President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) Halit Habip Oğlu paid a working visit to Brussels, the capital of the European Union (EU) on Tuesday, 10 December 2024.
Within the scope of the working visit, Habip Oğlu, accompanied by Deniz Servantie from ABTTF Brussels Office, held meetings with various Members of the European Parliament (MEP). In this regard, he met with member of the Hungarian minority in Romania and President of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) Loránt Vincze (EPP, Romania), Rasmus Andresen from the Danish minority in Germany (Greens/EFA, Germany) and İlhan Kyuchyuk from the Turkish community in Bulgaria (Renew Europe, Bulgaria) as well as European Language Equality Network (ELEN) Secretary General Davyth Hicks.
Current developments regarding the Turkish community in Western Thrace were conveyed and cooperation subjects were discussed
During the meetings with the MEPs dealing with minority rights and issues under the EP, the basic and current issues of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and the latest developments in Greece and Western Thrace were conveyed.
Habip Oğlu pointed out that the systematic discrimination, stigmatisation and marginalisation against the Turkish community in Western Thrace in Greece continues and reached its peak before, during and after the European Parliament (EP) elections in June 2024 and noted that lawsuits were filed in the Council of State and the Court of Cassation with the demand for the dissolution of the Friendship Equality Peace (FEP) Party, which again became the first party again by receiving the highest number of votes in the prefectures of Rodopi and Xanthi in the EP elections after 2014 and 2019.
Habip Oğlu further indicated that the interventions by the Greek government against the educational and religious autonomy of the Turkish community in Western Thrace guaranteed by the treaties continued in 2024, indeed, 4 more Turkish primary schools were closed in the 2024-2025 school year, the number of Turkish primary schools with autonomous status decreased from 188 in 2011 to 86, and the muftis elected by the Western Thrace Turks are not recognised by the Greek government.
Habip Oğlu pointed out that the systematic violation of the rule of law in our country Greece in 2024 continues to increase and emphasised that the most striking example of this situation is that the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) regarding the Western Thrace Turkish associations have not been executed for more than 16 years despite the decisions and all warnings of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
During the meetings with the MEPs, views were also exchanged on the re-establishment of the Intergroup for Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages in the new legislative term of the EP and future cooperation issues.
During the meeting with ELEN Secretary-General Davyth Hicks, Habip Oğlu stated that the applications of the Turkish community in Western Thrace for the opening of bilingual Turkish and Greek minority kindergartens in the region have been ignored and left unanswered by the Greek authorities for years and that the children belonging to the Turkish community in Western Thrace are deprived of their right to learn their mother tongue Turkish.
