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REPORTS OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

ON MUSLIM MINORITIES AND COMMUNITIES

IN NON-OIC MEMBER STATES SUBMITTED TO

THE 33rd SESSION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE OF FOREIGN MINISTERS

BAKU — REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN23-25 JUMADA I 1427H

(19-21 JUNE 2006)

OIC/33-ICFM/2006/MM/SG.REPSORIGINAL: ARABIC

INDEX

S.No. SUBJECT PAGE No.1. Report of the Secretary-General on the Conditions of

of Muslim Minorities and Communities in Non-OIC Member States (OIC/33-ICFM/2005/MM/SG/REP.1)

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2. Report of the Secretary-General on the Question ofMuslims in Southern Philippines(OIC/33-ICFM/2005/MM/SG/REP.2)

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3. Report of the Secretary-General on the Situation ofthe Turkish Muslim Minority of Western Thrace, Greece (OIC/33-ICFM/2005/MM/SG/REP.3)

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4. Report of the Secretary-General on the Issue ofthe Muslim Minority of Mayanmar (Burma)(OIC/33-ICFM/2005/ MM/SG/REP.4)

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OIC/33-ICFM/2006/MM/SG.REP.1

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERALON

THE CONDITIONS OF MUSLIM COMMUNITIESAND MINORITIES

IN NON-OIC MEMBER STATES

1- The leaders of Islamic countries who met in the Third Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference (ISC) in Mecca Al-Mukarramah reiterated that Muslim Minorities and Communities, like all other communities, have their basic human rights that should be safeguarded. They expressed their deep concern at their current conditions marked by discrimination, poverty, political and social marginalization, and harsh economic conditions. They called for the need to develop a comprehensive plan aimed at providing solutions to the predicament of these communities and helping them to improve their living conditions as an integral part of the Muslim Ummah.

2- The General Secretariat continues to develop cooperation between the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), international organizations, and the governments of Muslim minorities in order to find solutions to their problems within the respect of the sovereignty and laws of these countries in implementation of The OIC Ten-Year Programme of Action adopted by the Third Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference (ISC).

3- The General Secretariat is facing difficulties in obtaining accurate statistics and information on Muslim communities in many countries, because certain sources do not provide accurate information on the population and conditions of Muslim Minorities while others exaggerate their numbers and depict a melodramatic picture of their conditions.

4- More recent sources indicate that the population of Muslims in non-OIC countries is some 500 million people, who represent about a third of Muslims around the globe and live in about 100 non-OIC countries with diverse religions, customs, and cultures.

5- Reports submitted by the Secretary-General to Islamic conferences show that many Muslim Minorities and Communities are still living in difficult and unstable conditions, including most notably political and military conflicts and disputes, ethnic cleansing, religious and sectarian discrimination, lack of economic and financial resources, and forcible displacement across borders. What complicates these issues is that the conflicts have gone on for long decades without finding just and fair solutions.

6- When the Muslim Minorities in these countries demand their rights they are referred to in grossly misrepresentative terms, such as “Islamic insurgency” or “separatist Islamic groups”, etc. What is clear today is that these persistent conflicts have remained without radical solution and have thus affected the conditions of millions of people living in these countries, dwarfed their progress, and excluded them from effective participation in the political and cultural life of their countries.


7- Most important difficulties currently faced by Muslim Minorities:

Widespread local and regional wars and conflicts. Deprivation from national and natural resources available in their regions. Political marginalization, weak economic role, non-participation in government

institutions and decision-making centres, and very limited political and economic influence.

Deteriorating living conditions, spread of poverty, poor education, unemployment, and absence of infrastructure.

Widespread missionary campaigns within Muslim Communities. Information received confirms that large numbers of Muslims are being drawn to Christianity in Africa and south-east Asian countries.

Mounting defamatory campaigns against Islam, which deliberately distort the facts and thus create a climate of added psychological pressures and tensions among the Muslim Minorities around the world.

8- Muslim Minorities living in the Balkans are well-established Muslim Communities. The policy of forcible annexation and alteration of borders in these areas is the main factor that creates difficulties for these communities. Recent sources indicate that these communities—living as they are in civilized and rich Europe—are suffering squalid political and economic conditions. In Macedonia, for instance, although Muslims represent a quarter of the population, they are suffering poor health and educational services and unemployment.

The same case applies to Muslims of Montenegro who represent around a quarter of the population but suffer extremely poor services. What’s more, the spread of unemployment is forcing growing numbers of Muslims to immigrate to neighbouring countries in order to look for work and escape the ethnic racism which is being practiced in Muslim regions.

9- The conditions of Muslim Communities in Europe differ from one country to another; but most of these countries have no specific laws to protect Muslims there. There are two problems that these Muslim communities suffer, and they are (1) the persecution of extremist right-wing groups and nationalistic fanaticism, particularly in the Balkan countries; and (2) the problems of integration in Western societies where these Muslim communities are moving towards total assimilation into the culture of the majority, especially in the case of the young generations of these communities who were born there and therefore have full citizenship rights.

10- Within the policy of H.E. the Secretary-General of supporting the initiatives aimed at finding adequate solutions to the issues of Muslims in non-Member States, and upon the invitation of the Government of Thailand, a mission from the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) carried out a successful visit—which was the first of its kind—to the Kingdom of Thailand, in June 2005, following the tragic events in 2004 in southern Thailand that led to the death of many victims among innocent civilians. The Secretary-

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General prepared a full programme that involved various areas of southern, western, and central Thailand, and also included Islamic universities and historic mosques. The mission had meetings with the heads of Islamic centres and associations.

11- The Secretary-General submitted a report on this subject to the 32nd Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) held in Sana’a, Republic of Yemen, and the Conference took note of the results of the visit and requested the Secretary-General to pursue his efforts and contacts on this mater with the Government of Thailand. The recent developments in this regard can be found in the following separate report.

12- The General Secretariat has been following with deep concern the situation of the Muslim Minority in the Xing Yang province in East Turkistan, China. Reports received from China indicate that—despite the economic progress of the province since the 1980’s—unemployment, poverty, and deprivation are still widespread among Muslims, who are also deprived of education and health care. Document No. ASA17/18/99 issued by Amnesty International in London on 21 April 1999 and entitled “Gross Violations of Human rights in the Autonomous Province of Xing Yang”, which was comprised of 155 pages in Arabic. However, Chinese authorities disregarded the recommendations adopted by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Racism, particularly in the Xing Yang province and Tibet. The Committee adopted a number of recommendations to the Chinese Government, most notable of which was to reconsider “any policies or practices that are likely to alter the demographic structure in the autonomous regions” and to avoid “any restraints on the exercise by members of the minorities of their religious rights”.

13- The General Secretariat has received a note from the Muslim Minority in China indicating that the authorities there are pushing ahead with the implementation of their plans aimed at assimilating the identity of 15 million Uighuri Muslims living in Xing Yang, east Turkistan, and turning them into a minority in their own regions. They called on the Chinese authorities to do the following:

- End the “severe battering” campaigns aimed at terrorizing the Muslim Uighuri population.

- Abolish the death penalty for political and religious prisoners.

- Release all political and religious prisoners.

- Guarantee the preservation of cultural, religious, and national identity of Uighuri Muslims.

- Guarantee the human rights of Uighuri Muslims and respect their right to live in dignity.

- Allow a visit by an OIC delegation with a view to getting acquainted with the conditions of Muslims in east Turkistan.

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14- The Member States as well as the Islamic institutions and OIC subsidiary and affiliated organs have lent and continue to lend extensive assistance in favour of Muslim Minorities, which are at present in urgent need of further assistance. The General Secretariat would like to request the Member States to provide it with relevant information available to them on this subject.

In this context, the Islamic Development Bank, since its establishment, contributed to implementing 810 projects in the fields of education, health, and relief in different parts of the globe in favour of Muslim Minorities. The IDB has also provided 6,418 university scholarships to students from these communities to the tune of USD 258,008,657 (Source: IDB Assistance Office).

15- The General Secretariat reaffirms that the principle of Islamic solidarity requires the Member States, which have the ability and the means, to redouble the volume of assistance provided, particularly in the fields of health, education, and family welfare in the Least Developed Countries with large Muslim Communities.

16- In this respect, we would like to make a special note, with all due appreciation, of the assistance provided by the Member States in order to receive and give shelter to millions of Muslim refugees who have been forced by persecution to flee their countries as these Member States still continue to provide them with assistance. The General Secretariat makes a passionate appeal to these countries to continue providing every possible assistance to them in order to enable them to return to their countries, particularly in the area of educational advancement for students born in these parts of the world.

17- In the areas of development, education, and culture, the OIC Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISF) has also been providing Muslim Minorities in non-OIC Member States with assistance that, up until the end of 2004, reached a total of USD 34,445,021. The ISF is working to develop plans for large-scale future projects that focus on development and bring sure benefits in favour of Muslim Minorities in non-OIC Member States.

18- This year (2005-2006) has been marked by proliferous activities on strengthening and developing contacts, meetings, and relations with the representatives of Muslim Minorities in non-OIC member states as well as parallel contacts with the governments of these countries. In this context, the Secretary-General has met the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand at the Headquarters of the United Nations and has met also the Foreign Minister of the Philippines at the Headquarters of the General Secretariat in Jeddah. H.E. the Secretary-General has also visited the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China with a view to developing contacts and relations with them and gaining first-hand knowledge of the conditions of Muslims in these two countries.

19- Official missions of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) aimed at addressing the issues and causes of Muslim Minorities in non-OIC member states:

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- To exert greater efforts in order to reach just political settlements of the urgent problems of Muslim Minorities.

- To call on the Member States to place part of their government and private sector investments in the development of the local economies of Muslim Minorities, particularly in Asia and Africa; and to encourage the savings and investment institutions of Muslim Minorities.

- To call on the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to direct some of its projects for implementation in regions where the most needy of Muslim Minorities live.

- To give special importance to establishing Islamic universities and institutions specialized in science and technology, whether this be through government or private sector assistance; and to develop Islamic universities and educational institutions.

- To strengthen relations with international human rights committees as international associations dedicated to the defence of human rights.

- To maximize on state-of-the-art information and communication technologies in order to counter the media campaigns associating terrorism with Islam, which requires the development of Islamic mass media to assume their role in this respect.

- To develop ways of communication with Muslim communities and organizing forums and meetings to discuss their affairs and causes.

20. The Secretary-General receives representatives of Muslim Communities and Minorities living in non-OIC member states, who visit the seat of the General Secretariat. In such meetings, a number of relevant issues and subjects are discussed. The Secretary-General has been stressing to these representatives the need to put their own house in order, to unify their ranks, and create their own civil and educational institutions to protect their interests, preserve their identity, and safeguard their rights within the laws of their countries. The Secretary-General has also underlined the principle of dialogue among civilizations and religions as the basic means for knowing the other and cooperating with him while respecting doctrinal and cultural specificities of Muslim Communities and others, and stressing man’s dignity, freedom, and rejection of all forms of terrorism, prosecution, and extremism, and calling for comprehensive human cooperation and the establishment of a society in which the values of righteousness, justice, and equality prevail.

21. The Secretary-General is submitting this report to the Thirty-third Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) for appropriate decision thereon.

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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERALON

THE QUESTION OFMUSLIMS IN SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES

1- Ten years have elapsed since the signing of the Peace Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under the auspices of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). The agreement provided for the establishment of a viable and progressive Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). It also provided that the Government of the Philippines should execute infrastructural projects in southern Philippines and provide the necessary budget for these projects.

2- The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has been urging the GRP and the MNLF to fully implement the terms of the agreement so as to establish peace in that region. The OIC has also been emphasizing that the Autonomous Region in southern Philippines should really feel the benefits of the agreement on all levels, which requires the GRP to provide the budget for development projects at all levels.

3- Muslims in southern Philippines, whose population is estimated at 8 to 10 million, are still living under deteriorating political, economic, and social conditions, which are evident in the extreme backwardness and acute lack of educational and health services. These conditions are in fact due to the central government’s control of natural resources in the Muslim areas, in addition to the political marginalization of Muslims that is manifest in the absence of fair representation in government and judiciary posts. Moreover, military operations have continued, leading to the displacement of more and more Muslims from their villages and towns on top of the continued demographic reengineering that has encouraged the migration of non-Muslims to the south in order to turn the Muslims there into the minority.

4- The report of the Ministerial Committee of Eight entrusted with following up the question of Muslims in southern Philippines, which was issued on 29 June 2005 following the meeting of the committee in Sana’a alongside the 32nd Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM), has indicated that there is still a discrepancy between the reports of the GRP and the MNLF. Therefore, there is an urgent need to strengthen cooperation and partnership between them in order to accelerate the development of the region as stipulated under the Peace Agreement. In addition, the Ministerial Committee fully supports the initiative seeking to complete the implementation of the Peace Agreement in consideration of the fact that economic and social development is the focus of Phase II.

5- The members of the Committee agreed to continue to monitor Phase II and reaffirmed the need for the Member States and Islamic charitable organizations to continue to provide developmental assistance to southern Philippines. The Committee welcomed the invitation addressed by the GRP to the Organization to dispatch a field mission to southern Philippines. A meeting was then convened to assess progress on the implementation of the Peace

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Agreement with the participation of the GRP, the MNLF, the General Secretariat of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and the Ministerial Committee of Eight.

6- The General Secretariat received a Note from the GRP dated December 2005 enumerating five chief articles in the implementation by the GRP of Phase II of the Peace Agreement. Article I of these was on the Participation of Muslims in the Executive Council, the Legislative Assembly, the Administrative System, and Representation in National Government. The Note indicated that the fifth elections organized for ARMM, which were held on 18 August 2005, resulted in the election of Dato Zaldi Uy Ampatuan as the new Regional Governor as well as the election of 24 new members for the Legislative Assembly. This Legislative Assembly is comprised of representatives of the five provinces and one city in ARMM, which is headed by Hatimil Hassan, who is a prominent leader of the MNLF. The Note also indicated that Muslims with the rank of Cabinet Secretary were also elected. They are Nasser Pangandamam, Department of Agrarian Reform, and Mr. Zamzamin Ampatuan, National Anti-Poverty Commission Chairman. In addition, two Muslim candidates were elected to the Philippine House of Representatives. The Note also indicated that two senior Muslim magistrates were appointed to serve in the Court of Appeals.

7- In Article II on the Participation of Muslims in the Regional Security Forces, the Note indicated that the security forces in ARMM were presently constituted of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the MNLF units integrated into the PNP, which numbered around 1500 integrees as part of Phase I.

8- In Article III on Public Education, the Note indicated the need for an integrated system of education for Muslims in the Philippines. That is why the education authorities defined a road map for the development of the elementary education of Muslims, where the first stages are governed by Order No. 51 of the National Government Department of Education, which essentially enjoins a smooth transfer of students from public to private schools or vice versa, to unify the long history of dichotomy among Muslims. The aim of this process is to promote both Philippine national identity and preserve the Islamic cultural heritage. The ARMM Regional Government also recognized 36 schools whose teachers are receiving salaries from the ARMM Educational System.

9- In Article IV on the Economic and Financial Systems, Mines and Minerals, Banking, and Natural Resources, Fiscal Management, and National Government Funding for the ARMM. In this respect, the Note explained that all these details have been realized under Republic Act 9054-Article 11 of (on Urban and Rural Planning and Development) and Article 12 (on Economy and Patrimony), which provides for the establishment of a Regional Economic Development and Planning Board. A Medium-Term Development Plan has been developed for the development of ARMM for the period 2004 to 2010. Regarding investment incentives, powers have been given to the ARMM Regional Government to grant tax incentives and establish economic and industrial zones; and for the Regional Legislative Assembly to prioritize the System on Economic and Trade Agreements. Relative to natural resources, Article 12, Section 5, provides for the Use and Development of Mines, Minerals, and other Natural Resources, and Revenue Sharing. Although, the National Government continues to control and supervise matters of extraction, with their devolved

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mandate, the Regional Government effectively has full authority over all areas of environment and natural resources within the ARMM. The National Government is working closely with the Regional Legislative Assembly in legislating further devolution or increase in the Regional Government’s control and supervision in the utilization and development of natural resources within the ARMM. One of these legislative goals is the enactment of a Regional Aquatic and Fisheries Code.

Relative to National Government Funding for the ARMM, the National Government has so far appropriated over 67 Billion Pesos, since the forging of the 1996 Peace Agreement, to finance infrastructure and other government programs.

10- Finally, regarding Article V on Sharia and the Judiciary, the Note indicates that there are today five Sharia District Courts with two District Judges, and 30 Sharia Circuit Courts with 27 Circuit Court Judges functioning within and outside the ARMM.

11- The General Secretariat has received a report on the implementation of the 1996 Peace Agreement (PA) from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which noted the following:

On the Executive Council: The bone of contention on Phase II-A is with respect to the determination of the areas to be included under the supposed New Autonomous Government. The GRP insisted on the plebiscite, which the MNLF does not recognize.

The MNLF does not recognize the plebiscite unilaterally conducted by the GRP on August 20, 2001. For refusing to accept the said plebiscite, the GRP provoked and attacked MNLF forces and finally arrested and illegally detained Chairman Nur Misuari.

The MNLF maintains that the plebiscite is violative of the Tripoli Agreement, Paragraph 8, Article II, which specifically enumerates the areas to be included under the New Autonomous Government.

By putting the ARMM under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP), the five-century old conflict is addressed and relegated to a mere advisory office which only demonstrates GRP’s disinterest in the problem.

On the Question on National Representation: The GRP has not made any single appointment pursuant to Paragraph 65 PA and to RA 9054, Article V, Sec. 2, where it provides that appointment should be through the recommendation of the Regional Governor.

The same provision emasculates the Regional Governor through the insertion of the phrase “in consultation with the elected officials and the concerned sectors of the autonomous region”. This is digression if not a violation of Paragraphs 63 and 66 of the Peace Agreement.

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All the appointments so far made by the GRP fall within Paragraph 64 PA and RA 9054, Article V, Sec. 4, which are optional appointment or appointment deemed not within the ambit of the Agreement.

On the Issue of Special Regional Security Forces (SRSF): The second sentence of Paragraph 8, Article III, of the Tripoli Agreement “the relationship between these forces and the Central security forces ... ”, provides for the separate framework for the Regional Security Forces and the Central security forces. The rationale behind this is to put in place, in the Autonomous Government, security forces not hostile to the inhabitants. The Special Regional Security Forces created under Article XIII, RA 9054, is a mere nomenclature because it is essentially the same Central security forces.

Subparagraphs b. and c. No. 20 of the Peace Agreement provides that initially the MNLF forces will be “organized into separate units within the transition period” under a Deputy Commander of the Southern Command, Armed Forces of the Philippines.

In violations of the Peace Agreement, the GRP did not organize the MNLF integrees into separate units under the command of the Deputy Commander. The worst part of it is that the GRP deployed, as it continues to deploy, the MNLF integrees in combat duties to fight Muslim brothers in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and recently used to fight against the MNLF forces. There were significant numbers killed in the encounters and others have gone on absence without leave (AWOL).

On Education: No matter how many pieces of legislations, of Government Circulars, especially if these are made only to please some quarter, and not backed up and coupled with sufficient funds, the whole enterprise is doomed to fail. This is the state of education in the Autonomous Government.

On Economic and Financial Systems, Mines, and Minerals: In order to survive as a viable Autonomous Government, there is no gainsaying the fact on the necessity of the control of the exploration, utilization, and development of the natural resources.

Republican Act (RA) 9054, Article X, Section (Sec.) 1, and Article XII, Sec. 5 violate Paragraphs 146 and 147, 1996 PA.

The GRP, acting through Congress, has unilaterally arrogated to itself the power to define strategic mines and minerals, which violated Paragraphs 146 and 147 of 1996 PA. This contravenes the agreement, which mandates that the MNLF and the GRP, with the positive contribution of the technical experts of the OIC, will mutually agree on the definition of the strategic mines and minerals on a latter date.

This is a gross violation of the Agreement because it strikes into the heart of the jurisdiction of the Autonomous Government over Mines and Minerals within the territory.

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It is well to mention that in the course of the negotiation during the peace talks, the definition of the strategic minerals as proposed by the GRP, such as what is now provided under Article X, Sec. 1, was rejected by the MNLF panel. A definition by gestation was the counterproposal of the MNLF panel, hence the MNLF and the GRP agreed to define the strategic minerals later as provided for in Paragraph 146 PA. Any attempt therefore to define strategic minerals unilaterally is unacceptable as it violates the Agreement. The intent was to come up with a tri-partite expert definition and the same must be done before the crafting of the amendatory bills.

Article X, Sec. I, definition of the ancestral domain, will rob the inhabitants in the autonomous region of their birthright over the God-given natural resources which by law are protected and strengthened by RA 8371. It must be born in mind that one of the direct causes that drove the Bangsamoro people to take up arms and assert their birth right to self determination is the land grabbing issue. The GRP has once again committed a disservice to the cause of peace by removing strategic minerals, such as uranium, coal, petroleum, and other fossil fuels, mineral oil, and all sources of potential energy; lakes, river, and lagoons; and national reserves and marine parks, as well as forest and watershed reservation from the scope of the ancestral domain and the jurisdiction of the autonomous region. This is contrary to the provisions of RA 8371 known as Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), which provides, under Sec. 3 thereof, that ancestral domains refer to all areas generally belonging to the Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs), Indigenous People (IPs), comprising lands, inland waters, coastal water, and natural resources therein, which are necessary to ensure their economic, social, and cultural welfare, including ancestral lands, forests, pasture, residential, agricultural, and other lands individually owned whether alienable and disposable or otherwise, hunting grounds, burial grounds, worship areas, bodies of water, minerals and other natural resources.

The questioned provisions negate the letter and the spirit of Paragraph 27, 1996 PA, which grants plenary legislative power to the Legislative Assembly to pass laws on all matters, concerns, and issues within the area of the autonomy except those specified under the Tripoli Agreement.

Impediments to the Implementation of the 1996 PA :

It is the GRP alone, specifically the Philippine Senate and Congress, without the participation of the MNLF and the OIC that determined and fixed RA 9054.

It is crystal clear that RA 9054 is contrary to the letter and spirit of the documents, namely the1976 Tripoli Agreement and the 1996 Peace Agreement.

What the GRP has been implementing unilaterally is neither the Tripoli Agreement nor the 1996 Peace Agreement but RA 9054.

RA 9054 has become the greatest impediment and stumbling block towards the implementation of the Agreements.

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Conclusion

Phase two of the September 2 1996 Peace Agreement can never be implemented because the Senate and Congress, instead of ratifying the agreement, have made an organic act—RA 9054 on March 31, 2001, as a solid stumbling block on the path towards the implementation of PA 1996.

The GRP has already violated the PA 1996 unilaterally by disregarding the MNLF participation as the principal party to the agreement, let alone the OIC, in any plan of action.

12- The General Secretariat is still concerned over the persistent environmental impacts that affect 1.2 million Maranao Muslims living around Lake Lanao whose water resources feed the Agus hydroelectric power plant. Reports received by the General Secretariat have confirmed that this plant is causing hazardous environmental pollution. These plants have caused widespread poverty among the Maranao due to the construction of dams by the government, which has resulted in the flooding of farmlands and the spread of diseases as a results of the pollution and contamination of the lake waters at the hands of the state-owned National Power Corporation (NPC), despite a court order that has not been implemented by the government. The Maranao still await the implementation of the court order and the abovementioned plant to honor its obligations under the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), which has been signed by the two parties in order to build irrigations projects and pay comprehensive damages to displaced Maranao Muslims.

13- The Secretary-General reiterates his appeal to OIC Member States to double their assistance to the Muslims in Southern Philippines in order to achieve the economic advancement of this region, which has lived in deprivation for many long decades. The Ministerial Committee has also called on specialized and affiliated organs of the OIC, notably the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), to increase their contributions to the development process.

14- The Secretary-General is submitting the present report to the Thirty-third Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) for appropriate decision thereon.

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Original: Arabic. Trans./ A.S.D.

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REPORT OF THESECRETARY-GENERAL

ONTHE SITUATION OF THE TURKISH MUSLIM MINORITY IN WESTERN

THRACE, GREECE

1. OIC Conferences consider the situation of the Turkish Muslim Community in Western Thrace, Greece, within the context of the causes of Muslim Minorities in non-OIC member states. In this respect, various resolutions of the Islamic Conferences have emphasized the importance of the civil and religious rights of the Turkish Muslim Community there.

2. The situation of the Turkish Muslim Minority in Western Thrace, Greece, is governed by the Treaty of Lausanne signed between Turkey and Greece in 1923, which regulated relations between the Greek authorities and the Turkish Muslim Community there. Article 40 of the Treaty provided for the right of Muslims there to use their Turkish language, practice their religious rites, and choose their representatives in religious affairs and public functions in absolute freedom. The Treaty also provided for their right to invest their funds in whatever manner serves their interests without any pressures or constraints.

3. The Treaty of Lausanne guaranteed the rights of the Turkish Muslim Minority in Western Thrace, Greece, including the right to manage Waqf affairs and provide support to their Islamic institutions as Greek citizens with full rights and duties.

4. The General Secretariat has received reports from the Turkish Muslim Minority in Western Thrace, Greece, on the difficulties faced by them in participating in the political life in Greece. The reports indicate that Greece was very embarrassed by the success of the Muslim Minority in securing representation through independent representatives and that is why a new hurdle was introduced which was a 3% condition in national elections imposed by an act of law shortly before the national elections of 1990 in order to hinder the representation of the Muslim Minority in the political arena. Thus, when Greece applied this practice to all independent candidates, the apparent aim of this practice was to hinder the political participation of the Turkish minority. Given this practice, there is no possibility that an independent candidate can be successful anywhere except in Athens. The population of the Turkish Minority, which constitutes 1.5% of the country’s entire population is not enough to be represented by their independent deputies. Therefore, the current Greek legislation concerning the above-mentioned election threshold, compels the members of the Turkish Muslim minority to run in elections as candidates of the mainstream Greek political parties. Currently, the minority is being represented at the Greek Parliament by only one deputy.

5. On the other hand, Greece persisted in its policy of population and settlement of immigrants, of which the largest part comes from Russia, in the regions where the Muslim Minority members live, thus actively seeking to reduce the political power of the Turkish

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Minority, which arises from its demographic density. On the local level, the way was also blocked to the political representation of Muslims in Western Thrace through the “Plan of Kapodistrias” that allowed the administrative restructuring of the regions, provinces, and municipalities so that new obstacles were erected in the face of the Turkish Minority representing over half the population of Rhodope, which is the only province in this sense that has an influential role in the election of the Governor of Rhodope. According to this plan, Rhodope—which had a Turkish majority—was unified with Evros—which had a Greek majority. By the same token, Xhanti was unified with the two provinces of Kavala and Drama, where only Greeks lived. Under this same plan, all the electoral constituencies where Turkish Muslims constitute a majority were unified with the constituencies where the Greek populations has the majority; and thus local governments that were controlled by the Muslim Minority were limited to four municipalities and seven sub-districts.

6. Until the end of the nineties, soldiers were shipped to the region during the elections in order to vote there. The customs officers were hindering during the election periods; the entrance of the Muslim Turkish Minority members living in Turkey to Greece to prevent their voting at the elections. Today, these old tactics have been replaced by others, such as the election hurdle of 3% applied to the Muslim Minority, the settlement of immigrants in Western Thrace, and uniting of provinces and constituencies in an arbitrary way.

7. The Turkish Muslim Minority in Western Thrace calls for the immediate abolition of these electoral hurdles in order to open the way to full democratic participation for Muslims there by repealing the Plan of Kapodistrias, which clearly targets the Muslim Minority, and by setting up the proper administrative structure appropriate to the geographical and demographic conditions on the ground.

8. The Muslims of Western Thrace in Greece should be able to contribute to the development of their society and progress of their country. They should be allowed to work to put their own house in order and develop their religious institutions in a manner that serves their interests, preserves their Islamic identity, and guarantees their cultural, educational, and social rights, within the framework of the laws of their country.

9. The General Secretariat has received from the Greek authorities concerned letters and reports claiming that Greece is implementing the Treaty of Lausanne signed with Turkey in 1923 and that Muslims in Greece enjoy all their citizenship, civil, cultural, and political rights as well as the right to choose Muslim Muftis within the framework of religious liberties in the country and preservation of Islamic Waqfs.

10. However, reports received by the General Secretariat from the Turkish Muslim Minority in Western Trace, indicate that the Turkish Muslim Community is still facing difficulties in daily life due to the non-adherence of the Greek government to the Treaty of Lausanne with regard to their political, civil, cultural, and religious rights, particularly the election of their Mufti, management of their Waqfs in Western Thrace, education, and expression of their ethnic origins.

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11. The reports received by the General Secretariat from Western Trace, Greece, also reveal that the appeals of the Minority for holding free elections within the Turkish Muslim Minority for the Administrative Boards of the Waqfs, and for urgent recognition of elected Muftis of Komotini and Xanthi as the official Muftis were totally disregarded by the authorities. Therefore, Resolution No. 3/32-MM on “the Situation of the Muslim Minority in Western Thrace, Greece” adopted by the Thirty-second Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) held in Sana’a in June 2005, has also been flaunted by Greece and no concrete action has been taken by Greece on these issues since the resolution. The appointment of a new Chairman in Xanthi has been perceived by the Turkish Muslim Minority as a violation of its minority rights guaranteed by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne.

12. The aforementioned reports have also reported that acts of vandalism and desecration of holy Muslim sites such as mosques and cemeteries in Western Thrace continued unabated. The controversial fire incident that damaged the 16th Century Okcular Mosque in the village of Toxotes, Xanthi, in 2004 and in 2005 the fire that caused damage to Demirbeyli Shrine in Venna and demolition of historic graveyard next to the Kirmahalle Mosque in Komotini, have caused deep indignation among the Turkish Muslim Minority. Moreover, the desecration by a Greek TV crew of a mosque in the mountainous Xanthi village of Echinos on the third day of Eid Al-Adha, has outraged the Turkish Muslim Minority in Echinos, and in the Western Thrace, in general.

13. It is the observation of the General Secretariat that no positive steps have yet been taken by the Greek authorities with regard to recognition of the ethnic identity of the Turkish Muslim Minority. Following the ban imposed by the Greek Supreme Court in 2005 on the activities of the Turkish Muslim Minority’s oldest non-governmental organization, namely “the Turkish Union of Xanthi”, which was established in 1927 and functioned under this title without hindrance until 1984, on the sole ground that its title bears the word “Turkish”, the case has been taken by the Minority to the European Court of Human Rights. The case of the Cultural Association of Turkish Women of Rhodopi, the registration request of which was denied by the Greek authorities on the same ground in the same year, followed suit. This case was also referred to the European Court of Human Rights. The Turkish Muslim Minority expects that the Court finds Greece guilty of prohibiting the Turkish Muslim Minority from exercising its right of peaceful freedom of association, which is also tantamount to the breech of the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, and further hopes that this will urge the Greek authorities to amend their legislation for allowing the Turkish Muslim Minority to reflect its ethnic identity in the titles of the Minority’s organizations.

14. The Turkish Muslim Minority did not witness any improvement during 2005 in the field of education, where the standards of the minority schools have deteriorated over the years due to excessive interference of the Greek authorities. Neither has any concrete action been taken to restore the citizenship of 60,000 Turkish Muslim Minority members who have been stripped of their Greek citizenship due to the implementation of repealed Article 19 of the Greek Citizenship Law (No.3370 of 1955). The sufferings faced by the victims of this policy including several hundreds stateless continued throughout the years.

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15. Turkish communities in Rhodes and Kos are also deprived of their rights in terms of education opportunities in mother tongue, religious needs, administration of Waqfs, and preservation of cultural heritage.

16. Proceeding from the principle of Islamic solidarity, the General Secretariat calls on the Member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to support the right of the Turkish Muslim Minority in Western Thrace to express its ethnic identity as well as its right of assembly. It also calls on them to urge Greece to refrain from taking any steps that are detrimental to social harmony between the Muslim Minority and the government.

17. The Secretary-General is submitting this report to the Thirty-third Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) for appropriate decision thereon.

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REPORT OF THESECRETARY-GENERAL

ONTHE ISSUE OF THE MUSLIM MINORITY

IN MYANMAR (BURMA)

1- Islamic Conferences of Foreign Ministers (ICFMs) have called on the Member States to provide material and political support to Muslims in the Arakan region of the Republic of Myanmar in order to enable them to exercise their full rights. The Islamic Conferences have also strongly condemned the persistent persecution by the authorities in Myanmar of Muslims who have been deprived by them of their rights. In addition, Islamic Conferences have called on the government of Myanmar to respect human rights and return all refugees who have been displaced to their homes.

2- The conditions of Muslims took a turn for the worse with the military coup of 1962 as the government dismissed Muslims from government and army posts and during the seventies and eighties deported thousands of Muslims to neighbouring Bangladesh and Thailand until the number of refugees reached 2 million people who have been living mostly in Bangladesh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and the State of the United Arab Emirates.

3- The organization of Human Rights Watch has reported in several successive reports gross violations of the human rights of Rohingya Muslims living in Arakan as they have been suffering enslavement and restriction of their freedom of movement and work; their houses and mosques have been demolished and their cultural heritage destroyed. Martial law has been imposed on them and restrictions have been placed on their freedom of worship. They have been prevented from getting married until a certain age and with official licence.

4- The current plight of Muslims in Myanmar is that they are being deprived of political and civil rights and are living in extremely difficult economic conditions, as, for example, they are not allowed to study in government schools and universities. The authorities have confiscated Islamic Waqfs have as well as the lands allocated for Muslim graves, which have been used to build sports stadiums and monasteries. On the economic front, Muslim areas have been disregarded in the development process and the Burmese government has imposed on Muslims the levy of a large portion of their rice crop, which is their staple diet.

5- Muslim leaders in Myanmar work in cooperation with opposition parties and the efforts of the international community in order to establish a democratic government and restore the rights of all ethnic communities in Myanmar on an equal footing with all citizens, which will be a positive step towards ending the suffering of Muslims in Myanmar. These efforts are the subject of wide popular support.

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6- Efforts that should be made in order to improve the conditions of Muslims in Myanmar:

a. To show solidarity with the cause of Muslims in Myanmar at the United Nations and other international organizations and within the framework of human rights organizations.

b. To develop relations with the representatives of the Rohingya Muslim Community and coordinate efforts to allow them to present their case to Muslim and international public opinion.

c. To continue to exercise effective pressures on the government in Myanmar in order to abolish all discriminatory laws against Muslims; to return the refugees and displaced to their country; and to enable them to regain their full rights

d. To dispatch a fact-finding mission from the OIC to Myanmar; and to report on the conditions of the Muslim Minority there.

e. To lend all forms of moral and material support and assistance, particularly from the neighboring countries, to Muslims in Myanmar and to Myanmar Muslim refugees who live in other countries, until they are able to return to their homeland and regain their basic rights.

7- The Secretary-General is submitting this report to the Thirty-third Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM) for appropriate decision thereon.

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OIC-33-ICFM-2006-MM-SG-REPS-REV2MM DEPTP

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