Xanthi Turkish Union makes a call to Greece
In the statement, it was requested that the call made to Greece in accordance with the decision taken by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in December be taken into account and the legal personality of Turkish minority associations be recognized by the full and complete implementation of the ECtHR decisions.
In the statement released by the ITB, "It has been exactly 15 years since the decision of the Greek courts to close our association due to the phrase 'Turkish' in its name, and the decision of the ECtHR, in which the cancellation of the legal status of our association was unjustified and convicted." statements were included.
Reminding that the ECHR announced its decision on the cases of the Turkish Women's Cultural Association in Rhodope and the Minority Youth Association in Meriç on March 27, 2008, together with the Xanthi Turkish Union known as the "Bekirusta Lawsuit Group", and that all three minority associations were unanimously right, the following statements were made:
“Fifteen years ago today, on March 27, 2008, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) announced its decision on the Xanthi Turkish Union case and unanimously found the Xanthi Turkish Union to be justified. It's been 15 years since that decision. Decisions on Xanthi Turkish Union and Turkish minority associations known as "Bekirusta Case Group" in ECHR have not been implemented by Greece for 15 years.
Today is the 15th anniversary of the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding the Xanthi Turkish Union case, which is a turning point in the fight for law and democracy given by the Xanthi Turkish Union.
It has been exactly 15 years since the decision of the ECtHR, in which the decision of the Greek courts to close our association due to the phrase 'Turkish' in its name, and the annulment of our association's legal status were unjustified and convicted. As Xanthi Turkish Union and Western Thrace Turkish Minority, we are still waiting for the decision of the European Court of Human Rights to be implemented.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), 15 years ago today, on March 27, 2008, together with the Xanthi Turkish Union, known as the "Bekirusta Lawsuit Group", announced its decision on the cases of the Rhodope Turkish Women's Cultural Association and the Meriç Province Minority Youth Association and brought three minority associations together.
However, the ECHR decision has not been implemented by Greece since 2008, and the legal status of the Xanthi Turkish Union has not been restored. Therefore, discrimination and unlawfulness against the Muslim Turkish Minority people of Western Thrace continues.
As the Western Thrace Turkish Minority, we expect the Greek state, of which we have been a citizen for 15 years, to respect international law and fully and fully implement the ECHR decisions.
We would like to remind once again the calls of the Council of Europe to Greece for the implementation of the ECtHR judgments for 15 years.
In this context, we would like to emphasize that we expect the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in December 2022 to comply with the call of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for Greece to urgently take the necessary steps and change the legislation for the implementation of the ECtHR decisions regarding Western Thrace Turkish Minority Associations. The implementation of the ECtHR decisions should not be delayed any longer, and the legal status and legal personality of the Xanthi Turkish Union and other Turkish minority associations should be restored as soon as possible, taking into account the call of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. We expect and demand our country, Greece, to respect international law and to put an end to this years-long victimization and injustice by implementing the decisions of the ECtHR."
40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE STRUGGLE FOR RIGHTS
In the statement published by the Xanthi Turkish Union, it was also reminded that 2023 is the 40th year of the struggle for rights. It was emphasized that the struggle, which started with the removal of the Xanthi Turkish Union sign by the police in 1983, turned 40 this year.
The statement was as follows: “For the Turkish Union of Xanthi, 2023 has a distinctive feature and importance. The sign of the Xanthi Turkish Union, which was established in 1927 and is the first non-governmental organization of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority, was removed by the security forces in 1983 as an application of the policy expressed as "There are no Turks in Western Thrace". Immediately afterwards, a lawsuit was filed against our association by the Xanthi governor of the time. Therefore, the Xanthi Turkish Union's struggle for rights has entered its 40th year this year.
We present to the attention of the public that we will continue our 40-year-long struggle for rights, with greater determination and determination, without leaving democracy and law.”
