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Turkish journalists and Western Thrace Turks were targeted again in Greece

11.09.2020

ABTTF President: ‘We call upon our country Greece to take all the necessary measures in order to ensure the safety of the Turkish journalists working in the country as well as the members of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and to urgently stop its discriminatory policy towards the Turkish community in Western Thrace’. 

Turkish journalists who are working in Greece and members of the Turkish community in Western Thrace continue to be targeted.  

According to news from Millet newspaper, following the publication of identity information of the Athens team of Anadolu Agency (AA) which went to Kastellorizo (Meis) Island by the racist website tourkikanea.gr which accused them of being spies, the very same internet website targeted a member of the Turkish community in Western Thrace which is working in Greece for TRT and Western Thrace Turks working in Turkey’s official institutions by giving their names. 

The European Commission called upon Greece to clarify the issue regarding the targeting of the AA team by publishing their identity information which went for their broadcast in Kastellorizo (Meis) Island.

Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) made the following statement: “As ABTTF, we strongly condemn open targeting of Turkish journalists including among them members of the Turkish community in Western Thrace working in our country Greece by revealing their names. The fact that identity information of Turkish journalists which should be only in the possession of Greek official authorities were delivered to the racist website tourkikanea.gr is a great scandal. The very same website had targeted Turks by marking their homes following the provocative military operation which was realised by armed commandos in the Turkish village of Glafki (Gökçepınar) in Western Thrace last month. As the Turkish community in Western Thrace, we have been targeted for years in Greece and faced systematic discrimination. One very last example of this discrimination has been the fact that the Western Thrace Turkish minority press has been deprived of the financial support which had been granted to media outlets across the country by the government within the framework of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. We call upon our country Greece to take all the necessary measures in order to ensure the safety of the Turkish journalists working in the country as well as the members of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and to urgently stop its discriminatory policy towards the Turkish community in Western Thrace’.