Turkish Minority representatives tell AA about their expectations regarding the Erdoğan-Miçotakis meeting
Western Thrace Turks expect that the issue of the full fulfilment of the rights arising from the Lausanne Treaty will be discussed during the meeting of Prime Minister Kiryakos Mitsotakis with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey on 13 May.
İbrahim Şerif, President of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board (BTTADK) and Elected Mufti of Komotini, Aydın Ahmet, President of the Western Thrace Turkish Teachers' Union, Sedat Hasan, President of the Komotini Turkish Youth Union (GTGB), Ozan Ahmetoğlu, President of the Xanthi Turkish Union (ITB) and Çiğdem Asafoğlu from the Friendship, Equality and Peace (FEP) Party, told AA correspondent about their expectations regarding the implementation of the rights granted to the Western Thrace Turkish Minority by the Treaty of Lausanne.
"The mufti should be elected by the Muslim people here"
Stating that Greece prevented the Turkish minority from exercising many of its rights arising from the Treaty of Lausanne, Şerif drew attention to the treaties stipulating the right to elect their muftis, the religious leader of the minority.
Sharif said, "In these agreements, firstly, the people will elect the muftis, just like in the Christian dogma. The muftis will also elect the chief mufti." Şerif reminded that the Greek administration took away the right of the Turkish Minority to elect its Muftis in 1990 and started a new practice in which the Muftis were appointed by the Greek administration.
However, Şerif stated that the Turkish people did not accept the appointed muftis and went to elections in 1990 to determine their own muftis and said that he was elected in Komotini and Mehmet Emin Aga was elected in Xanthi.
Pointing out that in Komotini and Xanthi there are muftis appointed by the state and one elected by the people, Şerif said: "The mufti should be elected by the Muslim people here, but as we can see, the state uses the appointment method here. This is your mufti, this is the person who will shape your religion or lead you. But our religion and treaties give us the right to choose our mufti."
Demands in the field of education
Aydın Ahmet, President of the Western Thrace Turkish Teachers' Union, drew attention to the problems of the Turkish minority in the field of education and emphasised the importance of opening kindergartens that would provide bilingual education.
Stating that their demand for a bilingual kindergarten was not met by the Greek authorities, Ahmet said, "Our biggest problem is that the state has never taken the minority as an interlocutor. Until today, all decisions regarding the education of the minority have been taken unilaterally by the state and put into effect. Unfortunately, none of the demands of the minority have been taken into consideration in this regard."
Reminding that the number of minority primary schools was 307 in 1926, Ahmet said that this number has now been reduced to 90 with the excuse of the lack of children.
Ahmet stated that the Turkish Minority wanted to use the right to open educational institutions granted to them by international treaties, but these demands were not taken into consideration by the state.
Sedat Hasan, President of the Komotini Turkish Youth Union (GTGB), said that GTGB was officially closed down because it had the word "Turkish" in its signboard and that it continued its activities unofficially.
Hasan emphasised that with the declaration of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in 1983, Greece, in retaliation, took down the signboards of three associations in Western Thrace whose names included the word Turkish.
Hasan stated that the Turks of Western Thrace demanded the return of their rights arising from the treaties such as identity and the right to elect their own muftis.
Ozan Ahmetoğlu, President of Xanthi Turkish Union (ITB), stated that the most important problem is the minority education.
Stating that Greece should find solutions to the problems experienced by the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace in education, Ahmetoğlu drew attention to the fact that the building problem of Xanthi Minority Secondary School and High School has still not been solved.
Ahmetoğlu reminded that they had sent a letter to Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis about the building problem and said
"Our long-term demand is for the school in question to have a modern building. We want a school for at least 750 students, equipped with a sports hall, computer room, laboratories and other necessary facilities. Until the new building is constructed, we request the use of the school grounds or neighbouring public or local government buildings for additional classrooms in order to slightly improve the existing school's extraordinarily overcrowded classrooms and conditions that are far from modern educational standards."
Turkish Minority prefers to be a bridge of peace between the two countries
Friendship Equality Peace (FEP) Party Çiğdem Asafoğlu also welcomed the visit of Mitsotakis to Turkey and said that the neighbourly and diplomatic relations between the two countries should be improved and the existing problems should be solved peacefully.
Stating that despite the injustices done to the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace, the minority preferred to be a bridge of peace between the two countries, Asafoğlu noted that the minority paid the price for the fluctuating course of bilateral relations.
Asafoğlu pointed out that the minority was deprived of many of its rights that it had obtained with the Treaty of Lausanne, and referred to the obligation to receive 3 per cent of the votes throughout the country in order to be elected as an MP from any region in Greece:
"As everyone knows, we are participating in the European Parliament (EP) elections on 9 June as the Friendship Equality Peace (FEP) party. Those who did not want our voice to be heard in the national parliament prevented us by imposing the 3 per cent election threshold. This was not enough, they also applied it in the EP elections. One may ask why we are taking part in the elections despite this obstacle. To say 'We are here' together and with one voice, despite all the injustices we have suffered and those who ignore us."
Emphasising that they are in solidarity with those who have suffered injustice in Greece, Asafoğlu noted that they included a Greek citizen candidate of Macedonian origin in their list in the EP elections.
