Western Thrace, minorities and human rights

The issue of the Greek Muslim minority in Western Thrace has become an almost permanent fixture on the agenda, most recently as a result of comments made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to Greece in early December.

The issue of the minorities in Greece and Turkey stems from the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which exempted "Greeks" living in Istanbul, Imbros and Tenedos, and Muslims in Western Thrace from the population exchanges between the two countries. Since then, no major issues have arisen concerning the Muslim minority in the northern Greek region - or at least not until very recently, and with a few exceptions in the 1990s. No Greek government (on the basis of the mutuality principle laid down in the treaty's Article 45) has ever subjected individuals or the entire minority population to reprisals prohibited under international humanitarian and...