ABTTF, which contributed to the review process, brought to the agenda the violation of the freedom of association of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and the non-execution of ECtHR judgments in the Bekir-Ousta group of cases for the past 16 years.
The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), which has a special consultative status at the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council, participated in the consideration of Greece at the 142nd Session of the Human Rights Committee, which examines the compliance of countries party to the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
During the session held in Geneva on 14 October-8 November 2024, ABTTF participated online in the consideration of Greece on 21-22 October 2024. ABTTF sent a detailed report to the Human Rights Committee within the scope of the contribution process of NGOs for the consideration of Greece to be held at this session and conveyed the minority issues of our community to the Committee with a detailed report within the framework of Article 27 of the Covenant, including the ethnic Turkish identity of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, education, freedom of association, freedom of religion, political representation and hate speech against the Turkish community in Western Thrace.
Greece’s progress in the field of civil and political rights was discussed within the scope of the consideration carried out after the country submitted its third country report in April 2023, which should have been submitted in 2022 in accordance with the ICCPR Convention. Prior to the consideration of Greece, civil society representatives participated in the information meeting of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) organised by the Human Rights Committee, which consists of independent experts, on Monday, 21 October and answered the questions of Committee members regarding Greece.
ABTTF International Relations Director Melek Kırmacı, who participated in this meeting online, raised the issue of the violation of freedom of association and non-execution of ECtHR judgments. ABTTF indicated that the Turkish community in Western Thrace won three cases at the ECtHR under the name of the Bekir-Ousta and others group of cases where the European Court had ruled that the freedom of association of the Turkish community in Western Thrace was violated, but it was further noted that the relevant ECtHR judgments have not been executed for the past 16 years. Furthermore, ABTTF stated that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is examining the aforementioned group of cases and that not only these three cases but also the Western Thrace Fenerbahçe Culture and Sports Association, which is a simple fans’ association, was dissolved after its registration on grounds that the words ‘‘Western Thrace’’ in its name was against national integrity. Moreover, ABTTF explained that the Turkish community in Western Thrace is perceived as the ‘‘other’’ in the country and that the discriminatory policy of the state towards the Turkish community in Western Thrace within the context of the minority policy is at the root of the issues in education and religious autonomy as defined by the Treaty of Lausanne and in other areas as stipulated in ABTTF’s contribution to the Committee.
The Greek delegation answered the questions of the members of the Committee during the consideration held on 21-22 October after the NGO briefing where the issues of excessive use of force by the police, the situation in detention centres and push backs, the situation of human rights defenders in the country came to the fore. In this framework, regarding the freedom of association, Greece repeated the usual rhetoric; with the expression ‘‘Muslim minority in Thrace’’, it explained that there are more than 200 associations in the region and that they operate freely. Regarding the execution of ECtHR judgments, Greece indicated that in 2017, an amendment was made to the relevant legislation, paving the way for the re-examination of cases for the implementation of civil law decisions.
*Image: https://webtv.un.org/
