Problems being faced by the Turkish minority of Western Thrace in Greece brought onto the OSCE agenda

The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) participated on 30 September-1 October 2015 in the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). At the meeting that took place in Warsaw, Poland, the Turkish minority of Western Thrace in Greece was represented by Melek Kırmacı Arık, Director of International Affairs of ABTTF, Funda Reşit, member of the International Affairs and Lobbying Group of ABTTF, Assist. Prof. Dr. Ali Hüseyinoğlu and Onur Mustafa Ahmet, both members of the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (WTMUGA).

With the support of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) of which ABTTF is a regular member, the Turkic minorities/communities under the umbrella of FUEN, namely the Turks on the islands of Rhodes and Kos in Greece and Meskhetian Turks also took part for the first time in the OSCE meeting. During the meeting, Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kaymakçı, Chairman of the Rhodes, Kos and the Dodecanese Turks Culture and Solidarity Association reported about the problems of the Turkish community from Rhodes-Kos and Zhavid Aliev, Chairman of the International Society of Meskhetian Turks “VATAN” asked for a solution to the issue of the repatriation of the Meskhetian Turks to their homeland in Georgia.

Intolerance and discrimination against the Turkish minority of Western Thrace continue!

During the working session on combating intolerance and discrimination against Muslims, Melek Kırmacı Arık and Onur Mustafa Ahmet referred to the discriminatory practices by Greece against the Turkish minority of Western Thrace such as the Law 3536/2008 on minority charitable foundations (waqfs) and the Law 4115/2013 on the appointment of 240 imams (“240 Imams Law”) and hate speech and crimes against the minority and the perception by the Greek state of the Turkish minority as “the other”, giving the example of the success attained by the minority political party Friendship Equality Peace (DEB) at the European Parliament elections in 2014.

During the working session on freedom of religion or belief, Assist. Prof. Dr. Ali Hüseyinoğlu and Funda Reşit reported about the implementation of the Law 4115/2013 despite the strong reactions coming from the Turkish minority and violation by Greece of the right of the minority to elect its own religious leaders (Muftis). Reşit also noted the Greek authorities do not recognise the Muftis having been elected by the Turkish minority and theses were in the past prosecuted and sentenced to prison for the illegal use of religious symbols, adding İbrahim Şerif, elected Mufti of Komotini, received in August 2015 a subpoena to give a deposition to the attorney general and will be heard in a case appealed by a Greek citizen on the ground of usurping the Muftiate.

Minority education is one of the most problematic areas in Western Thrace

During the working session on rights of persons belonging to national minorities, Melek Kırmacı Arık and Onur Mustafa Ahmet expressed the problems being faced by the Turkish minority in the field of education and mentioned the practices by the Greek government that have been undermining the minority’s educational autonomy, giving the example of the Law 4310/2014 as the most current one. At this session, Panayote Dimitras, Spokesperson of the Greek Helsinki Monitor, supported also the Turkish minority’s view in this issue and indicated the new law on education has a discriminatory character.

The Greek delegation made during all the three working sessions use of its right to reply and repeated the official Greek thesis that the minority in Western Thrace cannot be recognized and defined as “Turkish”, adding the Turks on Rhodes and Kos do not possesses the minority status arising from the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty and these Muslim Greek citizens with “Turkish cultural background” are very well integrated with the Greek society and their religious rights are respected.

The full text versions of the written statements submitted by ABTTF to the OSCE are available at:
http://www.osce.org/odihr/hdim_2015