MİLLET's OPINION | Targeting citizens with primitive methods

It is a big disaster for the democracy of our country that some media elements put themselves in the place of the state and put the citizen on the target board.

It is a great disaster for the democracy of our country that some media elements in our country have put themselves in the place of the state and put the citizen on the target board for a long time. Especially if this is done with “fascist” an dangerous rhetoric, it's a pity...

Recently, an article titled “Anti-Greek seminar for Muslims who are supposedly under pressure” was published on the site eleftherostypos.gr by AGGELOS AGGELIDIS.

The article is one of the typical articles that targets the Muslim Turkish Minority of Western Thrace, criticizes the activities of minority institutions and presents it as anti-Greek.

However, the article also draws attention to the fact that in addition to the minority in Western Thrace, Muslim citizens living in different parts of the country are also targeted.

The subject of Aggelidis article is about a seminar on "Human Rights Violations Encountered by Muslims and Minorities" organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (BDIHK), in cooperation with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice of Turkiye.

However, our “hero” AGGELOS AGGELIDIS serves this event as an “anti-Greek” event in his article. It would not be right to expect anything else from such a mind that thinks the world revolves around itself.

In the article, both  Muslim Turkish Minority of Western Thrace, its distinguished institutions and Muslim citizens living in other parts of the country are targeted. The reason to have attended the seminar in Istanbul is to express the injustice about Muslims.

It is as if everything is rosy in our country, as if Muslims everywhere in Greece can freely fulfill their religious obligations. Until yesterday, there was not even a mosque in the capital, Athens. After years of debate, today a military warehouse has been put into service as a mosque.

Mosques in many parts of the country have also been closed on the grounds that they are unauthorized, and there are not even cemeteries where Muslims can bury their bodies, except in Western Thrace.

We don't even need to mention the injustices and restrictions on freedom of religion in Western Thrace here.

One of the most important points that draw our attention, and perhaps should be emphasized, is the “fascist” statements written for Hüseyin Hüseyinoğlu. Huseyinoğlu is the head of the association in the region, who attended the seminar in Istanbul as the representative of the Muslims living in and around the town of Aleksandria in the Imatya region.

In the article published with the signature of AGGELIDIS, our brother Hüseyin Hüseyinoğlu is described with a “fascist” and aggressive approach as “the Gypsy representative of the Muslims in the Imatya region”. There is a saying among us that "Declaration of style is human in the same way". If we write in a more understandable language, the expression style is the person himself.

Your style of expression reflects and translates your personality. In this context, the “ugly” expressions used by the author of Eleftherostypos for our brother Hüseyin Hüseyinoğlu and for the Muslims in the region are nothing but a reflection of his own character.

HÜSEYİNOĞLU SPOKE TO MİLLET

We contacted Hüseyin Hüseyinoğlu to listen to his opinion on this subject and to convey our greetings and conversations. We asked him what he thought about this article and how our brothers in the region felt. Our brother Hüseyin Hüseyinoğlu, with all his sincerity, thanked us for calling him first and for asking to listen to the issue firsthand. Expressing that they were very upset with some of the statements in the article, Hüseyin Hüseyinoğlu stated that they also discussed this issue with his friends and members of the society in the association and said that the statements written by the author about them offended them. Indicating that Muslims from many parts of the world also participated in the international seminar they attended, Hüseyinoğlu said that he was surprised that the author portrayed this event as an 'anti-Greek' event.  Hüseyinoğlu said that they have lived in and around Alexandria region for more than 50 years, that they have now become the natives of this region, and that they have very good relations with the Christian citizens of the region. Hüseyinoğlu stated that what they want from the authorities is, as equal Greek citizens, Muslims in religion, to have a place to worship first. Hüseyinoğlu, who stated that they also made initiatives for the cemetery, said that they hope to get a positive result in this regard soon. He also stated that they have good relations with the deputies and officials in the region and expressed that they were both saddened and surprised when they read what was written about them in such an article. Stating that no one can be described as anti-Greek by attending a meeting, Hüseyinoğlu also said that the word "Gypsy" in the article offended both him and the Muslim citizens of the region. Hüseyinoğlu stated that they will continue to live in peace and tranquility with other citizens in the region, and that they will continue to fight within the framework of democracy and law in every platform to eliminate the existing deficiencies in order to fulfill their religious obligations as Muslims in the region. Hüseyinoğlu emphasized that such targeting articles will not contribute to anything.

Hüseyinoğlu, who invited us to the Alexandria region, conquered our hearts with his kind, gentleman and sincere attitude. We believe that such people are a great gain for both our country and democracy. During our meeting, we conveyed our greetings and conversations to our brothers in the Imatya region as their brothers in Western Thrace.

Finally, we would like to point out that; it is not possible to reach a place in democracy and law with AGGELOS AGGELİDİS-style primitive targeting methods.  These primitive and oppressive methods are far behind the times. This is a country of law and democracy.

In the near future we will also refer to other parts of the article published with the signature of AGGELOS AGGELİDİS.