Habip Oğlu: “Greece Is deliberately violating International Law”
Greece’s Ombudsman, Andreas Pottakis, warned in an interview with the Tsatsou Foundation and syntagmawatch.gr that the country’s independent institutions are being systematically weakened by political authorities. Pottakis stated that the government exerts economic pressure by failing to provide sufficient resources and interferes in their work both directly and indirectly.
Highlighting the erosion of checks and balances among state institutions, Pottakis recalled that the Ombudsman is accountable to parliament—yet parliament has refused to hear the institution’s annual reports for three consecutive years. He stressed that this represents a serious setback for the rule of law.
The Ombudsman also noted a sharp decline in public trust toward the state and judiciary, emphasizing that protecting official institutions from political pressure and strengthening their independence has become essential.
Commenting on the issue, Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), said that Pottakis’ remarks clearly point to democratic backsliding in Greece.
“Ombudsman Pottakis has openly revealed the collapse of citizens’ trust in the judiciary and political authorities, as well as the systematic violation of the rule of law in our country. The democratic parliamentary system is no longer functioning,” Habip Oğlu stated.
He added that independent EU studies also show that a majority of Greek citizens believe fundamental rights, democracy, and the rule of law are not being protected. He further recalled that the European Commission’s annual reports highlight serious threats to the rule of law in Greece.
Habip Oğlu stressed that the Turkish minority in Western Thrace has long experienced the consequences of this deterioration. He pointed out that Greece has failed for over 17 years to implement the European Court of Human Rights rulings related to the Bekir Usta and Others group of cases, deliberately avoiding compliance due to political motives. He added that Greece continues to violate its international legal obligations, disregarding warnings from the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
