MINELRES: ABTTF: Civil Court of First Instance rejected the application of the Cultural Association of Turkish Women of the Region of Rodopi
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Tue Feb 23 19:21:07 2010
Original sender: ABTTF <[email protected]>
Press Release
Civil Court of First Instance rejected the application of the Cultural
Association of Turkish Women of the Region of Rodopi
On 4 February 2010, the Komotini Civil Court of First Instance refused
the application of the Cultural Association of Turkish Women of the
Region of Rodopi, asking for counterdemand of the decision, which
rejected the petition for organization. In addition, the association had
applied for a registered establishment.
According to the news of the periodical Azynlykca, the Civil Court of
First Instance refused the application of the Cultural Association of
Turkish Women of the Region of Rodopi with the justification that none
of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), excluding
criminal cases, are required to be implemented in the Greek domestic
law. Lawyers of the Cultural Association of Turkish Women of the Region
of Rodopi announced that they were going to appeal the decision of the
case, whose legal ground is not evident.
On 27 March 2008 in the case of Emin and Others v. Greece (application
no. 34144/05), the ECHR held unanimously that Greece had violated
Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the European
Convention on Human Rights. Greece had rejected to grant permition for
establishment to the Cultural Association of Turkish Women of the Region
of Rodopi on the grounds that the Lausanne Peace Treaty �did not
recognize a Turkish, but a Muslim minority in Western Thrace� and �due
to the nationality of the founders of the association, the name of the
association could influence public opinion in a wrong way�. In addition,
the ECHR held that the finding of a violation constituted in itself just
satisfaction for the non-pecuniary damage suffered by the applicants,
namely Hulya Emin and six others, in the case of Emin and Others.
After the decision of the Court, the Cultural Association of Turkish
Women of the Region of Rodopi applied to the Rhodope Civil Court of
First Instance. But in June 2009, the Court stated the invalidness of
the case due to improper application, because Orhan Hacyibram, lawyer of
the association, was not registered in the province of Rhodope, but in
the prefecture of Xanthi.
With regard to the subject matter, Halit Habipo?lu, President of the
Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) stated the
following: �The decision of the Komotini Civil Court of First Instance
demonstrates the fact that the problems of the Turkish Minority of
Western Thrace, regarding the freedom of association, have not
experienced any changes, and are still continuing without improvement.
During the period of the New Democracy Government, Foreign Minister Dora
Bakoyannis had stated that they had been preparing prepared a study on
the reflection of the ECHR decisions into the domestic law. Now, with
its study on the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace, we expect the PASOK
Government to perform an improvement of the situation by granting the
associations� legal status, and permitting the establishment of new
associations. Otherwise, in Greece, the concept of democracy and human
rights will be destroyed in an irreparable way.�
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ABTTF, Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe
Wemerstr. 2
58454 Witten
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 2302 /
913291
Fax: +49 (0) 2302 / 913293
E-Mail: [email protected]
Homepage: www.abttf.org
NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council
of the United Nations
Member of the Fundamental Rights Platform (FRP) of the European Union
Agency for Fundamental Rights
Member of the Federal Union of European Nationalities
(FUEN)
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