A press journey between freedom of expression and identity struggle: Speaking and writing in Turkish in Western Thrace

We were born in Western Thrace, we grew up on these lands. Our mother tongue, our language, and our vocabulary is Turkish; our religion is Islam, our belonging is heartfully tied to Türkiye. Yet unfortunately, on the very lands where we were born and raised, we are still struggling to exist with our own identity. And that in a European Union member state, in Greece…

This struggle is not only a matter of identity; it is also a struggle for freedom of expression. Because in a country where declaring one’s identity is considered a crime, writing it a threat, and speaking it a provocation, practicing journalism is not easy. The Turkish Minority media in Western Thrace tries to stand firm in precisely such an environment, under pressures and intimidation policies. At the center of this struggle lies Millet Newspaper, which is not merely a newspaper for us but a stronghold of resistance.

In Greece, media freedom has already been seriously undermined across the country through practices such as pressures against journalists, spyware, economic sanctions, and physical threats. Yet in Western Thrace this picture is even darker: What happens here is not only a matter against the press but a reflection of a discriminatory state policy directly targeting the Muslim Turkish identity.

Millet Newspaper: The Name of Resistance with the Pen

Founded in 2004 in İskeçe, Millet Newspaper aimed to be the voice, conscience, and memory of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace. The expression we wrote under our logo, “The newspaper of the Turks of Western Thrace,” is not merely a motto; it is a declaration of struggle and belonging. With this publication, we aim to shed light on the minority struggle. Since that day, we have been publishing in order to defend the truth, to cry out our identity, and to be a light for our people.

But this path was not easy. Our newspaper has constantly been targeted by the Greek state. At times our articles became matters of prosecution, at times even the words “Turk” or “millet” (nation) themselves were counted as “separatism.” While official authorities for years tried to prevent our newspaper from publishing under the name “Millet” and refrained from advertising, local businesses too were covertly warned to comply with the embargo imposed upon us. Economic siege, judicial clamp, and social isolation… All to stop this resistance.

The minority media faces an even greater degree of isolation and discrimination than central media outlets in Greece. Being deprived of official announcements, advertising embargoes by local administrations, arbitrary prosecutions, imprisonment and heavy fines, and seizures of bank accounts are only some examples of these intimidation policies. But we did not give up.

Why are we targeted?

Because we reject the false and so-called identity of “Greek Muslims,” which is a trap imposed by a mentality hostile to Turks and to Islam. Because we proclaim that we live the true Islam as commanded by Allah, not the Islam manipulated by the Church and the deep state. Because we deliberately and consciously declare that we are Turks, as the denial of Turkish identity in Western Thrace means the denial of everything belonging to the Turks of Western Thrace. Because we defend our rights stemming from the Treaty of Lausanne. Because we recognize the muftis we have chosen, not the ones imposed by fascist Christians. Because we demand the right to education in our mother tongue, stemming from agreements. And because we declare at every opportunity our heartfelt bond with Türkiye.

This stance is unacceptable to the Greek state. Because the identity they impose is “Greek Muslim”; our very existence is the name of objection to this imposition.

Members of the same nation in different countries

The Muslim Turkish Minority of Western Thrace, in terms of language and religion, faith and culture, is a natural part of today’s Türkiye and of the Turkish nation, inherited from the Ottoman Empire in Greece. We are members of the same nation living in different countries. We are each other’s continuation and complement.

However, this does not mean that we are in any bad feeling or intention against Greece, of which we are citizens. Just as the Greek Orthodox Minority living in Türkiye is seen as members of the Greek nation in Türkiye, and this is taken naturally by Türkiye, so too should the Greek government take our ties with Türkiye as natural. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Rhetoric of friendship, reality of hostility

The Greek state has regarded the Turkish identity as an eternal and perpetual enemy. At the root of this hostility lies the religion of Islam. Greece has constructed and maintained this hostility as a reason for existence and a shield of protection against Türkiye. Since its establishment, the Greek state has lived with the nightmare that “the Turks may suddenly come one night.” The politics, social memory, and foreign policy of the country are shaped along this axis of nightmare and hostility.

At the official level, the rhetoric of “Turkish-Greek friendship” is voiced from time to time, but this is mostly a diplomatic maneuver and a tactic to buy time. In reality, the ultimate goal of Greek politics is to keep alive the dream of a Greater Greece (Megali Idea), extending from Cyprus to Istanbul, from Izmir to Trabzon.

In this context, the Turkish presence identified with the Islamic identity, especially in the Balkans and throughout Europe, is seen as the greatest obstacle to this dream. A community such as the Muslim Turks, who boldly defend Islam, place faith at the center of life, and if necessary struggle for it, is unbearable for Greece.

The background of the so-called identity of Greek Muslims

This is why the policies of pressure, denial, and assimilation against the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace are systematically maintained. To conceal these policies, the Greek state has produced the concept of “Greek Muslims” and launched a project to turn us into “baptized Muslims.”

Some may underestimate this situation and say: “After becoming Muslim, what harm is there in also being Greek? Islam rejects racism anyway.” Yet what is at stake here is not merely a change of name; it is the draining of the spirit of Islam, reducing it to a belief system under the guidance of the Church, and ultimately erasing the trace of Turkness identified with Islam.

There is a fundamental truth we must not forget in Western Thrace: Turkness here is not merely an identity but also the name of an existence. If this identity is destroyed by enemies or abandoned by us, then everything belonging to the Turks of Western Thrace—its language, culture, and faith—will be wiped out together.

In Western Thrace, Turkness is not only an ethnic belonging but also the root, the voice, and the soul of a people. The destruction of Turkness means the destruction of Islam, which makes the Turk a Turk in Western Thrace.

The “Greek Muslims” notion of the fascist Orthodox Greek mentality refers to an identity that takes orders not from Allah but from the Church (the Patriarchate), that speaks in the name of Islam while rejecting Turkness, and even becoming hostile to it. And of course, this is the exact opposite of our struggle.

We appeal to the international community

The world hears of the general press freedom violations in Greece. But censorship in Western Thrace remains behind an invisible wall. While many press freedom organizations in Europe report the pressures faced by Greek journalists, the voice of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace is largely unheard. Because the Greek government defines these issues as “domestic matters,” and the international press often does not pay enough attention to what happens in this region.

But we are determined to overcome this wall. As Millet Newspaper, with our English-language publications under the name Millet News, we have now started to directly reach the international community. Many human rights organizations, domestic and foreign media outlets are contacting us, saying they want to use our news and conduct interviews. This shows that: Even if the truth is suppressed, sooner or later it will find an echo.

My call to the Turkish public and media

We wish for public opinion in Türkiye to be more closely concerned with their brothers and sisters in Western Thrace. Because in this geography, we are struggling not only on our own behalf but also for the honor of a nation and an ummah, for the memory and dignity of Islam.

As Millet Newspaper, despite all pressures, we will not break our pen. Because our pen does not merely write news; it underlines the truth, it records history.

Greece cannot democratize unless it applies freedom of expression not only to the majority but also to the minority. Freedom of the press is not only to criticize the government but also to defend the right to exist with one’s identity.

On this occasion, while thanking the esteemed owners and responsibles of İnsicam magazine for not remaining indifferent to the injustices applied to our brothers and sisters in Western Thrace and for featuring it in their August 2025 (54th) issue, I also call upon all press outlets in Türkiye, intellectuals, and human rights defenders to be the voice of the Turks of Western Thrace and to give more support to our struggle for rights.

It must not be forgotten: Those who remain silent are accomplices of those who silence the oppressed. And we are not among the silent ones, but among those who raise their voice for the truth.