German minority newspaper in Romania wrote Western Thrace

Allgemeine Deutsche Zeitung für Rumänien(ADZ) newspaper representative Ivan Adelaida from the German Minority in Romania and the member of the European Association of Daily Newspapers in Minority and Regional Languages (MIDAS) who attended to the fact-finding visit to Western Thrace between 19-22 June organized by the partnership with the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe(ABTTF), Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (WTMUGA) and Friendship, Equality, Peace Party (FEP Party) wrote an article on 8 July 2014 on ADZ about his observations about the visit.

Only 5 thousand from 12 thousand minority children go to minority schools

Adelaida talks about his study visit to Western Thrace together with the representatives of the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN), the European Association of Daily Newspapers in Minority and Regional Languages (MIDAS), representatives of the Danish minority in Germany and representatives of the German minority in Denmark. Adelaida notes that he attended to the Cherry Festival which has been a tradition since 14th century in the region. He had met in the festival İpek and Hande who go to Greek state school to speak Greek well. Only 5 thousand out of 12 thousands go to minority schools, and the families do not have any other chance except sending their children to Greek state schools for a good education.

According to Adelaida, about 100 thousand Western Thrace Turks live in Western Thrace, 30 thousand in Turkey, 20 thousand in Germany, and Western Thrace Turks who live in Komotini and Xanthi constitute the 35 percent of population of the region. There are not Turkish Minority kindergartens in Greece and the children must enroll Greek state kindergartens in order to be enrolled to the elementary school. However, Greek kindergarten teachers do not know Turkish.

Parents demand bilingual kindergartens for their children

The delegation of MIDAS visited Harmanlik neighbourhood, where about 400 families lives, and where parents have to send their children to the Turkish minority schools in more far villages since there is no Turkish Minority school in Harmanlik.

In the talks with the mayor of Komotini George Petridis, the Mayor stated that he, as a citizen believed, the need of minority education but the city council did not have the authority to control the education system itself. Adelaida also notes that they made a visit to the village of Echinos (Şahin) of Xanthi prefecture and that the minority women there requested bilingual kindergartens for their children.

The word “Turkish” is a taboo in Greece

Adelaida also states in his article the call of the local minority politicians in the village of Echinos (Sahin) who do not want anything else except their minority rights they own. In addition to this, the minority is defined as Muslim but not Turkish and the word Turkish continue to be a taboo in Greece as well. Hence, all the associations which bear the word “Turkish” in their names were closed and two minority newspapers received high amount of compensation.

ABTTF is like foreign ministry of the Turkish minority in Europe!

After the visit of two mosques in Komotini and Xanthi, Adelaida talks about the lack of the right of minority to choose its religious leaders where the state appoints the religious leaders, muftis. There is a church in Echinos (Sahin) village that was built by the state despite the entire population was Muslim. Adelaida stated that there is Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe which was founded in order to support Western Thrace Minority Turks and lobbies in Europe and works like a foreign ministry. He adds that there is also an association to perform the same role in Turkey. Adelaida further adds that FUEN also supports to protect the identity of Western Thrace Turkish Minority. Finally, he ends his article referring to the Vice President of MIDAS Bojan Brezigar’s statement after having expressed the problems by Western Thrace Turkish Minority representatives “No minority in Europe is alone”.


*Photo: www.adz.ro