A combination of thoughtlessness, ignorance and electioneering games managed to bring the Muslim minority in Thrace at the forefront of the political debate. When everyone knows – or at least ought to know – the role the Turkish consulate plays in the region, which uses everything at hand to deter the minority from integrating in the social and political life, with actions that make it a deciding factor even in the selection of candidates.
It is unacceptable to associate the legitimate appeal to the minority’s body electorate with the selection of candidates that please Ankara’s delegates. We have witnessed this in the past, when the Muslim candidates moved from one party to the next, we took note of it now again with the expulsion of SYRIZA’s MEP candidate, now that she was suddenly associated with Greek nationalist groups.
When the Turkish consulate is promoting the revival of a purist minority party, aiming to use it as a means of pressure for greater claims, it is absurd and nationally detrimental for the political parties to showcase Thrace and the minority as a central political debate.
It is a fact that for many years in the past the minority in Thrace was caught up in a whirlpool of nationalist rivalries. However, we must recognize that over the past few years important steps have been made towards restoring equality before the law. It would be a fatal mistake to allow he Turkish consulate to continue manipulating a part of the Muslim voters, instead of showcasing these efforts and attempting to eliminate these ghosts from the past.
TO VIMA
