The educational problems of the Turkish community of Western Thrace at the European Parliament
The European Federation of Western Thrace Turks (ABTTF) at the meeting of the European Parliament (EP) Intergroup on Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages made a presentation entitled "Problems in equal access to quality education for children belonging to the Turkish community in the region of Western Thrace in Greece" which took place in Strasbourg on 23 November 2023.
ABTTF President Halit Habip Oglu and ABTTF International Relations Officer Melek Kırmacı Arık participated in the meeting held at the EP building in Strasbourg under the chairmanship of the Co-Chairs of the Intergroup Loránt Vincze (EPP, Romania) and François Alfonsi (Greens/EFA, France). Professor Dr. Mustafa Kaimaktsi, President of the Association of Culture and Solidarity of Turks of Rhodes, Kos and Dodecanese (ROISDER) also participated in the meeting and gave a presentation on the educational problems of the Turkish community in Rhodes and Kos.
In his opening speech, ABTTF President Halit Habip Oğlu pointed out that our country, Greece, is the only member state of the European Union (EU) that denies the existence of indigenous national minorities and stated that although kindergarten education is compulsory in the country, the establishment of bilingual kindergartens is not allowed in the region of Western Thrace, where the Turkish community lives. Stating that there are serious problems in bilingual primary schools belonging to the Turkish community, Habip Oglu said that the number of Turkish primary schools in Western Thrace has decreased from 226 to 90 over the years, from 9 to 0 in Rhodes and from 3 to 0 in Kos and that the numbers speak for themselves and clearly reveal the reality.
In the presentation made during the meeting ABTTF noted that although the Turkish community of Western Thrace has educational autonomy guaranteed by the Lausanne Treaty, Turkish primary schools with autonomous status in Western Thrace are being closed under the pretext of lack of pupils. Underlining that the number of Turkish primary schools in Western Thrace has drastically decreased since 2010, the ABTTF stated that the number of primary schools in the 2023-204 academic year has been reduced to 90.
The ABTTF noted that there is no bilingual Turkish minority kindergarten in Western Thrace and that the Greek authorities have left unanswered the demands of the Turkish community regarding the establishment of a private kindergarten. The ABTTF also stated that the number of Turkish secondary schools is also insufficient according to the proportion of the population in the region and that there is only one bilingual Turkish secondary school in the prefectures of Rodopi and Xanthi. The ABTTF noted that a protest demonstration was organized for 11 days at the Turkish Minority Secondary School and Lyceum of Xanthi as a protest against the imposition of shift education and to demand a solution to the school's building problem that has been ongoing for years. The ABTTF stressed that the problem continues despite the protest action and that a written question on the issue was recently submitted to the EU Commission.
Finally, the ABTTF pointed out that the situation of minority communities in a country is a very clear indicator for understanding the level of democracy in that country, calling on Greece to restore the educational autonomy of the Turkish community of Western Thrace.
