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In August, more Turkish minority schools in Western Thrace were closed down, a move viewed as part of an assimilation project by Friendship Equality Peace Party (DEB) General Chairman Cigdem Asafoglu, who said the Athens administration subjects the Turkish minority to increasing discrimination and lawlessness while Greece openly violates international agreements.
Asafoglu, speaking on Monday to state-owned Anadolu Agency (AA) that Greece's Education Ministry makes decisions each year to reduce class numbers or close Turkish schools in Western Thrace, with this year's closures in Kardere and Mehrikos villages in Rodop province and Hasanlar village in Meric province representing the latest examples.
"Turkish minority primary schools in Hasanlar village, connected to Meric province, were closed. The Greek State has taken away the child's right to education in their mother tongue," Asafoglu said.
The party leader stated that school numbers have been deliberately reduced day by day under the pretext of declining student numbers, with the total dropping from 210 to 83 schools over the past 20 years.
Asafoglu described this practice as part of Greece's project to change the demographic structure in Western Thrace and conduct cultural and identity assimilation, while emphasizing that these actions constitute crimes under international law.
Asafoglu also said Greece encourages Turkish children to attend Greek schools by providing transportation from homes to schools, but argued this does not solve the problem.
"What they are doing is a crime, if we look at it. They are trying to whitewash the crime they committed in some way. They say 'children can go to schools in neighboring villages instead of closed schools.' Getting from one village to another is a serious problem," she said.
"This is not a solution because the child is deprived of the right to education in their mother tongue," Asafoglu added.
"According to the Lausanne Treaty, Western Thrace Turkish minority schools have an autonomous structure," Asafoglu said.
"Therefore, Western Thrace Turkish minority schools, primary schools, cannot be closed. The Greek administration is clearly committing crimes by violating international agreements," she noted.
She criticized Greece's selective application of the Lausanne Treaty, stating: "The Greek State presents the Lausanne Treaty to us, especially regarding identity issues, when it suits them. They say: 'You are violating Lausanne. You are acting contrary to Lausanne.' Every time we say 'we are Turks' and say 'Turkish minority' in Western Thrace, they address us saying 'You are speaking contrary to Lausanne, you are exhibiting contrary behaviors. Therefore, you pose a national threat.' However, the Greek State puts forward the Lausanne Treaty when they want, and when it suits them, they themselves violate the Lausanne Treaty."
The party leader said Greece claims to close schools "temporarily," but none of the closed schools have ever reopened, which can be clearly seen in previous examples.
"Our schools dropped to 83 and this is really a dramatic decline. It is never a normal closure," Asafoglu said.
"When we object to this, the Greek State says the following. It says: 'I am temporarily closing this school now. If the number of children increases, I will reopen it.' No, unfortunately, it doesn't happen that way because we have children in Musakoy and Haci Mustafa village primary schools who reached sufficient numbers according to the Greek State the following year, and unfortunately, those primary schools continued to remain closed," she added.
"Now, minority Turkish minority primary schools in Hasanlar village connected to Meric province were closed, meaning minority primary schools in these villages will not be able to operate in the new education year," Asafoglu added.
"The children there are Turkish population. The child who will go to the Turkish minority primary school there has lost this right. The Greek State has taken away the child's right to education in their mother tongue," she stated.
Asafoglu stated that the decision to close schools is part of the Greek government's assimilation project, claiming Greece is trying to eliminate the Turkish population by changing the demographic structure in the region.
She said systematic practices for approximately 20 years are not limited to education but extend to economy, agriculture and personal rights, confronting the Turkish population in Western Thrace in many areas, but emphasized that these practices constitute crimes under both local and international law.
"Greece is known as the cradle of democracy in the world, but what we experience is obvious," Asafoglu said.
"One of our biggest problems is actually exactly this. We could never manage to establish dialogue with the Greek State. We want to establish dialogue and solve our problems together because our counterpart is the Greek State, but unfortunately they never want to take the real representatives of the minority as counterparts. Laws are enacted without asking the minority," Asafoglu noted.
"In the cradle of democracy, when it comes to the Turkish minority in the West, democracy never works here," she added.
Asafoglu also noted that economic conditions in Western Thrace have recently been very poor, with school facilities in severely deteriorated condition.
She said they had repeatedly requested new facilities to improve the deteriorating school buildings but received no response, and no action was taken.
Asafoglu said they will continue their legal and political struggle to prevent Greece from making this issue a fait accompli, emphasizing they will continue to carry their struggle to the European Parliament, where they have representation rights.
"We will continue to bring the problems of the Western Thrace Turkish minority, other problems experienced throughout the country, and problems experienced by other minorities to the European Parliament with question proposals," she concluded.
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