Within the framework of his Strasbourg contacts, ABTTF President indicated that the execution of the ECtHR judgments regarding the Bekir-Ousta group of cases is a litmus test for our country where the rule of law is under threat.
Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) President Halit Habip Oğlu paid a working visit to Strasbourg on 3-4 October 2024 in parallel with the Autumn Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
During the working visit, during which ABTTF President was accompanied by ABTTF International Relations Director Melek Kırmacı, Habip Oğlu expressed the current issues during his meetings with PACE members and Council of Europe bodies.
Within the framework of his contacts in Strasbourg, Habip Oğlu expressed that Greece persistently does not execute the ECtHR judgments on the Bekir-Ousta group of cases, which have been pending for 16 years regarding the violation of the freedom of association of the Turkish community in Western Thrace.
Habip Oğlu noted that Greece is following a strategy to prolong the process in this group of cases, which the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe continues to examine, and brought the demands to the agenda before the examination of the Committee of Ministers in December.
Habip Oğlu explained that the execution of the ECtHR judgments in the Bekir-Ousta group of cases would serve as a litmus paper in the process of democratisation of Greece under the conditions that there are many international reports and European Parliament resolutions arguing that the rule of law is under threat in the country.
During the meetings, along with an allusion made to the non-execution of the EctHR judgments with respect to the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases and following a court decision to dissolve the Western Thrace Fenerbahçe Culture and Sports Association. he further expressed concerns regarding calls in the media and legal initiatives to dissolve the Friendship, Equality and Peace (FEP) Party, which represents the political party of the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the aftermath of its success in the European Parliament (EP) elections. Indeed, Habip Oğlu stated that the stigmatisation, targeting and hate speech against the representatives of the Turkish community in Western Thrace aims to create the perception of an ‘‘enemy within’’.
