Abstract:

Minorities are one of the basic international political tools of our era. It is a factor which has a commanding and determinative impact on international relations. The issue of minorities is often taken into account in positive or negative interactions between states. In this context, it can be said that minorities are now being internationalized and that this internationalization increases their politicization. Since the rights of minorities are in fact a part of human rights, they are even used to justify international interventions. The status of the Turks in the Western Thrace region of Greece has been deeply influenced by bilateral relations between Turkey and Greece. In the periods the two states had good relations, the Turkish minority in Greece did not face difficulties, but when the relations between the two states deteriorated, the conditions of the Turks, too, deteriorated. At present, though the issue is still a part of bilateral relations of Turkey and Greece, it has also become a part of the international agenda because of the importance attributed to minorities by the European Union. Moreover, the cases before European Court of Human Rights, Western Thrace Turks in Europe and Turkey’s initiatives concerning the issue contributed to internationalization of the issue. Currently, although the relations between the two states and the conditions of Turks in the Western Thrace are good; the traditional problems involving the two states mostly continue to exist. The most important thing is that the efforts of Greece for “Hellenization” have been continuing

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