Announcement Regarding a Question
Put by the Greek Members of the European Parliament
Ioannis Varvitsiotis and Georgios Papastamkos

by Mr George Nakratza

September 15, 2005

Read this page in Greek | Read this page in Macedonian

A blatantly hypocritical question put by the Greek Members of the European Parliament Ioannis Varvitsiotis and Georgios Papastamkos.

The aforesaid Greek MEP's have put before the European Parliament a question which demonstrates an unprecedented hypocrisy in its hostility to Turkey.
In their question to the Parliament the Greek MEP's have accused Turkey of refusing to respect the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, asking whether this conduct on the part of Turkey is consistent with the European acquis.

These two politicians have obviously forgotten the old proverb: people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

The reader will be aware that in its ruling of 10th July 1998 the European Court of Human Rights condemned the Greek authorities' refusal to officially register the Centre for Macedonian Culture in Florina as a contravention of article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

It is worth pointing out that even today, five years after the European Court's ruling against Greece, the latest application for registration by the members of the Centre for Macedonian Culture has been turned down by the Florina Court of First Instance (Decision No. 243/19/12/03). The representatives of the Centre have again lodged an appeal with the Appeal Court in Kozani.

Although a full member of the European Union, Greece refuses to honour the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights; its own conduct is in no way consistent with the European acquis.

And yet despite this reprehensible behaviour on the part of their own state, the two Greek MEP's have ventured to submit a question to the European Parliament in which they inquire to what extent the conduct of Turkey is consistent with that same European acquis.

Their action demonstrates a degree of hypocrisy which flouts the most basic principles of political morality.

These observations will be translated into English and forwarded to many hundreds of MEP's.

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NEW DEMOCRACY
GENERAL SECRETARIAT
FOR THE PARLIAMENTARY GROUP
Press Office
Athens, 14 September 2005

PARLIAMENT
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
13 September 2005

Yesterday in the European Parliament

* The Commission expects Turkey to respect the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (12 May 2005) concerning the case of Abdulla Otsalan. Turkey's obligation to comply with all the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights was stressed by the Commissioner for Enlargement, Mr. Rehn., in answer to a question by the leader of the New Democracy MEP's, Mr. Ioannis Varvitsiotis, and the MEP Professor Georgios Papastamkos. This general obligation extends of course to the particular case of Abdulla Otsalan: on 12 May 2005 the European Court of Human Rights ruled, inter alia, that he had not been allowed a fair trial and that Turkey should take the necessary corrective action.

The two Greek MEP's pointed out that one of the most firmly grounded objections raised to Turkey's future accession to the European Union is its failure to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. An example often cited is the refusal of Turkey - as seen in the statements of leading Turkish officials and politicians - to comply with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. (See, for example, the ruling on Appeal No. 46221/1, Otsalan v. Turkey).

In his response to the individual questions put by Messrs. Varvitsiotis and Papastamkos on the extent to which such conduct is consistent with the European acquis (article 6 para. 1 and 2 of the Treaty of the European Union, articles 1-9, para. 3 of the Treaty on the European Constitution), the Commissioner for Enlargement stressed that Turkey's obligation to comply with all the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights was emphasized by the EU at the 44th session of the Turkey-EU Association Council. Moreover, from the information available to the Commission it appears that the Turkish authorities do intend to honour the Court ruling in the case of Otsalan; no statement to the contrary has come to the attention of the Commission.