Western Thrace Turks react to Mitsotakis' statements on "rule of law principle"
Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) President Halit Habipoğlu evaluated the statement of Mitsotakis on social media that "they have always taken the recommendations of the EU's annual report on the rule of law very seriously".
Habipoğlu stated that Prime Minister Mitsotakis has ignored recent European warnings about the deterioration of the rule of law in Greece.
Habipoğlu said, "The European Parliament stated in its resolution on 7 February 2024 that it had serious concerns that the rule of law in our country (Greece) was under threat and called on the EU Commission to take action."
In the statement, it was noted that the Turkish community in Western Thrace was also exposed to the negative effects of the violation of the rule of law in Greece and it was emphasised that Greece continued to violate the freedom of association as it had not implemented the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on Turkish associations for 16 years.
Problems faced by the Turkish minority
The Xanthi Turkish Union (ITB, founded in 1927), the Komotini Turkish Youth Union (GTGB), founded in 1928, and the Western Thrace Turkish Teachers' Union (BTTÖB), founded in 1936, were closed down in the 1980s on the grounds that their names contained the word "Turkish" and that the minority in Western Thrace was defined as "Muslim" and not "Turkish" in the Treaty of Lausanne.
For a period of time, the word "Turkish" on the signboards and report cards of minority schools was ignored by Greece, and after this date, associations bearing the name "Turkish" were not allowed to operate with official status.
The Evros Prefecture Minority Youth Association and the Cultural Association of Turkish Women of the Rhodope Prefecture, whose foundations were rejected, together with the dissolved İTB, took the matter to the ECtHR in 2005. In its 2007 and 2008 judgments, the Court ruled that Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on freedom of assembly and association had been violated.
On the other hand, the legal regulation of the Greek courts for the adaptation of ECtHR judgements was approved by the Greek Parliament in 2017 upon the objection of the opposition parties, with the addition of the phrase "The judgement may not be implemented in the case of national security".
Greece had not allowed the activities of some associations established by the Turkish minority in Western Thrace and had closed them down on the grounds that they were established to defend the view that Turks are an ethnic minority.
In a meeting with European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova on 15 April, Mitsotakis said that Greece always takes the recommendations of the EU Commission's annual report on the rule of law very seriously and tries to comply with them as best as possible.
