President of our motherland Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Western Thrace

ABTTF President, Halit Habip Oğlu stated: “With his personal visit to Western Thrace President of our motherland Erdoğan showed everyone that motherland Turkey is a guar-antor for Western Thrace Turks”

President of the Turkish Republic, motherland of Western Thrace Turks, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Greece on 7-8 December 2017. Erdoğan who came to Greece upon invitation of Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos conducted a series of meetings in Athens on 7 December, and on 8 December 2017 Friday visited Western Thrace and convened with cognates. The visit paid at the level of presidency for the first time after 65 years created enthusiasm Western Thrace Turks.

President Erdoğan: “Does the Lausanne only cover Aegean? Aren’t there minorities’ rights in Western Thrace? Why muftis are commissioned through appointment?”

On 7 December 2017 President Erdoğan met with the Greek President and Greek Prime Minister. Erdoğan was met with official ceremony at Presidential Palace. At the meeting he had with his Greek counterpart Pavlopoulos brought Western Thrace Turks on the agenda and stated: “You are telling that there is an explanation about Muslim minority in the Lausanne concerning the Turks here, it is true. But there is an explanation about the Turks in the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). There is the word “Turkish” concerning the minority in those decisions.” Erdoğan brought the issue of Grand mufti which is among the inapplicable provisions of the Lausanne to the agenda and stated: “So the Lausanne is not in enforcement. We have to consider Lausanne’s applicability” and mentioned that the Lausanne needs to be updated.

And also at the meeting President Erdoğan had with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras the issue of Lausanne was on the agenda. As a response to Tsipras’ explanation that the Lausanne Treaty could not be updated, Erdoğan asked “Does the Lausanne only cover the Aegean? Aren’t there minorities’ rights in Western Thrace? Why muftis are commissioned through appointment?”

President Erdoğan met with enthusiasm by Western Thrace Turks

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan following his meetings in Athens came to Komotini on 8 December 2017. During the visit the President was accompanied by General Hulusi Akar, Commander of Turkish Armed Forces; Hakan Çavuşoğlu, Deputy Prime Minister with Western Thrace background; Abdülhamit Gül, Minister of Justice; Ömer Çelik, Minister of EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator; Berat Albayrak, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources; and Süleyman Soylu, Minister of Inter-nal Affairs. President was met with slogans “Leader I would die for you”, “May The God make you live long, grandchild of the Ottoman”, “Stand stiff don’t bend, this nation is with you” in Ko-motini.

President Erdoğan and the accompanying delegation performed Friday prayer at Kırmahalle Mosque led by Ali Erbaş, President of Religious Affairs and afterwards visited the Celal Bayar Mi-nority Secondary and High School. Here Erdoğan met with representatives of the Turkish commu-nity and stated “I came here before as Prime Minister now it has been possible for me to come here as President. (…) After 65 years I am here with you together as a President from the Turkish Republic. Here you made a struggle of existence on your land with your identity and personality. I celebrate and congratulate you for this”

Erdoğan: “I believe it is our right to expect a similar approach from Greece like our ap-proach towards our citizens with Greek origin”

“We want you to benefit from every possibility in line with understanding of Lausanne Treaty, Eu-ropean Union acquis and universal human rights. Within this framework we expect to have the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights to be implemented. I articulated these to all Greek authorities. Erdoğan noted they believe it is their rights that they expect similar approaches from Greece like the one Turkey makes towards the problems of the Greeks in İstanbul. Erdoğan also expressed it is their right that Western Thrace Turks expect a behaviour in line with provisions of the Lausanne Treaty and EU standards.

Following the visit to Celal Bayar High School President, Erdoğan addressed Western Thrace Turks in a hotel in Komotini and reminded that the Lausanne Treaty was not only signed among Greece and Turkey and indicated that under current conditions as for solution of the problems in the field of Grand mufti and education there is need for updating of Lausanne.

The President of Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) Halit Habip Oğlu stat-ed “Visit of President of our motherland Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Western Thrace hon-ored us and made us very happy. With his personal visit to Western Thrace President Erdoğan showed everyone that motherland Turkey is a guarantor for Western Thrace Turks. Our mother-land’s President who visited our region with many ministers with him, he articulated our problems frankly and stated that as for solution of our problems the Lausanne Treaty needs to be updated at the meetings in Athens before Western Thrace. Our motherland told explicitly to the President and the Prime Minister of our country in front of all media representatives and the public that we are treated unjust in terms of application of the Lausanne and expressed openly that discrimination is made against Western Thrace Turks. The President during his visit mentioned that Western Thrace Turks have the right to expect a treatment in line with the Lausanne and EU standards from their state Greece. Yes, this is just what we want! We are Turkish, Western Thrace Turks. Our only de-sire is to sustain our life on these soils we have lived for centuries as we deserve! In this struggle of ours, now everyone has seen that as a powerful motherland Turkey is behind us as a guarantor. We hope that visit of our motherland’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shall be a milestone for West-ern Thrace Turks and it shall be the beginning of the days we live as we deserve.”