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  • Turkish Revisionist Claims On Thrace

    TURKISH REVISIONIST CLAIMS ON THRACE
    Ioannis Fidanakis

    Global Politician
    http://globalpolitician.com/24480-turke y
    April 11 2008
    NY

    Recent events taking place in the Balkans surrounding the push for an
    Independent Kosovo, has many eyes now turned towards Western Thrace
    (Thraki). Recently, Bruce Fein of the Turkish Coalition of America
    released an article about the supposed Human Rights abuses facing the
    Turkish minority in Greece. As President of the Pan Thracian Union of
    America 'Orpheus', I find it my duty to speak out openly to prevent
    the spread of a Turkish smear campaign, which is more laughable then
    a true scholarly concern for Human Rights.

    Mr. Fein's sad attempt to paint a picture of an evil oppressive
    Greek state towards its Muslim citizens is an irresponsible misuse of
    the truth. "Greece's decade's long campaign of cultural repression,
    ethnic and religious discrimination and economic marginalization of
    its Turkish minority", could be nothing farther from the truth. What
    Mr. Fein and his Turkish friends so conveniently omit is that fact that
    the Muslim minority of Greece has flourished since the signing of the
    Treaty of Lausanne, while Turkey's Greek Orthodox minority has slowly
    disappeared. I use the terms Muslim and Greek Orthodox minorities,
    because unlike what the Turkish lobby would like Westerners to think,
    these are the proper terms that should be used as set by the Treaty
    of Lausanne. This treaty and the population exchange between these two
    countries were based solely on a religious principal. The populations
    exchanged and those allowed to continue to reside in each respected
    nation were between religious and not ethnic minorities.

    Against Turkish propaganda, which calls the whole Muslim minority of
    Thraki as strictly Turkish in origin, the currently Muslim minority
    is divided into several different ethnic origins, Turkish, Pomak, and
    Roma ethnic lines. Turkish revisionists declare that although each
    of these groups has their own language and culture, they represent
    one National identity, because the Treaty defines them as one Muslim
    minority rather then three separate ones. However, to forcefully push a
    Turkish ethnic identity upon the Pomak and Roma communities, in and of
    itself, is an act of 'cultural repression' and 'ethnic discrimination',
    in which the Turkish lobby declares to be against such an action. At
    present, the Greek states fulfills it's international obligation
    by recognizing Greek citizen's of the Islamic faith as a religious
    minority of diverse origins, rather then forcefully committing cultural
    genocide by forcing one cultural identity upon them.

    Since the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne, the Muslim minority of
    Thraki has grown from 86,000 in 1922 to 120,000 today, compared to
    its Greek Orthodox counterpart in Turkey, which in 1922 was roughly
    200,000 and today is merely 5,000. For a country and its lobby who have
    obviously work towards the diminishment of their own Greek Orthodox
    community inside their homeland to declare such a statement, while the
    Muslim Minority has nearly doubled in Greece boggles the rational mind.

    Today in Thraki the Muslim minority is protected against discrimination
    and promised religious freedom in the Greek constitution under
    Articles 5 and 13. Thrace is home of 3 muftis, roughly 270 imams and
    300 functioning mosques. Politically speaking as recent as 2002,
    250 Muslim municipal and prefectural councilors and mayors were
    elected in local elections. The same cannot be said politically for
    the Greek Orthodox community in Turkey. Yet the Turkish Government and
    its political puppets in Thraki have the gull to complain about their
    political and religious situation. Declaring that the manner in which
    their Muftis are elected violates the Treaty of Lausanne. The Greek
    government instead maintains that the state-appointments of muftis
    is widespread in the Republic of Turkey, and hence its adherence in
    Greece only goes to strengthen the Greek commitment to protecting
    Islamic cultural traditions, as set by the Treaty of Lausanne.

    One of the major differences between Greece and Turkey's respect for
    the Treaty can been seen in the educational life of the Muslim and
    Greek Orthodox communities. In Thraki today, there are 215 primary
    schools, where Greek and Turkish languages are used, as well as 2
    secondary schools. There are also 2 Islamic theological seminaries in
    Thraki, yet in Turkey the main school of theology of the Greek Orthodox
    Church, the Halki seminary remains closed since 1971, which is a direct
    contradiction to religious freedom promised in the treaty. The Republic
    of Turkey even goes as far as to tamper with religious affairs, not
    recognizing the ecumenical status of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch,
    and tampering in the very process that patriarchal elections are held,
    affecting not just the religious freedom of Greek Orthodox Christians
    still living inside Turkey, but also millions living outside of Turkey.

    Lastly, the Muslim minority of Thraki unlike the Greek Orthodox
    community of Turkey has never been subjected to ethnic cleansing of any
    kind, politically, religiously, or economically. While the Muslims of
    Thraki have lived in peace inside the Greek state, except for sporadic
    acts of violates perpertrated by the Muslim community themselves,
    against local Thracians (Thrakiotis) in Thraki, most recently a month
    ago, where a Greek teacher was beaten by Turkish parents, this minority
    of Greece has never felt the stress of being a subjected people. I
    wish I could say the same for the Greek Orthodox community living
    in Turkey. Since the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne, the Greek
    Orthodox minority inside Turkey has been on a constant alert for the
    next wave of violate ethnic cleansing thrusted upon them by the Turkish
    state. Without going in depth of the violations committed by the
    Turkish state, one can merely glance over a short list of the acts of
    political and religious genocide that has truly been committed against
    a minority. In 1926, just two years after the signing of the treaty,
    the Turkish government revoked the right of special administrative
    organization of the islands of Imbros and Tenedos. The drafting of
    non-Muslims into labor battalions during World War II affected not
    only the Greek Orthodox community, but also the Armenian and Jewish
    communities as well. Let us not forget the Varlik Vergisi 'Fortune Tax'
    enforced mostly on non-Muslims and the parliamentary law which barred
    Greek citizens from several trades and professions, like medicine,
    law, and real estate to name a few. The most violate example of the
    discrimination suffered by the Greek Orthodox community is without
    a doubt the Istanbul Pogrom of 1955, which echoed the days of Nazi
    Germany's actions against its Jewish community. When the then 150,000
    strong minority suffered unspeakable acts of violence, orchestrated
    by the government of Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and his
    Demokrat Parti, acts of violence, which bus loads of local party
    members, police, and even Muslims from Greece participated in.

    It is up to the free thinking minds of those residing here in the
    United States to look at these allegations and decide for themselves
    if the Muslim minority of Thraki is truly facing the prejudice they
    claim to be, or if its just another act in a long line of misleading
    propaganda perpetrated to be used as a screen of smoke and mirrors
    to keep our eyes away from the true persecuted minority from the
    Treaty of Lausanne, the Greek Orthodox Minority of Anatoliki Thraki
    (Eastern Thrace).

    Ioannis Fidanakis is the President of Pan Thracian Union of America
    "Orpheus".

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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