ABTTF President: “The Spartakos List’s letter, which is entirely provocative in content and disregards our community's native language, culture, and religious beliefs, is absolutely unacceptable and aims to disrupt the peace and tranquillity in our region of Western Thrace”.
The far-right Spartakos List, represented in the Komotini Municipal Council, sent a letter to Eleni Rafaela, Director of Komotini Public Hospital, demanding that Turkish be banned from being spoken in the hospital and that headscarves be prohibited.
The letter claimed that doctors and nurses wearing headscarves while on duty violated the principle of religious neutrality that should exist in healthcare institutions.
The letter claimed that Turkish-speaking healthcare workers belonging to the Turkish community in Western Thrace caused communication problems during their work, that this situation complicated operations within the hospital, and that it disturbed some patients and employees belonging to the majority. It further indicated that Turkish could only be used for translation purposes for patients who did not speak Greek.
“The Spartakos List’s letter, which is entirely provocative in content and disregards our community's native language, culture, and religious beliefs, is absolutely unacceptable and aims to disrupt the peace and tranquillity in our region of Western Thrace. It is a complete lie that the health personnel serving at the Komotini Public Hospital in the prefecture of Rodopi, where Western Thrace Turks constitute the majority of the population, speaking their native language, Turkish, among themselves is their most fundamental human right and that this situation harms the institutional functioning of the hospital. Everyone is free to dress according to their religious beliefs and fulfil their religious obligations, provided that this does not violate the Constitution and laws of our country and does not harm the rights and freedoms of others. Therefore, the demand for a headscarf ban expressed in the letter is a clear violation of freedom of religion and conscience. We believe that by responding appropriately to this provocative letter, which targets the identity, mother tongue, and religious beliefs of our community, the hospital administration will contribute to the preservation and development of social peace in our region”, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
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