Letter: Distinguishing between 'ethnicity' and 'national identity' in Greece

Sir: The letter (16 May) from the Greek ambassador about human rights in Macedonia is weak in the extreme. Could I also draw your attention to another denial of human rights in Greece? Recently the Greeks changed their electoral law, making it impossible for Turkish-speaking Greeks living in western Thrace to elect members of their own community to the Greek parliament.

This has not unsurprisingly provoked much indignation among the community and clearly will cause Turkish Cypriots to wonder whether, if Cyprus was reunited, the Turkish Cypriots' minority status would certainly be threatened.

Maybe as a gesture of goodwill, if what the ambassador says about human rights is to be believed, the Greek parliament would like to remedy this injustice in western Thrace.

Yours sincerely,

RICHARD BALFE

MEP for London South (Lab)

London, SE18

16 May