ABTTF President: “Through the FEP Party in Greece, Turks in Western Thrace want to tell the world: ‘We are here too, hear us! Listen to our problems!’’
The upcoming European Parliament (EP) elections and the participation of the Friendship Equality Peace (DEB) Party in the elections were discussed in the special news report published on the website of TRT World, the English-language channel of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) on 31 May 2024.
Written by Ayşe Işın Kirenci, the news report titled ‘‘Ethnic Turkish party in Greece fights far-right discourse in EU polls’’ also includes sections from the interview with Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
It was noted in the news report that 350 million people from 27 member states across the European Union (EU) will go to the polls to elect Members of the European Parliament (MEP) between 6-9 June 2024, and that the FEP Party, the political party of the Western Thrace Turks in Greece will be participating in the EP elections despite being faced with a 3 percent election threshold across the country.
In the news report, it was further explained that ABTTF President Habip Oğlu highlighted that people’s trust in democracy was shaken after the process that broke out with the wiretapping scandal in Greece and that 51 percent of them thought there was a democracy deficit in the country, and that Habip Oğlu thought that opposition parties could benefit from this year’s EP elections and that it is noted that if it happens, the government may even change its course.
Moreover, it was noted in the news report that Fredi Beleri, who was elected as the mayor of the city of Himara in Albania but was sentenced to prison for corruption in the elections, was included in the EP candidate list of the ruling New Democracy, and Habip Oğlu said that Beleri’s candidacy would bring the relations between Greece and Albania to the attention of the European Parliament.
In the news report, it was explained that Habip Oğlu said that even if the 3 percent threshold in Greece makes it impossible for the FEP Party to enter the EP, the expected success in the country is expected to send a message to the parties holding power in the EU countries. Through the media, Western Thrace Turks want to tell the world: ‘‘We are here too, hear us! Listen to our problems!” he added.
It is further indicated in the news report that Habip Oğlu explained that thanks to its membership in the European Free Alliance (EFA), the FEP Party’s door to Europe was opened but that this situation also disturbed the Greek state.
Finally, the new report underscored that Habip Oğlu said that the Western Thrace Turks are a taboo subject in Greece, that Turks are perceived as a threat to the unity and solidarity of the country in politics and media, and that this perception is reproduced many times every day in politics and media.
Please click below to access the TRT World news report in English: https://www.trtworld.com/turkiye/ethnic-turkish-party-in-greece-fights-far-right-discourse-in-eu-polls-18169145 .
