Greece destroys Western Thrace Turkish Minority Education
Greece continues its brutal policies of destroying Western Thrace Turkish Minority Education, which has an autonomous status under the Lausanne Treaty. Finally, it was decided to close 5 more Turkish Minority Primary Schools throughout Western Thrace.
The mentality which cannot put up with Western Thrace Muslim Turkish Minority, considers the minority as a "national problem". Hereby, the work carried out to eliminate minority institutions and organizations does not slow down. In this context, the Greek state, in a style of a junta regime, continues to violate the right of autonomous education, which is one of the pillars of the existence of the Minority, just as they seize the Mufti institution, which violates religious freedoms. In recent years 65 primary schools have been closed by the Ministry of Education on the grounds of lack of students.
As the number of minority primary schools closed in the last 10 years has reached 65, there has been a significant decrease in the number of students attending minority primary schools. The Athens governance, which does not respond to the educational demands of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority, is also avoiding a dialogue process to solve the problems that are growing each and every year. As a result, minority education has continued to decline for the last 20 years.
The schools, which were closed at the beginning of each school year, has become another indicator of the systematic effort to eliminate minority education. Closing of minority schools without taking into account the special status of minority education determined by special regulations including the bilateral agreements in the context of Treaty of Lausanne, are harshly reacted by the minority. However, regardless of the reactions of the minority, this nonsense effort continues as a state policy even if governments change.
Reactions against Greece’s closure of Turkish minority schools in Western Thrace in violation of bilateral and international agreements
Western Thrace Turkish Teachers Association (BTTÖB) Reacted to closure of minority schools. In the statement of the Association, "Closing schools with the excuse of lack of children, regardless of the status of minority schools, is contrary to the Treaty of Lausanne. For years, all institutions and organizations of the minority have shouted loudly their reactions and concerns against school closures."
In Turkish Minority Schools of Xanthi (İskeçe) and Rodop-Meriç (Rodopi-Evros) Provinces Teacher Associations’ (SÖPA) joint press release, it was considered as misappropriation of the government. "We see that our schools have been shut down in violation of the procedures with the descent decisions," statements were used and the government was called for making amends for this mistake as soon as possible.
The voice of Rhodes, Kos and the Dodecanese Turks, whose rights have been taken away in Greece and which are still subjected to great injustices Rhodes, Kos and Dodecanese Turks Culture and Solidarity Association (ROISDER) also reacted to the closure of schools in Western Thrace.
Rhodes, Kos and Dodecanese Turks Culture and Solidarity Association (ROISDER) President Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kaymakçı, On the closure of Turkish minority schools in the Western Thrace region, Mustafa Kaymakçı has said "The number of Turkish minority primary schools in Western Thrace that Greece has closed for lack of students has reached 65. Greece is increasingly limiting the right to education of Western Thrace Turks as part of assimilation, Rhodes and Kos Turks are not given their rights to get education and training. Today, Turks living in Rhodes and Kos go to Greek public schools, but are exempted from religious classes. Turkish children who are educated in public schools can speak little Turkish today. Cultural assimilation is accelerated in this way”.
'School closure is a clear violation of the Lausanne Treaty'
The Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board said on Tuesday (20 August 2019) that the temporary closure of minority schools due to lack of students was a clear violation of the Lausanne Treaty, which would never be accepted.
Advisory Board consisting of elected representatives of Western Thrace Turkish Minority and representatives of non-governmental organizations have said that the Greek state should have adherence to international treaties, respect the wishes and demands of the Minority in education, and before making decisions about minority schools, they should consult with the Council's (elected school administrators of student parents) and that all rights arising from the law will be exercised in line with the decisions of the Advisory Board.
Some of the problems in minority education
In Western Thrace, in accordance with the 1951 Turkish-Greek education agreement, there are minority schools in Turkish-Greek bilingual primary, secondary and high school level.
As kindergarten education became compulsory in the country, the need to open minority kindergartens has emerged in recent years. Despite this need, the Greek side does not allow bilingual kindergartens, and this decision is being protested by minority groups.
The current minority secondary schools and high schools in Komotini and Xanthi are not enough for all minority students and new ones need to be opened. In this context, the school building problem is waiting for a solution as a big problem.
While some minority schools need maintenance and restoration, low standards in minority education need to be improved.
Greek governance continues to disrupt the balance of bilingual minority education systematically by increasing lessons in Greek curriculum while reducing the lessons in the Turkish curriculum.
