German-language Italian portal publishes article on Western Thrace Turkish minority
The German-language news portal Südtirol Online (stol.it) in Italy published an article on July 5, 2026, focusing on the Western Thrace Turkish minority and Greece’s approach to minority recognition.
Written by journalist Hatto Schmidt and titled “Yes to a minority? Yes, but only when it is your own,” the article examines what it describes as a contrast between Greece’s support for the recognition of Greek communities abroad and its position toward minorities within its own borders.
The article refers to Greece’s positive response to Poland’s recent recognition of the Greek community there as a national minority, noting that the community numbers around 5,000 to 6,000 people and largely descends from Greeks who fled the country during the 1949-1950 civil war.
Focus on Western Thrace Turkish minority
The report states that Greece’s official position recognizes only one minority in the country — a Muslim minority defined by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne — rather than an ethnic or national minority.
It also highlights claims by the Western Thrace Turkish Minority that its rights have been repeatedly violated and cites comments by European Western Thrace Turkish Federation (ABTTF) President Halit Habip Oğlu, who said Greece’s policy aims to deny the minority’s Turkish identity.
The article discusses restrictions on the use of the word “Turkish” in association names, noting that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled in several cases that such practices violate European law. It also states that the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has recently urged Greece to take further steps to implement related rulings.
References to other minority cases
The article also mentions the ECHR case concerning the Macedonian minority issue in Greece, referring to the 1998 ruling that Greece violated freedom of association rights by refusing to register the “Home of Macedonian Civilization” association in Florina.
According to the report, Greece has not taken steps to implement that ruling since the decision.
