Deputy Zeybek expresses the problems of the Minority in the Parliament

The report of the Inter-Party Thrace Development Commission, established for the development of Thrace, was discussed at the General Assembly of the Assembly. Deputy Zeybek also took the floor.

The report prepared by the Inter-Party Thrace Development Commission established for the development of Thrace was discussed at the General Assembly.

One of the speakers at the General Assembly was SYRIZA Xanthi Minority Deputy Hüseyin Zeybek.

In his speech, Hüseyn Zeybek expressed the chronic problems of the Western Thrace Turks and offered solutions to these problems as a party.

Deputy Hüseyin Zeybek conveyed his thoughts on the report prepared by the Inter-Party Thrace Development Commission, which was established for the development of Thrace, and the report prepared by the commission in his speech at the general assembly.

Zeybek stated the following in his speech:

“Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the end of a two-year process, we have gathered to evaluate the final report of the Inter-Party Commission on the development of Thrace in this period when our country and the world are going through difficult times.

The balance sheet of the Ukraine war was also heavy for the Thrace regions both the energy crisis and the price increase in products negatively affect everyone that the region hardly approaches 60% of the GNP.

As a result of the establishment of the Inter-Party Commission for the Development of Thrace, apart from keeping Thrace apart from Eastern Macedonia and other parts of the country, we have always approached this committee with prejudice, as we do not believe that a commission without sanctions can solve the problems.

Even though we have the same development problems as Kavala and Drama, the multicultural structure of Thrace was perceived as a criterion of privilege. For us, this cultural structure should not be perceived as a problem, but as wealth.

First of all, we observe that there is no specific budget and calendar scheme in the development table presented by the New Democracy party.

The target is to provide permanent employment by making the region attractive for business, trade, and residence in order to prevent the migration of young people living in Thrace.

We should not forget that the backbone of the Thrace economy is the small and medium-sized enterprises that are in danger of extinction without the support of the state.

Another big problem is that the so-called financial allowance of 90 euros per acre to be given to tobacco producers has still not been given.

I would like to point out that tobacco producers did not benefit from any financial support package during the pandemic process, and no assistance is foreseen for tobacco cultivation.

Although it was announced by the Minister of Food that the said financial aid would be given a year ago, it was decided that the allowance would be a small amount and would be delayed until the end of June.

However, on the contrary, tobacco producers need to be supported more, especially after the increase in production prices, in order to keep the tobacco variety alive in the world-renowned region.

Another point I would like to emphasize is that the tourist traffic in your region should be strengthened.

First of all, the fact that the Ilıca (Thermes) border gate connecting Xanthi to Bulgaria has been closed for more than two years has had serious negative consequences in our region.

In order to facilitate the entry of visitors coming from Bulgaria to Xanthi and its beaches and not to miss the approaching tourism season, the Bulgarian border gate of Thermes village should be operational as soon as possible.

In addition to facilitating transportation, this area of ​​immense natural beauty, which is an attraction for visitors to the Stavroupoli area in Xanthi, has a very important touristic value for Xanthi as the train passes through the Nestos Strait.

For this reason, either the railway connection should be re-established or the Nestos Strait and Stavrupoli region should be brought to the fore with a smaller private railway line that will be suitable for the touristic character.

I would also like to say a few words about institutional problems.

First, I will deal with the issue of minority education. As the reports show, infrastructure in minority schools is in poor condition, especially in Xanthi Minority Secondary School, the infrastructure problem is huge and can only be solved with a new building.

However, the most important problem of all starts with the inadequacy of the teachers who graduated from Special Pedagogical Academy of Thesaloniki (SÖPA). This means that the quality of education can only be improved by training the trainers who teach in Turkish through seminars and new appointments are made by assigning the trainers to minority schools after their knowledge and Turkish language levels are evaluated. The establishment of the Aristotelian University Pedagogy Department Minority Education Department by SYRIZA was one of the first positive steps taken in this direction.
The derogatory attitude of the New Democracy Party towards minority education is also very clear. Out of the 20,000 teacher appointments made, a single assignment for minority education was not foreseen.

As for freedom of religion,

The position of the SYRIZA Party is the final alignment of the legal framework with the European legal culture as a result of consultations with minority members.

Abolishing the mufti's partial shari'a powers, and electing the mufti by the people,

Finally, the decision of the European Court of Human Rights should be implemented and the right of the individual to define his/her identity should be recognized.

In addition, regulations for Foundation boards of directors have become a more current issue than ever before. Recently, the old Muslim Cemetery in Petinos (Horozlu) village of Xanthi Avdira (Bulustra) Municipality was destroyed by the municipality without a council decision.

Although the land in question belonged to the foundation administration as property, all tombstones dating from 1867 were broken and destroyed by the Municipality to make a stadium.

Although the issue was reacted to by both our Muslim and Christian kin in the local community, it was condemned neither by the Mayor's supporter New Democracy party nor the Movement for Change Party (PASOK).

Of course, the issue of Muslim cemeteries is somewhat complicated as they are privately owned.

For example, even if a cemetery is abandoned due to the vacant population of a residential area, it is not attributed to the municipality and continues to belong to the foundation property.

However, all this does not seem to have affected the Mayor, after all, he has transferred the Petinos (Horozlu) cemetery as well as the Hemetli and Halıtcılar Muslim cemeteries and the old Müsellim Tekke primary school into the ownership of the Municipality.

The only solution to this is that the Muslim cemetery in the village of Horozlu is immediately restored, restored and continued to be used.

In addition, in order not to repeat such events, necessary legal arrangements should be made for the problem of foundation ownership and foundation committees should be determined by election.

In concluding words, unfortunately, I believe that the report of the New Democracy Party on both institutional and development issues will remain on a wish list in the drawers of the ministries.

The Thrace region and the country need a change of course, and this is only possible with a progressive and brave government. Only the SYRIZA Party can find a solution by keeping citizens' problems away from discrimination and inequality.”