Cultural genocide being commited in a cemetery of İskeçe

The Horozlu (Petinos) Ottoman Muslim Turkish Cemetery of the Bulustra (Avdira) Municipality in İskeçe (Xanthi) is being destroyed by the municipality.

The destruction of the cemetery by the municipality, which is clearly a Muslim Turkish Cemetery based on records in the land registry office as well as graves and tombstones from the Ottoman Empire, had a shocking effect in the region.

Despite the fact that Bulustra Mayor Giorgos Tsitiridis acknowledged that the place in question was a Muslim cemetery, he claimed that it was not registered anywhere and that the board of trustees did not exist, and he destroyed the historical cemetery. Tsitiridis is preparing to destroy the cemetery and build sports facilities and a playground in its place. It is also mentioned that the project in question has been planned and that funding has been secured.

On Tuesday, March 15, construction equipment, vehicles, and personnel from the Municipality of Bulustra began destroying the graves with construction equipment, disrespecting the Muslims buried there.

On the same day, during the Bulustra Municipality (Avdira) council meeting, it was said that the matter had come to the fore, that there had been tense talks, and that it had aroused a strong reaction, particularly among Turkish Muslim council members.

Members of the Western Thrace Muslim Turkish Minority living in İskeçe strongly objected to the news that another Muslim cemetery in the region was set to be destroyed.

It was stated that two Turkish Minority MPs in Xanthi, Hüseyin Zeybek and Burhan Baran, members of the minority Avdira Municipality councilors and some common-sense kinsmen took initiatives to stop the destruction of the Muslim cemetery.

As Millet Media Group, we are following the case moment by moment. We will continue to report the developments on the subject.