At the forum, the representatives of the Turkish community in Western Thrace raised the discriminatory practices against the Turkish community in Western Thrace and issues pertaining to education in access to quality education.
The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) attended the 16th Session of the United Nations (UN) Forum on Minority Issues on 30 November - 1 December 2023. ABTTF and the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (WTMUGA) represented the Turkish community in Western Thrace at the UN Forum with the theme ‘‘Minorities and Cohesive Societies: Equality, Social Inclusion, and Socio-economic Participation’’ which was held in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Western Thrace Turkish delegation, consisting of ABTTF International Relations Director Melek Kırmacı and WTMUGA members Kerem Abdürahimoğlu and Meltem Giritli, raised the issues of the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the two-day meeting.
Speaking on the first day of the Forum, ABTTF indicated that the lack of equal access to quality education hinders minority children from enjoying their civil and political rights and increases discrimination in the community as a result of the marginalisation of minority children. Noting that the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne granted the Western Thrace Turks in Greece and the Greeks in Istanbul, Bozcaada and Gökçeada the right to establish and manage their own schools, ABTTF explained that Greece dismantled this educational autonomy and therefore the right to access equal and quality education was disrupted due to state interventions.
Stating that the Turkish community in Western Thrace constitutes 55 percent of the population in Rodopi, 45 percent in Xanthi, and 10 percent in Evros, ABTTF said that although kindergarten education is compulsory, Turkish kindergartens within the Turkish school system or completely privately established in the region are not allowed.
Drawing attention to the rapid decline in the number of Turkish primary schools, ABTTF indicated that despite the educational autonomy, the government’s decision in 2010 to close schools with less than 9 pupils, and its implementation with respect to the Turkish schools has turned into a tool of systematic discrimination against the Turkish community. Adding that there were 188 Turkish primary schools in 2008, ABTTF noted that this number decreased to 90 in 2023.
Indicating that the main issue with respect to secondary education is the insufficient number of secondary schools, ABTTF stated that what happened regarding to the issue of double-shift schooling in Xanthi Minority Secondary and High School reveals the unequal and discriminatory treatment that the Turkish community faces by ignoring its educational needs. ABTTF indicated that despite the protests in 2019 and 2023, the demands of the Turkish community were not met, and a new school building was not allocated. Reminding Greece’s commitments and obligations within the framework of international law, ABTTF demanded the restoration of full autonomy in education.
WTMUGA, on the other hand, expressed the socio-economic discrimination against the Turkish community in Western Thrace through discriminatory practices from past to present, and said that today Western Thrace is the least developed region of the country and the Turkish community is further aggrieved due to discriminatory practices in this under-developed region.
