Syriza's Turkish deputies vow to 'tear down wall' in Thrace

Syriza?s Western Thracian deputies Ayhan Karayusuf and Hüseyin Zeybek are both hopeful of solving Greece?s minority problems, pledging to tear down the ?wall of shame? that was built to prevent immigrants Two leading Turkish figures of the radical Syriza party in Greece are both hopeful of solving the problems of their country?s minorities, while pledging to tear down the ?wall of shame? that was built on the border to prevent immigrants from entering.

Ayhan Karayusuf, from Komotini, and Hüseyin Zeybek, from Xanthi, told daily Hürriyet that they have ?great hope? for Syriza?s leader and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, some of whose relatives reportedly migrated from the Turkish side of the border in the Thrace region.

?Tsipras knows our problems well. He told us that discrimination against Turks must be ended. He also gave a message saying that the 12.5-km ?wall of shame? on Greece-Turkey border will be torn down,? Zeybek said.

Greece built a barbed-wire-topped fence along its border with Turkey in a bid to stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the European Union in 2012.

?Both the majority and the minority in Greece should prioritize coping with the humanitarian crisis and focus on allowing the country to start producing again,? noted Karayusuf, the only Turk in Syriza?s central committee.

Crackdown on word ?Turkish?

Turks in Greece complain that Greek authorities still crack down on the word ?Turkish.? In 2008, even the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the Xanthi Turkish Union must be allowed to reopen, but the Greek authorities continue to refuse to enforce the ruling.

?I?ve been involved in left-wing politics for the past 22 years and only Syriza has opposed the anti...