ABTTF pays official visit to the European Parliament

The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) paid on 21 September 2011 an official visit to the European Parliament (EP). ABTTF President Halit Habipoğlu and Ali Türkelli, member of the Department of International Affairs of ABTTF, discussed the problems of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace in Greece with MEPs François Alfonsi (France) and Herbert Dorfmann (Italy), both members of the EP Intergroup for Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages.

Associations carrying the attribute “Turkish” in their names dissolved or no permission for registration of the new ones

During the meeting with MEP François Alfonsi from Greens/European Free Alliance, ABTTF President Habipoğlu stated that the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace could not utilize in collective terms its right to self-identification and was therefore facing problems in several areas, in particular with respect to right to association. Habipoğlu said that in Western Thrace, the associations carrying the attribute “Turkish” in their names had been dissolved and request for registration of the new ones were dismissed, even of the ones having the word “minority” in their titles.

60,000 Western Thrace Turks deprived arbitrarily of their Greek citizenship

Habipoğlu stated that 60,000 Western Thrace Turks had been deprived arbitrarily of their citizenship under the former article 19 of the Greek Citizenship Code, and these denaturalized persons had to go through the normal naturalization process which is applied to foreigners, adding that this problem was nothing to do with application for nationality but ‘restoration of the nationality’.

During the meeting with MEP Herbert Dorfmann from the European People’s Party-Christian Democrats, ABTTF President Habipoğlu said that ABTTF was a regular member of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN), adding that as being member of the European Dialogue Forum via FUEN, they were representing the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace in the European Parliament.

No direct dialogue established with the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace!

ABTTF President Habipoğlu also pointed out that although Turkey was taking positive steps towards the Greek Orthodox minority in Istanbul, of which status and rights had been determined, as of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace, by the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty, Greece was unfortunately not in such an effort. Habipoğlu noted that Turkey had already initiated the process of dialogue with the Greek Orthodox minority in Istanbul which numbered today about 5,000, but on the other hand, Greece was persistently avoiding to set up a dialogue with the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace having a population of 150,000.