The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) sent its written contribution to the 2024 Rule of Law Report of the European Commission. ABTTF, which participated in the online targeted stakeholder consultation initiated by the European Commission and open to non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders in EU Member States for the report expressed the issues faced by the Turkish community in Western Thrace in order to contribute to the country report on Greece to be prepared by the Commission.
In its written contribution, ABTTF underlined that Greece denies the ethnic Turkish identity of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, indicating that Greece has not executed three separate judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) related to the Bekir-Ousta and Others Group of Cases since 2008, and this, despite the decisions of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and all its warnings, and that it violates the freedom of association of the Turkish community.
Referring to the lawsuit filed by the Prosecutor’s Office of First Instance of Rodopi requesting the revocation of the registration of the the Western Thrace Fenerbahçe Association which was established as a fans’ association in Komotini on 11 October 2022, ABTTF underscored that in the prosecutor’s indictment, the expression ‘‘Western Thrace’’ in the name of the association does not affect the territorial integrity of the country. It was further noted that the indictment claimed that it posed a danger to national sovereignty, and therefore, it was requested that the expression ‘‘Western Thrace’’ be removed from the name and statutes of the association and that the association in question be deleted from the registry of associations.
ABTTF emphasised that although the Turkish community in Western Thrace has educational autonomy, the number of Turkish primary schools decreases every year due to the closures of the schools, and that there are no bilingual Turkish minority kindergartens, the number of the Turkish secondary and high schools remains quite low, and in this respect, it was reminded that this which was brought to the agenda with a question for written answer submitted to the European Commission. Furthermore, it was indicated that the issue regarding double-shift schooling, and the lack of a modern school building continues in the Xanthi Minority Secondary and High School.
Moreover, ABTTF pointed out that there are examples of marginalisation, discrimination and targeting beyond prejudice and stereotypes against the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the media in Greece and underlined that the oppression and discrimination against the Turkish community is also seen in the political arena. Reminding that a Turkish deputy candidate who received the most votes in the prefecture of Rodopi, where the Turkish community in Western Thrace constitutes the majority in terms of population, in the general elections in May 2023, was subjected to a political smear campaign and was targeted, ABTTF further indicated that this situation deepened the structural and systematic discrimination faced by the Turkish community in Greece.
Stating that the Turkish community in Western Thrace was granted religious autonomy in accordance with international treaties and has the right to elect their own religious leaders (muftis), ABTTF noted that, on the other hand, the muftis elected by the Turkish community are not recognised by Greece. ABTTF explained that Presidential Decree No. 52/2019 further damaged the autonomous structure of the Turkish community in the religious area and that is because the offices of the muftis were completely subordinated to the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs and turned into ordinary public offices.
