Post by Sokol on Aug 21, 2011 23:34:10 GMT -5
www.abttf.org/
www.mfa.gov.tr/turkish-minority-of-western-thrace.en.mfa
There are nearly 150,000 ethnic Turks living in Western Thrace in the north-eastern region of Greece. This community constitutes the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace whose status is established by the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923. The obligations assumed by Greece under "Section III" of this Treaty which deal with the protection of minorities, include the following basic rights and liberties:
Full and complete protection of life and liberty without distinction of birth, nationality, language, race or religion,
Free exercise of any creed, religion or belief,
Full freedom of movement,
The same civil and political rights as other Greek citizens,
Admission to public employment and offices,
The free use of any language in private relations, in commerce, religion, in the press or in publications of any kind or at public meetings,
The full protection of its religious foundations,
Equal rights to establish, manage and control at their own expense, any charitable, religious and social institutions, any schools and other establishments for instruction and education, with the right to use their own language and to exercise their own religion freely therein,
To take into regard for the Turkish Minority, in so far as this concerns family law or personal status, measures permitting the settlement of these questions in accordance with the customs of the Minority,
To grant all facilities and authorization to the pious foundations (Wakfs) and the religious and charitable institutions of the Minority.
Furthermore, these rights conferred to the Minority are recognized as fundamental laws by Greece. No law, no regulation, nor official action should conflict or interfere with these stipulations, nor should any law, regulation, nor official action prevail over them.
Thus, according to the Lausanne Peace Treaty, Greece is under the obligation to extend to the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace the same treatment and security as to other citizens of Greece.
What has happened in practice is very different. Ever since the signing of Treaty, except during the period between the l930's and the early l950's, there have been persistent and massive violations of human rights in Western Thrace. For years, the Greek authorities did not comply with obligations under Lausanne and other international treaties to which Greece is a party. Furthermore, the policies of the Greek authorities are contrary to the principles and values that have inspired the European Union, the principles of the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter as well as other OSCE documents and declarations on the questions of minorities and even to the Constitution of the Greek State.
In breach of its international obligations and its own constitution, Greece has been pursuing discriminatory policies against the Turkish Minority in many aspect of their lives.
The ongoing repression they face in the field of education and religion particularly affects the lives of the Minority members. The members of the Minority lack the opportunity to educate their children properly. School buildings are in bad condition and it is not allowed to construct new school buildings. Qualified teachers are scarce. Only a limited number of students are admitted to Minority schools.
Currently, the educational standards of the Turkish Minority schools continue to remain lower than the average, mainly due to the excessive interference of the authorities. Although more details are available in the relevant section of this web site, it can be stated here that both the number and quality of the minority schools remain unsatisfactory due to the practice of the Greek administration. The requests of the Minority to open new schools have not been responded by the Greek authorities who, instead, recently introduced the practice of elective Turkish classes in Greek high schools. Obviously, this policy of elective Turkish classes cannot replace the right to minority education. Moreover, Greece unilaterally decided to reduce the number of Turkish teachers teaching at the Minority schools in Western Thrace. As another striking example of discriminatory Greek policies, although nine-year primary education is compulsory in Greece, this rule is not applicable to the children of the Turkish Minority. Their compulsory primary education is limited to six years.
The members of the Turkish Minority do not enjoy full freedom of religion. Because the religious institutions such as the office of the "Mufti" (the religious leader of the Turkish - Muslim Minority) and pious foundations "wakfs" are of fundamental importance to the existence of the Minority as a community, they are primary targets for the Greek authorities. They use all possible means to prevent the Minority to elect its Mufti and the trustees of its wakfs. By two presidential decrees dated December 25, 1990 and January 3, 1991, the Greek authorities have taken over the authority to nominate and appoint the Mufti and the trustees of the Wakfs.
Greece also attempted in the past to prosecute and jail the elected Muftis. Greece doesn’t still recognize the elected Muftis of the Turkish Minority, even though the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (five in total) state that Greece violates the European Human Rights Convention in the context of religious freedom.
The unjustifiable interference in the religious affairs of the Minority by the Greek authorities may take various forms. In this respect, the Greek Government, in line with the Law adopted on 8 February 2007, is prepared to give cadres to 240 Imams who will be elected by a Council composed of Greek Government representatives. This policy is strongly objected by the Minority.
Two plain objectives of these oppressive Greek policies are to assimilate and in cases where not possible, to expel members of the Minority which they regard as a threat to the integrity of Greece. Accordingly, the members of the Minority are forced to emigrate from the region, and even to leave the country.
To some extent Greek authorities are successful in this policy. Despite the high population growth rate of the Minority, the Turkish population in the Western Thrace still remains at the same level as in the 1920s. Today, there should have been at least 800.000 Turks in the region instead of the current 150.000.
One instrument of the Greek authorities to reach their aim of reducing in numbers the Turkish population was article 19 of the Greek Citizenship Code, which stated that "a person of non-Greek ethic origin leaving Greece without the intention of returning may be declared as having lost Greek nationality...." This article, which was based on blatantly racial premises, was abused as a weapon to deprive the ethnic Turks of their citizenship. Over the years, thousands of members of the Minority lost their citizenship due to expulsion under this article. Today, despite the abrogation of Article 19 by the Greek Parliament, the suffering of the thousands of stateless minority members still persists for the abrogation is not retroactive according to the terms of the new legislation.
Another form of repression practiced by Greek authorities is the denial of ethnic identity of the Minority. The Greek government denies the existence of the Turkish Minority within its borders. The Turkish Minority is considered as a religious minority rather than an ethnic or a national one. But, the Minority members regard themselves as "Turks" and demand the right to be called "Turkish". The Greek authorities prohibit the use of the word "Turkish". The minority associations like the "Turkish Teachers Association", "Komotini Turkish Youth Association" were closed down for using the word "Turkish" in their titles and signboards. The Greek courts outlawed the use of the word "Turkish" and in 1988 the Greek High Court affirmed a 1986 decision of the Court of Appeals in this regard with the argument that the use of the word "Turkish" to describe Greek Moslems was endangering public order.
In this context, the banning of the Turkish Minority associations; namely, the “Western Thrace Turkish Teacher’s Union”, the “Komotini Turkish Youth Association” and the “Turkish Union of Xanthi” has continued until today. Following the exhaustion of the internal remedies, the case concerning the banning of the Turkish Union of Xanthi was taken to the ECHR by the Minority. Also the efforts to establish the “Rodopi Turkish Woman Association” and the “Evros Prefecture Minority Youth Association” proved futile based on the same pretexts of the Greek authorities and these cases were also taken to the ECHR by the Minority.
Lastly, The European Court of Human Rights expressed its decision, in a press release dated 11 October 2007, regarding the “Evros Prefecture Minority Youth Association”, to which Greek authorities failed to give the necessary permission. The Court held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The decision became effective as of 11 January 2008.
The European Court of Human Rights also expressed its decision concerning the “Turkish Union of Xanthi” and the “Rodopi Turkish Women’s Association” on 27 March 2008.
The Court held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the European Convention on Human Rights in both aforementioned cases. The Court also held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 6 & 1 (right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time) of the Convention. In the case of the “Turkish Union of Xanthi”, the Court awarded the said association 8000 Euros in respect of non-pecuniary damage.
These decisions once again prove the restrictions imposed by the Greek administration not only on the freedom of assembly and association but also on the right to express ethnic identity.
The destruction of the Ottoman/Turkish cultural heritage constitutes another grave violation of the rights of the Turkish Minority which also has a direct bearing on the future cultural existence of the Minority. Greek authorities refrain from undertaking restoration or repair works and the cultural heritage is left in destruction.
The members of the Turkish Minority live in the least developed region of not only Greece but also Europe. The socio-economic underdevelopment of the region where mostly Turks live is a direct consequence of the implemented economic and social policies. Minority members are not able to utilize the EU funds as it should be. The lack of qualified educational opportunities in the region aggravates the economic problems faced by the Minority. Moreover, it is of urgent importance that the Minority is provided with alternate means of employment and economic survival in the near future in the face of the envisaged cut in subventions provided by the EU to tobacco producers. This is so because the Turkish Minority has remained heavily depended on tobacco production for economic survival largely due to the restrictive and discriminatory economic policies of Greece towards the Minority.
Greece has announced in February 2007 that a quota of 0.5 % would be granted to the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace in the exams conducted for the recruitment of public servants. This is yet to be fulfilled.
Turkey has no intention of creating a Minority problem for Greece. Turkey only wants to see the Minority to enjoy its rights recognized by international treaties and to live in peace as equal Greek citizens.
We firmly believe that Greece, in line with its international obligations, should be urged to take measures in order to restore the rights and freedoms of the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace.
What is transpiring in Western Thrace is a clear violation of human rights. It is unacceptable and inconceivable that the members of a minority can be subject to such treatment in a country which is a member of the OSCE, Council of Europe and the European Union.
A detailed study of discriminatory treatment meted out to the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace is presented under several headings at the incoming pages.