Greece 2017 Human Rights Report by U.S. Department of State released

Halit Habip Oğlu: “As it had been in the past, while the problems of Western Thrace Turks are touched upon deficiently and superficially in the report, views of the Turkish community in Western Thrace are not covered and the official state thesis is repeated.”

The Department of State of the United States of America (U.S.A.) released the 2017 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices which document the status of human rights in nearly 200 countries. In the Greece 2017 Human Rights Report, the problems of the Turkish community in Western Thrace are cited partially with the definition “Muslim minority in Thrace”.

Turkish community in Western Thrace is subjected to discrimination

It is stated in the report that while the constitution and law prohibit discrimination against members of minorities in the country, the minority groups face discrimination, among which there is also the Turkish community in Western Thrace officially recognized by Greece as the “Muslim minority in Thrace”. In the report, it is noted that although the government recognizes an individual’s right to self-identification, many individuals who define themselves as members of a minority group find it difficult to express their identity freely and to maintain their culture, and associations with titles including the terms “Turk” and “Turkish” are not registered by courts. And in the report, the total population of the Turkish community in Western Thrace is given as approximately 100,000-120,000 as it was in last year’s report.

There are only two bilingual minority secondary schools in Western Thrace

As regards the problems having been faced by the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the field of education, the fifth report by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) on Greece is cited as it was last year, and it is noted that there are only two secondary schools in the Thrace region providing bilingual education in Greek and Turkish languages for the Turkish community children.

Sharia law applied in Western Thrace

In the report, the statements in last year’s report are repeated and noted that the government recognizes sharia (Islamic law) applied by the “government-appointed official muftis” as the law regulating family and civil matters for the Turkish community in Western Thrace and Muslims married by a government-appointed mufti are subject to sharia family law, but also have the right to civil marriage and to take their cases to civil court. In the report, it is also indicated the country’s legislation provides that the courts shall not enforce any decisions by the government-appointed muftis that contravene the constitution or international human rights treaties.

“The statements in last year’s report are almost repeated the same in Greece 2017 Human Rights Report released by the U.S. Department of State. In the report, in which problems of Western Thrace Turks are mentioned deficiently and superficially, the views of the Turkish community in Western Thrace are not covered, and the official state thesis is repeated. As ABTTF, as it had been in the past, we will again prepare a parallel report and convey the views of the Turkish community in Western Thrace on all subjects in the report to the competent authorities”, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).

The full text of Greece 2017 Human Rights Report is available at:
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2017&dlid=277171