ABTTF President: “Minorities in the two countries should be considered as an element of richness, not as a threat to their countries, and should be seen as bridge-builders in improving the relations between the two countries. As the Turkish community in Western Thrace, we want to establish a dialogue with the rulers and authorities of our country as it is the case in our motherland Turkey.”
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Yavuz Selim Kıran paid a visit to Thessaloniki and Western Thrace on 5-6 May 2021. During his visit on the occasion of Ramadan, the Deputy Minister met with the representatives of the Turkish community in Western Thrace.
Kıran, who started his visit from Thessaloniki on 5 May 2021, went to the Atatürk Museum in Thessaloniki and visited historical and architectural monuments dating from the Ottoman Empire period in Thessaloniki. “We are always with our cognates who protect their identity and beliefs against all challenges”, said Kıran on his social media account, visiting the Macedonia-Thrace Muslims Education and Culture Association founded by Western Thrace Turks living in Thessaloniki.
Kıran crossed from Thessaloniki to Western Thrace and met with the representatives of the Turkish community in Western Thrace from the fields of religion, politics and civil society. Meeting with the Elected Mufti of Rhodope and Chairman of the Consultative Committee of Turkish Minority of Western Thrace İbrahim Şerif, Elected Mufti of Xanthi Ahmet Mete and representatives of the Western Thrace Turkish institutions and organizations, Kıran held talks in Komotini, Xanthi and Didymoteicho on 6 May and visited the institutions and organizations representing the Turkish community in Western Thrace.
He made the following remarks at the General Consulate of the Republic of Turkey in Komotini: “We see both the Greek Orthodox Minority and the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace as bridges in improving the relations between the two countries”. Stating that the minorities living in Turkey expressed their gratitude for the steps taken by it regarding the demands and expectations of the Greek Orthodox Minority, Kıran stated that he wished that the Greek authorities would receive a message from this situation. Kıran continued as follows: “The denial of ethnic identity and the restriction of freedoms on various pretexts unfortunately affect negatively our bilateral relations. It should be known that as the peace and prosperity of our cognates increase, we will see their positive reflections in our bilateral relations. As Turkey and Greece, we have the will to leave these behind us and advance our relations with a positive agenda. As long as we have the common will to solve the problems. The easiest way to solve problems is diplomacy and dialogue. We believe in this. We will strongly support all kinds of steps Greece will take in this regard. This must be known. However, no one should expect us to remain silent with respect to the violation of the rights of the Minority. We will continue to raise our voices and make our voices heard at bilateral and international platforms in order to protect the rights of the Minority.”
Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) made the following statement: “Within the scope of exploratory talks between our country and our motherland, the visit of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of our motherland to our region after the statements of our country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias who ignored our identity during the press conference in Ankara is very meaningful for us. The fact that the Deputy Minister made this visit and came together with the representatives of our community on the occasion of the month of Ramadan, while our country ignores us, once again proves that our motherland is ready to support us in all circumstances and at all times. As the Deputy Minister said, the minorities in the two countries should be regarded as an element of richness, not a threat to their countries, and should be seen as bridge-builders in improving the relations between the two countries. As the Turkish community in Western Thrace, we want to establish a dialogue with the rulers and authorities of our country as it is the case in our motherland Turkey. We have always believed and continue to believe that our problems can be solved if the opportunity to establish a real dialogue is created. For this, we have always waited for our country to take a concrete step, and we will continue to wait.”
*Images: www.gundemgazetesi.com, www.birlikgazetesi.org
