ABTTF President: “What about us Western Thrace Turks? As we always say, our country restored democracy in 1974, but democracy did not reach our region. Mitsotakis says, ‘‘We are Europe, we deserve to be European at every level’’. If so, aren’t Western Thrace Turks a part of this country? Aren’t we Europeans?’’
President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of our country Greece published messages for the new year 2024.
President Sakellaropoulou said that they will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the restoration of democracy after the 1967-1974 junta period, adding that in this half century, Greeks established the democratic and liberal institutions and that the European Greek identity has developed.
Prime Minister Mitsotakis indicated that in 2024 they will live in a stronger democracy than ever before, and that the European Parliament elections to be held in the spring of 2024 are important to constitute a step towards confirming political stability and progress in the country. Furthermore, Mitsotakis noted that the year 2024 will equal to the strengthening of a proven and deep-rooted European policy, adding, ‘‘because we are Europe and we deserve to be European at all levels’’.
President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) Halit Habip Oğlu made the following statement: “In the messages published by our country’s President and Prime Minister, the emphasis that this is the 50th anniversary of the restoration of democracy in our country stands out. How happy it is that our country in 2024 has a more mature, more established democratic system… What about us Western Thrace Turks? As we always say, our country restored democracy in 1974, but democracy did not reach our region, for us, what happened was not a restoration of democracy, but the consequences of a more autocratic government in the years following 1974. We were denied that we are Turks, and our associations with the word ‘‘Turkish’’ in their names were closed. Now, when it comes to Western Thrace and the Turkish community in Western Thrace, we cannot talk about a democratic government. Indeed, our country has not executed the ECtHR judgments for approximately 16 years in the three cases known as the Bekir-Ousta group of cases. Mitsotakis says, ‘‘We are Europe, we deserve to be European at every level’’. If so, aren’t Western Thrace Turks a part of this country? Aren’t we Europeans? Don’t we deserve living standards in line with the European norms and values, with our collective rights guaranteed by treaties?’’
*Image: www.anadoluimages.com
