ABTTF President Habipoğlu criticizes policies toward minority Schools in Western Thrace
The President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), Halit Habipoğlu, has criticized policies targeting minority schools in Western Thrace. He highlighted the case of the primary school in the village of Mizanli, which Greek authorities have refused to reopen despite sufficient student numbers. Habipoğlu praised journalist Manolis Kostidis for bringing the issue to national attention, saying Kostidis expressed the community’s sentiments.
“Manolis Kostidis sincerely voiced in one of the country’s largest newspapers how our school in Mizanli was arbitrarily prevented from reopening by the Greek authorities, reflecting the feelings of our community,” Habipoğlu said.
He contrasted Greece’s stance with that of Türkiye:
“On the one hand, Greece closes our autonomous minority primary schools in violation of the Treaty of Lausanne and refuses to reopen them even when student numbers are sufficient, as in Mizanli. On the other hand, our homeland Türkiye supports the education of the Greek Orthodox minority, allowing the reopening of a Greek primary school on Gökçeada for just three students.”
Habipoğlu also criticized the long-standing rejection of the community’s demand for bilingual Turkish-Greek minority kindergartens, the curtailment of the powers of school boards, and the restrictions placed on board members’ access to the very schools they manage.
He added that the request for a new building for the İskeçe Turkish Minority Secondary School and High School has still not been met, forcing students to study under “deliberately outdated and inadequate conditions” to push them toward state schools.
“It seems our country will continue these policies until all Turkish schools in Western Thrace are closed and the educational autonomy of our community is completely abolished,” Habipoğlu concluded.
