Ολόκληρο το ψήφισμα του Συμβουλίου της Ευρώπης για τα νησιά της Ίμβρου&Τενέδου και της ανάγκης προστασίας της Ελληνικής μειιονότητας

Summary

The two Turkish islands of Gökçeada (Imbros) and Bozcaada (Tenedos), situated at the entrance of the Dardanelles, have been inhabited mostly by ethnic Greeks since antiquity, whilst they were governed over the centuries essentially by Venitian and Ottoman rulers, and, since 1922, by the Turkish Republic.

Desacreted church : Imvros Island

The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights regrets that as a consequence of various measures taken by the authorities in the second half of the 20^th century (closure of all Greek community schools on the islands, large-scale expropriations, various forms of harassment), but also for economic reasons, the vast majority of the original inhabitants of the islands have emigrated, leaving only about 250 mostly elderly members of the ethnic Greek community on Gökçeada (Imbros) and 25 on Bozcaada (Tenedos). At the same time, many thousands of exiled islanders and their offspring have demonstrated their desire to maintain close links with their homeland.

The committee makes a number of specific proposals for urgent positive measures needed in order to stem or at least partly reverse the departure of the ethnic Greek population from the islands so that their bicultural character can be preserved.

It finds that such positive action by the Turkish authorities will not only be a tangible sign of Turkey’s respect for the rights of her own citizens, but could also serve as a model for cooperation between Turkey and Greece.

A positive attitude towards the ethnic Greek islanders and their descendants would also be an excellent example of Turkey’s willingness to overcome outdated nationalist attitudes and to embrace European values of good neighbourliness.

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