They have the right to be Turkish

The Turks of Western Thrace are the only people in Europe whose ethnic identity is denied. The identity of this Turkish minority is denied by their own government and a living example of this denial is the banning of any civic organisations which identifies itself as Turkish. The Western Thrace Turkish Teachers Union (founded in 1936), Komotini Turkish Youth Association (founded in 1928) and Turkish Union of Xanthi (founded in 1927) have been all victims of this campaign of persecution, and their "crime" has been that their members were ethnic Turks and they had "Turk" in their names. 

For decades, these Associations have operated as legitimate civic society organisations promoting cultural, educational, religious and sportive activities for the Turks in Western Thrace until 1983 when their right to exist has been challenged. 

In 1984, the local Prefectures in Komotini and Xanthi applied to domestic courts demanding the banning of these Associations under the pretext that their names contained the adjective �Turkish�. Subsequently National Courts ordered the dissolution of the �Western Thrace Turkish Teachers Union�, �Komotini Turkish Youth Union� and the �Turkish Union of Xanthi� on the grounds that their members declared that they were of �Turkish origin� and the titles of the Associations contained the word �Turkish�. 

In doing so, the courts disregarded the facts that the titles of the Associations merely symbolized the citizens of �Turkish descent� living in Western Thrace, that they have been established in accordance with national laws, they have been recognized by the courts and authorities and they were functioning without  problems and restrictions for a long time as legitimate peaceful Associations.

Later appeals against these decisions had little success in overturning them. In November 1987, the National High Court affirmed 1986 decisions by the Court of Appeals of Thrace to ban the �Western Thrace Turkish Teachers Union� and �Komotini Turkish Youth Union� under the pretext that �the use of the word �Turkish� to signify �Greek Muslims� undermined public order.� 

The Turkish minority strongly protested against the decision and defended its Turkishness by stagin mass protests on 29 January 1988. People from all over Wester Thrace converged towards Komotini only to be brutally suppressed by security forcees. An unprecedented outburst of racial hatred folloed, and organized mobs stromed the Turkish quaters of Komotini, damaging and looting more than 400 Turkish shops and business. Community leaders and religious clergymen were specifically targeted, and several members were badly beaten up and publically humiliated.

As recently as  May 2001 application by the �Rodopi Turkish Women�s Cultural Association� has been declined by the local court.

As of  February 2004, the word �Turkish� is still  �sacrosanct�, and Turkish minority�s freedom of association remains an unresolved issue in  an EU member which claims to have endorsed higher human and minority rights than its neighbouring non-eu states.

At a time when the EU is so successful at exporting freedom and stability in its neigbourhood, and is a strong advocate of more cultural rights and freedoms for oppressed minorities in prospective members I am deeply disturbed and outraged at the tolerance that EU institutions display towards ongoing violations within an existing EU member. What is at stake's is EU's credibility, and I believe it is high time that action be taken to rectify the situation and to revoke the "carte blanche" from this particular member state to abuse its Turkish minority.

As a person whose own ethnic identity has been denied in the past, I feel very strongly for Turks in Western Thrace.

An entire people's identity has been denied at the heart of Europe for decades, but the European Union remains silent, oblivious and indifferent ...

Sources:
http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/greece/
http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/greece/Greec991.htm
http://www.worldlii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/1996/49.html
http://www.mihenk.gr/english/freedom.htmp

I agree and that is why I stated that the EU plays an important role in enforcing minority rights in prospective members, including Turkey. As a member of a minority myself I sympathize with the plight of minorities in Turkey, and I fully support all EU efforts that are genuinely directed towards improving the plight of Turkey's minorities.

But at the same time I cannot help but feel dissapointed at the double standards the EU displays towards minorities in existing member states. 

Indeed bg_turk is fair and objective, especially when he discusses about Greece. The Muslim minority in Greece is severely opressed. If somebody says that he's a Turk then he runs the risk to be sent in prison or even to be shot on the spot (that's rare though). Well OK not anybody, since Greek MPs or ex-MPs or mayors of Turkish origin are allowed to say that they're Turks, but they are exceptions.
Keep it up BG, even though I fear that the Hellen nationalists will force yet another great thread of yours to be closed.

Thank you for saying that Neoptolemos, it means incredibly a lot. I also would like to appologize to you for my anti-Greek threads, in which I have done nothing but try to portray Greece in the worst possible light, while undermining and often ignoring the Greek losses. I will make every effort to be more balanced in the future.

Personally, I believe that any person has the right to be called whatever he or she wishes, be that Turk, Greek, Chinese, or Martian.
And this also is the official position of the Greek State. Whoever feels Greek can be Greek. Whoever feels something else can be something else.
However, under the treaty of Lausanne, the recognised community is one of "Muslim Minority". When the aforementioned treaty is amended accordingly by a new international agreement, Turkish Minorities could be recognised.
Nevertheless, recent developments have shown that there is a tendency to lax the obedience to the letter of law and recognise Turkish political, cultural or religious entities to be established as the State has recognised that the treaty of Lausanne is not applicable any more, bearing in mind the developmnets in social basis.
Furthermore, as Turkey itself has proceeded to a more moderate foreign policy, past animosities between the two States have been diminished and there is a much more peaceful reflection to the modern social affairs between the two countries.
Let us not forget that in the past, both countries have been quite rigid and inflexible with regards to the reciprocal minority issues.

Examples can be seen here:
http://www.hrw.org/doc/?t=europe_pub&c=turkey&document_limit=20,20

Also, in the second of your references, and in the bottom of it, it states the following:
"The ethnic Greek minority of Istanbul, also protected under the Treaty of Lausanne, has also shrunk in size because of state discrimination, from 110,000 in 1923 to an estimated 2,500 today. See Denying Human Rights & Ethnic Identity: The Greeks of Turkey, March 1992."

So, as you see, both Greeks and Turks have been guilty of disctimination in the past.
But, as I have been saying for many years now, the past is in the past. We are neighbours and always will be and soon we will have totally open borders for trade and travel. Let's leave what's been done where it belongs and look how we're gonna make some money from associating our trade, thus increasing our incomes and drink happily coffee together one day.

Not the only denied group, the Cornish in Britain are also denied (not that they really care.)

Of course, people should be allowed to call theirselves whatever they wish.

xristar,

The issue is not that of formal recognition of Turks in Thrace as a minority, it is about the right of individuals to express their ethnic identity, follow their traditions, practice their culture, use their native language, and above all to associate freely without being persecuted.

Nobody has the right to ban associations just because they consist of Turkish members or because they have Turkish in their name. This is a flagrant violation of fundamental human rights which should not have remained unchallenged especially within an EU member state. 

The banning of organization such as

1. Rodopi Turkish Women�s Cultural Association
2. Western Thrace Turkish Teachers Union
3. Komotini Turkish Youth Union
4. Turkish Union of Xanthi

which in no way whatsoever endanger nor harm the well being of other citizens is an unlawful act whose aim it the ethnic cultural and linguistic annihilation and assimilation of the Turkish community within Thrace. EU citizens must all stand up against such acts and make it abundantly clear that they refuse to tolerate persecution of people for their ethnic origin and the banning of organizations for their ethnic composition. I expect the EU to remain true to its humanistic principles and push for the lifting of these bans, failure to do so will significantly erode the credibility of the Union and have significant political ramificantions on the Union's assumed impartiality and a strong demoralizing effect on those Turks that support the improvement of minority rights in their own country.

If Greece believes in her moral and democratic superiority, let her set an example for Turkey to follow by ceasing to persecute her own Turkish minority.

According to the prosecutor Mr Linos,the Turkish Union of Xanthi is illegal and contradictious to the Hellenic Law because it tries to promote the existence of a Turkish minority in Hellas,in reverse with the Lausanne Treaty ,in order to serve the interests of a specific country,Turkey.It's persistence in using the abjective "Turkish",insults the Hellenic Law and it is dangerous for the natural security,and not only it does not help in creating a peacefull climate between the Christians and the Muslims of Thrace,but it raises an un-existant matter of a Turkish minority.If it wanted to show only the origin of it's members with the usage of the term "Turkish Union",it could do that by making more clear the name of the Union,so it cannot create misunderstandings.

Spartaus,

you are stating the obvious.
Of course Turkey will try to abuse Turkish organization in Thrace for her political purposes. Greece will try to abuse the Patriarchate in Istanbul in relation to her claims of Constantinople. Kurdish Nationalist organizations will try to abuse extended cultureal rights for the Kurds to push their seperatist propaganda.

But neither of these aforementioned possibilities relieve any country from her responsibilities to respect the human rights of their citizens. Countries that are weak, narrowminded  and fearful are those that try to abuse and silence their minorities, because they are not brave enough to embrace of the value of fraternity, liberty and equality. Instead they choose nationalism to unite people like sheep, they make us adore symbols such as a piece of a clothe, which we proudly wave as our flags; make us wear badges and parade our ethnicity; they incite  fear of those that are  different to strengthen their grip on us, and turn us into their obedient sheep ... nationalism is nothing but a tool that our masters use to control us.

For this reason I do not blame Greeks for failing to see and condemn the suffering of the West Thracian Turks, we are all victims of this mentality. We are all afraid to see the suffering of the other side because we fear that by sympathising with the "other" we may be turned into the black sheep in our herd, we fear that we may be labeled traitors because some may accuse us that by defending the "enemy" we are loading the opponent�s propaganda machinery with ammunition and the sin is made worse by the fact that we are a Turk or a Greek. Nobody likes traitors and nobody wants to be labeled as one.  It requires exceptional courage to be able to transcend this ethnic boundary and that is why I really respect Neoptolemos for having the courage to speak in the defense of his fellow citizens of Turkish origin, he has displayed a courage that I clearly lacked in many discussions pertaining to the Greeks.

Samuel Johnson once wrote that patriotism is the last resort of a scoundrel. Only patriots and scoundrels would turn a blind eye to the violations of the rights of their fellow citizens. The choice is yours ... you can either raise your voice against the ongoing human rigths violations that your fellow citizen of Turkish origin have to undero and gain the gratitude of these people, or  remaine silently complicit in these violations and be a proud but a bigotted patriot without a heart.


Edited by bg_turk - 11-Jun-2006 at 14:05