The Turks of Western Thrace as a “European” Minority Group

The Turkish Muslim Minority in Western Thrace has been subject to discriminative practices and human right violations since 1923. Especially after the 1970s, when the Turkish-Greek relations deteriorated due to the Cyprus Problem, the situation for the Minority worsened dramatically. The most significant problems of the Minority are; the denial of ethnic identity, education, de-nationalization of the minority members, freedom of religion and the election of Muftis, the problem concerning the control of the Minority institutions, demographic changes, and the freedom of expression. Since the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s, considerable positive developments in minority rights have been taking place in Greece. Despite the liberalization of minority rights and softening of the discriminative measures and repressive policies, as the fundamental problems of Western Thrace Turks still persist, this process is worth examining. The aim of this study is to examine the role of Europeanization and European Institutions on the minority rights in Greece starting with the 1990s