Human and minority rights experts meet with MILLET newspaper
Human and minority rights experts who visited Western Thrace within the framework of the exploratory visit organised by the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe to Western Thrace met with MİLLET newspaper.
The experts visited the office of Millet Newspaper in Xanthi on Monday 4 March and met with Cengiz Ömer, editor-in-chief of Millet Newspaper and Cemil Kabza, editor of Millet News.
Under the coordination of Melek Kırmacı Arık, ABTTF International Relations Director, Assoc. Prof. Martin Klatt, Professor at the University of Denmark, Head of the Department of Danish-German Minority Issues at the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI), and Petranka Nedelcheva and Magdalena Marinova from the Bulgarian National History Museum visited the Millet newspaper on Monday, 4 March.
Cengiz Ömer, the Editor-in-Chief of Millet newspaper, talked about the establishment of Millet Media Group, its activities and especially the problems it has faced until today. Ömer explained with examples that it is not easy to publish in Turkish in the Western Thrace region of Greece and that the newspaper has been subjected to imprisonment and fines many times since its establishment. Cengiz Ömer also expressed the problems faced by Çınar FM radio, which has a unique and unique structure in Europe.
Cengiz Ömer emphasised that despite all the difficulties and pressures, MİLLET Media Group will endeavour to be the voice of Western Thrace Turks, that this service is not a means but an end and that it will never be abandoned.
Cemil Kabza, Editor of Millet News, recalled that Millet News was the first time in the history of the press in Western Thrace that an English-language news website was established by members of the minority and explained the editorial policy of Millet News, especially on minority issues. He stated that Millet News attaches importance to minority problems and news, especially news on human and minority rights issues in Greece, Turkey, Europe and various countries of the world.
He noted that the annual report of the Millet News team was sent to many international human and minority rights organisations.
Cengiz Ömer and Cemil Kabza gave detailed information about the problems faced by Western Thrace Turks, especially national identity, freedom of expression and media, freedom of association, education and youth.
After the compilation of the data obtained at the end of the Western Thrace Expedition organised under the leadership of ABTTF, the project on the perception of identity and borders of national minorities in Europe living in border regions will be made public.