Global Courant 2023-05-11 17:32:51
GUMULCINE, Greece
One main opposition lawmaker said the situation for the Turkish minority in Greece, mostly concentrated in the Western Thrace region, has worsened under the incumbent New Democracy (ND) government.
Hüseyin Zeybek, a deputy of the Turkish-origin SYRIZA party, told Anadolu that the government failed the democracy test.
He reiterated that Greece violated the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights protecting the freedom of association of the Turkish minority.
Greek authorities closed the Xanthi (Xanthi) Turkish Union because the word Turk was mentioned in its name.
“However, I believe SYRIZA has a better understanding of human rights and minority rights and therefore will tackle this issue differently,” he said.
Zeybek also added that the pressure on Turkish associations and the minority in general intensified during the government led by Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitsotakis.
Both Mitsotakis and Nikos Androulakis, leader of the social democratic opposition party PASOK, ignored the minority during their recent visit to Western Thrace.
He said that the ruling party’s economic policies that favor the rich and powerful instead of farmers and the working class negatively affect the economic situation of the minority.
Zeybek also emphasized that SYRIZA is in favor of dialogue with Ankara for the solution of the problems between the two countries.
The Western Thrace region, close to Turkey’s northeastern border, is home to a substantial and well-established Muslim Turkish minority of 150,000.
The rights of the Turks were guaranteed under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, but the situation has seriously worsened over the decades, including Greece’s refusal to implement the ECtHR judgments.
Although the ECHR ruled against Greece in 2008, associations with “Turkish” in their names are still prohibited in Western Thrace.
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