ABTTF participated to Supplementary Human Dimension OSCE Meeting

ABTTF said that Greece insistenly refused to enter the dialogue with the Western Thrace Turkish Minority.

Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) attended to the OSCE’s supplementary Human Dimension meeting entitled “National Minorities, Bridge Construction and Harmony" on November 10-11.2016. ABTTF International Studies and Lobby Group member Funda Reşit Taştekin and BTAYTD member Assist. Assoc. Dr. Ali Hüseyinoğlu represented the Western Thrace Turkish Minority at the meeting that was organised by the OSCE Presidency of Germany, the Office of the Supreme Commissariat of the OSCE National Minorities and the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Austria’s Vienna.

Greece does not recognize the ethnic Turkish identity of the minorityand ignores its education and religion autonomy

ABTTF International Studies and Lobby Group member Funda Reşit Taştekin spoke in three thematic sessions of the meeting and presented the problems of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority and the violations of the rights they were subjected to. Reşit Taştekin talked about that there was no formal dialogue mechanism between the minority and Greek state authorities because of the lack of recognition of the ethnic Turkish identity of the Western Thrace Turkish minority who live within the borders of Greece in the session entitled "Legal Mechanisms for Building Bridges Between States".Speaking at the session entitled "Promoting the Role of the National Minority Famine in Building the Bridge between the Various Policy Areas", Reşit Taştekin highlighted the importance of education in harmony but Greece ignored thatand there were some against practises concerning education autonomy of Western Thrace Turkish Minority that is guaranteed by treaties.Also, Greece does not let the opening of bilingual minority nursery schools she said. During the "Strengthening Civil Society for the Construction of the Standing Bridge" Reşit Taştekin presented a speech about the closure of associations bearing the word Turk on their names by Greece and newly founed ones are not registered and The European Court of Human Rights (EctHR) decision on this issue is not implemented yet. Speaking at the second and third thematic sessions, BTAYTD member Assist. Assoc. Dr. Ali Hüseyinoğlu also stated that Greece regarded the Western Thrace Turkish Minority as a threat to the state and faced problems learning its mother tongue and electing its own muftis and associations bearing the word Turk on their names are not registered by Greek authorities.

Using the right to answer, The OSCE Permanent Representation in Greece stated that only the "Muslim minority in Thrace" was officially recognized in Greece, claiming that the minority had all the rights.