Hüseyin Zeybek condemns blocking of Minority School enrollments, cites Lausanne Treaty violations
Hüseyin Zeybek, Member of Parliament for İskeçe, has brought the case of two children from the Turkish Muslim Minority of Western Thrace to the Greek Parliament after their enrollment in the first grade of a Minority Primary School was reportedly blocked.
In a parliamentary question submitted to the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Zeybek argued that the reported decision is incompatible with the rights guaranteed by the Lausanne Treaty, legislation governing minority education and constitutional protections.
According to complaints received from the families, the children's registration was allegedly prevented because one of their parents is a foreign national. Zeybek described such reasoning as legally unfounded, discriminatory and potentially dangerous as a precedent for future cases.
The lawmaker stressed that access to minority education cannot be conditioned on family origin or parental status and warned that administrative interpretations should not be allowed to restrict children's right to education. He called on the ministry to investigate the matter, remove any barriers to enrollment and ensure that similar incidents do not recur.
Zeybek further argued that the case raises broader concerns about the future of minority education in Western Thrace, emphasizing that the protection of minority rights must be measured through practical implementation rather than political declarations.
