STATEMENT REGARDING THE REPORT ENTITLED ‘INCIDENTS TARGETING PLACES OF RELIGIOUS CHARACTER IN GREECE’

As the Elected Muftis of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace, we have carefully analyzed the 2024 Report entitled “Incidents Targeting Places of Religious Character in Greece”, published by the Secretariat General for Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports of the Hellenic Republic, together with the Directorate for Religious Education and Interreligious Relations and the Department for Religious Freedom and Interreligious Relations.

It is observed that the report adopts an assessment that largely characterizes existing state policies as positive, sufficient and fully compatible with international law. While this section appears to offer a detailed analysis, it fails to adequately address a number of fundamental legal and practical issues that members of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace have raised consistently over many years and the evaluations that are far from impartial, reflect the official perspective.

In this context, the definition of the status of the Turkish minority of Western Thrace solely as a religious minority with reference to the Lausanne Peace Treaty constitutes a restrictive interpretation of the historical context of the Treaty and is incompatible with contemporary international human rights standards. The European Convention on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights clearly establish that minority identity cannot be reduced to religion alone, but must also encompass language, culture, collective identity, and the individual right to self-identification. The report, however, does not take these into account.

Similarly, the structuring of the Mufti Offices in Western Thrace as public institutions directly subordinated to the executive branch, and the retention of final decision-making authority by the state in the process of appointing muftis, constitute a clear violation of the principles of freedom of religion and community-based autonomy. The consultative mechanisms, the limited binding nature of these mechanisms raises serious concerns regarding the right of religious communities to freely choose their own religious leaders. While international human rights standards require state interference in the internal affairs of religious communities to be kept to a minimum, the current framework institutionalizes state control.

Although the report notes that Law No. 4964/2022 explicitly defines the powers and status of muftis, this legislation conflicts with the provisions of the 1881 Convention of Istanbul, the 1913 Treaty of Athens, the 10 August 1920 Treaty for the Protection of Minorities in Greece, and the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty. Consequently, the law endeavors to cast a veil over the violation of the autonomy of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace.

Furthermore, the regulations concerning the Alevi-Bektashi community that is an integral part of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace are reflected as a “historic turning point”, which is an overly optimistic and misleading assessment. At a time when the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace has for nearly a century been subjected to the denial of its identity, restrictions on the election of religious leaders and long-established foundation administrators, and the closure of its associations, policies aimed at identity differentiation and segregation within the minority itself constitute an attack on its holistic identity. Moreover, the sustainability of these regulations and the extent to which they genuinely respond to the real needs of the community remain uncertain.

The report also provides a detailed account of certain restoration projects and administrative arrangements implemented in recent years concerning places of worship of the Minority living in Rhodes and Kos. While these measures and restoration efforts may be regarded as positive steps in terms of the preservation of cultural heritage, the fact that the right of the Island Turks to receive education in their mother tongue, Turkish, has been effectively obstructed since 1972, and that the management of foundations is structured under the decisive authority of the executive branch, demonstrates that Greece has not adequately fulfilled its international obligations regarding the protection of minorities living within its territory.

In conclusion, we believe that the assessments contained in report concerning the situation of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace would benefit from being enriched through a rights-based perspective that more directly reflects the experiences and expectations of Minority members. We believe that, considering the Minority’s right to self-identification, its demands for genuine institutional and religious autonomy, and the obligations arising from international human rights law would contribute to strengthening mutual trust and fostering sustainable solutions.

In this regard, we wish to reiterate the importance of a constructive dialogue with representatives of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace and of developing common platforms for cooperation.

                                                    Mustafa TRAMPA                                                                      İbrahim ŞERİF

                                   Chairman of the Western Thrace Turkish                                   Elected Mufti of Komotini

                                              Minority Advisory Board

                                            and Elected Mufti of Xanthi