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Western Thrace Turkish delegation attended the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting in Vienna

17.05.2022

The Western Thrace Turkish delegation consisting of ABTTF and WTMUGA brought forward that the freedom of association of the Turkish community in Western Thrace has been violated and that the ECtHR judgments have not been executed for the past 14 years.

The Western Thrace Turkish delegation, consisting of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) and the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (WTMUGA) attended the OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting titled ‘The Functioning of Democratic Institutions in Times of Crisis: Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting II’ which was held in Vienna on 16-17 May 2022. ABTTF International Relations Director Melek Kırmacı and WTMUGA Human Rights Expert Kerem Abdurahimoğlu represented the Turkish community in Western Thrace at the second human dimension meeting of 2022. 

The role of national and local institutions as guardians of democracy in times of crisis, as well as the importance of freedom of association and freedom of the media in the OSCE region were discussed at the meeting, which was held in cooperation with the Polish OSCE Chairmanship and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

In the morning session where the importance of freedom of association in the OSCE region was tackled, ABTTF indicated that the freedom of association of the Turkish community in Western Thrace has been violated by Greece. ABTTF noted that in the three cases known as Bekir-Ousta Group of Cases, Greece has not executed the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for the past 14 years. Stating that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will examine the Bekir-Ousta Group of Cases in June 2022, ABTTF stated that they requested the initiation of the infringement procedure against Greece since no steps were taken to execute the ECtHR judgments.

Intervening in the same session, WTMUGA noted that the Xanthi Turkish Union, which is part of the Bekir-Ousta Group of Cases, has once again exhausted the domestic law with the rejection by the Court of Cassation on 29 June 2021 of its appeal before the national courts. Furthermore, WTMUGA noted that following the decision rendered by the Court of Cassation and of protest that was held by the Xanthi Turkish Union, seven months after that, an investigation was launched against Xanthi Turkish Union President Ozan Ahmetoğlu and leading figures of the Turkish community in Western Thrace.

Mainstream media displays a biased approach towards the Turkish community in Western Thrace 

In the session on media freedom, ABTTF indicated that the official policy of Greece of not recognizing the ethnic Turkish identity of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and that there is only a religious minority in the country had an impact on the media as well. Stating that there is a prejudiced approach towards the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the media, ABTTF stated that racist and hate-based discourse against the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the online and offline media has increased fear and insecurity throughout the country. Indicating that this situation may trigger hate crimes, ABTTF requested from the country authorities to take responsibility for reporting and punishing hate speech and hate-based attacks.

Using its right of reply at the closing session, Greece repeated the official thesis that there is a Muslim minority in Thrace as a religious minority according to the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, claiming that the Minority is enjoying all sorts of positive rights without any discrimination.

 

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