Greece responds to Türkiye's inclusion of 'Blue Homeland' in curriculum: "18 million students will learn"
Greek Foreign Minister Yorgos Yerapetritis expressed concern, saying, "It is bad that the Blue Homeland will be taught in textbooks," while Greek media highlighted the fact that 18 million Turkish students will now be exposed to this doctrine.
Türkiye recently submitted its "Blue Homeland" maritime borders to the United Nations and subsequently revised its national curriculum. The new educational content, part of the Turkish Century Education Model (Türkiye Yüzyılı Maarif Modeli), includes a section on the "Blue Homeland" in the 9th-grade geography textbook, which has been met with disapproval in Greece.
Yerapetritis also pointed out that the term "Aegean Sea" was not referred to as "Islands Sea" in the textbooks, and implied that the absence of references to Greece, the Aegean, and the Eastern Mediterranean in the Blue Homeland section was a positive aspect.
WIDE MEDIA COVERAGE
According to Hürriyet, the Greek press widely covered the development. Kathimerini newspaper reported that the "Blue Homeland" was included in Turkish textbooks for the first time, calling it a significant step.
The newspaper added, “Turkey has taken another step in its Blue Homeland theory. ‘Blue Homeland’ is now in textbooks. Moreover, the book includes a question asking students to 'provide examples of Türkiye's legal and geographical rights in the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean that are being unjustly challenged.'”
Greek broadcaster Skai commented, “Previously, ‘Blue Homeland’ was not in the textbooks. Now, 18 million students in Türkiye will grow up learning about ‘Blue Homeland.’”
