Greece to close 4 Turkish schools due to 'lack of students'

By Ayhan Mehmet and Yasin Gungor

KOMOTINI, Greece/ISTANBUL (AA) - Greece will close four Turkish minority primary schools in Western Thrace, where Turks are densely populated, local media reported Saturday.

The affected schools are the Hacioren, Keziren and Payamlar primary schools in Rhodope and the Karakoy primary school in Xanthi (Iskece) in northern Greece.

Authorities claim the closures are suspensions due to a "lack of students," but the Turkish minority sees it as an attempt to send students to Greek public schools.

Local leaders and representatives of the Turkish minority have criticized the government's actions, claiming that they are part of a systematic plan to reduce the presence of minority schools without consulting the affected communities.

The closures are part of a broader trend to reduce the number of minority schools, which would have dropped from 307 in 1926 to 86, if the closures take place.

Türkiye condemned closures in 2022, when Greece closed four schools, saying they violated the Lausanne Peace Treaty, which was signed in 1923 and settled rules regarding the Turkish-Muslim minority in Greece.

In Western Thrace, home to 150,000 Muslim Turks, rights to religious leadership, association and education have been violated in defiance of European court orders.