ECHR will have the final call over the Identity Question

Press Office of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), Witten – 04.10.2005

Press release

European Court of Human Rights will have the final call over the Identity Question

Following the Turkish Union of Xanthi, which was shut down refering only to the expression “Turkish” in its title, the Rodhope Cultural Association of Turkish Women, whose foundation is not permitted by the Greek Supreme Court, has applied to the European Court of Human Rights.

The Turkish identity, which wasn’t considered as a problematic field for a long time, has appeared as a problem after the tension between Turkey and Greece increased due to the Cyprus conflict. The denial of the Turkish identity, developing step by step after the mid 60s, had its climax as the name plates of the Turkish Union of Xanthi (ITB, founded in 1927), Union of the Turkish Youth of Komotini (GTGB, founded in 1928) and the Union of Turkish Teachers of Western Thrace (BTTÖB, founded in 1936), organizations with “Turkish” expression in their names, were taken down following the declaration of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983. The GTGB and BTTÖB cases brought a decisive shut down decision forth. In addition, the ITB case which was held on the wait list, was reopened and after a long legal struggle, came to an end in the beginning of the year 2005 with the same decision: Shut down. Another decision made paralell to this development, which let the Greek Foreign Minister Papandreau’s statement in 1999 down, which was in the direction of recognizing the Turkish identity, was not to give the permission for the foundation of the Rodop Cultural Association of Turkish Women The common point in all these decisions is the evaluation of the possibility that “the ‘Turk’ expression may create a minority problem that currently does not exist and thus lead to a possible threat to the internal security.” Considering these decisions of the Greek Supreme Court as judicial catastrophe, the President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) Halit Hatipoðlu stated, “Healty, contemporary and well functioning judicial systems do not judge the possibilities, instead the realities. Western Thrace Turks have always been loyal to their country and never pursued an independence seeking policy. The shutting down of their associations, which have been continuing their activities within the legal framework since their foundations in 1920s, does not fit into the terms of logic.” The fact that the Cultural Association of Turkish Women of Rhodope is not even allowed to swing into action indicates this said Habipoðlu and added, ”It is surely unacceptable and outdated that the word “Turkish” forms the red line of the right to be organized in an European Union member state.”.

As the options in the Greek juricial system came to the end, the Cultural Association of Turkish Women of Rhodope had applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), just after the application of ITB in July. Emphasizing his belief that the ECHR would solve the issues, Halit Hatipoðlu stated that they would support ITB and the Cultural Association of Turkish Women of Rhodope though out their rightful cases.