Municipality of Mustafçova(Myki) demanded the personnel to be recruited for the EU program have a command of Turkish, prosecution office started investigation

Seeking for Turkish language proficiency in the vacancy announcement made within the framework of the EU programme foreseeing establishment of social centers at municipalities affiliated to the State of the Eastern Macedonia-Thrace by the Municipality of Mustafçova(Myki) which is the only Turkish minority municipality of Xhanti, caused a reaction in the rightists in the country. Upon the news in the local media, prosecutor’s office started investigation about Cemil Kabza, Mayor of Mustafçova Municipality.

Within the framework of the EU programme which foresees establishment of social centers at the municipalities in the state-wide Mustafçova Municipality, after having been included in the EU programme through accomplishing the necessary procedures, made a vacancy call for recruitment of three people to run this programme with the approval of the Administrative Secretary General and by consulting the institution which executes the State Employee Examination. At the Municipality where all its population is Turks, in line with the decision taken by city council unanimously in order to run the programme better, demand for the personnel to be recruited to have a command of Turkish caused a great reaction in provincial organizations of the party Independent Greeks (ANEL) the rightist small partner of the government and the New Democracy Party (NEA) and some of the local papers. And even Nikos Nikolopoulos, the racist MP of Golden Dawn Party, presented a parliamentary question at the Greek Assembly. Following all these events, prosecutor’s office started an investigation about Mayor Cemil Kabza.

As regards the subject Halit Habip Oğlu, President of ABTTF, made the following statement: “What was experienced against the announcement made by Mustafçova Municipality as for the demand to have a command of Turkish language among the qualifications sought for recruitment of personnel at the social center to be established within the framework of the EU programme is as if makes one surrender. Nothing is more natural than to demand the personnel to have a command of Turkish language who will be recruited in a social center at the Municipality where all its population is consisted of Turks. It is unbelievable that some political parties and the local media raise hell about the issue of Turkish language obligation in the vacancy announcement made in line with the municipality procedure and following the necessary approvals. Indignation created by a vacancy announcement made in line with the programme criteria within the framework of a programme financed by the EU funds is a clear indication of the attitude towards the Western Thrace Turks in the country. In the vacancy announcements seeking command of the language of the minority living in the region has been implemented in Italy, South Tyrol where German minority lives. There are also examples of this implementation in new members of the EU like Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Slovakia, Czech Republic and even in our neighbor Bulgaria. However, our country an old member of the EU and praising itself for being the cradle of democracy unfortunately behaves like a banana republic. In the government within partnership of SYRIZA and ANEL, SYRIZA as the grand partner of the government which leaves all the issues related to the Western Thrace Turkish community to its rightist partner ANEL must say “Enough” for this situation.