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Another distorted interpretation of the Treaty of Lausanne from former Greek President Pavlopoulos

21.12.2022

ABTTF President: ‘‘Our country, as it claims, does not fulfil the educational and religious autonomy of the Muslim minority, which it defines as a religious minority, arising from Lausanne. Indeed, because of the laws enacted by the state over time, our educational and religious autonomy has been taken from us to a large extent, and we do not have an autonomous function in the educational and religious areas. If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times, but the old and new rulers of our country have not stopped making false statements to build the new reality they are trying to create with the aim of misleading the West, they are not giving up!’’

In the article written by former Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos to the Avgi newspaper with respect to the participation of former Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos who attended the 1922 Lausanne Conference and played a tremendous role in the signature of the Treaty of Lausanne, he indicated that accord to the Treaty of Lausanne, the Minority in Western Thrace is labelled as a Muslim minority and that it is a religious minority. 
Pavlopoulos alleged that the Muslim minority, as a ‘‘religious minority’’ in Western Thrace, is Greek by nationality, while the Greeks who settled in Turkey before 30 October 1918, and particularly in Istanbul and the Islands, are members of a pure national minority. Pavlopoulos argued that the ‘‘Muslims in Thrace’’ could claim to enjoy all the rights granted to members of religious minorities without exception, but it was not possible for them to make demands that would directly or indirectly question their Greek citizenship.

Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) made the following statement: ‘‘The former president of our country, Pavlopoulos, repeats the same thesis, and makes unrealistic claims with his interpretation of the Treaty of Lausanne. As he knows, according to the Treaty of Lausanne, the term ‘‘non-Muslim’’ minority is used for the Minority in Turkey, not Greek. In other words, according to Lausanne, if the Minority in Western Thrace is a Muslim minority, the Minority in Turkey is also a non-Muslim minority. Pretty clear! In addition, Pavlopoulos indicates that with our definition of a ‘religious minority’, we can take any legal action in accordance with the Constitution, European law and international law for all the rights enjoyed by religious minorities. He knows very well that our country does not fulfil the educational and religious autonomy of the Muslim minority, which it defines as a religious minority, as it claims. Indeed, because of the laws enacted by the state over time, our educational and religious autonomy has been taken from us to a large extent, and we do not have an autonomous function in the educational and religious areas. If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times, but the old and new rulers of our country have not given up on making false statements to build the new reality they are trying to create with the aim of misleading the West, they are not giving up!’’

*Image: www.anadoluimages.com
 

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