Turkish Press
09/16/2006
Turkey warns Greece over Muslim minority’s rights
Published: 9/16/2006
ISTANBUL – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned
neighbouring Greece Saturday to respect the right of its Muslim
minority to elect its own religious leader or face reciprocal measures
from Ankara.
"If Greece respects its own minority rights and has expectations from
Turkey on this issue, then its should also fulfill its own
obligations," Erdogan told an assembly of Turks from northeastern
Greece, the Anatolia news agency reported.
"This issue must be resolved. If not, there are things Turkey could do
under the principle of reciprocity," he said.
Erdogan charged that Greece’s treatment of its Muslim minority
amounted to a violation of the human rights criteria of the European
Union of which it is a member.
"Our aim is to allow our kinsmen to benefit from their rights under
bilateral and international agreements as respected and equal citizens
of Greece," the prime minister said.
Ankara has long complained that the Turkish minority in Greece,
numbering about 100,000 and living in the northeastern Thrace region
bordering Turkey, are not allowed to elect their own religious
representatives, who are nominated by the government in Athens.
The Greek government denies all charges of discrimination against the
Muslim minority and says they are treated equally.
Predominantly Muslim Turkey is home to small groups of Jews and
Christians, mainly Orthodox Greeks and Armenians, most of them
concentrated in Istanbul.
Istanbul is also home to the The Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate,
which represents the 250 million Orthodox worshippers in the world.
Ankara plays no part in the elections of the patriarch, but refuses to
recognise the patriarchate’s ecumenical title and says it represents
only Orthodox Greeks in Turkey.
09/16/2006 14:08 GMT