ABTTF President: “Whenever our motherland, Türkiye, expresses the same demand for the rights of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, our country’s rulers and media portray it as an interference in its internal affairs, a defiance from our motherland. We witnessed this once again in the reactions from our country to the statements made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of our motherland Hakan Fidan last week regarding the protection of our community’s rights. Our country must put an end to this double standard and stop playing ostrich every time whenever the rights of our community, whom are Greek and EU citizens, are at stake.”
Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs George Gerapetritis met with Albanian Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Elisa Spiropali in Athens on Tuesday, 16 December.
Following a meeting that addressed the integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union (EU) and Albania’s EU accession process, Gerapetritis indicated that Greece has demonstrated a constructive attitude towards Albania’s EU accession negotiations.
Gerapetritis noted that protecting and securing the rights of the Greek national minority in Albania is a major priority for Greece and a vital aspect of strengthening the rule of law more broadly.
“It is perfectly normal for our country, Greece, to expect respect for the rights of the Greek minority in Albania, as their motherland. Minister of Foreign Affairs Gerapetritis also clearly stated this in his statement following his meeting with his Albanian counterpart. Nonetheless, whenever our motherland, Türkiye, expresses the same demand for the rights of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, our country’s rulers and media portray it as an interference in its internal affairs, a defiance from our motherland. We witnessed this once again in the reactions from our country to the statements made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of our motherland Hakan Fidan last week regarding the protection of our community’s rights. Our country must put an end to this double standard and stop playing ostrich every time whenever the rights of our community, whom are Greek and EU citizens, are at stake. Minority rights and the rule of law are universal, and our country, as an old member of the EU, has an obligation to fully respect them’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
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