From: han@anadolu.michigan.com (hasan.b.mutlu)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.turkish,talk.politics.mideast,talk.politics.soviet,soc.culture.greek,soc.culture.europe,soc.rights.human
Subject: Re: 'Pol*' Amnesia About 'The Turks In Western Thrace.'
Date: 25 Aug 92 01:22:41 GMT






<1992Aug25.160027.3696@das.harvard.edu>
alex@fermat.uucp (Alex Gerbessiotis)

>>At his press conference at the National Press Club in Washington DC,
>>Sadik Ahmet explained the plight of ethnic Turks in Greece and stated
>>six demands from Greek government.

>	Hm, how come this opressed Greek was elected a member of
>	the Greek Parliament while the Greek Government was oppressing
>	"ethnic Turks" in Greece? I believe you know that many  of the

Now I suppose you are wondering why on earth I am telling all this. 
Well, it also proves that the Turkish people are trapped in Greece 
and the Greek people are free to settle anywhere in the world.
The Greek authorities deny even the existence of a Turkish
minority. They pursue the same denial in connection with 
the Macedonians of Greece. Talk about oppression. In addition,
in 1980 the 'democratic' Greek Parliament passed Law No. 1091,
virtually taking over the administration of the vakiflar and
other charitable trusts. They have ceased to be self-supporting
religious and cultural entities. Talk about fascism. The Greek 
governments are attempting to appoint the muftus, irrespective
of the will of the Turkish minority, as state official. Although
the Orthodox Church has full authority in similar matters in
Greece, the Muslim Turkish minority will have no say in electing
its religious leaders. Talk about democracy.

The government of Greece has recently destroyed an Islamic 
convention in Komotini. Such destruction, which reflects an 
attitude against the Muslim Turkish cultural heritage, is a 
violation of the Lausanne Convention as well as the 'so-called' 
Greek Constitution, which is supposed to guarantee the protection 
of historical monuments. 

The government of Greece, on the other hand, is building new 
churches in remote villages as a complementary step toward 
Hellenizing the region.

The longstanding use of the adjective 'Turkish' in titles
and on signboards are prohibited. The Greek courts have
ordered the closure of the Turkish Teachers' Association, 
the Komotini Turkish Youth Association and the Ksanti 
Turkish Association on grounds that there are no Turks
in Western Thrace. Such community associations had been 
active until 1984. But they were first told to remove
the word 'Turkish' on their buildings and on their official
papers and then eventually close down. This is also the 
final verdict (November 4, 1987) of the Greek High Court.

Sidiropoulos, the president of the Macedonian Human Rights 
Committee, became the latest victim of a tactic long used by 
the Greeks to silence critics of policies of forced assimilation 
of the Macedonian minority. A forestry official by occupation, 
Sidiropoulos has been sent to 'internal exile' on the island of 
Kefalonia, hundreds of kilometers away from his native Florina. 
His employer, the Florina City Council, asked him to depart in 
24 hours. The Greek authorities are trying to punish him for his 
involvement in Copenhagen. He returned to Florina by his own choice 
and remains without a job. 

Helsinki Watch, a well-known Human Rights group, had been investigating 
the plight of the Turkish Minority in Greece. In August 1990, their 
findings were published in a report titled 

 'Destroying Ethnic Identity: Turks of Greece.'

The report confirmed gross violations of the Human Rights of the 
Turkish minority by the Greek authorities. The Turkish cemeteries 
in the village of Vafeika and in Pinarlik were attacked, and tombstones 
were broken. The cemetery in Karotas was razed by bulldozers. Need I
go on?

>	Muslims in Greece are Pomaks or gypsies and thus they can hardly be
>	characterized Turks. The composition of the rest of the muslims
>	is too diverse as well, that was the main reason the
>	Lausanne Peace Treaty cosigned by Turkey referred to a 
>	Muslim (rather than Turkish) minority of Greece. 

And I never can resist all that lie and beauty. The Agreement on the 
Exchange of Minorities uses the term 'Turks,' which demonstrates what 
is actually meant by the previous reference to 'Muslims.' The fact that 
the Greek governments also mention the existence of a few thousand 
non-Turkish Muslims does not change the essential reality that there 
lives in Western Thrace a much bigger Turkish minority. The 'Pomaks' are 
also a Muslim people, whom all the three nations (Bulgarians, Turks, and 
Greeks) consider as part of themselves. Do you know how the Muslim Turkish 
minority was organized according to the agreements? Manalive...


Hasan B-) Mutlu

                     'Kill Turks and Kurds wherever you find them 
                      and in whatever circumstances you find them. 
                      Turkish children also should be killed as 
                      they form a danger to the Armenian nation.' 
                                     (Hamparsum Boyadjian - 1914)

Xref: sparky soc.culture.turkish:9636 soc.culture.greek:8385 soc.culture.europe:8057