ABTTF President Halit Habip Oğlu, during his meetings, brought to the agenda the non-execution of the ECtHR judgments on the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases by Greece for the past 17 years and the building issue and the confusion of competencies with respect to the the Xanthi Turkish Minority Secondary and High School.
President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) Halit Habip Oğlu paid a working visit to Strasbourg on 28-29 January 2025 in parallel with the Winter Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
During his working visit, Habip Oğlu, accompanied by ABTTF Head Office Manager K. Engin Soyyılmaz, conveyed the current issues of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and the rights violations it is subjected to during his meetings with Chairperson of the national delegation of San Marino at PACE Gerardo Giovagnoli and Chairperson of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Group at PACE Iulian Bulai.
Habip Oğlu pointed out that Greece has persistently failed to execute the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) concerning the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases, which includes the Western Thrace Turkish associations, for the past 17 years and indicated that despite all the warnings and decisions from the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Greece pursues a strategy to prolong the execution process of the aforementioned judgments.
Moreover, Habip Oğlu conveyed details pertaining to the building issue of the Xanthi Turkish Minority Secondary and High School, which has been going on for years, and informed about the developments related to the confusion of competencies caused by the Greek authorities passing the responsibility to each other, and further drew attention to the issues faced by the children belonging to the Turkish community in Western Thrace in accessing quality education.
Habip Oğlu stated that the Turkish community in Western Thrace, whose existence and ethnic Turkish identity is denied by Greece, is subjected to hate speech and marginalisation in politics and mainstream media in the country and that the leading representatives of the Turkish community are targeted and stigmatised.
Habip Oğlu explained that Greece, which is one of the oldest members of the European Union (EU) and claims to be the cradle of democracy, takes into account minority and human rights when it comes to the Greek minority in Albania, but applies double standards when it comes to the rights of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, all of whom are Greek citizens.