At the FUEN Assembly of Delegates, the resolution on the violation of the freedom of association of the Turkish community in Western Thrace was adopted.
The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), representing the Turkish community in Western Thrace, attended the 68th annual congress of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) held in Husum/Hüsem, Germany on 19-22 September 2024.
ABTTF President and Working Group on Turkic Minorities/Communities (TAG) at FUEN Spokesperson Halit Habip Oğlu, ABTTF Vice-President and FUEN Vice-President Nabi Ibrahimcik and ABTTF Head Office Manager K. Engin Soyyılmaz attended the Congress which was hosted by the North Frisian minority in Germany and celebrated the 75th anniversary of FUEN. Rhodes, Kos and Dodecanese Turks Culture and Solidarity Association (ROISDER) President Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kaymakçı and Board Member Raşit Tavşancı also attended the Congress.
In the panel sessions of the Congress attended by 180 people from 30 European countries, the situation of the North Frisian minority was discussed with cultural performances, the future of minority rights in the European Union (EU) and FUEN’s vision for 2099 in this framework were discussed with the participation of MEPs, national politicians and experts.
At the traditional ‘‘Minority Market’’ organised within the framework of the Congress, the culture and problems of Western Thrace Turks and Rhodes, Kos and Dodecanese Turks were presented.
The draft resolutions submitted by the Western Thrace Turks and the Turks of Rhodes, Kos and Dodecanese were adopted
On Saturday, 21 September, the draft resolution submitted jointly by ABTTF, Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (WTMUGA) and Friendship Equality Peace (FEP) Party as the Western Thrace Turkish delegation to the FUEN Assembly of Delegates was unanimously adopted.
In the resolution, it was noted that although the Western Thrace Fenerbahçe Culture and Sports Association, a supporters’ association founded by Western Thrace Turks, was officially registered by a court in October 2022, the Court of First Instance with a Single Judge of Rodopi ruled on 28 May 2024 to revoke the registration of the association with the claim that the phrase ‘‘Western Thrace’’ in its name is in contradiction to the laws and public order and poses a danger to the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the country.
It was pointed out that Greece has persistently failed to execute the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases for the past 16 years and has violated its obligations arising from the European Convention on Human Rights and called on Greece to recognise the ethnic Turkish identity of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, to guarantee freedom of association and to revoke the court decision on the dissolution of the Western Thrace Fenerbahce Culture and Sports Association.
The draft resolution submitted by FUEN member ROISDER calling on Greece to stop the verbal attacks targeting ROISDER in the Greek National Assembly and to recognise the Turkish presence in the Dodecanese Islands was also unanimously adopted.
At the Assembly of Delegates, where the FUEN main resolution on the development of a European legal framework for the protection and promotion of minorities was unanimously adopted, amendments to four articles of the FUEN statutes were voted and adopted.
Six new minority organisations join the FUEN family
At the FUEN Assembly of Delegates, the organisations of the Slovenian minority in Austria and the German minority in Lithuania became associate members of FUEN, while the organisations of the Roma minority in Austria, the Swedish minority in Finland and the Hungarian minority in Romania, as well as the organisation of the Bashkirs in Ukraine ‘‘Duslyk’’ were admitted as supporting members of FUEN.
FUEN 2025 Congress and EUROPEADA 2028 to be organised in Italy
The FUEN 2025 Congress will be hosted by the German and Ladin minorities and EUROPEADA 2028, the football championship of the national minorities in Europe, will be hosted by the Slovenian minority and the Friulians in Italy.
