Newsletter Federation of W estern Thrace Turks in Europe September 2005 Year: 1 Nr: 1 Johannisstraße 50, 58452 Witten • Tel.: +49.2302.913291• Fax: +49.2302.913293 • E-mail: [email protected] • www.abttf.org Green Light from Greece had annulled the the FUEN to the M embership of citizenships of 46638 persons! ABTTF The state made public for the first time through official numbers The green light was turned The state made public for condition, can ask for their on for the membership of the first time through citizenships through the Federation of W estern official numbers:The applying to the Ministry of Thrace Turks in Europe citizenship of 46638 Interior Affairs with the (ABTTF) to the Federal persons had been annulled! necessary legal documents. Union of European The applica-tions are going Nations FUEN, which The member of Parliament, to be evaluated according to represents the W estern Ilhan Ahmet, had asked in the any case by the Thrace Turkish minority his question motion he had Citizenship Committee; the through having attended to submitted to the Parliament wrong actions of the the meetings of the FUEN on the 20. April in 2005 administration are going to for the last two years. how many persons had lost be investigated, and it is their citizenship, and what going to be decided by the ABTTF, which attended to kind of initiatives had been Vice Minister of Interior the Nations Congress of the undertaken in these subject Affairs at the end. FUEN assembled in matters. The question had 1998, till the Citizenship Brussels on the 4th-8th May been addressed to the 4. The ones, whose requests Law numbered 19. N. in 2005, has called the Ministry of Interior Affairs. to obtain the Greek 3370/55 was applied and representatives of the citizenships are not abolished. nations coming from The Ministry of Interior accepted, can apply for the different regions of Europe Affairs answered Mr. Ilhan method of the 2. From these persons, who and attending to the Ahmet through its writing “Politography of obtaining obtained the Turkish meeting for support dated 78400/8334 as the Citizenship” upon the citizenship, and live in through describing the follows: Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of Greece, can have the problems of the W estern the New Citizenship Law “Stateless (Heimatlos)” Thrace Turkish minority. At 1. 46638 Muslims from the dated N. 3284/2004. This identity card. the meeting, the president W estern Thrace and 12 law was passed in the of ABTTF, Halit Habiboglu Islands lost their Parliament re-cently, and 3. The persons, who find got the word on behalf of citizenships till the year the redraft of the law is out themselves in this the W estern Thrace Turkish of question minority, and stated that the Turkish identity of the 5.000 Signatures from Europe minority was not being recognized in Greece, and for the Turkish Union of Xanthi the Turkish Union of Xanthi and the Cultural By the end of the signing The signing campaign, Association of Turkish campaign carried out by the which has been carried out W omen in Rhodope could Federation of W estern by ABBTTF through its not perform their activities Thrace Turks in Europe member foundations due to the word “Turkish” (ABTTF) and 29 Europe- Europe-wide, and parallel in their names. He said, wide ABTTF-member to the signing campaign “The Frame Agreement on foundations of W estern started in the W estern the Protection of the Thrace Turks, the number Thrace against the ban Minorities, although Greece of signatures collected has decision of the Turkish signed years ago, but has approached to 5.000. Continued on page 7 Continued on page 7 AVRUPA BATI TRAKYA TÜRK FEDERASYONU (ABTTF) Totalitarian Statements Call from the Organization Harm the Integration of the Islamic Conference Respect Call from the Organization of the Islamic The Federation of W estern Conference (OIC) for the Identity of the W estern Thrace Turks in Europe Thrace Turks (ABTTF) criticized the statements of Stefanie Vogelsang, the District President of CDU of Berlin-Neuköln and the member of the Municipality Council, that the ones, who could not speak German, should be expelled from the country: “The immigrant minorities should not be pointed as target in order to have political advantage. the history of migration. In Such seeds, which are the history of the migration sowed for short-term of workers, which has been advantages, gives the way to going on over half of a At the OIC 32. Term would make the self- totalitarianism.” century, the immigrants Foreign Ministers Meeting management of the have become longest a part which took place in Jemen, foundations possible. The statements of the CDU of Germany. It should not it was called that all the member, Stefanie been forgotten that these measures should be taken in Concerning the issue of the Vogelsgang, which people have been order that the identity and Turkish Union of Xanthi appeared in the German recognized as immigrants rights of the W estern (ITB), one of the oldest press in details, that the only at the beginning of this Thrace Muslim Turkish NGOs of the Turkish immigrants, who could not year.” Minority in Greece were minority, unhappiness learn German, should be preserved. about the ban of the expelled, were harshly Mr. Habipoglu stated that foundation activities by the criticized by the ABTTF the idea of expelling people, In the written proposal Greek Highest Court of President, Halit Habipoglu. since they could not learn adopted unanimously at the Appeal due to the word Mr. Habipoglu evaluated the language, did have no OIC Foreign Ministers “Turkish” in its name was this as a misfortune that the place in the democratic meeting, the repressions expressed, and it was political personalities were order, and said: “The carried out against the stressed that it was making such statements, concerning people are Muslim minority were unacceptable that the and pointing at the ordinary persons, who were embodied right after their stressed, and the identity and rights of the immigrant minorities as “adjudication pressure” on W estern Thrace Turkish target in order to achieve arrival to the mill of the elected Muftis (the minority were being political advantages before industry without any highest religious authority ignored. the national elections on 18 language course or of a province) of Xanthi September , and said: “As education. It is a sign of and Komotini were The OIC General the members of the judicial ignorance that the condemned and the official Secretariat has also been immigrant minority living in expulsion, which could be recognition of Muftis were assigned to prepare a report Germany, we are aware that applied to terrorists or criminal persons, are being appealed. about the news of the we should of course learn destruction of the mosques the language of the country proposed for such Furthermore, it was and Muslim graveyards in where we live as perfect as immigrant persons. demanded that the the W estern Thrace. It was possible, and I believe that Furthermore, such kind of necessary steps were taken stated that the report we realize this in the best thinking is the real in order that the Muslim related to the Turkish way. However, the hindrance before the Turkish minority in the minority in the W estern statements of Ms. integration of the W estern Thrace could elect Thrace would be presented Vogelsang shows that she immigrants in this country” their own executive boards at the next OIC Foreign speaks without embracing in such a way that this Ministers Meeting 2 AVRUPA BATI TRAKYA TÜRK FEDERASYONU (ABTTF) 1idiculous statement from Greece: The W estern Thrace Turks quit their citizenship on their own will! At the meetings of the 11. and they are forced to live ethnic origin” and “non- W orking Group on in a way that they are Greeks”, and deprives the Minorities in Geneva this deprived of all their social ones of the citizenship year, the Greek delegation rights.” through an administrative has continued its state’s decision, when they are rejection policy through its W hile Greece prefers non-Greeks, many of our response given to the leaving many claims people have to live in the representative of ABTTF, without answers, and insists “stateless” status. Art. 19 is Cemile Giousouf, who on describing the minority the part of a much more stated the problems of the only as “Muslim”, her comprehensive policy, W estern Thrace Turks statement on the which aims the emigration there. deprivations of the of our minority from the citizenship surprised the W estern Thrace, and it is The meetings of the state tried to take the minority and specialists of not possible to hide it under W orking Group on religious autonomy given the subject matter deeply. any cover.” Minorities, which have been them by the international In the oral and written organized by the United treaties away from their statement made by the Following to the meetings, Nations specialists every hands through the representative of the Greek Cemile Giousouf made an year since 1995, and bring appointments to the posts government, it was evaluation, and said: “It is the NGO’s and at Müftülük (public body of maintained that the ones, unfortunately to observe academicians together, were the religious matters) by the who had quit the that Greece has still the held for the 11. time at the state, and the minority citizenship, had done this intention to continue a beginning of July in could not determine the by not returning to the structural rejection policy Geneva. W hile ABTTF is administrators of the country, and on their own against the Turkish minority also a permanent foundations, which were will.