FUEN condemns arrest of Mr Kaymakçı, president of our member organisation from Rhodes and Kos

The Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) is shocked by the news that the president of our member organization Rhodes, Kos and the Dodecanese Turks Culture and Solidarity Association, Mr. Mustafa Kaymakçı was arrested and kept under detention one night in Kos (İstanköy), where he was doing research for a new project of his organization. Later he was expelled from Greece and prohibited to enter Greece on the grounds that he poses a threat to the public order. FUEN strongly condemns the attitude of the Greek authorities and expresses its strong support to Mr. Kaymakçı against this illegitimate and humiliating act by the Greek authorities.

 “Mr. Kaymakçı is a well-respected member of our FUEN family, fighting for the preservation of the language and culture of his community. Expelling one or another leader of the community from Greece will certainly not solve the decades long struggle of the Turkish minority on the Greek Islands or in Western Thrace. The dialogue between minority and majority should prevail, we ask the Greek Government to show openness towards the problems raised by the ethnic minorities as the right European approach.” stated Loránt Vincze, FUEN President.

The Greek police arrested Mr. Kaymakçı on 30 August 2016, based on the decision that he is prohibited to enter Greece as from 18 July 2016. He was not informed about this decision before in Rhodes (Rodos), where he first entered Greece on August 27th and was not served a copy of this decision at the moment of arrest in Kos. The conditions of detention in the police station were inhumane. He was kept under detention in an overcrowded room of 30 square meters with only a small window.

Mr Kaymakçı was released only after he signed a letter that he will not sue the Greek authorities. On August 31st, he was expelled to Turkey by police escort and he was not allowed to return back to Rhodes and take his personal belongings there.

As a member of the Turkish community of Rhodes, Mr. Kaymakçı was born in Rhodes and later grew up in Turkey. The Rhodes, Kos and the Dodecanese Turks Culture and Solidarity Association, which has the aim of preserving the cultural identity and traditions of the Turkish community in Rhodes and Kos, particularly to learn their mother tongue through bilingual education as it was before 1972, carries out activities at the international level.