The Permanent Mission of Greece to the United Nations (UN) Office and other international organizations in Geneva responded to the written statements submitted by the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) to the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council on the demand for the dissolution of the Friendship Equality Peace (FEP) Party and the targeting of political representatives of the Turkish community in Western Thrace.
In its written reply to the UN, Greece indicated that according to the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, the Muslim minority in (Western) Thrace is recognised as a religious minority and claimed that the members of the Muslim minority, as Greek citizens, enjoy all freedoms and rights guaranteed by the Greek Constitution as well as all the benefits derived from their European citizenship without any discrimination.
Greece claimed that the Muslim minority in (Western) Thrace respects its educational and religious autonomy as stipulated in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and claimed that the Muslim minority is represented at all levels of politics, be it national, regional or local.
Greece further noted that the FEP Party, as a party formed by members of the Muslim minority, has participated in the elections of the European Parliament (EP) three times in a row, in 2014, 2019 and 2024, and that it is free to participate in national elections as well, and argued that the appeals to the Greek judiciary to declare the FEP Party illegal are still pending in the courts. Nevertheless, it underlined that declaring a political party illegal in the country is a measure of last resort taken by the judiciary when the organisational structure of a party or its activity runs counter to the functioning of the democratic form of government in the country.
Furthermore, Greece argued that the fundamental right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to receive or impart information or ideas without interference by public authority, is respected and protected in the country and that protection is provided against incitement to hatred or violence on the basis of religious beliefs in accordance with the relevant Law No. 4491/2017.
ABTTF submitted two written statements to the 57th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council held in Geneva, Switzerland on 9 September-11 October 2024, entitled ‘‘Demand for Dissolution of the Friendship, Equality and Peace (FEP) Party in Greece and Right to Vote and Stand for Election of the Turkish Community in Thrace’’ and ‘‘Targeting of Political Representatives of the Turkish Community in Western Thrace’’ and brought to the agenda the systematic discrimination, stigmatisation and marginalisation of the Turkish community in Western Thrace for years.
Please click below to access the note verbale of the Permanent Mission of Greece to the United Nations (UN) Office and other international organizations in Geneva in response to ABTTF:
https://hrcmeetings.ohchr.org/HRCSessions/RegularSessions/57/Pages/Communications%20from%20governments.aspx
