“Turks of Rhodes and Kos should also be granted the right to organize”

The Association of Culture and Solidarity of the Turks of Rhodes, Kos and the Dodecanese has drawn attention to the recent decision by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe regarding the association rights of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace. The association emphasized that the decision should not be limited solely to the Turks of Western Thrace.

In a written statement signed by the association’s president, Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kaymakçı, it was underlined that Greece must also grant the Turks living in Rhodes and Kos the right to organize themselves based on their ethnic identity.

The statement read:

“With its decision on June 16, 2025, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe underlined that the Greek government must respect the Turkish cultural identity of associations in Western Thrace. Seventeen years have passed since the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, and the Committee has noted that banning associations with ‘Turkish’ in their names is unlawful.”

Representing the Turks of the Dodecanese organized in Türkiye, the association called for the immediate implementation of this decision by Greece and stressed that the same rights must be extended to the Turks of Rhodes and Kos in line with international treaties to which Greece is a party.

The statement also highlighted that the over 9,000-strong Turkish population in Rhodes and Kos has been deprived of cultural rights for decades. Despite the islands being under Greek administration since 1947, and in defiance of the Lausanne Treaty and other international agreements, the Turkish identity has not been recognized.

Rejecting Greece’s claim that “the Dodecanese Islands are not covered by the Lausanne Treaty,” the statement referred to a range of international agreements—from the 1913 Athens Protocol to the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty—that guarantee these rights. It also cited a ruling by the International Court of Justice based on the 1978 Vienna Convention, stating that states are obliged to honor prior international agreements in newly acquired territories.

The association reiterated its call for the Council of Europe’s decision to be implemented without delay and for Turks in Rhodes and Kos to be granted the right to freely associate.