Hate speech and systematic discrimination against the Turkish community in Western Thrace, Greece were raised in the meeting.
As representatives of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) and Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (WTMUGA) payed a working visit to the Hague, Netherlands on 9 December 2019. During the working visit led by ABTTF, the delegation of Western Thrace Turks consisted of Halit Habip Oğlu, President of ABTTF, Melek Kırmacı Arık, ABTTF International Affairs Director, İlhan Mehmet, Deputy Chairman of WTMUGA, Dr. Pervin Hayrullah, Chair of the Human Rights Committee of WTMUGA. The delegation had a meeting with Ambassador Lamberto Zannier, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) High Commissioner on National Minorities in his office.
In the meeting, the delegation of Western Thrace Turks informed High Commissioner about the hate speech in Greece which considers the Turkish community in Western Thrace, Greece as “the other”, “threat” and “dangerous” and the systematic discrimination to which the community is subjected in daily life by giving examples. The delegation stated that the status and rights of the Turkish community in Western Thrace are defined by 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. Moreover, the delegation noted that Greece treats the Turkish community in Western Thrace as a national security issue and that historical prejudices and dogmatic ideas are in every aspect of social life. Finally, the delegation expressed that there is no direct and constructive dialogue mechanism with Greek state for the solution of current problems.
