Greek authorities want to install Christians in mufti offices in Western Thrace: Muslim cleric 'Discrimination began when there were efforts to remove our elected clerics (muftis) from office,' says Mustafa Trampa

(Anadolu) The newly elected Muslim cleric (mufti) of the Turkish minority in the Xanthi region of Western Thrace in Greece said Monday that discriminatory practices are being carried out against the Turkish minority in the region.

Mustafa Trampa, who was elected as the new cleric on Sept. 9, told Anadolu Agency that the legal basis of the institution of the mufti is the Athens Treaty of 1913, Law No. 2345 enacted in 1920 and the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, but Greece violated the fundamental rights of the Turkish minority under both these treaties.

Stating that the rights of the Turkish minority have been violated by new laws and decrees, Trampa said: “Our people clearly showed their reaction against … the mufti who was appointed without discussing it with our advisory board, our highest institution. Since 1990, our people began to elect their own mufti, as specified in treaties and laws. The process started with the unlawful dismissal of our muftis.”

Read more.