ABTTF attended OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting

ABTTF voiced the problems Western Thrace Turkish Minority encounters as for right to self identification, freedom of association, freedom of religion or belief and right to education

Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) has attended Supplementary Human Di-mension Meeting on “Rule of Law in the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights” organised by the Office of Democratic Institutions of Human Right (ODIHR) of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on 11-12 July 2013. ABTTF International Relations and Lobby Group members Funda Reşit and Fatih Hafızmehmet participated at the meeting on behalf of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority.

The civil society shall be encouraged to participate at decision making mechanisms

ABTTF International Relations and Lobby Group member Funda Reşit, at her speech during the first session on the role of legislative regulatory and institutional frameworks as well as governments and civil society in the promotion and protection of human rights, pointed out the significance of OSCE standards regarding human rights and national minorities and drew attention on national mi-norities’ under representation within the decision making mechanisms. Emphasizing diverse and independent civil society as key element to ensure the protection of human rights in the long run, Reşit expressed urgency on all OSCE participating states to encourage civil society in participation at the decision making mechanisms.

ABTTF: Western Thrace Turkish Minority should be able to enjoy its rights which are guaranteed by international agreements

At the second session of the meeting “Effective National and International Instruments to Protect Human Rights and Prevent Human Rights Violations: Best Practices, Current Challenges and Solu-tions”, ABTTF International Relations and Lobby Group member Funda Reşit has again taken floor and reiterated Western Thrace Turkish Minority’s problems in terms of right self-identification, freedom of religion or belief, freedom of association and right to education and uttered the Minor-ity’s recommendations to Greek Government in the view of resolution of the respective problems.

Having underlined Greece’s obligation to respect its liabilities stemming from the Lausanne Treaty and to urgently take necessary measures in order to reinstate the religious and education autonomy of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority, Reşit stated that the Minority, without being subject to any derogations or any other restrictions, shall be able to benefit from all the rights conferred upon by bilateral and international agreements.

Through an intervention in response, Permanent Representation of Greece to OSCE claimed that the associations belonging to the Minority in Western Thrace could freely pursue their activities fur-thermore; the legally dissolved ones among those associations still can carry on their activities. Regarding education, the Greek Permanent Representation indicated that there were 107 primary schools, 2 secondary/high schools and 2 medrese (high schools to raise Islamic scholars). The Greek Permanent Representation claimed that all Greek citizens had right to self-identification yet, not-withstanding the common religious identity, the Minority was composed of different ethnic groups and pressure could not be applied on people to force them accept any certain ethnic identity.