ABTTF paid an official visit to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

The President of ABTTF Halit Habipoğlu reported the problems of the Turkish Minority to PACE Members Boriss Cilevics and Klaas de Vries

On 25 June 2012, the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) paid an official visit to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). ABTTF President Halit Habipoğlu and Member of International Affairs and Lobby Group Fatoş Akkuş visited PACE in order to discuss the problems of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace with PACE members Boriss Cilevics (Latvia) and Klaas de Vries (Netherlands).

In the meeting with Boriss Cilevics, Member of Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the PACE, the President of ABTTF Halit Habipoğlu explained the current problems of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace. Habipoğlu informed also Klaas de Vries, the rapporteur of the report on “Implementation of judgments to the European Court of Human Rights”, about ABTTF and its activities. President Habipoğlu mentioned that the educational and religious autonomy guaranteed by the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923 has today been destroyed. Furthermore, the President explained currrent developments in Greece and added that that the economic crisis has most affected the Macedonia- Thrace region which recorded the highest unemployment rate in Greece and this situation had a negative impact on the living conditions of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace. President Habipoğlu also expressed their concerns regarding increasing hate-motivated attacks against the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace and added that the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace had a fear that such incidents of hate-motivated attacks would continue in the period after the election of extreme rightist Golden Dawn which is known its strong discourse against the Turkish Minority to the Greek Parliament in 17 June elections.