President of the Western Thrace Turks Solidarity Association Hasan Küçük issued a congratulatory message on the 109th anniversary of the establishment of the Western Thrace Turkish Republic, the first Turkish Republic established in history.
Chairman Hasan Küçük; “As the grandchildren of the founders of the Western Thrace Turkish Republic, we are experiencing this honor and pride on the 31th anniversary of the establishment of the first Turkish Republic in history, which was established on August 1913, 109. In Greece, where we are entrusted with the Lausanne Peace Treaty signed in 1923 in those lands where we are a minority today, despite all the pressures, forced migration and assimilation policies of Greece, with the power, support of the motherland and our own beliefs and values, Western Thrace as a Muslim Turkish Minority We continue to live in . ” said.
He continued his small statement as follows:
“The Turkish Republic of Western Thrace, the first Turkish Republic established in history, was founded on August 31, 1913, from Western Thrace, which includes today's Komotini, Xanthi and Alexandroupoli provinces between the Meriç and Karasu rivers, and Kardzhali in today's southern Bulgaria to the north, Paşmaklı to the west and Ortaköy to the east, in Greece. It was established to include the region up to the border. The state has its own army, flag, stamp and passport application has been started. The flag consists of a crescent and 3 stars on black, green and white colors.
The life of the state, which was founded with the support of Greece, which did not belong to the Western Thrace region yet, lasted 56 days. He took his responsibilities under the Treaty of Athens signed with the Ottoman Empire on 29 November 1913. Thus, Western Thrace Turks living in Greece had equal status with Greek citizens in terms of social, cultural, economic and religious freedoms. In the continuation of our rights under the Treaty of Athens, we see that the minority rights of the Western Thrace Turkish minority living in Western Thrace are once again guaranteed by the Treaty of Lausanne.
Our current Turkish and Muslim identity in Western Thrace is an undeniable fact. Greece has to fulfill its obligations arising from the Treaty of Athens and the Treaty of Lausanne. It is far from being a rational method to expect policies based on denial to be successful.
In these days, when the patience of the Turkish nation, whose past is full of glorious victories, is tested, the usurpation of rights of the Turks of Western Thrace is on the agenda, and the patience of the minority people, to whom the ignorant rulers brutally approached with racist feelings, is also being tested. Religious autonomy, which is tried to be ignored with legal regulations, attempts to regulate the society, the usurpation of the office of mufti, the plunder of foundations, as well as regulations related to intervention in the religious sphere, are indispensable for this society, our minority.
Greek rulers; They need to see that they cannot get anywhere with malicious state policies that stay away from a solution, an understanding that is far from being sustainable, aiming to destroy the minority, and impositions that do not coincide with social reality. In addition to good neighborly relations, the way for countries that have the title of guarantor to contribute to the peace in the region is clear and necessary actions should be taken. Those responsible for the atmosphere created in the region by straining Turkish-Greek relations should know that in a hostile struggle by the parties that have to live together in this geography, the whole region will be damaged. There will be no tangible gains that can come into the hands of those who block diplomatic channels and act with fait accompli instead of dialogue.
We, the grandchildren of those who had the honor of founding the first Turkish Republic established in history 109 years ago, today as members of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority, present to the public that our struggle will continue within the framework of legal, just and human rights registered by the guarantor countries with international assurance.”
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