ABTTF President: “The EU is founded on the values of democracy, equality, freedom, rule of law and respect for the rights of persons belonging to national minorities. On 9 May Europe Day, we, as the Turkish community in Western Thrace living in Greece, an old member of the EU, demand full respect for our rights and freedoms, and we call on our country, which claims to be the cradle of democracy at every opportunity, to abide by the principles of democracy and rule of law, not in words but in substance’’.
Today, 9 May, is Europe Day. On 9 May 1950, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Robert Schuman indicated that it was essential to establish permanent peaceful relations in Europe and announced the ‘‘Schuman Declaration’’, which formed the foundations of today’s European Union (EU), with the aim of establishing a more systematic and organised Europe. Following the summit held in Milan in 1985, it was decided to celebrate 9 May as ‘‘Europe Day’’. Every year, 9 May, Europe Day is celebrated with various activities in EU Member States and EU candidate countries, and the EU institutions open their doors to its citizens.
“Happy 9 May, Europe Day to all EU citizens and everyone living in the EU! Following the tremendous destruction brought on by the Second World War in Europe, the EU, with a common flag, common anthem and single currency, with a population of approximately 450 million, is the symbol of economic and political integration in the world today. The EU is founded on the values of democracy, equality, freedom, rule of law and respect for the rights of persons belonging to national minorities. On 9 May Europe Day, we, as the Turkish community in Western Thrace living in Greece, an old member of the EU, demand full respect for our rights and freedoms, and we call on our country, which claims to be the cradle of democracy at every opportunity, to abide by the principles of democracy and rule of law, not in words but in substance’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
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