During the working visit held parallel to the PACE Spring Plenary Session, ABTTF President met with the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe.
The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) paid a working visit to Strasbourg on 15-17 April 2024, in parallel with the Spring Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
The ABTTF delegation, consisting of ABTTF President Halit Habip Oğlu and ABTTF International Relations Director Melek Kırmacı Arık, conveyed the current issues of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, especially those related to the freedom of association, in their meetings with PACE members and the Council of Europe bodies.
During his three-day working visit, ABTTF President Habip Oğlu met with the new Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Michael O'Flaherty, who took office on April 1, in his office.
Within the framework of their contacts in Strasbourg, the ABTTF delegation met with Chairperson of the National Delegation of Norway to PACE and European People’s Party (EPP) Vice-Chairperson Ingjerd Schie Schou, Chairperson of the National Delegation of Türkiye to PACE Yıldırım Tuğrul Türkeş, PACE Turkish Delegation Members Abdurrahman Babacan, Mehmet Akalın, Mustafa Canbey, Sena Nur Çelik Kanat, Yunus Emre and Zeynep Yıldız and with officials from the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
During the meetings with the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe and politicians, ABTTF President Habip Oğlu indicated that the rule of law in Greece has been seriously threatened and systematically violated recently, and that, according to a survey conducted in March 2024, only 3 out of 10 people in the country had noted that they trusted the judiciary and judges. Pointing out that the Council of Europe and the European Union (EU), of which Greece is a member, are closely monitoring the deterioration of the rule of law in the country, Habip Oğlu explained that the European Parliament has called upon the European Commission to act in face of serious developments that threaten the rule of law in Greece within a resolution it had adopted in February 2024.
Habip Oğlu underlined that Greece denies the existence and identity of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and stated that the institutions, organisations and leading representatives of the Turkish community, including ABTTF, are directly targeted and marginalised with hate speech in politics and mainstream media.
During the meeting with the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the ECtHR, the ABTTF delegation emphasised that Greece has not executed the ECtHR judgments with respect to the Xanthi Turkish Union, Cultural Association of Turkish Women of the Prefecture of Rodopi and Evros Prefecture Minority Youth Association in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases for the past 16 years, stating that this is due to the rule of law. He noted that there was a clear violation of the principle and that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will re-examine the group of cases in question at its next meeting on 11-13 June 2024.
During the meeting with the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the ECtHR, the ABTTF delegation stressed that Greece has not executed the ECtHR judgments with respect to the Xanthi Turkish Union, Cultural Association of Turkish Women of the Prefecture of Rodopi and Evros Prefecture Minority Youth Association in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases for the past 16 years, noting that this constitutes a clear violation of the principle of the rule of law, and reminded that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will re-examine this group of cases at its next meeting to be held on 11-13 June 2024.
