We want the one that is our right, we struggle for the one that is our right!

Dear readers,

Our country Greece has been struggling with economic crisis. It seems that the uphill battle fought against the economic crisis by SYRIZA government since 2015 has worked out and our country has escaped the pitfall.

The people has paid a great price in our country which tries to stand on its own feet again. Eastern Macedonia-Thrace where our Western Thrace is located found a place among the statistics as the region affected by the crisis the most.

In Western Thrace while our own people are after their bread it is very normal that they are not interested in restoration of our educational and religious autonomy. Despite that conditions are challenging people representing our institutions are working for the rights of Western Thrace Turkish community.

As we all know our civil society organizations Western Thrace Turkish Teachers Union, Komotini Turkish Youth Union, Xanthi Turkish Union have got a special significance in the history of Western Thrace as the oldest associations in Western Thrace. These associations were dissolved years ago due to the reason that there is the word “Turkish” in their names. Although dissolution decisions were appealed, the result did not change.

Xhanti Turkish Union as a result of its long-lasting struggle in domestic law applied to European Court of Human Rights and won the case. Despite that nine years have passed following the ECtHR decision, Greek authorities still do not register our association Xanthi Turkish Union which has the word “Turkish” in its name. Notwithstanding, our community maintained and continues to maintain its social, sports and cultural activities with our associations like Western Thrace Turkish Teachers Union and Komotini Turkish Youth Union. However, as associations with no legal entities.

Like a live plant which needs air, water and light a community needs to maintain its language, religion and culture to survive. This our fundamental need as Western Thrace Turkish community disturbs the ones governing our country. Despite everything, they could not tolerate activities of our associations which were stripped of their legal entities. As a threat and intimidation, representatives of our associations and institutions are being summoned to police station and the court on various ground to bear testimony; they file cases against them with various accusations. As if these threat and intimidation are not sufficient, they now threaten our lives. While the amendment which will pave the way for application of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights through ensuring annulment of the decision for dissolution of Xanthi Turkish Union was being discussed at the Greek parliament, words coming out of mouths of the politicians were formidable. The atmosphere against Western Thrace Turks in political arena surely is at risk to spread to the whole community. Along with extreme rightist organizations making proactive explanations, groups which we have never heard of their names also targeted at Western Thrace Turks. So much so that a group named High-Level Patrol Group released a message on social media, shared photographs of some of the administrators of the association Xanthi Turkish Union and showed these names as target explicitly and called Guardians of Thrace, which we know its name because of its racist attacks in the past, to be prepared to give message to these people.

Now not only our cultural identity but also our lives are virtually under threat. Against this political intimidation and threat increasing its effect in time, naturally we have to stand firm as Western Thrace Turks. The Turkish community in Western Thrace with its people, civil society organizations, and politicians as a whole should show everyone that struggling for democracy for rights and freedoms is an essential necessity of democracy through opposing to this severe atmosphere of suppression. For this if we need to go out we should not refrain it from. Yet, we only struggle for our rights. As some allege we are not betraying our country! We don’t make any effort to threaten our territorial integrity and we have no separatist aims! One and only we want an environment and life where we say “We are Turks” freely on this land we have been living, and when we say so there is no malicious intention and thought. We only want the one that is our right; we struggle only for the one that is our right! This is all!

Sincerely,


Halit Habip Oğlu
ABTTF President