There are also Western Thrace Turks among those who were subjected to the persecutions perpetrated by Greece, which is not satisfied with trying to serve the imperialist powers and dream impossible dreams, within the framework of "Muslim Turkish hostility".
While the Muslim Turks in the region have been subjected to various pressures by the Greek forces, it seems that the main aim of Greece is to "Greekize" the region.
In this direction, Greece, which wants to make life unbearable for the people of Western Thrace; carries out incredible practices in many religious, scientific, material and cultural fields.
WESTERN THRACE TURKS UNDER OPPRESSION
One of the issues addressed in the Lausanne Peace Treaty signed on July 24, 1923 was the minorities in Turkey and Greece.
With the agreement, while the lands of Western Thrace were left to Greece, some items were shaken in order for the Turks and Muslims living in this geography to continue their lives comfortably.
Accordingly, while the Western Thrace Turks, whose status was determined, were described as the “Muslim minority living in Greece”, it was decided to be free in many areas, especially in religion, education and law.
Although the Turks of Western Thrace have some rights on paper, they are literally suffering in practice.
EXPLANATIONS FROM THE THEOLOGIAN-AUTHOR TO OUR NEWSPAPER
While the Turks of Western Thrace were subjected to various persecutions by Greece, we interviewed the theologian-writer Selahattin Kesit.
Speaking to the Milli Gazete, Kesit said that the Turks of Western Thrace were wanted to be destroyed by Greece.
A DISPOSAL POLICY IS APPLIED
- What's going on in Western Thrace? Can you tell us about the persecution of Greece against the Turks?
- As it is known, according to the international agreement signed in Lausanne on July 24, 1923, the Western Thrace region and its inhabitants, the Muslim Turks, were left to Greece. In return, the Greek Orthodox Christians in Istanbul (only those living within the Istanbul municipality borders) were left to the Republic of Turkey. After that day, he continues his vital existence here as a Greek citizen. Western Thrace Turks, who were treated as equal rights in certain periods over time, started to be the subject of policies of dissolution and destruction after the 1960s.
JANUARY 29, 1988 AN IMPORTANT DATE
The Western Thrace, who had the right to receive education on the basis of his mother tongue in his education and to request an interpreter in his mother tongue in state institutions, could not benefit from this. I'm not talking about the informal individual translator. The civil servant that the state would assign to serve its citizens was supposed to be an official translator, according to the law, but the Western Thraceians saw this as a right on paper and a utopia that did not go beyond a dream in reality. By the 1980s, the identity of existence began to be denied openly, and eventually this oppression turned into a protest action that would become the 29 January 1988 National Resistance Day, which was a turning point for the Western Thrace Muslim Turks, and it is still celebrated today. Greece's extermination practices against the minority continued, and continue today with various tricks and intrigues.
OPPRESSIONS OF GREECE
Despite the fact that it is against the Treaty of Lausanne and the Greek Constitution, the Athenian governments do not hesitate to interfere with the understanding and practice of religious belief, which is the main reason for the minority's right to exist. The state appoints the religious officer of the mosque, which is the basis of his belief, and appoints the mufti according to the criteria suitable for him. He establishes full dominance over his foundations through the officers he appointed illegally, and dissolves them as he wishes. Minority foundation ownership declines on average every ten years. It completely transforms the education curriculum in schools into Greek. In no way does it allow for the new classroom of the existing one, let alone building and opening a fundamentally new minority school. Kindergarten vs. It never allows basic institutions such as He does not officially recognize that they are condoning his activities. Why do you say he ignores it? For those who don't know: Look, I'm not touching their fundamental rights, I'm just serving them as a state through official channels, ignoring them for the justification of the situation, these are a few that do not exceed the fingers of one hand. It never allows the establishment of any non-governmental organizations, associations, etc., stating their racial origin. It does not even allow the activities of existing ones. Like the Komotini Turkish Youth Union, Xanthi Turkish Union, although the second European Court of Human Rights has decided in favor of the union, the Athens administrations still do not implement this European Court's decision and do not even tend to create favorable conditions for its implementation.
“WE DEMAND OUR LEGAL RIGHTS”
- What do Western Thrace Turks want?
- Western Thrace Turks do not make any unofficial claims against Greek laws. The existing constitution expects the use of international rights stemming from the Treaty of Lausanne to be allowed. In the developing and changing world conditions, it demands that developments that are suitable for the present and the conditions of our age be provided to it, but the Athenian administration puts the label 'this is a hostile demand' to every demand and in this regard, it creates an adverse agenda, fuels the social reaction, and takes shelter behind it before the international mechanisms, and then passes the law in this way. He argues that the minority demand is illegal.
- What are the expectations of Western Thrace Turks from Turkey?
Western Thrace Turks expect Turkey to use its guarantor powers in favor of the minority, and they see that this is achieved. He never demands that he take any action against the Greek Constitution. However, he never wants the Lausanne-based minority to compromise their rights. There has been no concession so far, but it demands not to be heedless if there is an issue of flexibility for the future. Our sine qua non expectation is the mutual implementation of Lausanne reciprocity rights. Another indispensable expectation is that the same defense, claim and discourse of Greece will be said and claimed by Turkey in the same language.
“THIS IS THE REQUIREMENT OF RECIPROCITY”
There is no such phrase as 'Turkish minority' in Western Thrace in the articles of Greece and Lausanne. There is the phrase 'Muslim minority'. That's why he accuses Turkey of interfering in the internal affairs of Greece in the international arena, citing that there is not a "Turkish minority" but a "Muslim minority" here. Thus, he defends the thesis that he does not have an oppressive situation towards Muslims in general and the Turkish minority in particular. In return for this, we demand the following: Let alone the phrase "Greek minority", there is not even the phrase "Christian minority" in the articles of Lausanne. There are 'non-Muslim minorities'. We expect the Turkish public and people to use the definition of 'members of the non-Muslim minority in Turkey', not the Greek minority in Istanbul. We think that this must be the requirement of reciprocity.
“GREEKS WANT US TO BE DESTROYED”
- What is the purpose of Greece in Western Thrace?
- The Macedonian minority, which had education and schooling in their mother tongue in Greece, especially in Northern Greece in the 1950s, has been destroyed today, and the Albanian minority in the Chamaria Region has none of the main elements that constitute their own existence today, and the well-known twelve islands, Kos Island and Rhodes Island Turks, the fact that no basic education is provided for their mother tongue, for the Western Thrace region and the Muslim Turkish minority who still live there. Its aim is towards this result and it implements its policies to achieve this goal.
- Would you like to call out to the Turkish people, what would you say?
- This is what we ask of the Turkish people. You may have different opinions and arguments within the country. However, when you try to implement this difference in foreign policy, we hope that you will act by thinking that it weakens your power. Otherwise, you will have no justification for the societies that Turkey is the guarantor of. At the end of the day, actions against your country are fed to the table of the capital system for the benefit of foreign powers.