The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) submitted its written contribution to the office of the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Prof. Nicolas Levrat for the thematic report to be submitted to the 61st Session of the UN Human Rights Council in March 2026.
In its written contribution, ABTTF conveyed the attitude towards minorities in Greece and the problems and rights violations faced by the Turkish community in Western Thrace.
ABTTF noted that no national or ethnic group is granted official minority status in Greece and indicated that the ethnic Turkish identity of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, which is officially recognised as a minority and whose rights are guaranteed by the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty, is not recognised by Greece.
ABTTF explained that approximately 60 thousand Western Thrace Turks were deprived of citizenship with the provisions of the former Article 19 of the Greek Citizenship Law with racist content which was in force from 1955 to 1998, that associations with ‘‘Turkish’’ names were dissolved in Greece, that Greece has not executed the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases for the past 17 years and violated the freedom of association of the Turkish community in Western Thrace.
ABTTF pointed out that Greece has usurped the educational and religious autonomy of the Turkish community in Western Thrace guaranteed by the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty through various laws and unilateral practices and stated that the Turkish primary schools with autonomous status are closed down, the muftis elected by the Turkish community are not recognised and with the latest law the mufti offices with autonomous status are transformed into ordinary public offices directly under the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports.
ABTTF noted that rights defender individuals and associations representing the Turkish community in Western Thrace are stigmatised and subjected to hate speech in politics and Greek mainstream media and indicated that hate speech in politics is a part of structural and systematic discrimination against the Turkish community in Greece and that the Turkish community is perceived as ‘‘other’’, ‘‘foreign’’ or ‘‘not belonging’’ in the lands where it has lived for centuries.
ABTTF noted that the non-recognition and assimilation of national minorities in Greece is an official state policy and demanded Greece to restore the educational and religious autonomy of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and to establish a consultation mechanism with the broad participation of the representatives of the Turkish community to solve the existing problems.
