“Unfortunately, once again, Ankara completely inverts reality in order to present positions that do not stand up to criticism. We reject them in their entirety.”
“The numbers show who respects and implements the Treaty of Lausanne,” replied the Athens in Ankara on the occasion of her announcement on minority education in Thrace.
In particular, responding to a journalist’s question regarding complaints from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Alexandros Papaioannou, pointed out the following:
“Unfortunately, once again, Ankara completely reverses reality in order to present positions that cannot stand criticism. We reject them in their entirety.
We point out that the decision to suspend the operation of schools is made with the exact same criteria throughout Greece, i.e. when the number of students falls below the minimum threshold of nine (9) students.
For the educational year 2022-2023, only in the Region of Eastern Macedonia-Thrace, in addition to the four (4) minority primary schools, the operation of another twenty-nine (29) non-minority primary education units is suspended.
Therefore, no one can make a case for any adverse treatment of the minority students.
These data clearly demonstrate that the educational choices of the Greek State are made equally and without discrimination for all Greek citizens, with the sole aim of providing a high level of education for the benefit of the students themselves.
Turkey must put an end to its misleading rhetoric and understand the reality that demonstrates that the Muslim Minority in Thrace, living in a free and democratic and European country, fully enjoys its freedoms and rights, just like all Greek citizens. .
On the contrary, the few schools of the Greek Minority in Turkey bear witness to the violent and systematic uprooting of the Greeks from their ancestral lands.
We remind you that for the prosperous Muslim Minority in Thrace they will work during the next academic year ninety-nine (99) primary schools.
Only three (3) will operate in Istanbul, one (1) in Imbro and none in Tenedos.
The Muslim Minority in Thrace numbers approximately 120,000 members.
The Greek Minority in Turkey does not exceed 3,000 people, at the time when at the time of Lausanne they were equal.
Unfortunately for Turkey, the numbers speak their own undeniable truth about who respects and implements the Lausanne Treaty.
The Hellenic Republic is a European state of law that fully protects and guarantees the human rights and freedoms of its citizens.”
View the news feed and get the latest news.
