On 13 March 2008, the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) organized within the context of its 20th foundation year a panel on the “Problems of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace in Greece within the Framework of Promotion and Protection of All Human Rights” in a parallel meeting to the 7th Session of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations in Geneva. At the panel, rights of Western Thrace Turkish Minority and violation of rights of the minority were conveyed to a very wide and serious audience. The chairman of the discussion was the President of Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN), Mr. Hans Heinrich Hansen, and the speakers were Ms. Pervin Hayrullah and Mr. Sinan Kavaz, who both are members of the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association.
Following the opening speech by the Director of International Affairs of ABTTF, K. Engin Soyyilmaz, Mr. Hansen made a speech on minorities in Europe and minority rights and expressed that minorities and states had mutual responsibilities. On continuation of his speech, Mr. Hansen emphasized that minorities were elements of richness for the majority, and protection and promotion of all cultural rights of minorities contrary not the rejection of existence of minorities living within the boundaries of states is one of the essential responsibilities of states.
Ms. Hayrullah uttered in detail the exercise and violation of minority rights in Greece which rejects Turkish ethnic identity of the Turkish minority of Western Thrace. Then, Mr. Kavaz conveyed to the participants that associations founded by the minority bearing the word “Turkish” in their titles were closed down and new associations were banned. Furthermore, he talked about the violation of rights toward 60 thousand Western Thrace Turks, who were deprived of their Greek citizenship under the ex-Article 19 of the Greek Citizenship Law.
The presentation of Hans Heinrich Hansen can be retrieved here.
The presentation of Pervin Hayrullah can be retrieved here.
The presentation of Sinan Kavaz can be retrieved here.
Western Thrace question was carried to the UN Agenda
The participation of Mr. Michael Diamessis and Mr. Marios Lyberopoulos from the Permanent Mission of Greece to the UN Office in Geneva in the panel as listeners is an indication that problems of Turkish Minority in Western Thrace were carried to a wide and serious audience. The speech Mr. Diamessis made using his right of reply on the Greek policy towards the Western Thrace Turkish Minority and the forthcoming exercises is considerably important because the meeting succeeded to gather the minority and the Greek state officials together.
The panel organized by ABTTF in a parallel meeting to the 7th Session of the UN Human Rights Council which representatives of 202 countries and more than 2000 NGOs participated in has reached its goal. Dialog has been established between the minority and the majority and the panel has laid the groundwork for the start of talks on Greek violation of human and minority rights of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace at such an important international platform. The reaped great success at first important event after being a member to the UN ECOSOC body is reasonably satisfactory development for the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace. And, a great step on the way to getting support of international society has thus been taken for solution of our problems.
Have attracted attention to the importance of the panel at which problems of Turkish Minority of Western Thrace was carried to the UN agenda, Halit Habipoglu, President of ABTTF said, “Speaking regretfully that our country makes an effort to establish a dialog with us only when we raise our problems at such international platform. The President stated, “Despite the existence of legislations of minority concern approved by those who were grown up among us without taking the opinion of the minority itself, ABTTF, the voice of the minority in the world, will continue to work with great determination and decisiveness”. And the President attracted notice that such hope to establish dialog between the minority and the Greek state appeared at the panel despite distant relations between the two parts. Habipoglu also stated that ABTTF was the voice of the minority in the world which was defined as a “global village” due to positive effects of globalization and long-life decisive lobby activities carried out by ABTTF for more than twenty years. Habipoglu concluded that ABTTF, which struggled for democratic rights and freedoms, would continue on its way as more powerful at every day that passed.
