ABTTF President: “While bilingual kindergartens can be opened and operate without any issues in other Member States of the European Union, the government in our country should consider and fulfil the demand of our community, both as citizens and voters, for bilingual kindergartens’’.
In his speech at the Greek Parliament, New Democracy (ND) MP from Athens Aggelos Syrigos referred to the demand of the Turkish community in Western Thrace for bilingual kindergartens where education will be provided in Greek or Turkish.
Indicating that he thought it would be provocative to impose Turkish on kindergarten children, Syrigos argued that children should not be forced to adopt a different linguistic identity or faced with challenges from the first years of their school education.
“I read with astonishment the statements of Syrigos, a member of parliament from the ruling party of our country, ignoring the right of our children to education in their mother tongue, Turkish. It is really incomprehensible! With the permission of our motherland, upon the request of the Greek Orthodox minority, with whom we share the same fate under the Treaty of Lausanne, a Greek primary school is being opened in Gökçeada for only 3 students. Again, with the initiative of the Greek minority in Romania, a Greek primary school for 20 students was authorised in 2008. On the other hand, our country closes our autonomous Turkish primary schools one by one every year under the pretext of insufficient number of students and ignores our demand for bilingual minority kindergartens for years. While bilingual kindergartens can be opened and operate without any issues in other Member States of the European Union, the government in our country should consider and fulfil the demand of our community, both as citizens and voters, for bilingual kindergartens’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
