FEP Party celebrates 29 January, the symbol of struggle of Western Thrace Turks
FEP Party celebrated the "29 January National Resistance and Solidarity Day" of the Western Thrace Turks who struggled for "Turkish" identity and rights in 1988 and 1990.
Celebrating the struggle of the Western Thrace Turks who took to the roads both on 29 January 1988 and 29 January 1990, demanding the recognition of "Turkish" identity and the granting of minority rights, the FEP Party administration stated in its written statement that the struggle will continue in the future.
The statement of the party administration regarding 29 January is as follows:
"29 January 1988 is the day when the Western Thrace Turks demonstrated a meaningful and honourable resistance and shouted to the world that they would not submit to senseless oppression and their national identity. Two years after the same day, on 29 January 1990, the racist mentality that banned the commemoration of this National Resistance Day and gave the opportunity to loot the shops of Turkish shopkeepers caused indescribable pain to our people. 29 January is the day when our minority loudly expressed that it is Turkish against those who deny its ethnic identity, that it wants to live in this country without abandoning its Turkish traditions, living in its own cultural circle, feeling itself as an honoured citizen of this country, despite discrimination. As the Friendship, Equality and Peace Party, we will never forget and let it be forgotten to commemorate this heroism, especially our late leader Dr. Sadık Ahmet, on the anniversaries of today, to be grateful to the heroes and to wish mercy to the deceased. The Turkish Minority of Western Thrace is a minority whose rights and law are determined by international treaty. We want all the states of the world to recognise this as such. We have waited patiently for the restoration of our minority rights that have been usurped for years. We woke up and continue to wake up every new day with the hope that it will get better. Unfortunately, no progress has been seen in the acquisition of our rights until today. Our country Greece continues to usurp our rights by imposing many laws that are to the detriment of our minority without listening to the voice and wishes of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace and imposing them on us. In the face of the human rights violations of our homeland Greece, which is a European Union country, we are concerned about the silence and unresponsiveness of the European States in the name of humanity and peace. These double standard policies make us question our belief in concepts such as democracy, human rights and freedom of expression, which constitute the foundations of the European Union. The mentality that said there are no Turks in Western Thrace years ago continues to darken our lives in every field. We want to be a minority in our own country where our rights are respected, where our schools are not closed on flimsy pretexts, where the heads of our organisations who express their opinions are not called for investigation and sued, in short, where we are not intimidated and silenced. We are never hopeless. There is no goal that cannot be achieved in unity and solidarity. As the Friendship Equality Peace Party, we commemorate and celebrate the 29 January National Resistance and Solidarity Day with respect. We continue our struggle with the enlightening sentence of our leader Dr Sadık Ahmet.
"I am being taken to prison because I am a Turk. If being a Turk is a crime, I repeat here, I am a Turk and I will remain a Turk." Dr. Sadık AHMET
