Elections are approaching, so you can express yourself as Turkish(!)
Yorgos Katrougalos from Syriza, in his speech at an event recently, said that the Minority in Western Thrace can express themselves as they wish. He also drew his boundaries.
Namely; In his speech, Katrougalos repeated the rhetoric of all Greek politicians and stated that the expression "Muslim Minority" was used for the minority in Thrace in Lausanne, and therefore the minority is the Muslim Minority, but the members of the minority can express themselves as they wish. Immediately after this statement, Katrougalos drew the boundaries of "expressing as one wishes" in his first discourse by saying, "We know that the minority in Thrace consists of Turkish-born people, Pomaks and Roma". In other words, according to Katrugalos, minority members in Thrace can only express themselves as Turkish-born, Pomak, and Romani. To be more specific, Katrougalos gave us 3 options to choose from. He said you can choose one of them as you want. Of course, he also said that no politician in Greece can easily say. He said that the minority in Thrace can also express themselves as Turks. Moreover, he gave the example of the Xanthi Turkish Union and said that this association has existed since the 1930s and did not pose any problems, but the name of the association was banned in the 1980s.
In short, Mr. Katrougalos tried to pat our heads on the one hand, and smashed one on the neck on the other hand. On the one hand, you say that you can express yourself as you want, on the other hand, you limit this expression to 3 options. Actually, you know the truth very well, but since you can't tell this truth more clearly, you know that the understanding of state and politics in Greece cannot handle this truth, so for now you are dealing with such rhetoric.
The election is approaching. On the one hand, people like Katrougalos say that we can express ourselves as Turks by using the opposite of these rhetoric, while on the other hand, we continue to exploit the national feelings of the Greek people and continue to engage in politics against Turkish enmity. We always see those who do, and we will undoubtedly see them in the future.
But let's face it, not much has changed for the Turks of Western Thrace in Greece for years, even if there are statements that flatter us or vice versa, before or after the election. Issues such as getting a driver's license, buying a house, repairing the roof of the house are presented to us as a blessing. Although nearly half of the population is made up of minority members in Xanthi and Komotini, the number of minority members working in the majority of state units, from the police force, is almost non-existent. If there were equal citizen treatment, these numbers would be balanced. I mean, nothing has changed for the Western Thrace Turkish Minority over the years. The mentality does not change. A significant majority in Greece and, of course, the state organization does not cease to see its citizens as a national danger. Moreover, this society has not thrown a stone at this state despite all the injustices it has experienced.
The Prime Minister, who visited our region recently, said with great embarrassment that he made his first pre-election visit to Thrace and that the reason for this was "National". Saying that the minority in the region lives in peace and tranquility, the Prime Minister unfortunately did not mention even the slightest problem faced by the minority. He went so far in the rash that he invited Europeans to the region to see the exemplary life here. We just want to shout out this truth to Mr. Prime Minister. If there is a life in peace and tranquility in Western Thrace, the only architect of this is the Western Thrace Turkish Society, which maintains its fortitude despite all the injustices and oppression they have experienced.
Since Katrougalos allowed, let's say it one more time.
We are citizens of Greece. Dot!
We are Muslims Alhamdulillah. Dot!
We are Western Thrace Turks, how happy we are. Dot!
