ABTTF President: “I hope that our country will show the well-intentioned and human-centered approach it has shown in the earthquakes in Türkiye towards the Turkish community in Western Thrace which constitute its own citizens. We want our country to abandon its attitude that perceives us as a threat to the integrity and public order of the country!”
The relations between our country Greece and our motherland Türkiye, which have been quite tense recently, have undergone a great change following the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş in our motherland. Our country mobilised to help Türkiye.
After the devastating earthquakes, search and rescue teams from many countries of the world came to Türkiye and aid campaigns were organised. Greece was one of the first countries to send a search and rescue team to Türkiye. In his message published in Turkish, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis indicated the following: ‘‘Images that fill us with pain are followed by images that fill us with hope. We simply respect the superhuman efforts of the rescuers. Greeks and Turks are fighting side by side, together to save lives. We are grateful for what they did.”
With aid campaigns organised all over the country, our country rushed to the aid of its neighbour on Türkiye’s painful day. ABTTF President Halit Habip Oğlu noted the following with respect to the aid and donation campaigns after the earthquakes in Türkiye and the mobilisation environment in the country and its reflections as regards the Turkish community in Western Thrace: “The fact that our country is almost mobilised in this difficult day for our motherland Türkiye is also promising for the Turkish community in Western Thrace! Indeed, it means that there is good will and intention to solve all issues after saying people first. We have always believed in this, and in this direction, we continue our struggle for our rights and freedoms in our country and in the international arena. I hope that our country will show the well-intentioned and human-centered approach it has shown in the earthquakes in Türkiye towards the Turkish community in Western Thrace which constitute its own citizens. We want our country to abandon its attitude that perceives us as a threat to the integrity and public order of the country! We want the rights and freedoms we have to be restored, we demand a free and prosperous life in our own country, in this land where we were born and raised. For this reason, we demand from the rulers of our country to display a well-intentioned, sincere and realistic approach to solve our current issues!”
