ABTTF reacts to Sirigos' statements
In the ABTTF statement, Sirigos referred to the provisions of the Treaty of Lausanne concerning the protection of non-Muslim minorities in Türkiye and the Muslim minority in Greece and claimed that the Treaty recognises an ethnic minority in Istanbul and a religious minority in Western Thrace.
ABTTF President Halit Habipoğlu stated the following on the subject:
"Sirigos, repeating the memorised statements of the rulers and senior politicians of our country in the past, interprets the Treaty of Lausanne according to himself and arbitrarily and makes unrealistic claims. In the 2024 European Parliament (EP) elections, by making our party the first party in the provinces of Rhodope and Xanthi with the votes we gave to our FEP Party, we clearly showed everyone who denied our identity that we are 'Turks' and proved our presence in our region. The ruling party of our country, to which Sirigos also belongs, nominates an Albanian citizen as a candidate from its list and gets him elected to the EP because he belongs to the Greek minority in Albania, but when it comes to us, who are Greek and EU citizens, our Turkish identity is denied. No matter how much Sirigos and others do not want to see it, the truth is obvious: We are Turks and we exist in our country!"
