Greece continues to deny the ethnic identity of Turks in the country

Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kaymakçı, President of Rhodes Kos and Dodecanese Turks Culture and Solidarity Association, stated that the historical pains of the population exchange between Türkiye and Greece on 30 January 1923 are still continuing and said: "Turks living in Rhodes and Kos and Western Thrace are still facing ethnic problems today. The Greek government recognises the Turks here as 'Greek Muslims' and denies their Turkish identity and ethnicity."

Prof. Dr. Kaymakçı told AA correspondent about the forced migration and the problems of Turks in Greece on the occasion of the 101st anniversary of the population exchange between Türkiye and Greece.

Kaymakçı said that the forced migration between Türkiye and Greece on 30 January 1923, in addition to the Lausanne Peace Treaty, was called population exchange, and the people who were subjected to migration were called exchange migrants.

Pointing out that religion was one of the main conditions observed in the exchange, Kaymakçı said: "With the exchange, 500 thousand Muslim Turks had to migrate from Greece to Türkiye. On the other hand, 1 million 200 thousand Orthodox Christians migrated from Anatolia to Greece."

Underlining that the main criterion in the exchange was not race or language but religion, Kaymakçı continued as follows

"Within the scope of the Türkiye-Greece population exchange, only the Greeks living in Istanbul and Gökçeada (Imbros) and Bozcaada in Türkiye and only the Turks living in Western Thrace in Greece were exempted in those years. Rhodes and Kos, where thousands of Turks live today and which was under Italian administration at the time, were not included in the scope of the exchange. Those who came to Türkiye from Rhodes and Kos have the status of immigrants, not exchangers."

"The Greek government denies the Turkish identity and ethnicity of those in the region"

Noting that although more than a century has passed since the population exchange, the ethnic, cultural and religious problems of the Turks who were not included in the exchange continue, Kaymakçı said: "Turks living in Rhodes and Kos and Western Thrace are still facing ethnic problems today. The Greek government recognises the Turks here as 'Greek Muslims' and denies their Turkish identity and ethnicity."

Stating that the Greek authorities' unwillingness to recognise the status of Turks leads to various problems and victimisation, Kaymakçı said: "Turks living in Rhodes, Kos and the Dodecanese Islands and Turks in Western Thrace are prevented from citizenship, learning Turkish, religious freedom and worship rights, and are oppressed with hate speech. In addition to this, serious problems arise in the issues of foundations and the protection of the cultural heritage left by the Ottoman Turks."

Referring to the problems faced by the Turks in the region, Kaymakçı continued as follows

"Cultural genocide is one of the main problems faced by the Turks in Rhodes and Kos and Western Thrace. In order to realise cultural genocide against the Turks who could not be exchanged, the Greek administration has implemented various methods over the years. The most important of these is cultural and educational policies. The schools in Rhodes and Kos, which provide Turkish education on the basis of bilingualism, have been closed since 1972. The closure of Turkish schools left the Turkish community in the islands in a difficult situation. Turks from Rhodes and Kos, who attend public schools in Greece, are exempted from religion classes, but they cannot use their right to religious education. Greek governments recognise the Turks living in Rhodes and Kos as Muslims, not as Turks. The Turks of Rhodes and Kos, who are defined as 'Muslim Greeks', are prevented from learning about their Muslim identity."

"The exclusion of Turkish leads to a decrease in the level of education"

Kaymakçı pointed out that the Turkish minority also faced serious problems in the field of education and said the following:

"Turks have limited access to secondary and high schools. The level of education of Turks is well below that of Greece in general. Turks can hardly have professions at the undergraduate level such as doctor and engineer. It is known that the education of Turks in Rhodes and Kos does not exceed the primary school level. In this context, it is observed that the 'Turkish language', which is the means of expressing the culture of the Turks in the region, and cultural transmission tools such as education and religion are facing great dangers in the face of the 'cultural purification policy' implemented by Greece."

Explaining that the educational and intellectual level of the Turkish population in the region was quite high during the Ottoman period and the establishment of Türkiye, Kaymakçı said: "The attempts to destroy the Turkish cultural identity brought about the forgetting of the past of Rhodes and Kos Turks. In Rhodes and Kos, there were schools at primary, secondary and high school level, which were especially qualified for their time. The Turks who studied in these schools assumed important roles both in the Ottoman period and in the foundation periods of the Republic."

"Both countries and peoples have no choice but friendship"

Emphasising that the improvement of relations between Greece and Türkiye is directly related to the existence of Turks living in the region, Kaymakçı said: "One of the most important problems in Turkish-Greek relations is the situation of the Turkish minority living in Greece, which cannot be exchanged. Greece's attitude towards the Turks here directly affects the relations of both countries."

Underlining that Türkiye and Greece, as neighbours, should solve their problems and share the geography with lasting friendship despite everything, Kaymakçı concluded his words as follows:

"Türkiye and Greece are two countries in the same latitudinal zone and share the Aegean Sea. Both countries and their peoples have no choice but friendship. The fight between Turks and Greeks is fuelled as much as possible by imperial powers. This is one of the important facts to be taken into consideration. Transforming Turkish-Greek relations from past to present into permanent friendship is not an easy process, but it is a necessity."