed.
Intervening at the session on the role of civil society in monitoring violations of international human rights law, WTMUGA indicated that Greece had banned the associations of the Turkish community in Western Thrace such as the Xanthi Turkish Union, the Komotini Turkish Youth Union of and the Western Thrace Turkish Teachers Union 40 years ago, on grounds of the word ‘‘Turkish” in their names, WTMUGA further noted that the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) regarding the Bekir-Ousta and Other group of cases involving the Cultural Association of Turkish Women of the Prefecture of Rodopi and the Evros Prefecture Minority Youth Association, whose registration applications were rejected, and the Xanthi Turkish Union, which was banned, have not been applied by Greece for the past 16 years. Noting that the persistent denial of the ethnic identity of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and banning its associations will not serve democracy and human rights, WTMUGA called on the OSCE Participating States to encourage Greece to execute the relevant ECtHR judgments.
Speaking at the session on the challenges faced by human rights defenders and civil society, ABTTF pointed out that the rule of law has been systematically violated recently in Greece, where the Turkish community in Western Thrace lives, noting that although the execution of ECtHR judgments in a country is one of the most important indicators of respect for the principle of the rule of law, Greece has persistently failed to execute the three relevant judgments with respect to the associations of the Turkish community in Western Thrace for the past 16 years, despite all the warnings of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Underscoring that non-governmental organisations and representatives of the Turkish community in Western Thrace defending their rights are constantly subjected to pressure and intimidation and stigmatised in Greece, ABTTF once again reiterated the case against Ozan Ahmetoğlu, President of the Xanthi Turkish Union, and the opening of an investigation against Ibrahim Şerif, the Elected Mufti of Komotini, for alleged “usurpation of authority” as an example. ABTTF called on Greece to execute the ECtHR judgments on the three aforementioned associations of the Turkish community in Western Thrace as a matter of urgency, and asked ODIHR to closely monitor the state of the rule of law in Greece in close cooperation and dialogue with the European Commission and the Council of Europe.
Speaking at the same session, WTMUGA explained that the Greek government has implemented isolation and marginalisation policies against the Turkish community in Western Thrace, denies its ethnic identity, does not recognise its elected muftis, and exposes human rights defenders who support the Turkish community to criminal and financial prosecutions. WTMUGA called on the OSCE Participating States to encourage Greece to recognise the ethnic Turkish identity of the Turkish community in Western Thrace.
Using its right of reply at the end of both sessions, Greece repeated its official thesis that according to the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, there is solely a Muslim minority in Thrace, claiming that the Minority’s freedom of association was respected and that the Minority did not experience discrimination.
