The Forum addressed the marginalisation and targeting of Turkish community in Western Thrace in Greece, its exposure to hate speech, and the systematic violation of the Turkish community’s freedom of association.
The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) and the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (WTMUGA), representing the Turkish community in Western Thrace participated in the 18th session of the United Nations (UN) Forum on Minority Issues held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 27-28 November 2025.
ABTTF President Halit Habip Oğlu and ABTTF International Relations Director Melek Kırmacı, along with Dr Pervin Hayrullah and Kerem Abdurahimoğlu from WTMUGA, participated in the session themed ‘‘The contribution of minorities to diverse, resilient, and peaceful societies’’.
Intervening at the panel session titled ‘‘Building trust and social cohesion: addressing barriers to peaceful coexistence’’, ABTTF emphasised that the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne granted education and religious autonomy to the Turkish community in Western Thrace living in Greece. It was further noted that while Greece initially permitted signboards with ‘‘Turkish school’’ in both Turkish and Greek to be displayed, it has gradually increased political pressure over the years and today denies the Turkish community’s ethnic Turkish identity.
Pointing out that associations operating in the Western Thrace region for half a century have been dissolved on grounds of the word ‘‘Turkish’’ in their names, ABTTF indicated that the Turkish community’s right to elect its own religious leaders has been usurped by the government since 1991.
ABTTF noted that the Turkish community in Greece, which faces systematic discrimination in many areas, has seen its educational and religious autonomy dismantled over the years by various laws and arbitrary regulations, and that it has been largely eliminated in practice.
ABTTF highlighted that the discrimination targeting Turkish community, which has become normalised and manifests itself in every aspect of daily life, stems primarily from the state’s constant repetition of the ‘‘perception of an enemy within’’ targeting the Turkish community in politics and the media. ABTTF stated that members of parliament and human rights defenders from the Turkish community are subjected to hate speech in the Greek media, and that unfounded and defamatory news is being published regarding them.
ABTTF called on Greece to develop effective policies against structural discrimination and inequality targeting the Turkish community and demanded that the bridge-building role of the Turkish community be strengthened both nationally and internationally.
WTMUGA, on the other hand, stated that Greece does not recognise the ethnic Turkish identity of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and violates many minority and human rights, including the right to education, calling on Greece to recognise the ethnic Turkish identity of the Turkish community and to respect their fundamental rights and freedoms.
Speaking at the same panel session, Greece reiterated its official state thesis, claiming that the minority in (Western) Thrace is a Muslim minority defined on the basis of religion in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and that it enjoys all the rights guaranteed by the Greek constitution and the European Union (EU).
