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HEADLINE NEWS
HRW’s report highlighting problems with the rule of law is on the Parliament’s agenda
20.02.2026
ABTTF President: “We regularly follow Human Rights Watch’s Greece report, and in the reports, we submit to Human Rights Watch, we convey the issues concerning minority rights not mentioned in these reports, including the problems faced by the Turkish community in Western Thrace. With this report, as always, we have defended the rights a...
Happy International Mother Language Day!
20.02.2026
ABTTF President: “We call on our country Greece to immediately end its anti-democratic and discriminatory policies against our community, and on the occasion of International Mother Language Day, we reiterate our demand for bilingual Turkish and Greek kindergartens with determination.” 21 February is International Mother Language Day...
What is the National Demographic Action Plan aiming to achieve in Western Thrace?
18.02.2026
ABTTF President: “Without concrete economic investments that will create employment opportunities in parallel with resettlement, the economic and social development of the region is not possible. The government previously established the inter-party Commission for the Development of Thrace which adopted its final report in November 2021, but ...
Joint report to the European Commission from civil society organisations in Greece on the decline of the rule of law in the country
13.02.2026
ABTTF President: “As emphasised in the report, the Turkish community in Western Thrace is also directly affected by this negative situation caused by chronic problems persisting in the civil society sector in our country. Human rights defenders belonging to our community and NGOs representing our community are subject to discrediting and defa...
Prime Minister Mitsotakis paid an official visit to Ankara
12.02.2026
ABTTF President: “As the Turkish community in Western Thrace, we too wish to act as a bridge between our country and our motherland, but unfortunately this is not possible due to the perception of an “enemy within” created by the state targeting our community in our country. We want the government to develop a sincere, honest and ...
Imposition of Orthodox Christian rituals on Muslim pupils belonging to the Turkish community in Western Thrace
10.02.2026
ABTTF President: “We strongly condemn this event, which constitutes a clear attack on the religious and cultural values of our community with the aim of alienating our pupils from their own identities through assimilation. We call upon the relevant authorities to fully respect our pupils’ freedom of religion and conscience and to take t...
Human Rights Watch has drawn attention to the decline in the rule of law in Greece
06.02.2026
ABTTF President: “Our country should take into account the justified and constructive criticism regarding the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the reports of the supranational organisations and international civil society organisations of which it is a member, and should take the necessary steps without delay to counter...
The only official mosque in Athens, where thousands of Muslims live, fails to meet the demand for collective worship
04.02.2026
ABTTF President: “We call upon our country, one of the oldest members of the European Union, which constantly claims to be the cradle of democracy, to honour its obligations in this area by addressing the needs of collective worship of thousands of Muslims living in Athens and Thessaloniki, showing full respect for freedom of religion and wor...
Written opinion from ABTTF on the report of the Greek Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sport
03.02.2026
The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) prepared a written opinion on the issues concerning the Turkish community in Western Thrace included in the report titled ‘‘2024 Report on Incidents Against Places of Religious Importance in Greece’’ published by the Greek Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and S...
ABTTF President Habip Oğlu: The religious autonomy of the Turkish community in Western Thrace has once again been disregarded!
27.01.2026
ABTTF President: “In our country, the Greek Orthodox Church—the prevailing religion—and the recognised Jewish community are religiously autonomous; as communities, they freely organise their internal affairs without state intervention. All known religions in the country have an autonomous structure; the state intervenes only in ou...
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