ABTTF President: “Our country’s leaders must now realise that nothing can be achieved through a policy of denial. The Turkish cultural identity in the cities of Western Thrace, particularly Komotini and Xanthi, which are included in this project run by the Ministry of Culture, must also be taken into account in the implementation of the project on the ground’’.
Deputy Minister of Culture of Greece Jason Fotilas stated that the city of Komotini demonstrates what culture means in practice and that its strength lies in its intercultural identity, adding that every city can develop its own unique brand and identity.
At an event held on 7 October 2025 at the Tsanakli Library in Komotini to present the cultural master plans prepared for the cities of Komotini, Alexandroupoli, Soufli (Sofulu), Xanthi, Kavala, and Drama in Region of East Macedonia and Thrace. In his speech, Fotilas indicated that the culture of East Macedonia and Thrace is a national rather than a regional asset, noting that this wealth could serve as a lever for sustainable development and opening up to the outside world.
“Deputy Minister of Culture Fotilas is correct but incomplete in his statement. The strong point of all cities in Western Thrace where the Turkish community lives is their intercultural identity. However, despite constituting the majority of the population in the prefecture of Rodopi with 55% and 45% of the population in the prefecture of Xanthi, our country denies our presence in Western Thrace and disregards our Turkish identity. Our cultural associations with the word “Turkish” in their names are not registered by our country’s courts. Yet, as Western Thrace Turks, we have been living on these lands with our Turkish identity for centuries. We are a cultural bridge both between our country and our motherland and in our country’s opening to the outside world. Our country’s leaders must now understand that nothing can be achieved with a policy of denial. The Turkish cultural identity in the cities of Western Thrace, particularly Komotini and Xanthi, which are included in this project carried out by the Ministry of Culture, must be taken into account in the implementation of the project on the ground’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
