ABTTF President: “Dora Bakoyannis, who has a strong name in the political arena in Europe, gave a speech, so to speak, showing a stick out of gold! We could not ascribe this statement to her at all, because the language of veiled threat is an open insult to the free will of the voters!’’
Dora Bakoyannis, one of the leading figures of New Democracy (ND), Chair of the Commission for the Development of Thrace, visited Rodopi on Friday, 9 June 2023. Bakoyannis, who visited the region and conducted an election campaign before the 25 June 2023 elections, delivered a speech in support of her party in the village of Ano Virsíni (Hacıören), saying, ‘‘(...) If you don’t support us, things will be more difficult’’. Her words were met with a tremendous reaction.
During the visit accompanied by Nikos Chardalias and Rodopi Deputy Evripidis Stylianidis, Bakoyannis visited the villages of Organi (Hemetli), (Mirtiski) Musacık and Ano Virsíni (Hacıören) of the Municipality of Arriana (Kozlukebir) in Rodopi, the only province where SYRIZA became the first party, and asked for support for New Democracy in the 25 June elections. Bakoyannis, who is still the Head of the Greek National Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), indicated that she was disappointed with the support of the people of the Rodopi region in her speech in the village of Hacıören and added the following: “I expect your support. If you don’t support me, I can’t support you tomorrow. Not everyone in Athens likes the minority like me. I am here to deliver this message. We look forward to your support. If you don’t support us, things will be more difficult.”.
President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) Halit Habip Oğlu made the following statement: “Dora Bakoyannis, who has a strong name in the political arena in Europe and who was our country Greece’s first female Minister of Foreign Affairs, gave a speech, so to speak, showing a stick out of gold! We could not ascribe this statement to her at all, because the language of veiled threat is an open insult to the free will of the voters! It’s sad that Bakoyannis delivered this speech to people struggling to make a living in a rural and mountainous Turkish village, in difficult living conditions! These people of ours have come to respect and listen to Bakoyannis, but Bakoyannis speaks as if they are scolding them. This language is proof of the attitude towards a community that is not considered from election to election and whose democratic will is not respected. We cannot accept this political attitude and rhetoric that harms our country’s democracy, everyone should respect the free will of the electorate and the election result, and after the election, no voter should be separated because they voted for us or not! This is the basic requirement of democracy!”
*Image: www.anadoluimages.com
