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ABTTF attended to the webinar on COVID-19 and Minorities

10.06.2020

ABTTF participates online meetings and expresses the difficulties faced by the Turkish community in Western Thrace during the pandemic

The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) participated in the webinar series on ‘Minorities and COVID-19’ organised by Bolzano, Italy- based EURAC Research, the Institute for Minority Rights. 

Deniz Servantie from ABTTF Brussels Office and International Affairs Director Melek Kırmacı Arık followed the series, which comprised a total of five seminars once a week, the first on 13 May. Covid-19's impact on minorities was discussed with the participation of prominent international figures such as OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Lamberto Zannier, UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Fernand de Varennes and UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands-Kehris. Seminars attended by experts, academics and representatives of international organisations working in the field of human and minority rights discussed how all vulnerable groups and minorities, including national minorities are affected by the pandemic and the effects of extraordinary measures on the rights of minorities in this period.

Finally, the fifth seminar held on 10 June 2020 discussed the issue of indigenous peoples during pandemic times. In the seminar, moderated by Sergiu Constantin from EURAC Institute for Minority Rights, where Daqui Lema of Pontificia Universidad Católica in Ecuador, Claire Wright of Belfast Queen's University and Alexandra Tomaselli of the EURAC Institute for Minority Rights participated as speakers, the difficulties faced by indigenous peoples during the pandemic were tackled. 

During the webinar series, ABTTF indicated that despite the fact that the Turkish community in Western Thrace constitutes the majority of the population in Rhodope and almost half of the population of Xanthi and as a result of the non-recognition of the ethnic Turkish identity, government officials did not issue information in Turkish language during the pandemic period and as a result, the fight against the pandemic has been insufficient. Noting also that there has been discriminatory language used against the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the media during the pandemic, ABTTF explained that right-wing Greek Solution Party President Kyriakos Velopoulos further increased hatred with racist statements as a result of the decision to quarantine the village of Echinos(Şahin). 

In the seminars speakers noted that religious leaders have an important role in informing minority communities ABTTF reported that the state does not cooperate and establish dialogue with elected muftis because the mufti elected by the Turkish community in Western Thrace is not recognised by the state, and that elected muftis and Turkish civil society organisations inform the community with their own special efforts. In addition, ABTTF also explained that there were attempts in limiting the religious rights of the Turkish community in Western Thrace taking the opportunity of the pandemic period as a pretext during the month of Ramadan. 


 

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