Greek Education Minister responds to questions on Turkish Consul General’s school visits
The question was submitted by Konstantinos Hitas, an MP from the far-right Greek Solution Party, who claimed that the Consul General’s visits to minority schools were unrelated to education, conducted during school hours, and allegedly violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
In her response, Minister Zaharaki stated that school visits by third parties, including foreign representatives, are a common and established practice, provided they are carried out with the approval of the Ministry of Education. She confirmed that Consul General Aykut Ünal followed the same legal procedures required by the Ministry and obtained the necessary permissions to visit minority schools.
ABTTF President: “This Issue Should Not Be Exploited for Domestic Politics”
Commenting on the matter, Halit Habipoğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), welcomed Minister Zaharaki’s response, noting that it prevented the issue from being used as a tool for domestic political provocation.
“Greece’s Education Minister provided the necessary response to a parliamentary question with provocative content submitted by a far-right MP, refusing to allow the matter to be instrumentalized for internal political purposes,” Habipoğlu said.
He emphasized that Türkiye’s Consul General in Gümülcine, representing a country that is a signatory to the Treaty of Lausanne, visited Turkish primary schools within his jurisdiction after obtaining the required legal permits, in line with the principle of reciprocity.
Habipoğlu noted that similar visits have previously been conducted by Greek education ministers and diplomatic representatives to Greek Orthodox minority schools in Istanbul and Gökçeada (Imbros).
He also criticized long-standing state interventions in the educational autonomy of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority, which is guaranteed under the Treaty of Lausanne.
“Due to unilateral state interference in our community’s educational autonomy, the quality of education in Turkish minority schools in Western Thrace has declined in recent years,” Habipoğlu said. “We wish that the Greek Parliament would address this issue through questions focusing on improving educational standards, rather than through provocative motions submitted by far-right politicians.”
Photo: Gündem
