Calamos Supports Greece
GreekReporter.comGreeceAnother Greek Muslim Minority SYRIZA Candidate Resigns

Another Greek Muslim Minority SYRIZA Candidate Resigns

Ahmet-Kurt-SYRIZA-Muslim-MinorityGreece’s main opposition party SYRIZA is in the spotlight after one of its candidates for May’s local elections representing the country’s Muslim minority in western Thrace was forced to resign on Wednesday over alleged connections with Turkey’s neo-fascist political scene.
The SYRIZA candidate for regional councilor in eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Ahmed Kurt, was revealed to be a sympathizer of Turkish ultra-nationalist Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli, who is also the leader of the party’s racist and neo-fascist youth organization known as Grey Wolves.
The incriminating photos, which were taken last December and reposted on Wednesday by komotinipress.gr from Kurt’s twitter account, show Kurt and Bahceli in friendly poses during a gathering of the party.
After getting in contact with the candidate, Kurt is said to have mentioned to SYRIZA officials, “I am who I am,” while also mutually deciding to step down from the race for the upcoming local elections.
Sources within the party suggest that officials are very unsatisfied with the party’s candidates in the northern region of Greece, following also the recent replacement of another SYRIZA candidate running for the European parliament’s election.
On Tuesday, SYRIZA suddenly and without explanation yanked a Roma leader in Thrace from its list of candidates for the European Parliament, who had resisted growing Turkish influence in the region, and replaced her with a Muslim.
SYRIZA confirmed, after intense internal wrangling in the party, that it had dumped activist Sabiha Suleiman and replaced her with Mestan Osman Umiz, who party spokesman Panos Skourletis described as “more suitable.”
He said only that SYRIZA hadn’t properly vetted Suleiman’s qualifications, whose candidacy was also vetoed by the party’s prefectural committee in Xanthi but approved by the central committee.

See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!



Related Posts