ABTTF President: “Let’s be honest! In our country, the rule of law and trust in the judiciary have declined. Unfortunately, as the Turkish community in Western Thrace, we have lost all trust in the judiciary! We have been waiting for 17 years for the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgments to be executed in the Bekir-Ousta group of cases! Has the situation improved while we waited? No! Finally, our Western Thrace Fenerbahçe Culture and Sports Association was dissolved because of the word ‘‘Western Thrace’’ in its name! To strengthen the rule of law, the judgments in the Bekir-Ousta cases must first be executed’’.
Deputy Minister of Maritime Affairs & Insular Policy and Member of Parliament for Corfu Stefanos Gkikas claimed in a speech at the General Assembly of Bar Association Presidents in Greece that the government has taken important steps to strengthen the rule of law in the country since 2019.
According to a report by Today’s Press, Stefanos Gkikas, speaking at the General Assembly of Bar As-sociation Presidents held in his constituency of Corfu, explained that justice must be a real refuge for the people, adding that the success of a policy is measured not only by the economy but also by trust in institutions, with justice at the forefront of these institutions. Gkikas acknowledged that Greece faces chronic issues such as the slow pace of the justice system but noted that the government has taken significant steps since 2019 to strengthen the rule of law and modernise the judicial system, while stressing the need for further progress.
“Something that Deputy Minister Gkikas said in his speech at the General Assembly of Bar Association is very true. He said that when measuring trust in institutions, trust in justice comes first... At this point, we would like to ask: What has the Greek government actually done since 2019 to strengthen the rule of law? Let’s be honest! As the Turkish community in Western Thrace, we unfortunately have no trust left in the judiciary! We have been waiting for the past 17 years for the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights to be executed in the Bekir-Ousta group of cases! Has the situation improved while we waited? No! Finally, in 2022, our Western Thrace Fenerbahçe Culture and Sports Association was dissolved because of the word ‘‘Western Thrace’’ in its name! For us to trust the judiciary, the judgments in the Bekir-Ousta group of cases must first be executed!”, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
