"Despite the historic success of the FEP Party in the European elections, the rulers of our country continue to deny our identity"
ABTTF President: "FEP is the party of our community and it is the Turks who voted for it and made it the first party in the prefectures of Rodopi and Xanthi. The recent electoral success of our party has once again confirmed this fact, despite the denial policies of our country. If our Prime Minister, who proposed an Albanian citizen as a candidate from his party because he is Greek, thinks that he can escape from the truth by ignoring the electoral success of the FEP party, he is very wrong."
Fredi Beleri, a member of the Greek minority living in Albania, who was nominated by the New Democracy Party (ND) in the European Parliament (EP) elections held on June 9, 2024 in Greece and was elected as an MEP, sent a message from the prison where he is being held.
In his message, Beleri, who was elected mayor of Himara in the local elections held in Albania on May 14, 2023, but was sentenced to prison on charges of active corruption in the elections, thanked all citizens who voted for him, referring to their fight for the European acquis and the principles and values that must be shared by all those who want to be members of the European family.
On this issue, the President of the European Federation of Turks of Western Thrace (ABTTF) Halit Habip Oglu said: "The ruling party of our country is proposing a person who was sentenced to prison for corruption in local elections as a candidate in the EP elections, just because he belongs to the Greek minority in Albania, and this person is even elected as a member of the European Parliament. On the other hand, the electoral success of the KIEF party, which came first by far in the prefectures of Rodopi and Xanthi in the EP elections with the votes cast by the Turks of Western Thrace, who are EU citizens, is being criticized by politics and the mainstream media, and the leaders of the ruling party, especially our Prime Minister, are trying to find a cover for their electoral failure in Western Thrace. KIEF is the party of our community and it is the Turks who voted for it and made it the first party in the prefectures of Rodopi and Xanthi. The recent electoral success of our party has once again confirmed this fact, despite the denial policies of our country. If our Prime Minister, who proposed an Albanian citizen as a candidate from his party because he is Greek, thinks that he can escape from the truth by ignoring the electoral success of the KIEF party, he is very wrong."
