ABTTF on a working visit in Brussels

The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) made a working visit to Brussels, capital of the European Union (EU). ABTTF President Halit Habip Oğlu and ABTTF Head Office Manager K. Engin Soyyilmaz met during the working visit with the MEPs Pál Csáky (EPP, Slovakia) and Csaba Sógor (EPP, Romania) as well as the Secretary General of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) Marino Busdachin.

Problems of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace and recent developments expressed during the meetings

The first meeting was held with the MEP Pál Csáky (EPP-Christian Democrats) who belongs to the Hungarian minority in Slovakia in his working office in the EP. During the meeting, ABTTF President Halit Habip Oğlu expressed the recent happenings in Western Thrace, Greece where Csáky was on a fact-finding mission on 19-22 September 2016, adding the mayor of Yassıkoy (Iasmos) of Rhodope Province İsmet Kadı who belongs to Turkish Minority of Western Thrace was detained by police in December 2016 because he drove his official car outside of the municipality borders and for private affairs. Habip Oğlu said the real intention behind this is to intimidate and frighten the Turkish minority and to keep it under constant pressure.

Afterwards, the ABTTF delegation met with the MEP Csaba Sógor who belongs to the Hungarian minority in Romania. During the meeting, ABTTF President Habip Oğlu stated discrimination and racist rhetoric against the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace is ongoing, adding the panel discussion organised by the Friendship Equality Peace (FEP) Party together with the Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) on 12 December 2016 in Athens was violently invaded by the racist Golden Dawn Party MPs and its sympathizers, and the panel speakers were insulted and subjected to threats as it happened during the panel discussion he hosted on 2 March 2016 in the EP.

The last meeting was held with the UNPO Secretary General Marino Busdachin at the ABTTF Brussels Office, which was also attended by Justice Séran from UNPO. During the meeting, the delegations of ABTTF and UNPO exchanged views about the fact-finding mission to Western Thrace on 19-22 September 2016, in which Busdachin also participated, and recent developments of concern to the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace.