2024 Warsaw Human Dimension Conference :
The Constantinopolitan Society’s full statement for Greek Minority in Turkiye
2024 Warsaw Human Dimension Conference :
The Constantinopolitan Society’s full statement for Greek Minority in Turkiye
Warsaw Human Dimension Conference
30 September to 11 October 2024
Wednesday, 9 October
Plenary Session 9: Tolerance and non-discrimination II, including:
– Rights of persons belonging to national minorities
– Roma and Sinti issues
The Greek Minority in Τürkiye
STATEMENT
My name is Leonidas Koumakis and I represent the Constantinopolitan Society, a civil society organization, established in 1928 in Greece by forcibly expatriated members of the Greek Minority of İstanbul.
We thank the OSCE and the Maltese Chairmanship for the opportunity to present our concerns about the actual implementation of OSCE human dimension commitments and identify further action, which may be taken by Τürkiye, as participating State, regarding the Greek Minority in this country.
Non-Muslim minorities in Τürkiye have suffered numerous injustices, as a result of discriminatory and oppressive state policies. Especially, the annihilation of the Greek Minority in Τürkiye is the continuation of the Genocide that had systematically exterminated the Greek populations of Asia Minor, Eastern Thrace, Imbros, Tenedos and İstanbul through combined means of massacres, mass deportations and atrocities of 1914 – 1922 which resulted in the expulsion of more than 1,300,000 Greeks from their native land.
It is humanly impossible to describe all the state practices that led to the extermination of the Greek Minority of İstanbul, so we will mention only a few:
In 1929, the total burning of 5,000 Greek residences of Tatavla (Kurtulus), the most renowned Greek suburb of İstanbul.
In 1932, Law 2007, passed by the Turkish National Assembly, banned Greeks from the exercise of thirty professions, in order to force them to leave the country.
In 1941, all Christians between 18 and 45 years old were dragged to the army and were scattered in the depths of Asia Minor to construct roads and military buildings under the most adverse circumstances. Due to unbearable hardships, thousands of them died.
In 1942, the Turkish Government put into force the Law 4305, known as “Varlik Vergisi”, using as criteria religion and ethnicity, imposed a burdensome wealth tax on property, which aimed at the financial extinction of minorities in Τürkiye.
In 1955, the Turkish Government, in a cold-blooded perfectly prepared and professionally organized manner, launched a murderous pogrom against Greek Minority in İstanbul with destruction and looting of thousands of houses, school buildings, stores as well as many other sanctuaries and holy shrines.
In 1964, the mass deportations of a total of 40,000 Greeks from İstanbul and the implementation of an inhumane plan to depopulate the islands of Imbros and Tenedos from Greek residents.
All those atrocities and oppressive measures later on stand as a historical affirmation that the permanent goal of every successive Turkish regime is to totally annihilate the Greek Minority in Τürkiye. After the Lausanne Treaty (1923), there were still over 130,000 Greeks in Istanbul. Since then, as a consequence of systematic persecutions by the Turkish State, these policies have led to the dramatic decline of the Greek population of Τürkiye, from over 100,000 in the 1950’s to less than 2,000 at present.
In contrast, the thriving Muslim minority in Greek Thrace numbers around 120,000 members at present, while the two minorities were equal in number at the time the Lausanne Treaty was signed. The numbers speak for themselves.
Persisting shortcomings
The Greek minority in Τürkiye continues to suffer numerous injustices, as a result of discriminatory and oppressive policies. The rule of law regarding minorities often is not respected. The Turkish Grand National Assembly has repeatedly rejected the prospect of giving the floor to minority representatives or invite them in parliamentary committee gatherings to share their insight with the rest of the lawmakers.
The property rights of the Greek Minority Foundations continue to be violated. The most serious shortcomings are the following:
· The new Law does not provide for the return of “seized/fused foundations” and their properties. The management of them has been assumed by the General Directorate of Foundations (GDF). The provisional article 7 does not allow for the holding of new elections for the 23 seized foundations.
· Article 5 provides for the establishment and management of new foundations in accordance with the Turkish Civil Code (TCC). However, TCC in article 101 (4) does not allow the establishment of foundations of non-Muslim minorities. Unfortunately, the new Regulation for elections (June 2022) does not include any provisions concerning the handover of the management of seized/fused foundations, whose management and administration had been taken over.
Finally, the new regulation does not bring minority communities freedom or allow foundations to be run democratically. It extends state control, and sometimes authorizes direct intervention into minority affairs.
Educational issues
Despite some favorable regulations, Greek Minority schools still face a number of procedural difficulties and bureaucratic obstacles.
· Minority schools are still treated as private schools and they are being deprived of state funds, even though it is foreseen by the Lausanne Treaty. Consequently, their outdated infrastructure does not meet the current requirements and training needs regarding the use of new technologies and digital tools to improve the educational process. This policy leads to discrimination against minorities and further degradation of the education provided to them
· The registration and attendance of European and other nationalities students to Greek minority schools is only permitted as “guest students”, without receiving graduation certificates and, as a consequence, those students are not admitted to universities etc.
· Due to intended bureaucratic, time-consuming procedures, the approval of new schoolbooks is delayed at the expense of the educational requirements.
All these measures are inevitably leading to the gradual dissolution of the Greek Minority schools protected under the Lausanne Treaty (Articles 40 & 41).
Discriminatory practices – Hate speech / intimidation
All members of non-Muslim minorities continue to be treated by the Turkish authorities as “aliens”. As a consequence, the members belonging to the non-Muslim minorities are excluded from posts in public sector and services, the police forces, the army or the judiciary.
Hate speech and intimidation directed against Greek Minority remain a serious problem. Attacks or acts of vandalism on minority worship places continued and need to be investigated. On August 23, 2024, Aghios Eleftherios Greek Orthodox deep-rooted cultural heritage and religion cemetery in Kurtuluş District of İstanbul was vandalized. This is still another act of contempt for religious freedom that has taken place without any reaction from the Turkish government.
Denial of succession rights
Turkey continues refusing the succession rights of members of the minority with Greek nationality. The descendants of expatriated Greeks are deprived of their hereditary rights and forced to liquidate or sell their properties. The Turkish administration by means of arbitrary and deliberate actions is expropriating the real estate of the Greek minority.
Τürkiye should ensure that Greek citizens are able to fully enjoy their rights over inherited property, and should conform to the relevant rulings of the European Court for Human Rights and implement its own Registry Law.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Our association, Constantinopolitan Society, as a civil society organization, calls on Τürkiye to:
· protect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rules of Law, including property rights of citizens belonging to minorities;
· initiate measures and policies of affirmative action that would guarantee the survival, the well-being and the future of the Greek Minority
· redress violated rights of non-Muslim foundations so as to provide justice. The sized-fused foundation practice, which is against the principles of a democratic State, governed by the rule of Law, must be abandoned immediately.
Thank you for your attention.
The text above was written out by the former Chairmans of the Constantinopolitan Society Antonis Lambidis and Leonidas Koumakis and approved by the Administrative Council of the Society
Τα άρθρα που δημοσιεύονται στην ιστοσελίδα του ΙΗΑ εκφράζουν αποκλειστικά τους συγγραφείς –Η ιστοσελίδα του ΙΗΑ δεν λογοκρίνει, ούτε επεμβαίνει σε άρθρα – κείμενα των μελών του ΙΗΑ
International Hellenic Association
