A Turkish diplomat on Thursday came together with the members of the Turkish minority community of Greece.
Deputy Foreign Minister and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Mehmet Kemal Bozay met with the members of the Advisory Board of Turkish Minority in Western Thrace.
Bozay met with the members in Komotini, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on X.
"The problems of our compatriots were discussed in detail during the meeting," it added.
Western Thrace is home to around 150,000 Turks. The community often complains of double standards and continuing inequalities in the country, namely socioeconomic discrimination, the closure of schools, the banning of Turkish-language education and refusing to legally allow the community to elect their religious leaders like muftis (Muslim clerics), which is a treaty right.
Bozay was visiting a minority high school to mark the 29th death anniversary of Sadık Ahmet, the founder and first chair of the Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace (DEB), which represents minorities in Greece.
“We are in an environment where you will consolidate your place in society by receiving a good education in our neighbor Greece, and where we will protect your identity, language, culture and values that are our common denominator,” Bozay said.
“It’s important that over 600 students are taught here, that the future generations are brought up with firm steps and a consciousness,” he said. “It is a priority for us that Western Thrace Turks do not receive education below a certain level and that they exercise their educational rights stemming from international law and agreements in the best way."
The rights of Western Thracian Turks are guaranteed under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. However, over the decades, the situation has seriously deteriorated for the community, which is also economically one of the poorest in Greece.
The Greek government has committed numerous breaches of its obligations and European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings over the years, including shutting down schools and mosques and banning the use of the words “Turk” or “Turkish.”
Earlier this year, the Turkish minority turned to the United Nations’ special rapporteur on minority issues to highlight the problems it has been facing, including the closure of schools, the banning of Turkish-language education, and refusing to legally allow the community to elect their religious leaders like muftis (Muslim clerics), which is a treaty right.
Türkiye has long criticized Greece for depriving the community of their basic rights and freedoms.
The issue also looms over Turkish-Greek relations, which have been strained for decades over several disputes regarding territorial claims in the Aegean.
But Ankara and Athens have agreed to cooperate on improving the conditions for the minority as part of their recent rapprochement efforts, with Greek premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis making a vague promise to “continue working in line with postwar treaties that designate minorities’ status.”
“There is already political willpower between our leaders to work together and advance based on neighborliness. We are only here to see what we can do to fill in that willpower,” Bozay noted.
