The Greek Parliament adopted a controversial bill on the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace

The legislative regulation on the status of Muslim preachers in Western Thrace is a violation to the right to freedom of religion and conscience

Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) regrets the adoption of a legislative regulation on the status of Muslim preachers in Western Thrace by the Greek parliament on January 16, 2013. The legislative regulation, which is publicly known as “240 Imams Law” among the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace, Greece has been adopted with overwhelming majority in the Greek Parliament despite the objections of the Turkish deputies in the Parliament and strong opposition from members of the Turkish minority.

We monitor closely the situation in Greece and express our disappointment over the legislative regulation that would allow the Greek government to exercise state control over religion in the region the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace is living through the appointment of Muslim preachers i.e. Imams to mosques under the realm authority of the official Muftis in Xanthi, Komotini and Didymoticho in Greece. This legislative regulation would further allow the government to expand its control over religion in public schools in the region through the new provision which is made for the teaching of the Quran by appointed Muslim preachers in public schools in Western Thrace in which minority students are enrolled.

The Western Thrace Turks in Greece which is represented in the FUEN by our two members, by Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) and Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (WTMUGA) have expressed their strong opposition to this legislative regulation that is prepared and adopted without asking the opinion of the minority itself and despite the strong reaction by members of the minority. FUEN regrets that the strong opposition expressed by the Turkish deputies in the Greek parliament has been disregarded and thus Turkish minority has been prevented to have a say in decisions which would directly affect its daily life.

The Greek Government passed Law 3536/2007 which envisaged the appointment of 240 religious preachers i.e. Imams to serve at the mosques in Western Thrace under the auspices of the official muftis in Komotini, Xanthi and Didymoticho, which are not recognized by the Turkish minority itself on the ground that the Government has no right to interfere with religious affairs of the Turkish Minority which has an equal right to establish manage and control at their own expense, any charitable, religious and social institutions, any schools and other establishments for instruction and education, with the right to use their own language and to exercise their own religion freely therein under the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923 that established the status and the rights of the minority in Greece.

Due to the strong reactions from the Turkish minority in 2007, the law has not been implemented. The Greek government stated in following in response to questions regarding a Turkish Foreign Ministry announcement on the legislative regulation of issues concerning Muslim preachers in Thrace that the new provisions remedy weaknesses that the minority itself identified in the previous draft law. We followed the statements by Turkish deputies in the Greek parliament on the issue and the reasons of their objections to the legislative regulation, and it is regretted that the objections and the Turkish minority have been discarded by the governmental authorities.

As an organization which is represented with 94 member organisations in more than 30 European countries, we follow with great concern the situation of the Turkish minority in Greece and will continue to keep an eye with the developments on the issue. We believe that States should not intervene to any matters regarding issues of faith, belief, or the organization of religious groups, and it should extricate itself any matter which might be considered internal.

We urge the Greek government to guarantee that the members of the Turkish minority would enjoy the same treatment and security in law and in fact as other Greek nationals in the management and control of their religious institutions and that they could exercise their religion freely therein and to act in full compliance with its obligations arising from the Lausanne Treaty and its all international obligations and standards.


Source: FUEN / FUEV / UFCE - Federal Union of European Nationalities