Turkey raised the issue of “Turkish minority” rights in the Greek islands of Rhodes and Kos and in the city of Thessaloniki anew, when the recently-elected President of the Turkish National Assembly, Mustafa Sentop claimed there were cases of human rights violations in Greece.

In echoing allegations made previously by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who had initially voiced his concerns over the refusal by Greece to recognise the religious rights of the minority in Thrace and that Muslims living in the country cannot declare themselves to be “Turks”, Mr Sentop went a step further by including the islands of Rhodes and Kos and the city of Thessaloniki as areas where supposed Turkish minorities were facing discrimination.

Addressing the 14th Organisation for Islamic Cooperation Sentop in his speech made special reference to alleged “violation of rights” in Greece and on the Cyprus issue.

“In Greece, the Muslim-Turkish minority is facing injustices. Freedoms and rights are not violated only in Western Thrace, but also in Thessaloniki and the islands of Rhodes and Kos”, Sentop said.