FEEDOM OF RELIGION IS ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS March 30, 2009
Posted by Yilan in Human rights abuses.Tags: Bati Trakya, Trakya, Turkiye, Yunanistan
add a comment
After the decease of Mehmet Emin Aga, elected Mufti (the highest Muslim religious authority of a province/ district) of Iskece (Xanthi), legal status of the Muftis and their election method has come to the fore as the hottest debate on the agenda.
Greece was convicted in three cases commenced by Ibrahim Şerif, elected Mufti of Komotini, and Mehmet Emin Aga, elected Mufti of Xanthi.
In addition to this, Greece was convicted in two cases commenced by Mehmet Emin Aga, elected Mufti of Xanthi, at the European Court of Human Rights as she has violatedmthe freedom of religion. Status of Muftis as being the highestn religious, administrative and legal authority in Islam was stated in Athens Treaty in 1913.
Although Greece has signed the concerning treaty, she has been infringing the treaty provisions permanently and has not been fulfilling her obligations defined in the Treaty. In this respect, she has been appointing herself the Muftis since 1990 although Muftis are to be elected by Turkish minority. This is a very clear violation of freedom of religion.
By this attitude, Greece does not give the right to the Turkish minority to elect its religion leader while she gives this right to the Greek Church to elect its metropolitans and to the Jewish community to elect its Rabbis and officers.
Greece also violates the 40th Article of Lausanne Treaty in which Greece has committed not to discriminate the members of the Western Thrace Turkish minority in religion affairs and to respect their freedom of religion. Life of Aga is a clear legend of Greece’s attitiute towards “Freedom of Religion” After the decease of Iskece Mufti, Hafiz Emin Aga, the members of the Western Thrace Turkish minority elected his son as the new Mufti. Neverthless, the Greek authorities did not recognize the elected Mufti and appointed another religious officer. Subsequently, Aga was given a hearing on the ground of encroaching upon the rights of appointed Muftis. He was sentenced to 129 months. After a 6 month jail stay and due to health problems, he came out of the jail.
Human rights violations of Western Thrace Turks were expressed not only by the minority members, but also by the European Court of Human Rights and Helsinki Human Rights Watch. Helsinki Human Rights Watch stated clearly thatthe members of the Western Thrace Turkish minority were exposed to serious human rights violations. In 1990s, Helsinki Human Rights Watch examined the situation of the Western Thrace Turkish minority,
and in its report, it advised Greece to maintain the freedom of religion of Western Thrace Turkish minority.
Greece does not regard the advices of international organizations Neither the cases that came out in favor of Ibrahim Serif and Mehmet
Emin Aga, elected Muftis of Gümülcine (Komotini) and Iskece
(Xanthi), nor the reports of Helsinki Human Rights Watch could not force Greece to change her policy towards Western Thrace Turkish minority.
Ethnic Greeks of Istanbul do not experience any difficulty when they elect their religious leaders and if we consider the reciprocity principle, Western Thrace Turkish Minority members should be able to benefit the same rights of Ethnic Greeks of Istanbul but they can not.
Source: abttf
NIKOS ALIVIZATOS CRITIZES GREECE March 30, 2009
Posted by Yilan in Human rights abuses, Turkey.Tags: minority, Trakya, Turkce, Turkey, Turkish, Turkiye, Yunanistan
1 comment so far
The Government of Turkish Republic continuously brings up the problems
of Western Thrace Turkish minority in Greece on international and national
platforms. But this time, the one, who brings up the „Turkish identity“ and „denaturalization“ problems of the Western Thrace Turkish minority is not the Government of Turkish Republic, but the most prestigious Professor of Law in University of Athens, Nikos Alivizatos.
In his article in TANEA, leading daily newspaper of Greece, he points
out that Greece, as a European Union member country, does not obey
the minority rules, specially considering Turkish minority. He emphasizes
that Turkish minority members are still not equal in front of law,
specially in means of individualistic, social and political rights in spite of
some constitutional reforms.
Prof. Alivizatos points out that 1967- 1974 Greek Junta government implementations are still in force in spite of all the warnings coming from the
European Union. As an example of such implementations, Prof. Alivizatos
said that Turkish minority members were denaturalized when they
left the country even only for 3 months although they paid their
taxes to Greece during those months.
Prof. Alivizatos also utters that usage of „Turkish“ in the naming of Western Thrace Turkish minority associations was announced to be illegal by the Greek Supreme Court of Appeals and such an implementation is clearly contradictory to the European Union principles.He alsounderlines that objections against the governorship candidacy of Gülbeyaz Karahasan, member of Western Thrace Turkish minority, is completelyagainst democracy.
He also states that Christian Greece families with 3 children get salary from the Government of Greece while no salary is provided for Muslim Greek
families with 3 children.
Greece Sentences Macedonia Activist March 29, 2009
Posted by Yilan in Human rights abuses.Tags: Carknjas, Makedonca, Makedonya
1 comment so far
Carknjas claims he is under constant pressure in Greece
One of the leading figures and symbols of the unrecognized Macedonian minority movement in northern Greece, the orthodox priest Nikodim Carknjas claims he is a victim of classic state sponsored repression.
EU assures Balkans, Turkey of membership prospects March 29, 2009
Posted by Yilan in Macedonia, Turkey.Tags: EU, Makedonya, Turkiye
add a comment
The European Union told its Balkan neighbors and Turkey on Saturday they remain on track for membership, but skated around a rising number of issues that are darkening the EU’s ambitious expansion plans.
The EU foreign ministers assured their counterparts from candidates Croatia, Turkey and Macedonia and four other Western Balkan nations that the desire to bring them into the EU remained undiminished.
“We cannot take any sabbatical from our work for stability and progress in southeastern Europe,” said EU Enlargement Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn.
The EU’s post-Cold War expansion has seen Malta, Cyprus and eight eastern European nations join in 2004 to create a single market of almost half a billion people.
“Enlargement is in the interest of Europe and (of) the Balkans,” British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told reporters.
But public opinion in several EU nations is tiring of plans to admit half a dozen more nations — including overwhelmingly Muslim Turkey.
That is reflected in opposition to reforms, designed to simplify the EU’s outdated housekeeping rules and boost its stance in world affairs. An EU reform treaty has already been toned down after referendum setbacks and still faces tough ratification tests in Ireland and the Czech Republic.
Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, whose country now holds the EU presidency, said he was confident his country’s legislature will back the reforms this year.
After chairing the meeting with the would-be EU members, he said there was agreement “not to slow the integration of the Balkans” into Europe through more visa-free travel deals.
But he added: “There are reservations … which we also discussed.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have said a second Irish ‘no’ to the reform treaty means only Croatia can join.
Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said the EU must keep “the doors of Europe open.”
But his country faces a veto by the Netherlands, which accuses Belgrade of shielding Gen. Ratko Mladic, commander of Bosnian Serb forces during the Balkan wars, from trial in the U.N.’s Yugoslav war crimes tribunal.
Croatia’s entry talks are deadlocked due to a dispute with EU member Slovenia over an Adriatic Sea bay shared by Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. Slovenia’s part is blocked off by those of its two larger neighbors. It demands that Croatia gives it access to the open sea.
The European Commission is mediating in the dispute, so far to no avail.
Reflecting a sense of exasperation, Alexandr Vondra, the Czech deputy premier, said: “Time is running out. We cannot wait forever.”
Meanwhile, negotiations that began in 2005 to bring Turkey into the fold are overshadowed by bickering over human rights issues and Ankara’s refusal to recognize Cyprus.
NOT TURKISH BUT MUSLIM MINORITY March 29, 2009
Posted by Yilan in Human rights abuses.Tags: Trakya, Turkiye
2 comments
Thomas Countryman, US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission in Athens, revealed
in his interview with journalist Vasiliki Siouti for Sunday Eleftherotypia
that „Greece persistently opposes the right of Western Thrace Turkish
minority to define itself as “Turkish” within the context of ethnic identity
and this behaviour of Greece is illogical.“
However, that interview caused tension between Washington and Athens.
After the interview, Teodoros Rusopulos, spokesman of the Greek government,
made a press conference and said that Greece was a democratic
country which respected minority rights and the legal equality between its
citizens.
Özkan Resit, representative of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in
Europe (ABTTF), participated in the meetings of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Warsaw between 2 – 13 October
2006 and revealed that Greek’s problem concentrating on our „Turkish
identity“ had been known for years, and the associations of the Turkish
minority living in Western Thrace were formally closed down due to the
phrase „Turkish“ in their names. Subsequently, the reply of the Greek
delegation to that claim was as follows: „There is no Turkish but Muslim
minority in Greece and Turks form only a part of Muslim minority in
Greece“. Identity problem of Western Thrace Turks was not expressed not
only by the minority members but also by the European Court of Human
Rights, and International Helsinki Human Rights Watch stated clearly that
Western Thrace Turkish minority members had experienced serious identity
problems in 1990.
Iskece (Xanthi) Turkish Solidarity Union established in 1924, Gümülcine
(Komotini) Turkish Youth Union established in 1928 and Western Thrace
Turkish Teachers Union established in 1936 have been formally closed
down by Greek authorities since 1984 as they possessed the phrase
„Turkish“ in their names. Rodop (Rodop) Women’s Culture Association can
not get permission to founding due to „Turkish“ component in its association
name since 2001. Iskece (Xanthi) Turkish Solidarity Union and Rodop
(Rodop) Women’s Culture Association prosecuted Greece at the European
Court Human Rights and these actions are still in process.
„Minority“ phrase causes discomfort
Up to now, it was not allowed to establish associations possessing the word
„Turkish“ in their names in Greece and now it is not allowed to use the
phrase „minority“ in association names as well.
On 14 December 1995, Western Thrace Turkish Minority youth conveyed its
request to Dedeagac (Alexandroupolis) Civil Court of First Instance to recognize
its association „Meric Minority Youth“. Its petition was rejected by
Dedeagac (Alexandroupolis) Civil Court of First Instance by 58 – 1996 dated
decision and by Thrace Civil Court of First Instance by 423 – 1998 numbered
decision. The Supreme Court of Appeals handled the case in 2006
and it was rejected as the association possessed the word „minority“ in its
name.
Greece does not accept the identity of minorities
All those cases state clearly that Greece does not want to accept the identity
of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace. Meanwhile, not only the
phrase “Turkish” but also the phrase “minority” causes serious discomfort.
It is an embarrassing situation for a country which is a member of the
European Union for years and claims to be democratic.
source: abttf
