FEP Party announces details of EFA visit

Western Thrace
Tue, 4 Apr 2023 8:59 GMT
Lorena Lόpez De Lacalle Arizti, President of the European Free Alliance (EFA) and the accompanying delegation visited Western Thrace on March 31-April 2 2023.
FEP Party announces details of EFA visit

The delegation consisting of Lorena Lόpez De Lacalle Arizti, President of the European Free Alliance (EFA) Lorena Lόpez De Lacalle Arizti, Vice President Frank De Boer, Political Advisor Paul Butcher and Media Secretary Llyr Williams, who visited Western Thrace as guests of the FEP Party, had the opportunity to meet with the Turkish Minority institutions.

A statement was made by the FEP Party regarding the details of the visits.

The following statements were made in the statement:

"This organisation, which we organised together with the European Free Alliance of which we are a member on March 31-April 2 2023, started on 31 March with a visit to Xanthi Turkish Union. ITB President Ozan Ahmetoğlu, ITB legal advisors Ahmet Kara and İlker Çavuşoğlu told the guest delegation about the legal struggle of the Xanthi Turkish Union since 1983. The guest delegation stated that they do not find it acceptable that Greece does not implement the judgements of the European Court of Human Rights and that they closely follow the violations of rights in the minority.

On the same day we paid our second visit to the Xanthi Minority Secondary School and High School. The delegation was amazed to see the condition of this school, which we have repeatedly expressed for years that its physical conditions are very bad. When they heard that this school is the only minority secondary and high school in Xanthi, their reactions were naturally even greater. During this visit, our delegation was welcomed and hosted by the Chairman of the Council Committee Av Ahmet Kara, Council Committee member Bilal Budur, School Principal Selçuk Fehmi, and Assistant Principal Eva Steryanidou. The Chairman of the Council Ahmet Kara gave important and extensive information about the history of the school and especially about the building problem.

On 1 April 2023, a comprehensive meeting was held at the FEP Party Headquarters under the chairmanship of President Çiğdem Asafoğlu with the Board of Directors of the FEP Party and the European Free Alliance delegation. In this meeting, mainly political developments and the 3% threshold barrier preventing the FEP Party from making politics in every field were discussed. In addition, a consensus was reached to further expand and increase the co-operation between the FEP Party and the EFA.

After the meeting at the FEP Party, a productive meeting was held with the members of the Advisory Board of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace at the Centre of the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association where the main problems of the minority were discussed. Chronic problems awaiting solution such as Muftiate, foundations, education, and identity were conveyed to the guest delegation. After the meeting, İbrahim Şerif, President of the Advisory Board of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace and Elected Mufti of Komotini, thanked the EFA President and the delegation for their interest in our minority.

The guest delegation then visited the grave of our late leader Dr. Sadık Ahmet, Founding President and first President of the FEP Party.

After this visit, the guest delegation visited the minority and majority villages and identified the difference in economic conditions between the minority and majority. They could not hide their astonishment when they saw village mosques without minarets and village schools with poor physical conditions.

On 2 April 2023, the EFA delegation was accompanied by FEP Party President Çiğdem Asafoğlu, BAKEŞ General Director Pervin Hayrullah, and BAKEŞ Deputy General Director Kerem Abdürrahimoğlu.

As FEP Party, we would like to thank the EFA President Lorena Lόpez De Lacalle Arizti and the accompanying delegation for their sensitivity to our minority problems."

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