The eleventh part of the online programme series of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) titled ‘‘Facts about Our Country’’ was broadcast on 12 October 2023.
Member of the European Parliament (MEP) François Alfonsi (Greens/EFA), who belongs to the Corsican community on the French island of Corsica, was the guest of the programme.
In the programme moderated by Deniz Servantie from ABTTF Brussels Office, Alfonsi answered the questions with respect to the situation of the national minorities in Europe, the protection of national minorities at the European Union (EU) level, Greece’s approach with respect to the national minorities and the current issues of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, especially in the field of education.
Alfonsi, who is also the Co-Chair of the EP Intergroup on Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages, indicated that the situation of national minorities in Europe varies from country to country and that the rights of the Danish minority on the Germany-Denmark border or the German minority in the South Tyrol region of Italy are guaranteed and implemented within the framework of treaties but that in contrast, he stressed that the situation of the Turkish community in in Western Thrace in Greece is difficult in terms of the implementation of their rights and that there are other examples like this in Europe. Alfonsi underlined that there has been a serious decline in the protection of the rights of national minorities in Europe in recent years.
Highlighting that the Greek government is responsible for the discrimination faced by the Turkish community in Western Thrace, Alfonsi also emphasised that the French government is responsible for the current difficult situation of the Corsican language on the island of Corsica, and that it is necessary to return to the essence of the Copenhagen Criteria regarding minority rights.
As he was reminded that he was one of the first MEPs to visit Western Thrace in 2012, Alfonsi noted that Greece adopted a centralist state model within the framework of its national priorities and that minority identities are denied in the country. Noting that the situation of national minorities in Greece would be much worse without the support of the EU, Alfonsi explained that if the EU gives importance to minority rights again, there may be a change in the attitude of the Member States on this issue.
Noting that education in the mother tongue is of critical importance in terms of identity and culture, Alfonsi underlined that it is the most legitimate right of children belonging to the Turkish community in Western Thrace to be educated in their mother tongue which is Turkish. Furthermore, Alfonsi indicated that the history of the Turkish community in Western Thrace constitutes an indivisible part of the history of Europe, and emphasised that Europe can only continue with diversity, and that Greece should not deny the diversity of Western Thrace in its history and that on the contrary, it should accept and value it.
You can watch the entire programme, which was broadcast live simultaneously on ABTTF’s YouTube channel and Facebook page, in English and French by clicking the links below:
YouTube English broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFZt7fP90s0&ab
YouTube French broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_puHtpak58&ab
Facebook English broadcast: https://www.facebook.com/events/6406123276164548
Facebook French broadcast: https://www.facebook.com/events/306221988795549
