Kırım Vakfı to open new conference season with Dr. Sadık Ahmet event
Kırım Vakfı will open its 2026–2027 “History and Culture Conferences” series in Ankara on October 3 with an event focusing on the life and political legacy of Dr. Sadık Ahmet, a prominent figure in the history of the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace.
The conference, titled “Dr. Sadık Ahmet,” will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Bekir Sıtkı Çobanzade Library inside the Dr. Ahmed İhsan Kırımlı Social Facility in Ankara. The event will feature Işık Sadık Ahmet, Dr. Sadık Ahmet’s wife, and Dr. Murat Derin, a faculty member in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University.
The programme marks the fourth season of the Kırım Vakfı’s “History and Culture Conferences,” which began in 2023–2024 and continued with a third season in 2025–2026.
SADIK AHMET'S POLITICAL CAREER AND MINORITY RIGHTS STRUGGLE
According to the organisers, the conference will examine Sadık Ahmet’s political activities concerning the rights and freedoms of the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace, his tenure as a member of the Greek Parliament and his role in establishing the Friendship, Equality and Peace (DEB) Party.
Sadık Ahmet entered the Greek Parliament as the first Turkish minority MP from Western Thrace, according to the Kırım Vakfı. He subsequently founded the DEB Party, described by the foundation as the first political party established by the Turkish Minority in Western Thrace.
The foundation also highlights his campaigns and political activities concerning minority rights, noting that he faced multiple prosecutions and prison sentences in Greece.
IŞIK SADIK AHMET AND MURAT DERİN TO SPEAK
Işık Sadık Ahmet will discuss her husband's life and political activities from her perspective as his wife and longtime companion. She later served as president of the DEB Party for two terms following his death, according to the organisers.
Dr. Murat Derin will discuss his academic work on Sadık Ahmet and the historical and political context surrounding his career.
Following the conference, Derin will sign his book “Beklenen Güneş: Dr. Sadık Ahmet – Bir Liderin Hayatı, Mücadelesi ve Mirası” (“The Expected Sun: Dr. Sadık Ahmet – The Life, Struggle and Legacy of a Leader”). The book was previously introduced at a panel in Gümülcine (Komotini) in 2025.
The conference is open to the public and will take place at the Kırım Vakfı's facility in Mürsel Uluç Mahallesi, Dikmen, Çankaya, Ankara.
