On 17 June 2009, the Permanent Mission of Greece to the UN Office in Geneva replied to the written statement entitled “Discrimination on the Ground of Ethnicity: the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace and Hate Speech in the Media” that was submitted by the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) to the 11th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
In the written reply, it is stated that based on the principle of equality before the law and of civil rights, as well as in the framework of rule of law, guaranteed by the Greek Constitution, the members of the “Muslim minority in Thrace, Greece” enjoy the same rights and obligations as any other Greek citizen, irrespective of his or her religious beliefs. Accordingly, it is mentioned that the region of Thrace has long been a place of harmonious coexistence between Christians and Muslims, even before the terms “xenophobia” and/or “islamophobia” - “christianophobia” were brought to the agenda of the international community. Furthermore, it is noted that Thrace is a place where human rights and freedom of religion of the Muslim minority are fully respected. It is also stated in the written reply that fringe electronic or written media comments and one isolated incident of verbal violence –which has never been reported by the minority press or denounced to the authorities- cannot constitute a hate crime whatsoever, nor can they be the basis for any claims that a racist, hostile to the Muslim minority, environment exists in Greece.
In the written reply, it is asserted that the Government of Greece rejects any allegations of hate speech in the media, and on the contrary, one could turn not a blind eye to hate-biased speeches delivered by few but influential Muslim religious leaders in Thrace, which insult the Christian majority. With regard to ABTTF, it is stated that the few provocative statements by a specific NGO should leave the vast majority of the members of the Muslim minority in Thrace to continue living in harmony with their Christian fellow-Greek citizens.
With regard to the reply of Greece, Halit Habipoglu, President of ABTTF, stated “Greece had to reply to our written statement we submitted to the UN Human Rights Council, yet the reply is significantly far away from being satisfactory. In Western Thrace, the Minority and majority has been living together in peace for a long period of time. However, due to the increasing news in visual and printed media that target the members of the Minority, social peace is under serious threat.” Regarding the comment on ABTTF, Habipoglu stated “ABTTF brings all the happenings and realties in Western Thrace to the agenda of the international community. Evaluating the realities as “provocative” is a clear signal that Greece avoids to build a genuine dialogue with the Minority”.
The reply of Greece to the written statement of ABTTF can be retrieved here.
