ABTTF President: “The rightminded politicians of our country, such as Valden, see that the truth can no longer be plastered with mud, and they openly declare that the denial of our presence in Western Thrace and our Turkish identity cannot be sustained by our country any longer, and that this policy of denial harms our country’s interests in the international arena and to live together in peace and harmony in our region’’.
Sotiris Valden, a member of the European Policy Department Secretariat of the Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance (SYRIZA) and his party’s candidate for the European Parliament (EP) in 2019, demanded that the minority in Western Thrace be recognised as ‘‘Turkish’’.
In his article dated 29 June 2023 published on the news site Iefimerida.gr, Valden touched upon the truth of the recognition of the minority in Western Thrace as “Turks” and noted that this was necessary due to the principles and international obligations that should govern Greek democracy. Indicating that the recognition of the minority in Western Thrace as “Turkish” will contribute to the improvement of the environment within the minority, Valden noted that this situation will also contribute to the strengthening of relations with the neighbouring country Türkiye.
“The fact that Sotiris Valden, one of the leading figures of SYRIZA, indicated in his article that our country should recognise the minority in Western Thrace as ‘‘Turkish’’, is a confession of the truth! The rightminded politicians of our country, such as Valden, see that the truth can no longer be plastered with mud, and they openly declare that the denial of our presence in Western Thrace and our Turkish identity cannot be sustained by our country any longer, and that this policy of denial harms our country’s interests in the international arena and to live together in peace and harmony in our region. Indeed, we have been living in these lands for centuries as Turks and we are loyal citizens of our country. The European Court of Human Rights has also confirmed this fact with its judgments against our country regarding our three associations. Our country should stop imposing other identities on us and recognise our existence. Likewise, in the last general elections, our community delivered its answer to our country’s policy of denying our Turkish identity once again at the ballot box in the most democratic way”, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
