Turks of Western Thrace
Encyclopedia
Turks of Western Thrace are ethnic Turks
who live in Western Thrace
, in the north-eastern part of Greece
.
According to the Greek census of 1991, there were approximately 50,000 Turks in Western Thrace, out of the approximately 98,000 strong Muslim minority of Greece
. Other sources estimate the size of the Turkish community between 120,000 and 130,000.
The Greek government
refers to the Turkish community as part of the Greek Muslims
or Hellenic
Muslims, and does not recognise a separate Turkish minority in Western Thrace. Nevertheless, the fundamental rights of this community are enshrined in the Greek constitution and the Treaty of Lausanne
.
in 1354 and remained in Turkish hands until 1913. At this time, the Turkish community outnumbered the Greek community four to one and owned close to 84% of the land. By August 31, 1913 the Turks of Western Thrace had formed the first 'Turkish republic', the Provisional Government of Western Thrace. However, it was taken over by the Kingdom of Bulgaria
on October 25, 1913, which had been victorious in the First Balkan War
. France
occupied the area at the end of the First World War, following the defeat of Bulgaria, and it passed into Greek hands under the Treaty of Sèvres
in August 1920. By 1923, the population of Western Thrace
was 191,699, of whom 129,120 (67%) were Turks
and 33,910 (18%) were Greeks
; the remaining 28,669 were mostly Bulgarians
, along with small numbers of Jews
and Armenians
. Under a protocol of the same year, the Turks of Western Thrace were exempted from the 1922-1923 exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey and were granted rights within the framework of the Lausanne Treaty. However, since 1923, between 300,000 to 400,000 Turks have left Western Thrace most of which have immigrated to Turkey
.
According to the Turkish thesis, as it was presented at Lausanne Peace Conference (1923), the general distribution of population in Western Thrace was as follows:
and Xanthi
departments, while it is scarcely present in the Evros prefecture
, the closest to the international boundary with Turkey. According to estimates, Muslims as a whole, represented 36-38% of the Rhodopi Department population, 12-24% in the Xanthi Department and less than 5% in the Evros Department.
, in 1976 the Turkish language
was spoken by 128,000 people in Greece, the majority of which are located in Western Thrace. However, the Greek language
is also widely used.
The Lausanne Treaty defined the rights of the Muslim communities in Western Thrace, on the basis of religion, not ethnicity, as well as maintained a balance between the minority communities of both countries (Turks in Greece and Greeks in Turkey
) on reciprocal obligations toward each of those minorities. The Treaty contained specific obligations for their cultural and religious rights. However, at no time since 1923 did Greek officials instigate, support, or undertake measures against the Muslims of Western Thrace similar to those undertaken by successive Turkish Governments against the Greek minority in Turkey (like forced labor battalions, the Istanbul pogrom
), a minority that is nearly eliminated today (70,000 in 1923 to 3,000 in 2000).
is since then assured by Turkish candidats from nationwide political parties, and the Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace
, which succeeded the Independent Muslim List in 1991, practically disappeared from the electoral scene.
(Xanthi) and Ahmet Hacıosman
(Rhodope), former president (1999–2007) of the Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace
created by former (1989) MP Sadık Ahmet in 1991.
At least 14 candidates from the Turkish minority have been nominated, mainly in Rhodope and Xanthi.
For New Democracy, former MP (2004–2007) İlhan Ahmet and Ahmet Ahmet are candidates in Rhodope, and in Xanthi Aysel Zeybek and Ahmet Budur. Zeybek had lost her Greek citizenship under Article 19 of the Greek Citizenship Code, which allowed of its revocation for non-ethnic Greeks who left the country. After a lengthy legal battle, she finally won her case with a second appeal before the European Court of Human Rights and re-secured her Greek citizenship in 2001.
For PASOK, Çetin Mandacı and Seval Osmanoğlu are among the 5 candidates in Xanthi, Rıdvan Kocamümin and Ahmet Hacıosman among the 5 in Rhodope.
For the KKE (which presently has no MP in Xanthi or Rhodope), Faik Faik in Rhodope and Hasan Efendi in Xanthi.
For SYRIZA (which presently has no MP in Xanthi or Rhodope), Hasan Malkoç and Hüseyin Zeybek are candidates in Xanthi, and in Rhodope Dr. Mustafa Mustafa
(former MP) and Celalettin Yurtçu.
, and could not be used to describe citizens of Greece
; the use of the word 'Turkish' to describe Greek Muslims was held to endanger public order. This led to about 10,000 people demonstrating against the decision in Western Thrace. According to members of the Turkish minority, it was the first time ethnic Turks had taken to the streets.
. According to some sources, newspapers, magazines and books published in Turkey
are not allowed entry into Western Thrace, and Turkish television and radio stations are sometimes jammed. According to other sources the minority has full and independent access to its own newspapers radio, television, and other written media coming from Turkey, regardless of their content.
and to the right to control charitable and religious institutions. However, the Turkish community believes that these international law guarantees have been violated by the Greek government by denying permission to repair or rebuild old mosques or to build new mosques, by denying the right to choose the muftis (this chief religious officers), and by efforts to control the Turkish communities charitable foundations. According to another source,
more than 5 new mosques are being built in the prefecture of Xanthi alone and 19 new mosques are being built in the prefecture of Rhodope alone, while in the same prefecture the number of mosques exceeds 160.
to the Turkish speaking minority allegedly to weaken their presence in Western Thrace. Moreover, those who accepted these jobs were deprived of their minority rights when they moved to Athens, which partly explains why there are no mosques or Turkish language schools in Athens. The majority who primarily come from Komotini
and to a lesser extent from Xanthi
live in the neighbourhood of Gazi
which is close to the centre of Athens. There are different estimates about the number of people from Western Thrace living in the Athens vicinity (Attica
) which vary between 5,000 to 10,000 people. By leaving Western Thrace and integrating into Athens, some Turks that are still living in Western Thrace have seen those who have migrated to Athens as 'betraying' their community.
. Western Thrace Turks have also immigrated to Germany
, the Netherlands
, the United States
, the United Kingdom
, Australia
, Austria
and Italy
. Thus, overall there are an estimated 1 million Turks whose roots are from Western Thrace.
emigrated and settled in the United States
roughly between 1900 and 1914 when American immigration policies were quite liberal. These Turks were listed as Bulgarians and Greeks due to their country of origin, even though they were ethnic Turks and identified themselves as such. Moreover, many immigrant families who were ethnically Albanian, Bulgarian, Greek, Macedonian or Serbian included children of Turkish origin whose parents had been cleansed after Macedonia was partitioned between Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece
following the Balkan War of 1912-13
. These Turkish children had been sheltered, baptised and adopted, and then used as field laborers. When the adopting families had to emigrate to America, they listed these children as family members, although most of these Turkish children still remembered their ethnic origin.
.
community among the some 350,000 Greeks living in Germany
who are Turks or who espouse a Turkish identity. The majority of Turks immigrated from Western Thrace
. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Thracian tobacco industry was affected by a severe crisis and many tobacco growers lost their income. This resulted in many Turks leaving their homes and immigrating to Germany
with estimates suggesting that today there are now between 12,000 and 25,000 residing in Germany.
region; after Germany, the Netherlands is the most popular destination for Turkish immigrants.
although this does not include those who are British born. The total number living outside of London is unknown.
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
who live in Western Thrace
Western Thrace
Western Thrace or simply Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece...
, in the north-eastern part of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
According to the Greek census of 1991, there were approximately 50,000 Turks in Western Thrace, out of the approximately 98,000 strong Muslim minority of Greece
Muslim minority of Greece
The Muslim minority of Greece is the only explicitly recognized minority in Greece. It numbers 97,604 people or 0.91% of the total population, according to the 1991 census , and 140,000 people or 1.24% of the total population, according to the United States Department of State.The Muslim minority...
. Other sources estimate the size of the Turkish community between 120,000 and 130,000.
The Greek government
Politics of Greece
The Politics of Greece takes place in a large parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Greece is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Hellenic Parliament...
refers to the Turkish community as part of the Greek Muslims
Muslim minority of Greece
The Muslim minority of Greece is the only explicitly recognized minority in Greece. It numbers 97,604 people or 0.91% of the total population, according to the 1991 census , and 140,000 people or 1.24% of the total population, according to the United States Department of State.The Muslim minority...
or Hellenic
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
Muslims, and does not recognise a separate Turkish minority in Western Thrace. Nevertheless, the fundamental rights of this community are enshrined in the Greek constitution and the Treaty of Lausanne
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
.
History
Western Thrace became part of the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1354 and remained in Turkish hands until 1913. At this time, the Turkish community outnumbered the Greek community four to one and owned close to 84% of the land. By August 31, 1913 the Turks of Western Thrace had formed the first 'Turkish republic', the Provisional Government of Western Thrace. However, it was taken over by the Kingdom of Bulgaria
Kingdom of Bulgaria
The Kingdom of Bulgaria was established as an independent state when the Principality of Bulgaria, an Ottoman vassal, officially proclaimed itself independent on October 5, 1908 . This move also formalised the annexation of the Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia, which had been under the control...
on October 25, 1913, which had been victorious in the First Balkan War
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
. France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
occupied the area at the end of the First World War, following the defeat of Bulgaria, and it passed into Greek hands under the Treaty of Sèvres
Treaty of Sèvres
The Treaty of Sèvres was the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany before this treaty to annul the German concessions including the economic rights and enterprises. Also, France, Great Britain and Italy...
in August 1920. By 1923, the population of Western Thrace
Western Thrace
Western Thrace or simply Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece...
was 191,699, of whom 129,120 (67%) were Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
and 33,910 (18%) were Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
; the remaining 28,669 were mostly Bulgarians
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
, along with small numbers of Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
and Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
. Under a protocol of the same year, the Turks of Western Thrace were exempted from the 1922-1923 exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey and were granted rights within the framework of the Lausanne Treaty. However, since 1923, between 300,000 to 400,000 Turks have left Western Thrace most of which have immigrated to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
According to the Turkish thesis, as it was presented at Lausanne Peace Conference (1923), the general distribution of population in Western Thrace was as follows:
| General Distribution of Population in Western Thrace in 1923 (before the population exchange) | |||||||
| Cities | Turks | Greeks | Bulgarians | Jews | Armenians | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Komotini Komotini Komotini is a city in Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace and of the Rhodope regional unit. It is also the administrative center of the Rhodope-Evros super-prefecture. The city is home to the Democritus University of Thrace, founded in 1973... |
59,967 (74,8%) | 8,834 (11%) | 9,997 (12,5%) | 1,007 (1,3%) | 360 (0,4%) | 80,165 (100%) | |
| Alexandroupolis | 11,744 (42,7%) | 4,800 (17,5%) | 10,227 (37,2%) | 253 (0,9%) | 449 (1,6%) | 27,473 (100%) | |
| Soufli Soufli Soufli is a city in the Evros peripheral unit, Greece, notable for the silk industry that flourished there in the 19th century. The town stands on the eastern slope of the twin hill of Prophet Elias, one of the easternmost spurs on the Rhodope Mountains... |
14,736 (46,4%) | 11,542 (36,3%) | 5,490 (17,3%) | - | - | 31,768 (100%) | |
| Xanthi Xanthi Xanthi ; is a city in Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi peripheral unit of the periphery of East Macedonia and Thrace.-History:... |
42,671 (81,7%) | 8,728 (16,7%) | 522 (1%) | 220 (0,4%) | 114 (0,2%) | 52,255 (100%) | |
| Total | 129,120 (67,4%) | 33,910 (17,7%) | 26,266 (13,7%) | 1,480 (0,8%) | 923 (0,5%) | 191,699 (100%) | |
Demographics
The Turkish community has a strong presence in KomotiniKomotini
Komotini is a city in Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace and of the Rhodope regional unit. It is also the administrative center of the Rhodope-Evros super-prefecture. The city is home to the Democritus University of Thrace, founded in 1973...
and Xanthi
Xanthi
Xanthi ; is a city in Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi peripheral unit of the periphery of East Macedonia and Thrace.-History:...
departments, while it is scarcely present in the Evros prefecture
Evros Prefecture
Evros is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Its name is derived from the river Evros, which appears to have been a Thracian hydronym. Evros is the northernmost regional unit. It borders Turkey to the east, across the river Evros, and it...
, the closest to the international boundary with Turkey. According to estimates, Muslims as a whole, represented 36-38% of the Rhodopi Department population, 12-24% in the Xanthi Department and less than 5% in the Evros Department.
Language
According to EthnologueEthnologue
Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
, in 1976 the Turkish language
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
was spoken by 128,000 people in Greece, the majority of which are located in Western Thrace. However, the Greek language
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
is also widely used.
Obligations of the Treaty of Lausanne
Article 37 through 45 of the Lausanne Treaty set forth the obligations of the Greek and Turkish governments to protect the Turkish and Greek minorities in their territories. Each country agreed to provide the following:- Protection of life and liberty without regard to birth, nationality, language, race or religion
- Free exercise of religion
- Freedom of movement and of emigration
- Equality before the law
- The same civil and political rights enjoyed by the majority
- Free use of language in private, in commerce, in religion, the press and publications, at public meetings and in the courts
- The right to establish and control charitable, religious and social institutions and schools
- Primary schools in which instruction is given in both languages
- Full protection for religious establishments and pious foundation
The Lausanne Treaty defined the rights of the Muslim communities in Western Thrace, on the basis of religion, not ethnicity, as well as maintained a balance between the minority communities of both countries (Turks in Greece and Greeks in Turkey
Greeks in Turkey
The Greeks in Turkey constitute a population of Greek and Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox Christians who mostly live in Istanbul, including its district Princes' Islands, as well as on the two islands of the western entrance to the Dardanelles: Imbros and Tenedos .They are the remnants of the...
) on reciprocal obligations toward each of those minorities. The Treaty contained specific obligations for their cultural and religious rights. However, at no time since 1923 did Greek officials instigate, support, or undertake measures against the Muslims of Western Thrace similar to those undertaken by successive Turkish Governments against the Greek minority in Turkey (like forced labor battalions, the Istanbul pogrom
Istanbul Pogrom
The Istanbul riots , were mob attacks directed primarily at Istanbul's Greek minority on 6–7 September 1955. The riots were orchestrated by the Turkish government under Adnan Menderes. The events were triggered by the false news that the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki, north Greece—the...
), a minority that is nearly eliminated today (70,000 in 1923 to 3,000 in 2000).
Members of the Greek Parliament
In 1990 a new electoral law was introduced in Greece, which set a threshold of at least 3% of the nationwide vote for a party to be represented in the parliament, independent Turkish MPs were thus barred from election at the 1993 elections. The participation of members of the minority in the Hellenic ParliamentHellenic Parliament
The Hellenic Parliament , also the Parliament of the Hellenes, is the Parliament of Greece, located in the Parliament House , overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece....
is since then assured by Turkish candidats from nationwide political parties, and the Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace
Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace
The Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace is a Greek political party founded to represent the interests of the Turkish minority of Thrace.The party was created on September 13, 1991 by Sadık Ahmet who presided over it until his death in 1995. Ahmet was succeeded by his widow Işık Ahmet who led...
, which succeeded the Independent Muslim List in 1991, practically disappeared from the electoral scene.
| Turkish MPs from Rhodopi and Xanthi | |||||||
| election | elected Turkish MPs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 (June) | Sadık Ahmet (Independent Muslim List) | ||||||
| 1989 (November) | Ismail Molla (Independent Muslim List) | ||||||
| 1990 Greek legislative election, 1990 Legislative elections were held in the Hellenic Republic on 8 April 1990. At stake were 300 seats in the Greek parliament, the Voule.The conservative New Democracy party of Constantine Mitsotakis, was elected, defeating the Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Andreas Papandreou. rowspan=2 colspan=2... |
Sadık Ahmet, Ahmet Faikoğlu (Independent Muslim List) | ||||||
| 1993 Greek legislative election, 1993 Legislative elections were held in the Hellenic Republic on October 10, 1993. At stake were 300 seats in the Greek parliament, the Voule.The Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Andreas Papandreou, was elected, defeating the conservative New Democracy party of Constantine Mitsotakis.-Results:... |
none | ||||||
| 1996 Greek legislative election, 1996 Legislative elections were held in the Hellenic Republic on 22 September 1996. At stake were 300 seats in the Greek Parliament.The ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Costas Simitis, was elected, defeating the liberal-conservative New Democracy party of Miltiadis Evert.-Results: rowspan=2... |
Mustafa Mustafa Mustafa Mustafa Mustafa Mustafa is a Greek politician from the West Thracian Turkish minority. He has been elected to the Greek Parliament for the Synaspismós coalition in 1996 and runs again for election in 2009 for the SYRIZA coalition.... (Synaspismós), Galip Galip (PASOK Panhellenic Socialist Movement The Panhellenic Socialist Movement , known mostly by its acronym PASOK , is one of the two major political parties in Greece. Founded on 3 September 1974 by Andreas Papandreou, in 1981 PASOK became Greece's first social democratic party to win a majority in parliament.The party is a socialist party... , architect), Birol Akifoglu (ND) |
||||||
| 2000 | Galip Galip (PASOK), Mehmet Ahmet (PASOK; Mehmet Ahmet, already elected in 1981, was not directly elected in 2000, but he acted so that the elected MP, Hrissa Manolia, was forced to abandon her seat because she had not relinquished her other political mandate at the local level) | ||||||
| 2004 Greek legislative election, 2004 Legislative elections were held in Greece on March 7, 2004. At stake were 300 seats in the Greek Parliament, the Vouli . The New Democracy Party of Kostas Karamanlis won a decisive victory in the elections, ending eleven years of rule by the Panhellenic Socialist Movement .PASOK was led into the... |
İlhan Ahmet (New Democracy New Democracy (Greece) New Democracy is the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece. It was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic... , lawyer) |
||||||
| 2007 | Çetin Mandacı Çetin Mandacı Çetin Muhamer Mandacı , born on March 7, 1970 in the Orfano village , is a Greek politician from the West Thracian Turkish minority... (PASOK), Ahmet Hacıosman Ahmet Hacıosman Ahmet Hacıosman is a Greek politician from the West Thracian Turkish minority. He has been elected to the Greek Parliament for the Panhellenic Socialist Movement in 2007 and was reelected in 2009.... (PASOK) |
||||||
| 2009 Greek legislative election, 2009 Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on 4 October 2009. An election was not required until September 2011.On 2 September Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis announced he would request President Karolos Papoulias to dissolve Parliament and call an election... |
Çetin Mandacı (PASOK), Ahmet Hacıosman (PASOK) | ||||||
Greek legislative election, 2009
There are presently two Turkish MPs from Western Thrace, both affiliated to the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, Çetin MandacıÇetin Mandacı
Çetin Muhamer Mandacı , born on March 7, 1970 in the Orfano village , is a Greek politician from the West Thracian Turkish minority...
(Xanthi) and Ahmet Hacıosman
Ahmet Hacıosman
Ahmet Hacıosman is a Greek politician from the West Thracian Turkish minority. He has been elected to the Greek Parliament for the Panhellenic Socialist Movement in 2007 and was reelected in 2009....
(Rhodope), former president (1999–2007) of the Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace
Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace
The Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace is a Greek political party founded to represent the interests of the Turkish minority of Thrace.The party was created on September 13, 1991 by Sadık Ahmet who presided over it until his death in 1995. Ahmet was succeeded by his widow Işık Ahmet who led...
created by former (1989) MP Sadık Ahmet in 1991.
At least 14 candidates from the Turkish minority have been nominated, mainly in Rhodope and Xanthi.
For New Democracy, former MP (2004–2007) İlhan Ahmet and Ahmet Ahmet are candidates in Rhodope, and in Xanthi Aysel Zeybek and Ahmet Budur. Zeybek had lost her Greek citizenship under Article 19 of the Greek Citizenship Code, which allowed of its revocation for non-ethnic Greeks who left the country. After a lengthy legal battle, she finally won her case with a second appeal before the European Court of Human Rights and re-secured her Greek citizenship in 2001.
For PASOK, Çetin Mandacı and Seval Osmanoğlu are among the 5 candidates in Xanthi, Rıdvan Kocamümin and Ahmet Hacıosman among the 5 in Rhodope.
For the KKE (which presently has no MP in Xanthi or Rhodope), Faik Faik in Rhodope and Hasan Efendi in Xanthi.
For SYRIZA (which presently has no MP in Xanthi or Rhodope), Hasan Malkoç and Hüseyin Zeybek are candidates in Xanthi, and in Rhodope Dr. Mustafa Mustafa
Mustafa Mustafa
Mustafa Mustafa is a Greek politician from the West Thracian Turkish minority. He has been elected to the Greek Parliament for the Synaspismós coalition in 1996 and runs again for election in 2009 for the SYRIZA coalition....
(former MP) and Celalettin Yurtçu.
Human rights issues
Citizenship
According to the former Article 19 of the 1955 Citizenship Law (No. 3370), a person of non-Greek ethnic origin leaving Greece without the intention of returning may be declared as having lost Greek nationality. According to the Greek government, between 1955 and 1998, approximately 60,000 Greek Muslim individuals, predominantly Turkish, were deprived of their citizenship under Article 19. Of these 60,000, approximately 7,182 lost their citizenship between 1981 and 1997. Article 19 was repealed in 1998, though not retroactively.Ethnic identity
Since the Treaty of Lausanne used the criterion of religion to refer to the ethnic communities, Greek Government spokesmen have usually insisted that the basis of identification is religious and not ethnic (or national). Thus Greek officials refer to the Muslim minority in Greece, but deny the existence of a Turkish minority. Greek courts have also outlawed the use of the word 'Turkish' to describe the Turkish community. In 1988, the Greek High Court affirmed a 1986 decision of the Court of Appeals of Thrace in which the Union of Turkish Associations of Western Thrace was ordered closed. The court held that the use of the word 'Turkish' referred to citizens of TurkeyTurkish nationality law
Turkish nationality law is based primarily on the principle of jus sanguinis. Children who are born to a Turkish mother and a Turkish father in Turkey are Turkish citizens from birth....
, and could not be used to describe citizens of Greece
Greek nationality law
right|200pxNationality law of Greece is based on the principle of jus sanguinis. Greek citizenship may be acquired by descent or through naturalization. Greek law permits Dual citizenship...
; the use of the word 'Turkish' to describe Greek Muslims was held to endanger public order. This led to about 10,000 people demonstrating against the decision in Western Thrace. According to members of the Turkish minority, it was the first time ethnic Turks had taken to the streets.
Freedom of expression
More than 10 newspapers are issued in the Turkish languageTurkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
. According to some sources, newspapers, magazines and books published in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
are not allowed entry into Western Thrace, and Turkish television and radio stations are sometimes jammed. According to other sources the minority has full and independent access to its own newspapers radio, television, and other written media coming from Turkey, regardless of their content.
Ownership of land
In 1922, Turks owned 84% of the land in Western Thrace, but now the minority estimates this figure to be between 20–40%. This stems from various practices of the Greek administration whereby ethnic Greeks are encouraged to purchase Turkish land with soft loans granted by the state.Religious freedom
According to the Lausanne Treaty, the Turkish minority is entitled to freedom of religionFreedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
and to the right to control charitable and religious institutions. However, the Turkish community believes that these international law guarantees have been violated by the Greek government by denying permission to repair or rebuild old mosques or to build new mosques, by denying the right to choose the muftis (this chief religious officers), and by efforts to control the Turkish communities charitable foundations. According to another source,
more than 5 new mosques are being built in the prefecture of Xanthi alone and 19 new mosques are being built in the prefecture of Rhodope alone, while in the same prefecture the number of mosques exceeds 160.
Incidents
According to a report by a local organization there have been frequent (six in 2010 and three in the first months of 2011) attacks against the private and public property of Turks in Western Thrace. Among the recent incidents are three in 2010 (in Kahveci, Kırmahalle, Popos and Ifestos at Komotini) where attackers desecrated Turkish cemeteries and broke tombstones. There were also attacks against mosques, Turkish associations and Turkish consulates, attackers used methods like throwing stones, molotov bombs and damaging buildings.Internal migration
In the 1980s, the Greek Government offered clerical jobs in banks and public administrations in AthensAthens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
to the Turkish speaking minority allegedly to weaken their presence in Western Thrace. Moreover, those who accepted these jobs were deprived of their minority rights when they moved to Athens, which partly explains why there are no mosques or Turkish language schools in Athens. The majority who primarily come from Komotini
Komotini
Komotini is a city in Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace and of the Rhodope regional unit. It is also the administrative center of the Rhodope-Evros super-prefecture. The city is home to the Democritus University of Thrace, founded in 1973...
and to a lesser extent from Xanthi
Xanthi
Xanthi ; is a city in Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi peripheral unit of the periphery of East Macedonia and Thrace.-History:...
live in the neighbourhood of Gazi
Gazi, Athens
Gazi is a neighborhood of Athens, Greece. It surrounds the old Athens gasworks, which is currently an industrial museum and exhibition space, widely known as Gazi, next to Keramikos and close to the Acropolis....
which is close to the centre of Athens. There are different estimates about the number of people from Western Thrace living in the Athens vicinity (Attica
Attica
Attica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea...
) which vary between 5,000 to 10,000 people. By leaving Western Thrace and integrating into Athens, some Turks that are still living in Western Thrace have seen those who have migrated to Athens as 'betraying' their community.
Diaspora
Between 300,000 to 400,000 Turks have left Western Thrace since 1923; most of them immigrated to TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Western Thrace Turks have also immigrated to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Thus, overall there are an estimated 1 million Turks whose roots are from Western Thrace.
United States of America
A fairly large number of ethnic Turks from Western ThraceWestern Thrace
Western Thrace or simply Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece...
emigrated and settled in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
roughly between 1900 and 1914 when American immigration policies were quite liberal. These Turks were listed as Bulgarians and Greeks due to their country of origin, even though they were ethnic Turks and identified themselves as such. Moreover, many immigrant families who were ethnically Albanian, Bulgarian, Greek, Macedonian or Serbian included children of Turkish origin whose parents had been cleansed after Macedonia was partitioned between Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
following the Balkan War of 1912-13
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
. These Turkish children had been sheltered, baptised and adopted, and then used as field laborers. When the adopting families had to emigrate to America, they listed these children as family members, although most of these Turkish children still remembered their ethnic origin.
Europe
It is estimated that there is between 25,000 and 40,000 Western Thrace Turks living in Western EuropeWestern Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
.
Germany
There are some members of the Greek MuslimGreek Muslims
Greek Muslims, also known as Greek-speaking Muslims, are Muslims of Greek ethnic origin, nowadays found mainly in Turkey, although migrations to Lebanon and Syria have been reported. Historically, Greek Orthodoxy has been associated with being Romios, i.e...
community among the some 350,000 Greeks living in Germany
Greeks in Germany
The Greeks in Germany form a significant community with a population of 294,891 people according to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, on December 31, 2007.-History:The first Greeks came during the time of the Roman Empire to Central Europe....
who are Turks or who espouse a Turkish identity. The majority of Turks immigrated from Western Thrace
Western Thrace
Western Thrace or simply Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece...
. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Thracian tobacco industry was affected by a severe crisis and many tobacco growers lost their income. This resulted in many Turks leaving their homes and immigrating to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
with estimates suggesting that today there are now between 12,000 and 25,000 residing in Germany.
Netherlands
A minority of Western Thrace Turks can be found in the Netherlands, especially in the RandstadRandstad
Image:Randstad_with_scale.png|400px|thumb|right|Clickable schematic map of the Randstadcircle 528 380 26 Schipholrect 426 356 498 436 Haarlemmermeerrect 399 166 479 245 Velsencircle 250 716 32 Delftcircle 220 642 60 The Hague...
region; after Germany, the Netherlands is the most popular destination for Turkish immigrants.
United Kingdom
There is an estimated 600-700 Western Thrace Turks living in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
although this does not include those who are British born. The total number living outside of London is unknown.
Notable people
- Sadık Ahmet, Doctor
- Cavit Çağlar
- Nimet Çalapala
- Turgay Cin
- Şerif GörenSerif GörenŞerif Gören is a Turkish film director. Aside from important films under his own signature, he is also the winner of the Palme d'Or award in Cannes Film Festival in 1982 for the film Yol, which he had directed on behalf of Yılmaz Güney, who at the time was serving a prison sentence for the murder...
, Winner of 1982 Palme d'OrPalme d'OrThe Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
in Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals... - Yahya Gür
- Ahmet HacıosmanAhmet HacıosmanAhmet Hacıosman is a Greek politician from the West Thracian Turkish minority. He has been elected to the Greek Parliament for the Panhellenic Socialist Movement in 2007 and was reelected in 2009....
, Politician - Hasan Hatipoğlu
- Mustafa Hüseyinoğlu, Actor
- Hadi Hüsman
- Mehmet Esat İleri, Politician
- Çetin MandacıÇetin MandacıÇetin Muhamer Mandacı , born on March 7, 1970 in the Orfano village , is a Greek politician from the West Thracian Turkish minority...
, Politician - Mustafa MustafaMustafa MustafaMustafa Mustafa is a Greek politician from the West Thracian Turkish minority. He has been elected to the Greek Parliament for the Synaspismós coalition in 1996 and runs again for election in 2009 for the SYRIZA coalition....
, Politician - Hüseyin MüminHussein MuminHussein Mumin is a professional football midfielder currently playing for Panetolikos.He is the first Muslim Western Thracian to play for the Greek national team...
, Footballer
See also
- 1990 Komotini events
- Cretan TurksCretan TurksThe Cretan Turks, Turco-Cretans , or Cretan Muslims were the Muslim inhabitants of Crete and now their descendants, who settled principally in Turkey, the Levant, and Egypt as well as in the larger Turkish diaspora.After the Ottoman conquest of Crete...
- Turks of the DodecaneseTurks of the DodecaneseThe Turks of the Dodecanese form a 5,000-strong community of ethnic Turks inhabiting the Dodecanese islands of Rhodes and Kos who were not affected by the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey since the islands were under the rule of the Kingdom of Italy at the time and who became...
- Western ThraceWestern ThraceWestern Thrace or simply Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece...
- Provisional Government of Western Thrace
- Greeks in TurkeyGreeks in TurkeyThe Greeks in Turkey constitute a population of Greek and Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox Christians who mostly live in Istanbul, including its district Princes' Islands, as well as on the two islands of the western entrance to the Dardanelles: Imbros and Tenedos .They are the remnants of the...
External links
- Human Rights Watch document: Destroying ethnic identity - The Turks of Greece, August 1990
- Human Rights Watch document: Greece - Improvements for Turkish minority - Problems remain, April 1992
- Human Rights Watch document: Greece - The Turks of Western Thrace, January 1999
- Umbrella organisation of Western Thrace Turks and UN-ECOSOC member: Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe