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Stylianidis continued to distort the facts about Turkish community in Western Thrace

30.11.2022

ABTTF President: “Stylianidis had ignored the issues of the Turkish community in Western Thrace many times in the past and claimed that an open democratic model of society was being built in Western Thrace, where the majority and the minority lived together. While our rights are constantly violated, the claim made by Stylianidis of an ‘open democratic model of society’ about our community is nothing more than a pleasant one.”

New Democracy Party (NDP) Rodopi Deputy Evripidis Stylianidis made statements about the Turkish community in Western Thrace in his speech at the Greek Parliament.

In his speech, Stylianidis indicated that according to the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, Minority schools are providing education in Turkish just like in public schools, and that muftis are also active in (Western) Thrace, where there are 248 mosques today.

“Stylianidis continued his habit of distorting the facts in his speech by describing himself as ‘‘the deputy of Western Thrace and Rodopi elected by Christians and Muslims’’. Stylianidis had ignored the issues of the Turkish community in Western Thrace many times in the past and claimed that an open democratic model of society was being built in Western Thrace, where the majority and the minority lived together. The reality is very different from the perception that Stylianidis is trying to create about our community and our region. Our educational and religious autonomy, which is guaranteed by the Treaty of Lausanne, has been usurped by various laws and practices over the years. Our autonomous schools are closed one by one every year, and our elected muftis are not recognised by the government. Our country has been persistently not executing the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights regarding our associations for years and denies our ‘‘Turkish’’ identity. Our country no longer consistently complies with the provisions of the Treaty of Lausanne. In face of all these facts and our rights are constantly being violated, the claim made by Stylianidis of an ‘open democratic model of society’ about our society is nothing more than a pleasant one’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).

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