Ridiculous statement from Greece: The Western Thrace Turks quit their citizenship on their own will!

Press Bureau of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF)-
Witten, 7 June 2005

Press Release:

Ridiculous statement from Greece: The Western Thrace Turks quit their citizenship on their own will!

At the meetings of the 11. Working Group on Minorities in Geneva this year, the Greek delegation has continued its state’s rejection policy through its response given to the representative of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), Cemile Giousouf, who stated the problems of the Western Thrace Turks there.

The meetings of the Working Group on Minorities, which have been organized by the United Nations specialists every year since 1995, and bring the NGO’s and academicians together, were held for the 11. time at the beginning of July in Geneva. While the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) is also a permanent participant to these meetings, the member of the Working Group on Political Activities and Lobby of the Federation, Cemile Giousouf, represented the Federation at the meetings.

At the meetings, to which the representatives of the Foundation of the University Graduates of Western Thrace Minority participated, too, Cemile Giousouf held a speech, which stated the problems of the minority. She touched on the subject matter of the rejection of the Turkish identity in the Western Thrace, and the state of the associations, which had been banned, or could not get the permission to establishment due to the word “Turkish” in their names through giving examples. Afterwards, she indicated the miserable condition of the minority education, and state’s tries to block the education. She said that the state tried to take the religious autonomy given them by the international treaties away from their hands through the appointments to the posts at Müftülük (public body of the religious matters) by the state, and the minority could not determine the administrators of the foundations, which were actually its own possessions. The representative of the ABTTF underlined the fact that the region was one of the most under-developed ones in Greece and the European Union, and continued that the ones deprived of the citizenship due to the Art. 19 of the Greek Citizenship Law, which had been abolished in 1998, lived still in the “stateless” status in the region. She said, “According to the official numbers made public by the Greek Ministry of the Interior, 46.638 persons were deprived of the Greek citizenship, except from those, who got the citizenships of other countries. There are still many persons in the region living in the “stateless” status. Big difficulties are raised, when they want to re-obtain their citizenship, and they are forced to live in a way that they are deprived of all their social rights.”

Ridiculous Response from Greece

While Greece prefers leaving many claims without answers, and insists on describing the minority only as “Muslim”, her statement on the deprivations of the citizenship surprised the minority and specialists of the subject matter deeply. In the oral and written statement made by the representative of the Greek government, it was maintained that the ones, who had quit the citizenship, had done this by not returning to the country, and on their own will. The President of the ABTTF, Halit Habiboglu, made a response statement related to the statement of the Greek government representative, and said: “The government representative has not heard either of those, whose passports were taken from their hands at the entry to the country at the border; of the ones, who found out through a letter sent from the Consulate to their homes that they had lost their citizenship, when they had worked abroad; and much worse than these, of the ones, who were deprived of the citizenship, while they did their military service in the Greek army, or does not really have a good will, and not talk cooperatively for a dialogue. Because of the Art. 19, which discriminates among the citizens between the “ones from the Hellenic ethnic origin” and “non-Greeks”, and deprives the ones of the citizenship through an administrative decision, when they are non-Greeks, many of our people have to live in the “stateless” status. Art. 19 is the part of a much more comprehensive policy, which aims the emigration of our minority from the Western Thrace, and it is not possible to hide it under any cover.”

Following to the meetings, Cemile Giousouf made an evaluation, and said: “It is unfortunately to observe that Greece has still the intention to continue a structural rejection policy against the Turkish minority and other minorities for a long time. We, as minority, do not follow a contra-policy, and ask for special rights. Our only appeal is that our rights, of which minimum limits have been determined by the international treaties, are respected.” Ms Yusuf stressed that the Working Group on Minorities did not have a sanction power on the states, and continued: “Although this organization, which brings the representatives of minorities and states together, does not possess a sanction power, builds already a discussion platform for governments and minorities today. I believe that the institution will play a more efficient role in the minority subject matters, and become more effective in arriving the goal through bringing minorities and governments closer.”