FEP Party condemns the usurpation of Turkish Minority rights
Friendship Equality Peace (FEP) Party condemned the decision to close Turkish minority schools in Western Thrace on the grounds of student shortage.
FEP Party reported that Turkish minority schools in Western Thrace were closed on the grounds of lack of students and that minority rights were usurped by not addressing the right to elect muftis in the new draft law submitted to the parliament on muftis.
The statement made by the DEB Party on the subject is as follows:
"Unfortunately, the interventions and violations by our country, Greece, on the rights of the Muslim Turkish Minority arising from the Treaty of Lausanne, unfortunately, do not come to an end. In recent years, the hopes, living standards, and right to receive quality education of the next generation students have been taken away, especially with the interventions made in the field of education of the Minority. The addition of 4 Minority Primary Schools to our primary schools, which were closed for years on the pretext of lack of students, further expands the extent of the damage to the right to education and autonomy. The provision in the Lausanne Peace Treaty that the minority has the right to establish, manage and supervise their own schools is also disregarded on this occasion. On the other hand, according to the Treaty of Lausanne, while the Western Thrace Turkish Minority has the right to elect its own Mufti, our country Greece has tried to appoint Muftis for many years, citing different reasons, and has not officially recognized the Muftis chosen by the Minority. The right to elect the Muftis was not addressed in the newly submitted draft law on the Mufti, and once again this right was usurped. The fact that this bill came to the parliament just a few days after the death of our late Xanthi Elected Mufti Ahmet Mete, who had fought so hard in the just cause of the Western Thrace Muslim Turkish Minority, also raised questions in the minds. As the FEP Party, we would like to state that we strongly condemn both practices. We will continue to shout out all the interventions against the struggle for rights and law until the authorities give up the wrongdoings and enable the Muslim Turkish Minority of Western Thrace to live in prosperity within the framework of the Treaty of Lausanne."