Activities in the 20. year of ABTTF: panel about Western Thrace in the European Parliament

Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) is moving lobby activities implemented by the European Parliament for a long time to the top and organizing a panel in the European Parliament about Turkish Minority of Western Thrace. It has been enounced that important persons will attend to the panel which will be organized in the European Parliament on April 17. Problems of Turkish Minority of Western Thrace will be brought up on such a top level platform for the first time and it has been declared that the European Parliament approved organization of panel officially.

ABTTF will organize panel in partnership with European Free Alliance (EFA), a political party represented in the European Parliament, Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) and Rainbow, political party of Macedonian Minority in Greece. It is also stated that the panel will be the most important organization in which minority problems in Greece will be brought up on such a top level platform in Europe. Expert academicians about Turkish Minority of Western Thrace and important politicians work about minority issues towards Europe will participate in organization as panelist.

Turkish Minority of Western Thrace is in the front ranks of the European Parliament’s agenda

Official permission of the European Parliament for a panel about Turkish Minority of Western Thrace in within the Parliament has been described as a very important activity and it has been designated that bringing up of minority problems in Greece on a high-level is clearly meaningful.

Analysts describe that the European Parliament is indisposed about anti-democratic developments to the disadvantage of minorities in Greece in recent times and so, the Parliament let the organizations representing minorities bring up minority problems in Greece to the Parliament’s agenda. It is also stated that this situation also proves that Turkish Minority of Western Thrace is in the front ranks of the European Parliament’s agenda. Halit Habipoglu, the president of ABTTF, also drawed attention to importance of panel and he emphasized that ABTTF is working out of lobby activities implemented decisively for long years. Habipoglu indicated that the European Parliament also had seen that organizations representing Turkish Minority of Western Thrace had been struggling for rights and freedoms in democratic framework and he said “the European Parliament looks on us favourably because of these reasons and is pleased about bringing up of our problems to the Parliament’s agenda. While our associations are closed in Greece, the European Parliament accepts us as official non-governmental organizations representing Turkish Minority of Western Thrace. Greece ever must see these developments and she must leave existing policies which hinder solutions”. It is anticipated that there would be a high level and crowded attandence to the panel and it is commented that more European parliamenters would begin to be interested in problems of Turkish Minority of Western Thrace of Greece in near future.