ABTTF President Habipoğlu to Yerapetritis: ‘What a stark contradiction!’
At the intergovernmental conference held in Luxembourg on Tuesday, October 15, the first chapter of Albania’s EU accession talks was opened. Prior to the conference, Greek Foreign Minister Yorgos Yerapetritis emphasized that this chapter, concerning fundamental rights and the rule of law, should include the protection of minority rights, specifically mentioning Albania’s ethnic Greek minority.
“This is now a shared position, a registered common position of the 27 member states of the European Union,” said Yerapetritis. “Greece will closely monitor this process, intervening when necessary, with the hope that other Western Balkan states will follow the same path.”
In response, ABTTF President Halit Habipoğlu expressed his disapproval of Greece’s approach, accusing it of a double standard. “We understand and fully respect our country’s concern for the rights of the Greek minority in Albania, as it is natural for Greece to protect the interests of its diaspora,” Habipoğlu said. “However, when we read Minister Yerapetritis’s statements, we cannot help but think of the rights and freedoms systematically violated for the Turkish minority in Western Thrace, and how the European Court of Human Rights’ rulings on our three associations have remained unenforced by Greece for over 16 years. What a stark contradiction!”
Habipoğlu added, “Our country, which disregards the rights of its own minority citizens, who are also EU citizens, and has trampled on the rule of law in recent years, now attempts to lecture other countries on similar issues as if nothing is wrong. Minority rights and the rule of law should be fully respected not only by EU candidate countries but also by existing EU members, starting with our own country.”