During his trip to Greece, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Babacan also visited the area of Western Thrace where there is a considerable Turkish minority.

Discrimination against Turks  

A Human Rights Watch report of 1999 speaks of the discrimination which the minority has faced:

"The Greek state has for the most part been unable to accept the fact that one can be a loyal Greek citizen and, at the same time, an ethnic Turk proud of his or her culture and religion. Turks are viewed by the state with suspicion, the strength of which largely reflects the state of Turkish-Greek relations."

"Greece’s attitude toward the ethnic Turkish minority is nowhere more evident then in its continued official denial of the Turkish identity of the community. Greece only accepts the existence of a 'Muslim' minority in Thrace and aggressively prosecutes and bans organizations and individuals who seek to call themselves 'Turkish.' While it is indeed true that much of the minority is of mixed ethnic origins, it overwhelmingly claims an ethnic Turkish identity and wants to be referred to as such. The Greek government points to the Treaty of Lausanne which, it is true, speaks only of a 'Muslim minority.'"

Sweeping your own doorstep... 

During his visit, Babacan had called on the Greek government to change its attitude. Following this visit, the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) in Turkey has called on Turkey to apply the same standards to the Kurds in Turkey. In a party statement, it says:

"Babacan told the Turks in Greece, 'There is no reason to be scared. You have to be open and use (the language) openly. Protect your identity, but also learn Greek." Babacan called on the Greek government, saying, "You cannot destroy this identity by forbidding the use and writing of the word 'Turk'. Although we have always said that there would be no harm done to anyone if Kurds could express themselves with their own identities and languages and read and write them, we have met all kinds of attacks and threats; it has come to the point where the developed lynching campaign has resulted in a closure trial for our party."

The DTP pointed out that criticising others but not developing a political will in one's own government, even to the point of denying the issue, would result in the problem growing; it called on Babacan to apply the standards it called the Greek government to adhere to to his own country and not to be scared of Kurds. (NZ/AG)