THE RIGHTS OF THE GREEKS OF
IMVROS IN THE SPOTLIGHT ONCE AGAIN
The
European Commission makes specific references to the Imvros Issue in
its 2005 Progress Report on Turkey
Following
the publication of the European Commission’s 2005 Progress Report on
Turkey, the Imvrian Associations of Athens and Macedonia-Thrace have
expressed their satisfaction that the Commission has, for the second
consecutive year, made specific references to the human rights violations
that Greeks of Imvros are subjected to by the Turkish authorities. As
such, the Imvros Issue is included amongst the criteria determining the
progress of Turkey’s E.U. accession negotiations.
Specifically,
the following references to Imvros are made on page 37 of the Report:
“The
Greek minority on the island of Gokceada (Imvros) continues to encounter a
number of difficulties. These relate, in particular, to the land registry
and the designation of land and buildings as “monuments of nature or
culture”, which has led to the confiscation of property. Moreover, there
are reports of tenders being launched for land that was expropriated in
the past and a former Greek minority school started operating as a hotel
in June 2005 against the wishes of this minority. In April 2005 Prime
Minister Erdogan visited the island for the first time and listened to the
concerns of this community. In June 2005 a Turkish and a Greek member of
the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly also visited the island
and concluded that the Greek minority encounters a number of difficulties.
The Turkish member expressed his intention to propose legislative issues
to address these issues.”
As
per the observations that have been documented by the European Commission
(among others), Turkey continues to systematically violate the fundamental
rights of the Greek minority of Imvros:
-Religious
Freedom: a large number of churches and chapels have been destroyed and/or
confiscated by the Turkish state. Furthermore, Turkey’s continued
refusal to recognize the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Imvros and Tenedos
as a legal entity has allowed for the encroachment of church properties on
these islands.
-Education:
the Turkish authorities have refused to permit the reopening of Greek
schools or the instruction of the Greek language on Imvros. Instead, the
community’s schools are being handed over to private Turkish concerns
and utilized for tourism development. As a result, not one Greek student
remains on the island today.
-Property
Rights: via the implementation of an illegal and ill-conceived land
registry scheme, the Greeks of Imvros are being denied their basic rights
with regard to the real estate they own on the island (i.e. whatever
remains in their possession subsequent to the “expropriations” of
previous years, which resulted in 90% of the island’s arable lands being
confiscated by the Turkish state). In a vain attempt to legitimize the
faits accomplis, the confiscated Greek real estate is now being offered
free of charge by the authorities to Turkish business interests and
settlers.
We demand
that Turkey, already a E.U. candidate member, honor its obligations
towards its Greek minority, whose rights are protected by the European
acquis and the Lausanne Treaty, with the immediate adoption of legislative
and administrative measures to effectively restore and safeguard the
rights of Greek Imvriotes, in accordance with the E.U.’s commands and
the expressed commitments of both the President of Turkey’s
Parliamentary Delegation to the Council of Europe, Mr. Murat Mercan, and
the Turkish Prime Minister himself.
We
would like to express our satisfaction with the level of support we have
received in our efforts by a significant segment of Turkish society, with
which we are ready and willing to work together for a truly democratic,
modern and tolerant Turkey.
We
would like to warmly thank the members of the European Commission for the
objectivity and professionalism they exhibited in their evaluation of the
data that our delegation (acting on behalf of 8 Imvrian Associations from
across the globe – Athens, Thessaloniki, Germany, New York, South
Africa, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney) submitted for their review. We
would like to particularly thank the Commissioner for Enlargement, Mr.
Olli Rhen and his staff for his commitment expressed in several counts to
continue to monitor the situation of the rights of our minority.
For
additional information please contact:
Mr.
Paris Asanakis - ++30-694-443-0042
Mr.
Kyriakos Bakalis - ++30-693-724-5038
