The problems of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace in Greece will be discussed in the European Parliament

The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) will organize in partnership with the Political Party of Friendship, Equality, Peace (DEB) and the Human Rights Without Frontiers Int’l. (HRWF) a conference on 28 November 2012 in the European Parliament (AP) in Brussels. During the conference, which will be hosted by François Alfonsi MEP, Co-Chair of the Intergroup Tradi-tional Minorities, National Communities and Languages at the EP, the problems of and human rights violations against the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace in Greece will be discussed.

European human rights delegation will present its survey report on the fact-finding mission in Western Thrace

At the conference, which will be held in Brussels through joint efforts of ABTTF and DEB, the ABTTF President Halit Habipoglu and the DEP President Mustafa Ali Çavuş, will make the open-ing remarks.

The conference will be moderated by Hans Heinrich Hansen, President of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN), who took part in the fact-finding mission in Western Thrace, Greece from 16 to 20 October 2012 together with the HRWF Director, Willy Fautré and François Alfonsi MEP to survey the the problems of and human rights violations against the Turkish minor-ity living in the region. The host MEP, François Alfonsi will share his observations on the fact-finding mission with the participants. The HRWF Director, Willy Fautré will present the survey re-port written by himself following the fact-finding mission, and share his observations and recommendations with regarding the mission.

The journalist from the daily Gündem and Chairman of the Culture and Education Foundation of Western Thrace Minority (P.EK.E.M. - C.E.FO.M.), Cemil Kabza, and on behalf of the Xanthi Turkish Union (İTB), the Lawyer Sinan Kavaz, both members of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace, will make presentations at the conference on the problems faced by the Turkish minority in the fields of the freedom of association and freedom of expression and media, respectively.