The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) participated to an international seminar entitled “Human Rights Violations Faced by Muslims” which was organised in cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Turkey and the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on 16-17 February 2022 in Istanbul.
ABTTF President Halit Habip Oğlu and ABTTF International Affairs Director Melek Kırmacı Arık participated to the seminar, which was attended by representatives of the Turkish community in Western Thrace with a large delegation and where human rights violations against Muslims in Europe, Asia and Palestine and proposals for solutions in this respect were discussed.
The problems of the Turkish community in Western Thrace were raised in the seminar
Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Turkey Yakup Moğul who realised the opening remarks of the seminar during the inaugural session along with Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Mustafa Şentop and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu who addressed the participants through video messages, referred to the problems of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and noted that the Turkish community had been deprived of its basic human rights.
Speaking at the first panel session on the situation of Muslims in Europe, Ibrahim Şerif, President of the Consultative Committee of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace (BTTADK) and Elected Mufti of Rodopi, said that the Turkish community in Western Thrace in Greece has been granted autonomous status in education and religion according to the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty but that very autonomy had been taken away from the Turkish community. Şerif stated that the Turkish community in Western Thrace is not allowed to choose its own muftis today, reminding that the Greek state is appointing muftis without prior approval of the Turkish community.
ABTTF and the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (WTMUGA) representing the Turkish community in Western Thrace intervened in the part where participants had the opportunity to express themselves. ABTTF explained that there is an institutional and established discrimination against the Turkish community in Western Thrace in Greece, including in mainstream politics and media. WTMUGA indicated that the Turkish and Muslim identities are inseparable for the Turkish community in Western Thrace and further noted that the muftis who are in the position of being the pioneers of these two identities are targeted.
While the situation of Muslims in Asia was tackled during the second panel session of the seminar, the situation of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories was discussed in the third and final panel sessions.
The two-day seminar, which was attended by OIC officials, IPHRC members, members of the corps diplomatique, experts, academics and representatives of the civil society, ended with the closing remarks.
