Western Thrace Turks not allowed bayram prayers in Greece
Parents and their supporters take part in a demonstration protesting the Greek government's postponement of community board member elections at minority schools in Komotini (Gümülcine), northern Greece, April 6, 2021. (AA Photo)


Harboring an attitude against the freedom of education and worship of the Western Thrace Turks, Greece made it difficult for the community to perform the Eid al-Adha prayer together this holiday.

Despite the fact that Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whom President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said "no longer exists for me," visited Komotini (Gümülcine) last Friday and offered the people of the region holiday greetings, Athens continued to maintain its hypocritical stance on religious freedom.

Muslim Turks of Western Thrace gathered for the Eid prayer this holiday but were unable to perform their prayers due to the lawless attitude of Greece.

Greece's Western Thrace region is home to a Muslim Turkish community of 150,000.

Turkey has long decried Greek violations of the rights of Muslims and the Turkish minority, from closing mosques and shutting schools to not letting Muslim Turks elect their religious leaders.

The measures violate the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne as well as European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) verdicts, making Greece a state that flouts the law, Turkish officials say.