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President of the Commission for the Development of Thrace Bakoyannis visited Western Thrace

28.09.2020

ABTTF President: “We do hope and wish that our demands for the solution of our problems will be taken into consideration by the Commission for the Development of Thrace and that this visit will contribute for the Greek government to establish a solution-oriented and sincere dialogue mechanism with the Turkish community in Western Thrace.” 

Dora Bakoyannis, President of the inter-party Commission for the Development of Thrace created in the Greek Parliament and Deputy for the New Democracy Party (NDP), visited Western Thrace on 25-27 September 2020. 

Bakoyannis, who is presiding the Commission for the Development of Thrace created for the development of Western Thrace at the request of the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, started her three-day visit to the region on Friday, 25 September in the province of Evros. Bakoyannis first visited the port of Alexandroupolis (Dedeağaç) and later met with the President of Evros Chamber of Commerce and Industry Christodoulos Topsidis and listened to the issues and expectations pertaining to the province of Evros. 

On the second day of her visit on 26 September, Bakoyannis who held talks in the province of Rodopi first met with the Mayor of Maroneia-Sapes (Maronya-Şapçı) Dinos Haritopoulos. Later, Bakoyannis accompanied by the KINAL MP from Rodopi İlhan Ahmet met with the Mayor of Arriana (Kozlukebir) Rıdvan Ahmet and the Deputy Regional Governor Ahmet İbram. During the meeting, Mayor Rıdvan Ahmet gave to Bakoyannis a written document including requests with respect to the opening within the boundaries of the municipality of a minority secondary school, high school and kindergarten and second opportunity schools, subsidizing the tobacco production, the creation of an irrigation network and the renewal of the water network in areas having a drinking water problem. On Saturday, 26 September, Bakoyannis visited in Komotini the governorship of the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Region and met with the Regional Governor Christos Metios, the deputy regional governors and the mayors of the Rodopi province.

On Sunday, 27 September, Bakoyannis met with the executive board members of the of the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (WTMUGA). During the meeting, the WTMUGA President Dr. Hüseyin Baltacı and the WTMUGA executive board members conveyed to Bakoyannis the problems, first of all in the field of education and demands of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and delivered her a comprehensive report including those problems. 

Completing her visit to the province of Rodopi, President of the Commission for the Development of Thrace Dora Bakoyannis went to the province of Xanthi on the last day of her visit to Western Thrace. Bakoyannis visited the Municipality of Xanthi and met with the Mayor Manolis Tsepelis. The SYRIZA MP from Xanthi Hüseyin Zeybek, the KINAL MP from Xanthi Burhan Baran, the Mayor of Myki (Mustafçova) Rıdvan Delihüseyin and the Deputy Mayor of Xanthi Suha Bekiroğlu also attended the meeting at the municipality. The representatives of the Turkish community in Western Thrace who attended the meeting explained to Bakoyannis about the building issue at the Xanthi Minority Secondary and High School. 

“The fact that the President of the Commission for the Development of Thrace Dora Bakoyannis met with mayors who are members of the Turkish community in Western Thrace as well as with WTMUGA at the occasion of her three-day visit to the region is an encouraging development. During her visit where the Western Thrace Turkish MPs in the Greek Parliament also accompanied her, the issues pertaining to the Turkish community in Western Thrace were directly conveyed to Bakoyannis by our representatives as well as solution requests. We do hope and wish that our demands will be taken into consideration by the commission and that this visit will contribute for the Greek government to establish asolution-oriented and sincere dialogue mechanism with the Turkish community in Western Thrace”, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).  

*Images: www.birlikgazetesi.org, www.gundemgazetesi.com  

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