Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe

Avrupa Bati Trakya Türk Federasyonu ABTTF

Halit Habip Oğlu President

The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) is the umbrella organisation of the members of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace in Greece, who live in (Western) Europe. It has 30 member associations with 6,000 members. Its main objective is to protect and promote the rights of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace in Greece, and to aid in obtaining solutions for the concerns of the Minority through democracy and peace.  ABTTF is a member of FUEN since 2007.

The Turkish Minority of Western Thrace is the only officially-recognized minority in Greece, and exists since the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne which determines and gurantees its legal status and rights. It comprises today a population of 150,000 living in Western Thrace, a region in the Northeast Greece. The Turkish minority having the right to autonomy in the fields of education and religion possesses its own educational and religious institutions, and conducts religious, social and cultural work.