ABTTF President: “We are as much Turks, Western Thrace Turks, as the non-Muslim minority in Istanbul, Bozcaada and Gökçeada are Greeks. Our existence, status and rights in the region are defined and guaranteed by the Treaty of Lausanne. They should perceive us as such and treat us accordingly, i.e. by recognising our Turkish existence and by fully allocating our autonomy in the field of education and religion. To do otherwise would be to call white, black which would constitute a racist statement, and we will never accept this’’.
Minister for National Defence Nikos Dendias, who participated in the event of the Liberation Day of Xanthi in Western Thrace, the anniversary of the liberation of Xanthi from Bulgarian rule in 1919 and the unification of Xanthi with Greece, noted the following at the event: ‘‘The Muslim minority is an integral part of the Greekness of Thrace’’.
According to Naftemporiki, in his speech at the celebration, which he attended on behalf of the government, Dendias was quoted as saying: ‘‘I would like to say that even for everyone outside Greece it is clear how strategic the importance of Thrace is. It is a centre between the Eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean, Central and Eastern Europe. It is a very clear channel of communication. It is a useful area not only for the interests of Greece, but also for the interests of the European Union and, if I may say it more broadly, for the interests of the Western World’’.
Dendias expressed his confidence that (Western) Thrace will develop further and will see in the near future that it will play an important role for Greece and Europe: ‘‘I would also like to make a special mention of the Muslim minority and say that they are an integral part of the Greekness of Thrace. This is how we perceive them; this is how we treat them’’.
“I find it difficult to understand the statement made by Minister for National Defence Dendias during his speech at the celebrations in Xanthi regarding our presence in the region. If Dendias wants to underline that the Turkish community in Western Thrace, which he defines as a ‘‘Muslim minority’’, is an integral part of the region, but that it has an existence within the Greekness of this region, this statement is again problematic. The existence of the Turkish community in our Western Thrace is an immutable fact, we are a part of this country, as we have always said, we are an element of wealth for our country. However, if Dendias considers our presence in our region, which he underlines its strategic importance on this occasion, as part of Greekness, we would object at this point. Just as much as the non-Muslim minority in Istanbul, Bozcaada and Gökçeada are Greeks, we are just as much Turks, we are Western Thrace Turks. Our existence, status and rights in the region are defined and guaranteed by the Treaty of Lausanne. They should perceive us as such and treat us accordingly, i.e. by recognising our Turkish existence and fully allocating our autonomy in the field of education and religion. To do otherwise would be to call white, black, which would constitute a racist statement and we will never accept this” said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
*Image: www.anadoluimages.com