'Greece must recognize Turkish minority in W Thrace'

By Fatih Hafiz Mehmet

ANKARA (AA) - A minority rights group on Wednesday called on Greece to recognize the Turkish minority of Western Thrace.

The Western Thrace region of Greece is home to a Muslim Turkish minority of around 150,000 people.

In a report published Wednesday, the Minority Rights Group (MRG) said: "Greek authorities must take immediate steps to recognize the Turkish minority in Western Thrace and remove all barriers to the full enjoyment of their rights."

The report said the Turkish minority in Western Thrace has inhabited the region for centuries.

"However, despite a raft of protection in domestic and international law, they remain unrecognized by the Greek government," it added.

"It is estimated that almost half of the population of Western Thrace is ethnically Turkish – but to this day they are denied the right to identify themselves as such," Neil Clarke, MRG’s head of legal programs and Brussels advocacy, said in a statement.

Anna Alboth, media programs coordinator of MRG, told reporters in an e-mail to announce the release of the report that they had worked on the report for more than a year.

"Nobody is talking about it but it is one of the most serious violations of the minority rights in our European Union," Alboth said, adding that the report was published in three languages: English, Turkish and Greek.

Ali Huseyinoglu, a PhD from Turkey's Trakya University who is one of the leading experts on the Turkish minority of Western Thrace, said in a tweet that the report is "one of the most comprehensive reports ever" about the minority.

The report, The Turkish Minority in Western Thrace: The Long Struggle for Rights and Recognition can be accessed online.