ABTTF President: “Our country, which has been a member of the EU since 1981, completely denies the ethnic identity and existence of the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace and the Macedonian minority living within its borders. For 28 years, our country has persistently failed to execute the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) judgments regarding the ‘‘House of Macedonian Civilization’’, and for 18 years it has similarly failed to execute the judgments in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases concerning Western Thrace Turkish associations, thereby disregarding the rule of law, one of the EU’s most fundamental values.”
Greece has reacted to the injury of a citizen of Greek origin during clashes that broke out at protests against a major tourism investment planned for a protected ecological area in the Zvërnec region of Albania on 30 May 2026.
In a statement from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while calling for the incident to be clarified and for those responsible to be held to account, it emphasised that Albania must respect the rule of law, property rights and the protection of the rights of the Greek national minority, linking these issues to Albania’s accession process to the European Union (EU).
“Whilst we understand the reaction of Greece, which portrays Albania as the motherland of the Greek minority there, it is truly hard to believe that it is once again linking this incident—as it has always done in the past—to Albania’s EU accession process and the rule of law. Our country, which has been a member of the EU since 1981, completely denies the ethnic identity and existence of the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace and the Macedonian minority living within its borders. For 28 years, our country has persistently failed to execute the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) judgments regarding the ‘‘House of Macedonian Civilization’’, and for 18 years it has similarly failed to execute the judgments in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases concerning Western Thrace Turkish associations, thereby disregarding the rule of law, one of the EU’s most fundamental values. As an EU member state, our country must immediately put an end to the double standards it has maintained for years in these areas before attempting to lecture its neighbour Albania on respect for minority rights and the rule of law; it must recognise the existence of the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace and the Macedonian minority, and safeguard the rights of their members, all of whom are Greek citizens’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
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