SPEAKER ŞENTOP PAYS A VISIT TO VARIOUS PLACES IN WESTERN THRACE

2023-04-16 - 08:29

Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (GNAT), Mustafa Şentop visited the grave of the late Dr. Sadık Ahmet in Komotini, who is the founding chairman of the Friendship, Equality and Peace Party, which is the first party representing the Western Thrace Turkish Minority.

Speaker of GNAT, Şentop, in his speech, stated that after his visit to Komotini, he will go to Xanthi for iftar and sahur and he said, 'Every time we come here, we remember Sadık Ahmet, the Leader of the Western Thrace. Ahmet is the symbolic name of our cognates' struggle for equality and democracy in Western Thrace.'

Şentop noted that Sadık Ahmet struggled both legally and politically.Emphasizing that the Friendship Equality Peace Party, of which Ahmet is the founder, is in safe hands, Şentop said, 'Young generations will continue their struggle against discrimination.'Stating that Ahmet is also an important name for the 85 million people living in Türkiye, Şentop said that many buildings, squares and intersections in Türkiye named Dr. Sadık Ahmet.

Later, Şentop and the accompanying delegation visited the Chairman of the Advisory Board of Western Thrace Turkish Minority and the Elected Mufti of Komotini, İbrahim Şerif in his office.After completing his contacts in Komotini, the Speaker of GNAT, Şentop attended iftar program in Koyunköy, Xanthi.

In his speech, Şentop said that he was happy to break the fast with his cognates, and he stated, 'I bring you the greetings of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, from the homeland. Today is the 23rd day of Ramadan, that is, we are approaching the end of this blessed month whose beginning is mercy, its middle, forgiveness, and its end emancipation from the hell. In addition, we are in the days when the Laylat al-Qadr, which is heralded to be better than a thousand months, is hidden.'Şentop stated that they spent Ramadan this year in sadness and sorrowful due to the earthquakes in Türkiye.

Şentop emphasized the importance of the sincere support and assistance of the Western Thrace cognates and the Greek government, and especially thanked the cognates for their help.Expressing that Türkiye also thanked all Greek people, Şentop said, 'We will not forget this helping hand extended in this difficult time. Türkiye's friendship is valuable, it is also worth preserving. We also stood in solidarity with the Greek government and people after the disastrous train accident that took place in Greece on the night of February 28 and killed nearly 60 people. On this occasion, I once again express my condolences.'

Şentop explained that in recent months, a solidarity diplomacy has been exhibited with Greece, and that they mutually canceled military exercises and activities in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean.Emphasizing that they wish to advance relations with Greece on the basis of a positive agenda, as in the current atmosphere, Şentop said:

'We expect the current course of our relations with Greece to reflect positively on the minorities that we see as a bridge of friendship between us. We have already been doing our part in this regard for a long time. We have taken important steps in recent years to improve the situation of the Greek-Orthodox minority in Türkiye. It is natural that we expect these constructive steps to be reciprocated for you and our esteemed brothers and sisters of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority. The Greek people and government have shown in the best and most sincere way how close they can stand to the Turkish people in recent months. We hope that this manifestation of sincere friendship will have a positive impact on the advancement of the rights of our cognates in the near future. As the Turkish Minority, we expect you to be free in the expression of your ethnic identity, to be free at a level worthy of a European Union member country while fulfilling your religious obligations, and to solve the problems you have been experiencing for decades in the field of education.'

Pointing out that they closely follow the rights and law, freedoms, deprivation and troubles of the Western Thrace cognates, Şentop stated that they will always follow the Western Thrace cause.

Şentop underlined that despite the ongoing problems between Greece and Türkiye, it has been proven that a positive relationship can be established, he emphasized that they want the current problems to be resolved through a constructive dialogue on the basis of international law.

Şentop pointed out that Western Thrace Turkish cognates constitute the most important dimension of the relations between Greece and Türkiye and he stated,

'With the awareness that Türkiye will always stand behind you, we wish you to walk confidently and proudly towards a prosperous future.'

Şentop also referred to Israel's attacks in Palestine and he stated, 'Israel's attacks on our Muslim brothers, who have no other purpose than to pray in peace in Aqsa, and who are trying to revive this blessed month, mainly target all Muslims. Unfortunately, the international community has been ignoring the long-standing Israeli attacks in Palestine that have violated the international law. Israel sees this as a green light, a permission, and increases the dose of its violations day by day.'

Emphasizing that the international community ignores Israel's attacks in Palestine, which violates the international law, Şentop stated that as Türkiye, they stand by Palestine and condemn Israel's provocative attitude that aims to oblige the issue to an insolubility.Noting that they continue to raise the issue on both bilateral and multilateral platforms, Şentop said that they expect the status and sanctity of Masjid al-Aqsa not to be violated.