ABTTF President: “Our country insists on not fully implementing international law and the international treaties to which it is a party when it comes to the Turkish community.”
The recent debate between our country Greece and our motherland Turkey regarding the Dodecanese Islands has once again brought forward the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923 and the Turkish community in our country once again. Our country has not fully respected the rights of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, whose status was determined by the Treaty of Lausanne, for years, and has not fully complied with the provisions of the Treaty, violating the rights of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and the Turkish community in the Dodecanese Islands, whose “Turkish” identity is rejected.
“We were very hopeful after the meeting of the prime minister of our country and the president of our motherland in Istanbul last March. However, the positive atmosphere that emerged after the meeting unfortunately deteriorated again with the latest developments. In recent days, with the statements of our country and our motherland, the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923 and the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947 have come to the agenda many times. With the Treaty of Lausanne, the educational and religious autonomy of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and the Greek Orthodox minority in Istanbul, Imbros (Gökçeada) and Tenedos (Bozcaada) and the Turkish community in Rhodes and Kos, especially in the Dodecanese Islands, were guaranteed by the Treaty of Paris. However, through various regulations and ministerial decisions, our educational and religious autonomy has been significantly weakened. Since 1923, more than a hundred primary schools have been closed. Our elected muftis are not recognised by our country and are subject to arbitrary judicial prosecution. Our country, which has closed our associations which includes the word ‘Turkish’ in their names, has not executed the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights for the past 14 years. In the Dodecanese Islands, there is now neither a Turkish school nor a mufti. Our country insists on not fully implementing international law and the international treaties to which it is a party when it comes to the Turkish community”, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
