ABTTF submits written contribution to the EU Commission's Rule of Law Report 2024
ABTTF participated in the online consultation process open to civil society organisations and other stakeholders in the member states initiated by the EU Commission for the said report and expressed the problems of the Turkish community in Western Thrace in order to contribute to the Greece country report to be prepared.
In its written contribution, ABTTF underlined that Greece denies the Turkish ethnic identity of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and stated that Greece has not implemented the three separate judgements of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the Bekir Usta and Others Group of Cases since 2008 despite the decisions of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and all warnings and has violated the freedom of association of the Turkish community.
On 11 October 2022, ABTTF also referred to the lawsuit filed by the Rhodope Prosecutor's Office for the cancellation of the registration of the Western Thrace Fenerbahçeliler Culture and Sports Association, which was established as a fan association in Komotini, He noted that in the prosecutor's indictment, it was claimed that the expression "Western Thrace" in the name of the association posed a danger to the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the country, and therefore it was requested to remove the expression "Western Thrace" from the name and statute of the association and to decide to delete the said association from the register of associations.
ABTTF emphasised that although the Turkish community in Western Thrace has educational autonomy, the number of Turkish primary schools is decreasing every year due to closures, there are no bilingual Turkish minority kindergartens, the number of Turkish secondary schools and high schools at secondary school level is very low, and the problem of double-shift teaching and lack of modern school buildings in Xanthi Turkish Minority Secondary School and High School, which was also brought to the agenda with the parliamentary question submitted to the EU Commission, continues.
ABTTF pointed out that there are examples of marginalisation, discrimination and targeting against the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the media in Greece beyond prejudice and stereotypes and stated that pressure and discrimination against the Turkish community is also seen in the political field. ABTTF stated that in the general elections in May 2023, the Turkish parliamentary candidate who received the highest number of votes in the province of Rhodope, where the Turkish community in Western Thrace constitutes the majority in terms of population, was subjected to a political smear campaign and was targeted and that this situation deepened the structural and systematic discrimination against the Turkish community in Greece.
Stating that the Turkish community in Western Thrace has religious autonomy in accordance with international treaties and has the right to elect its own religious leaders (muftis), ABTTF noted that the muftis elected by the Turkish community are not recognised by Greece. ABTTF stated that the Presidential Decree No. 52/2019 further undermines the autonomous structure of the Turkish community in the religious field, as the mufti offices are completely affiliated to the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs and transformed into ordinary public offices.
