ABTTF President held high-level meetings in Ankara

Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe(ABTTF), paid an official study visit to Ankara, capital of Western Thrace Turks’ motherland Turkish Republic. During the visit on 31 January 2018, ABTTF President met with Deputy Turkish Prime Minister Hakan Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and the Chairperson of the National Delegation of Turkey to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe(PACE).

At the meeting he had with Akif Çağatay Kılıç, former minister of Sports and Youth and MP of Justice and Development Party representing Samsun province, Halit Habip Oğlu provided information about the works carried out by ABTTF for raising the problems of Western Thrace Turks at the international arena and particularly at the PACE. Habip Oğlu and Kılıç discussed what could be done to make the issue of Western Thrace Turks heard widely at the international sphere.

ABTTF President met with Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, at the premises of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and informed the Minister about the current problems of Western Thrace Turks. Furthermore, Habip Oğlu, who is also Vice-President of the Federal Union of European Nationalities(FUEN), the greatest umbrella organization of European national minorities, in the field of minority rights. Habip Oğlu thanked the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the support he provided for Western Thrace Turks.

During his visit to Ankara, ABTTF President and Deputy Turkish Prime Minister Hakan Çavuşoğlu, who is also a Western Thrace Turk, came together. Halit Habipoğlu and Hakan Çavuşoğlu, who accompanied the President of Turkish Republic Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his visit to Greece, assessed the visit of the President at the meeting they had at Prime Ministry, and discussed about freedom of association and developments in the field of religion in Greece. Furthermore, Habip Oğlu informed Çavuşoğlu about establishment and activities of the Working Group of Turkic Minorities/Communities within FUEN.