During the online panel, the issue of non-execution by Greece of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgments regarding the Turkish Union of Xanthi, the Cultural Association of Turkish Women in the Prefecture of Rodopi and Evros Prefecture Minority Youth Association in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases was discussed.
The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (WTMUGA) and the Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) co-organised on 25 February 2021 an online panel entitled “The Problem of Execution of ECtHR Judgments in Greece: Bekir Ousta and Others Group of Cases”.
The webinar, which was realised with the moderation of Turkish Union of Xanthi President Ozan Ahmetoğlu started with the opening remarks of ABTTF President Halit Habip Oğlu and WTMUGA President Dr. Hüseyin Baltacı.
In her keynote speech, Cultural Association of Turkish Women in the Prefecture of Rodopi President Hülya Emin indicated she hoped that today’s event with respect to the ECtHR judgments of which Western Thrace Turkish associations are still awaiting their execution would mark the beginning of an open and constructive dialogue. Noting that the associations in question are not being the tools of anti-Greek propaganda, she explained that the fact the members of the associations are being targeted and that they are being portrayed as constituting a threat to the Greek community at every opportunity is a great injustice.
Attorney Ahmet Kara who was the first to take the floor during the panel, indicated that he has been pleading in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases since 2011, adding that the ECtHR has condemned Greece regarding the violation of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights on freedom of assembly and association, but that Greece is adamant in not executing the said judgments. Noting that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has closely reviewed these cases and called on Greece to execute the ECtHR judgments with its interim resolutions, Kara said that following the 16 October 2020 hearing regarding the Turkish Union of Xanthi, the decision of the Supreme Court had been awaited and that the Supreme Court scheduled 18 March 2022 as the hearing date for the other two associations.
In the presentation he made, GHM Spokesman and European Implementation Network (EIN) Board Member Panayote Dimitras indicated that GHM requested the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to recall that the Greek government has not implemented the ECtHR judgments regarding the Western Thrace Turkish associations in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases for 13 years and that the ECtHR judgments have still not been implemented neither on the House of Macedonian Civilization for 23 years. Dimitras also said the GHM has repeatedly urged the Committee of Ministers to ask Greece to take legislative measures to change the procedure for registration of associations while bearing in mind the ECtHR judgments in this group of cases. Dimitras stated that if the procedure is changed, all associations of the Turkish and Macedonian minorities would be (re-)registered by the end of 2021, and that would be “tangible progress” that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe would welcome.
The last person to intervene during the panel session was Human Rights Specialist, former MP and former Secretary General for Human Rights at the Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights of Greece Maria Giannakaki. Giannakaki said that according to the Article 46 of the European Convention on Human Rights, States that are Parties to it must comply with ECtHR judgments, adding that she was one of the persons to write the first draft of amendments regarding the Civil Procedure Law in 2017, but that a much different legal arrangement had been made than the first draft presented to the Parliament and it had been disappointing. Indicating that it is unfortunate that Greek governments are not focused on solving a problem but rather on time-gaining, Giannakaki added that there are three different focal points about the execution of ECtHR judgments and that these are legal process, execution process and judicial process. Giannakaki also stressed that in Greece it is not the fact that there are laws that are contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights, but rather that the judgments of local courts, that is the case-law, is of the essence and that the main issue is whether people having judicial power are willing to implement ECtHR judgments.
After the panel session, the event ended with a Q&A session and closing remarks by the moderator Ozan Ahmetoğlu.
You may watch the event which took place on Zoom from ABTTF’s YouTube and Facebook accounts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsWelJ3hhgE&t=290s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hjzdG0ihdM&t=2170s
https://www.facebook.com/ABTTF-Avrupa-Bat%C4%B1-Trakya-T%C3%BCrk-Federasyonu-939989616164959
