Tensions in the European Parliament: Western Thrace Turks raise their voice, Greek MPs walk out
The Western Thrace Turks made their voice heard powerfully in the heart of Europe. Keeping their promise, representatives brought the long-standing issues of the Western Thrace Turkish community to the agenda of the European Parliament.
From the economy to education, from fundamental human rights to democracy, a wide range of issues were discussed. Not only the problems but also concrete solutions were presented. Greek MEPs — representing Freedom Route, New Democracy, and Greek Solution — also took the floor. However, their denial and disregard of the reality of Western Thrace Turks prompted a strong and determined response from the President of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority, Çiğdem Asafoğlu.
Unable to tolerate Asafoğlu’s firm words, the Greek parliamentarians stormed out of the chamber in anger.
This scene once again proved that when Western Thrace Turks stand tall in defending their rights, their voice resonates not only in Thrace but across Europe.
FEP: “We have kept our promise”
After the event, the FEP Party shared a video post on its social media accounts with the following statements:
"We had promised to be the voice of the Western Thrace Turks and to bring our rightful demands to the European Parliament. Today, we have kept this promise. In the heart of Europe, we strongly voiced the problems and expectations that the Western Thrace Turks have been experiencing for years. From economy to education, from fundamental human rights to democracy, we put many issues on the table. At this conference, we did not only explain our problems, but we also shared our solution proposals. Greek MEPs also attended the meeting. Representatives of Freedom Route, New Democracy, and Greek Solution took the floor and shared their views. However, to the approaches of the Greek parliamentarians who ignored and denied the realities of the Western Thrace Turks, our President Çiğdem Asafoğlu gave a clear and determined response. Unable to tolerate this strong response of our President, the Greek parliamentarians angrily left the hall. Today we once again saw that when we stand tall while defending our rights, our voice resonates not only in Western Thrace but also in Europe. We will continue to defend the rights of the Western Thrace Turks on every platform, on the path we believe is right.
We are sharing with you excerpts from our President Çiğdem Asafoğlu’s response to the Greek Parliamentarians."
