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Western Thrace Turkish delegation attended the European Regional Forum on Minority Issues

22.09.2020

The Western Thrace Turkish delegation composed of representatives from ABTTF and WTMUGA explained in their presentations hate speech targeting the Turkish community in Western Thrace. 

The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) and the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (WTMUGA), representing the Turkish community in Western Thrace, attended the European Regional Forum on Minority Issues entitled “Hate Speech, Social Media and Minorities” which was organised online on 21-22 September 2020. ABTTF International Affairs Director Melek Kırmacı Arık and WTMUGA Secretary General Meltem Giritli along with WTMUGA member Kerem Aptürahimoğlu participated in the forum which was organised by the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, the Federal Ministry of the Republic of Austria and the Budapest-based Tom Lantos Institute, in cooperation with the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) as one of the partner organisations.

Hate speech against Western Thrace Turks is part of structural and systematic discrimination

In the first session on causes, scale and impact of hate speech targeting minorities in social media, ABTTF expressed that in Greece, the ethnic Turkish identity of the Turkish community in Western Thrace is not recognised and that hate speech is part of structural and systematic discrimination faced by Western Thrace Turks. Indicating that Western Thrace Turks are targeted in social media with slogans such as ‘Greece belongs to Greeks’ among others, ABTTF explained that following the coronavirus pandemic reaching Greece, there were attempts at scapegoating the Turkish community in Western Thrace. 

Intervening in the same session, WTMUGA underlined that hate speech had shown serious increase in the last years in Greece and expressed that intolerant policies against the Turkish community in Western Thrace constituted suitable conditions for hate speech emanating from extremist groups. Reminding that increasing hate speech tendencies in Greece could transform into hate crimes, WTMUGA called on the Greek state to recognise the ethnic Turkish identity of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and to put an end to the marginalisation of Western Thrace Turks. 

In the third session on the role and responsibility of intergovernmental organisations, states, internet companies and social media platforms in the regulation of online hate speech on the second day of the forum, ABTTF pointed out that in Greece, the Turkish community in Western Thrace is perceived as ‘Trojan horses’ that are a heritage from the Ottoman period and that as a consequence they are seen as an obstacle to national unity and integrity as well as public order. ABTTF also underscored that following the media coverage about the military exercise carried out in the Turkish village of Glafki (Gökçepınar) in a period of tensions in relations between Turkey and Greece, Western Thrace Turks had directly been targeted by an internet site which is known for its opposition to the Turkish community in Western Thrace. 

Intervening in the third session, Greece indicated that persons belonging to minorities are unfortunately more likely to be targeted through online hate speech, and  Greece spares no effort in the implementation of its legislation against hate speech, seeking to ensure that the human rights of the members of its Muslim minority are promoted, respected and fulfilled in full, and its rights as per the 1923 Lausanne Treaty ensured.

Intervening in the fourth and last session on the positive initiatives to address online hate speech towards a safer space for minorities, WTMUGA explained that the reports on human rights violations, xenophobia and intolerance published by UN and EU organs along with the concerns expressed by civil society are a guide for states in the fight against hate speech trends but that the Greek authorities and the Greek National Commission for Human Rights do not take into consideration the warnings and requests of the organisations of the Turkish community in Western Thrace. 

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