ABTTF President: “The legal system in our country is under the influence of politics to a degree that it has not been in recent years, and those who hold the executive power use strategic cases with political motives as a tool of intimidation. Our community’s associations and representatives who defend their rights have been subjected to constant pressure and stigmatisation through strategic lawsuits filed against them for years’’.
According to the results of an international survey measuring the Democracy Perception Index (DPI), which was conducted between February and April 2024 with the participation of 63,000 people from 53 countries, including 15 member states of the European Union (EU), including Greece, it was revealed that on average 85% of the public consider democracy as being important.
Greece is defined as the ‘‘cradle of democracy’’ in the survey, which ranks first, where 94% of the public think democracy is important. However, 51% of the people in Greece allude to the democratic deficit.
For the third year in a row, economic inequality (68%) is still perceived as the number one threat to democracy globally, followed by corruption (67%) and the influence of global corporations (60%).
The Democracy Perception Index (DPI) is the largest annual survey of people’s perceptions of democracy, covering 53 countries representing more than 75% of the world’s population, and aims to understand how people around the world perceive the current state of democracy in their countries and the major challenges ahead.
“The fact that more than half of the people in our country complain about the democratic deficit is a very serious warning to the government. The recent legal scandals and systematic violation of the rule of law in our country have seriously shaken people’s trust in justice, judges, and democracy. The legal system in our country is under the influence of politics to a degree that it has not been in recent years, and those who hold the executive power use strategic cases with political motives as a tool of intimidation. Our community’s associations and representatives who defend their rights have been subjected to constant pressure and stigmatisation through strategic lawsuits filed against them for years. Even though it was officially registered, two lawsuits were filed against the Western Thrace Fenerbahçe Culture and Sports Association, demanding the revocation of its registration, or against the Mufti of Komotini İbrahim Şerif, elected by the Western Thrace Turks, on the allegation of ‘‘usurpation of office’’, despite the judgment of the ECtHR on the same issue against our country dated March 2000. The opening of an investigation once again in months are just two examples of these. The government should take the necessary steps without delay to restore people’s trust in democracy and the legal system in our country, and should stop hiding behind excuses, taking into account constructive criticism from Europe and the international arena’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
Please click below for the results of the survey:
https://www.allianceofdemocracies.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DPI-2024.pdf
