ABTTF submitted its parallel report on the UPR report on Greece

The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) prepared a parallel report on the country report on Greece that was released by the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), and submitted it to the competent authorities.

In its parallel report, ABTTF expresses explicitly its criticism about the “Law on Waqfs” and the legislation on administration and management of the Waqf properties, and requests that the relevant legislation concerning the Waqfs shall be revised in consultation with the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace with a view to enabling the Minority to directly control and to use its own Waqf properties.

As regards the former article 19 of the Greek Citizenship Code, ABTTF requests, referring to the motion for question presented by Xanthi PASOK Deputy Çetin Mandacı on 19 January 2011, the Greek Government to convene without any delay the Citizenship Committee to inspect the pending applications of the persons belonging to the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace who were deprived of their Greek citizenship under the concerning article.

Regarding freedom of association, ABTTF mentions the problems encountered in the execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) about three Turkish Minority associations which are the Turkish Union of Xanthi, Cultural Association of Turkish Women of the Region of Rodopi and Evros Prefecture Minority Youth Association, and underlines that although the Working Group states in its report that there is a constructive dialogue with the department for the execution of the ECHR judgments of the Council of Europe, there is till today no solution that is currently in practice and the domestic proceedings are still pending.

ABTTF has also pointed out the problems faced by the Turkish communities in Rhodes and Kos in the fields of religious freedom and education in mother language, and requests the Greek Government to find a solution of their problems in cooperation with the NGO’s of the Turkish communities.

With regard to the parallel report, Halit Habipoğlu, President of the Federation of the Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), made the following statement: “ABTTF has clearly expressed its view in relation to any matter which is described imperfectly or incorrectly in the report of the Working Group. Thus, ABTTF aims that the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace has a right to say on the issues related to itself.”