Greece plans to improve Muslim rights
Greece is considering measures to boost the educational and religious rights of its Muslim minority.
Tilemachos Chytiris, a spokesman for Prime Minister Costas Simitis said on Thursday that the Greek cabinet in the coming weeks will consider allowing the Muslim minority to elect representatives who run mosque’s property.
The proposed election is to replace the current procedure of appointments.
“Greece behaves and must behave as a modern, democratic country of the European Union. This is our policy…particularly towards the Muslim minority,” Chytiris said.
Turkish
The government is also mulling introducing Turkish as a second language in minority kindergartens and high schools, as well as expanding the current university entrant quota for Muslim Greeks to the country’s polytechnics.
The announcement came a day after a visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to Athens.
Greek government sources put the number of northeastern Greece’s Muslim minority, divided into Turkish and Bulgarian speakers, at around 100,000.