The Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis welcomed the online new year celebration of the Imbrion Association, clarifying that he will have “the full support of the Greek Government”.

At the same time, he asked Turkey to respect the rights of the Greeks of Imvros, who “are Turkish citizens with full rights. And any discrimination against them is not only contrary to the Treaty of Lausanne, but also to the international conventions on the protection of human rights”.

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Dear friends

Along with my wishes for health and prosperity for the new year, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your  invitation. The pandemic unfortunately keeps us away this year as well. It does not weaken, however, the ties of the Greeks wherever they are in the world. And especially those who have been severely tested in history.

Your Association, however, from its foundation in 1945 until today, keeps alive the long history of Imvros and Tenedos, strengthening the presence of the Greeks in their ancestral cradles. Something I saw personally, when I visited your beautiful island with Patriarch Bartholomew.

In your activities you will have the full support of the Greek Government, which is fully aware of its debt to one of the oldest centers of our Nation in the Aegean. Strengthening you materially and morally and pressing in every international forum Turkey to respect what it has signed.

Some steps have been taken. For example, Greek schools that closed illegally in 1964 are welcoming students again. We will continue to support their reopening by posting mobile teachers. However, we will not stop reminding Ankara of its official commitments.

Because the Greeks of Imvros are Turkish citizens with full rights. And any discrimination against them is not only contrary to the Lausanne Treaty , but also to international conventions on the protection of Human Rights. Turkey, therefore, is called upon to respect them with equality and justice.

Friends,

Three decades of enlightened journey of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew have recently been completed. An Imbrian with a global radiance, but who is constantly struggling for his birthplace. We talked about it a lot, in fact, at our meeting in Athens. I greet him from here and wish him longevity from the bottom of my heart.

I close by reiterating that Greece will wholeheartedly stand by your side for the progress of the Imbrian Hellenism and the redress of the historical injustices that it has suffered over time. And I hope we will soon have the opportunity to meet you up close on your historic island.

Happy New Year, with health and strength to you and your families.