ND slams PASOK over comments by Muslim MP
Ruling New Democracy has attacked socialist PASOK opposition after a party deputy appeared to recognize the presence of a Turkish minority in Greece’s Thrace region.
New Democracy’s reaction was sparked by a post on social media in which Bourchan Baran, a Xanthi MP, called himself a member of a local NGO known as the “Advisory Committee for the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace.” In the same post, Baran urged Greek Muslims to vote in the September 9 election for a new mufti.
Greece does not recognize its Muslim population, located predominantly in Western Thrace, as an ethnically Turkish minority but as a religious one. Additionally, it does not recognize the elected muftis – religious officials adjudicating on matters of Islamic law – and often takes them to court on the grounds of “impersonating a public official.” Turkey has encouraged Greek Muslims to pick their own muftis in Xanthi and Rodopi.
In a statement Friday, the conservative party urged PASOK to expel the Muslim MP. “Do PASOK [officials] respect Greek law or not? Do they respect the legal procedure for the election of muftis that was recently passed in Parliament?”
The new law, which was approved by Parliament late July, allows the Muslim minority to form an advisory board of 33 people, selected from among scholars of Islamic sciences and imams. The panel will assess candidates and submit a list to the Education Ministry which will pick one for the post.
According to sources, Baran’s comments have caused dismay in his PASOK party.
