At the online meeting, ABTTF raised examples of discrimination and intolerance against the Turkish community in Western Thrace.
The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) attended on 25-26 May 2020 the online Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on behalf of the Turkish community in Western Thrace. Deniz Servantie from ABTTF Brussels Office participated in the meeting titled “Addressing All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination” which was held online because of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic which has spread worldwide. The Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (WTMUGA) members Dr. Pervin Hayrullah, Onur Mustafa Ahmet and Meltem Giritli also attended the meeting.
Speaking during the working session on 25 May regarding challenges to realizing tolerance and non-discrimination and the impact of compound crises, at which the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Prof. Fernand de Varennes delivered a keynote speech, ABTTF indicated examples of discrimination the Turkish community in Western Thrace in Greece is victim of in the extraordinary period as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Noting that hate speech is on the rise, currently targeting minorities living in the OSCE region, ABTTF called on Greece and all OSCE participatory states to swiftly record and investigate hate-based crimes during the coronavirus crisis.
Speaking at the third session on 26 May regarding early warning and action in prevention of discrimination, ABTTF recalled that the OSCE has established important standards for traditional human rights and norms since 1990, but also noting that problems related to minority rights in Greece continue. Indicating that discrimination against the Turkish community in Western Thrace in Greece gained even more momentum during the coronavirus crisis, ABTTF explained that the Turkish community in Western Thrace was scapegoated as a result of large number of coronavirus cases in Turkish villages in the Western Thrace region. Highlighting that official information regarding the measures regarding the coronavirus pandemic in Greece have not been shared in the mother tongue Turkish of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, ABTTF called upon Greece to take result-oriented measures for eliminating discrimination during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Using its right to reply, the Greek delegation reiterated the official view of the Greek state, saying that Greece only recognises the “Muslim minority in Western Thrace” and claimed that it respects the traditions of the minority.
