Greek MEP Yiannis Maniatis told the European Parliament's Petitions Committee this week that Turkey's path toward EU mem...

Greek MEP Yiannis Maniatis told the European Parliament's Petitions Committee this week that Turkey's path toward EU membership must be tied directly to its treatment of the Greek Orthodox minority in Constantinople. Maniatis, a PASOK MEP and Vice President of the Socialists and Democrats group, was speaking during a hearing on a petition filed by the Ecumenical Federation of Constantinopolitans. He called on the European Commission to systematically monitor and document Ankara's actual progress on minority rights, not just its promises. The numbers he cited are stark. Of the roughly 150,000 Greeks living in Constantinople in the 1950s, 99 percent have since left. Fewer than 1,000 remain in the city today. Former EU Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore had previously described Turkish policies as discriminatory, policies that pushed the Greek minority to the edge of disappearance. Maniatis outlined three specific demands: effective protection of community property, equal application of Turkish law for minorities, and the right to freely elect community leadership. He made clear that the European Parliament has an obligation to follow up and ensure these are not empty demands. He also drew a firm line around the Treaty of Lausanne, describing it as a red line for Greeks in Constantinople. The 1923 treaty formally recognized the rights of the Greek Orthodox minority in Turkey, rights Maniatis argued are being systematically eroded more than a century later. "Behind these numbers are people who were stripped of the ability to continue their lives in their homeland," he said. #Greece #Turkey #Constantinople