The state of play and the future of minority languages in Europe were discussed in the European Parliament

ABTTF raised the issues of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace, Rhodes and Kos at the conference where similar examples were discussed.

An international conference entitled “Language, Identity & Power: What Future for Minority Lan-guages in Europe?” was organised in the European Parliament on 24 February 2015 with the patronage of MEP’s Jill Evans (EFA/Greens), Herbert Dorfmann (EPP) and Csaba Sogor (EPP). The event was co-organised by Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), the European Free Alliance (EFA) and the Centre Maurits Coppieters (CMC). ABTTF was also repre-sented at the conference by ABTTF Board Member Dr. Sebahattin Abdurrahman who delivered a speech on the particular case of the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace and also in Rhodes, Kos and Dodecanese, providing the audience with examples of linguistic and ethnic discrimination in education, health care and public spaces.

ABTTF President Halit Habip Oğlu and ABTTF Board Member Sami Yusuf attended to the con-ference that hosted around 80 participants from various European minority groups, EU institutions, Council of Europe and human rights NGOs.

There is no bilingual kindergarten in Western Thrace and the schools giving Turkish educa-tion in Rhodes and Kos have been closed for decades!

ABTTF Board Member Dr. Sebahattin Abdurrahman performed his speech during the first session entitled “Language, Identity and Power” and stated that Greece recognised only one minority, which is Muslim Minority. Therefore, Turkish Minority in Greece is recognised not on an ethnic but on a religious basis. Underlying the lack of any kindergartens giving bilingual education in Greece, Ab-durrahman informed the audience that there are minority elementary schools providing bilingual education only in Western Thrace, but their quality is rather poor. He also said that the schools giv-ing Turkish education in Rhodes and Kos have been closed for decades. As for Turkish lessons being provided as selective courses at state schools, Abdurrahman insisted that there are Turkish les-sons as selective courses at secondary schools in Western Thrace, but no Turkish courses are provided at state elementary schools in Greece.

Associations bearing a name that contains “Turk” are forbidden and Turkish signs are not allowed at public buildings as well as boards in the region

Abdurrahman stated that Turkish associations bearing a name that contains “Turk” are forbidden in Greece and the names of minority villages are only in Greek. Turkish names of the villages are not used in the boards indicating road directions in the region and Turkish signs are equally not allowed in public buildings and institutions of the regions even where the minority outnumbers the majority population.
Using Turkish in public space is problematic!

As an example to explain how the using of Turkish in public space constitutes a problem, Abdur-rahman talked about the example of a football match in 2013 where one side was composed of Turkish minority while the other side of Greeks. The game was suspended on the grounds that the Turkish trainer was talking to his players in Turkish. Abdurrahman gave another example of an aca-demic conference organised in 2013 in Komotini where a journalist form Turkish minority was not allowed to deliver a presentation in Turkish although it was informed in time and there was already a translator in the room.