Some children belonging to the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace not enrolled in the primary school as they have not attended public kindergarten

ABTTF President Halit Habipoğlu: The Turkish Minority of Western Thrace has the right to have education in its mother language, and the Greek Government should find as soon as possible a solution for this problem having emerged today as a matter of enrolment

In Greece, where the new school year has begun, a problem is being experienced now regarding the law enacted in 2006. According to this law, the children, who have completed their 5th age, are obliged to attend kindergarten. In the statement made by the political party Friendship, Equality and Peace (DEB), it is said some children belonging to the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace in Komotini and Xanthi were not enrolled in the first class of primary school. DEB noted the statement “as there are no bilingual (Greek and Turkish) minority kindergartens, they have not sent their children to the state kindergarten” of the children parents was not accepted by the competent Greek authorities.

The law of 3518/2006 provides that all children, who were born 1 January 2003 and later and have completed their 5th age, are obliged to attend kindergarten. The demand of the opening of bilingual kindergartens of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace, which has been granted the right to establish and manage its own schools by the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty, has been persistently ignored by the Greek Government. Therefore, there is today this problem regarding the enrolment of the children in the first class of primary school, who have not attended public kindergarten where the education language is only in Greek.

“The Turkish Minority of Western Thrace has always underlined that it has the right to establish bilingual (Greek and Turkish) minority kindergartens according to the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty and the bilateral treaties signed between Greece and Turkey in the field of education. However, the Greek authorities have persistently ignored this demand of the Turkish minority. It is of the Greek Government’s responsibility to solve this problem having emerged today as a matter of enrolment. The Greek Government should guarantee the right of the children belonging to the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace to have education in their native language, and positively respond to the Turkish minority’s demand of the opening of bilingual minority kindergartens.” said Halit Habipoğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).