ABTTF President: “Our country, which has not executed the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights regarding our three associations in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases for the past 16 years, is following a strategy of playing for time on this issue and constantly stalling the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. All attention in the international arena is on our country, and our country must show that it fully respects the rule of law and international law by taking the necessary steps immediately to execute the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights regarding our associations.”
In his statement following the ceremony held at the occasion of the anniversary of the annexation of Komotini to Greece, President of the main opposition party Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) Stefanos Kasselakis said that (Western) Thrace is one of the few and best examples of Muslims and Christians living together in harmony.
Noting that they want a modern Greece that respects all human rights, the rule of law and international law, Kasselakis indicated that they have a long way to go in this direction.
“As SYRIZA President Kasselakis pointed out, there are serious issues in our country regarding the rule of law and respect for international law, and recently there have been harsh criticisms against our country from Europe. Our community is also directly negatively affected by the systematic violation of the rule of law in our country for years. Our country, which has not executed the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights regarding our three associations in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases for the past 16 years, is following a strategy of playing for time on this issue and constantly stalling the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. All attention in the international arena is on our country, and our country must show that it fully respects the rule of law and international law by taking the necessary steps immediately to execute the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights regarding our associations”, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
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