Turks of Western Thrace: Difference between revisions

[[File:Thrace region.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The region of [[Thrace]]. West Thrace

'''Turks of Western Thrace''' ({{lang-tr|{{italics correction|Batı Trakya Türkleri}}}},; {{lang-el|Τούρκοι της Δυτικής Θράκης|Toúrkoi tis Dytikís Thrákis}}) are [[Turkish people|ethnic Turks]] who live in [[Western Thrace]], in the province of [[East Macedonia and Thrace]] in [[Northern Greece]].

According to the Greek census of 1991, there were approximately 50,000 Turksof Turkish origin in Western Thrace, out of the approximately 98,000 strong [[Muslim minority of Greece]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs|title=The Muslim Minority of Greek Thrace|url=http://www.hri.org/MFA/foreign/musminen.htm|access-date=2010-01-20}}</ref> Other sources estimate the size of the TurkishMuslim community between 90,000 and 120,000.<ref name="Whitman 1990 loc=i">{{Harvnb|Whitman|1990|loc=i}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Levinson|1998|loc=41}}.</ref> TheTheir Turkscommunity of Western Thrace areis not to be confused with [[Pomaks]] nor with [[Muslim Roma]] people of the same region, counting 35% and 15% of the Muslim minority respectively.<ref>[http://www.hri.org/MFA/foreign/musmingr.htm Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών, Υπηρεσία Ενημέρωσης: Μουσουλμάνικη μειονότητα Θράκης]</ref><ref>[[Greek Helsinki Monitor]]: [http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/bhr/english/organizations/ghm_mrgg_religious_freedom_2002.rtf Religious freedom in Greece]</ref>

Parts of Western Thrace were overrun by the expanding [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1354 and remained in Ottoman control until 1913. During this time, the Turkish community grew to outnumber the Greek community four to one and owned close to 84% of the land. By August 31, 1913, the Turks of Western Thrace had formed the first 'Turkish republic', the [[Provisional Government of Western Thrace]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Ataöv|1992|loc=90}}.</ref> However, it was taken over by the [[Kingdom of Bulgaria]] on October 25, 1913, which had been victorious in the [[First Balkan War]]. [[France]] occupied the area at the end of the [[First World War]], following the defeat of Bulgaria, and it passed into Greek hands under the [[Treaty of Sèvres]] in August 1920.<ref>{{Harvnb|Panayi|1999|loc=51}}.</ref> Under a protocol of the same year, the Turks of Western Thrace were exempted from the 1922-19231922–1923 [[exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey|exchange of populations agreement between Greece and Turkey]] and were granted rights within the framework of the [[Lausanne Treaty]]. However, since 1923, between 300,000 and 400,000 Turks have left Western Thrace most of which have immigrated to [[Turkey]].<ref name="Hirschon 2003 loc=107">{{Harvnb|Hirschon|2003|loc=107}}.</ref><ref name="Whitman 1990 loc=2">{{Harvnb|Whitman|1990|loc=2}}.</ref> The actual Ottoman-era Greek Muslims of [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]] had been included among those 'Turks' expatriated to Turkey in 1924. including the [[Vallahades]]. In contrast, the Western Thrace Turks are completely distinct from those referred to as Greek Muslims and were exempt from the terms of the population exchange.

A number of estimates and censuses during the 1912-19201912–1920 period gave the following results about the ethnic distribution of the area that would become known as Western Thrace:<ref name=Aarbakke>{{cite book | title=The muslim minority of Greek Thrace | author=Vemund Aarbakke | year=2000 | publisher=Phd thesis / University of Bergen | url=http://www.batitrakya.org/yayinlar/arastirmalar/indir/the-muslim-minority-of-greek-thrace.html}}

| colspan=9 align="center"|General Distribution of Population in Western Thrace (1912-19201912–1920)

| 1912 estimate || 120,000 || -– || 40,000 || 60,000 || 4,000 || 224,000

| 1920 Greek || 93,273|| -– || 25,677 ||74,416|| 6,038 || 201,404

| [[Soufli]] || 14,736 (46.4%) || 11,542 (36.3%) || 5,490 (17.3%) || -– || -– || 31,768 (100%)

| [[Alexandroupolis]] || 38,553 || 26,856 || 9,228 || 17,518 || 2,705 || 9,102 || -– ||

| [[Soufli]] || 32,299 ||25,758 || 11,517 || 14,211 || 5,454 || 1,117 || -– || -–

| [[Xanthi]] || 64,744 || 36,859 || 18,249 || 18,613 || 27,882 || -– || -– ||

| [[Didymoteicho]] || 34,621 || 31,408 || 21,759 || 9,649 || 3,213 || -– || -– || -–

| [[Orestiada]] || 39,386 || 33,764 || 22,087 || 11,677 || 6,072 || -– || -– || -–

The Turkish community has a strong presence in the [[Komotini]] ({{lang-tr|Gümülcine}}) and [[Xanthi]] ({{lang-tr|İskeçe}}) departments of [[East Macedonia and Thrace]], while it is scarcely present in the [[Evros prefecture]], the closest to the international boundary with Turkey. According to estimates, Muslims as a whole, represented 36-3836–38% of the Rhodopi Department population, 12-2412–24% in the Xanthi Department and less than 5% in the Evros Department.<ref name="kotzamanis2008">{{cite journal|last=Kotzamanis|first=Byron |author2=Agorastakis, Michalis |date=August 25–29, 2008|title=La minorité musulmane en Thrace: La mesure du caché|journal=Colloque Démographie et cultures|publisher=Association Internationale des Démographes de Langue Française (AIDELF)|location= Québec|language=fr|url=http://www.aidelf.ined.fr/colloques/Quebec/aidelf-2008/IMG/pdf/KotzamanisT.pdf|access-date=January 23, 2010}}</ref>

| colspan=8 align="center"|The Muslims of Western Thrace between 1919- and 1995<ref>Old and New Islam in Greece: From Historical Minorities to Immigrant Newcomers, Konstantinos Tsitselikis, page 568-569, 2012</ref>

| Bulgarian 1919 (A) || 96,908 || 79,539 || 17,369 || -– || -–

| Bulgarian 1919 (B) || 98.035|| 77,726|| 20,309 || -– || -–

| French 1920 || 86,578|| 74,730|| 11,848 || -– || -–

| Greek 1920 3rd version || 100,491|| 93,522 || 6,969 || -– || -–

Article 37 through 45 of the [[Lausanne Treaty]] set forth the obligations of the Greek and Turkish governments to protect the Turkish and Greek minorities in their territories. Each country agreed to provide the following:<ref>{{Harvnb|Whitman|1990|loc=5-65–6}}.</ref>

The Lausanne Treaty defined the rights of the Muslim communities in Western Thrace, on the basis of religion, not ethnicity, as well as maintained a balance between the minority communities of both countries (Turks in Greece and [[Greeks in Turkey]]) on reciprocal obligations toward each of those minorities. The Treaty contained specific obligations for their cultural and religious rights. These have been largely respected, in contrast to measures taken by successive Turkish governments against the Greek minority in Turkey (like forced labor battalions, the [[Istanbul pogrom]] and [[Varlik Vergisi]]), a minority that is nearly eliminated today (from 70,000 in 1923 to 3,000 in 2000).<ref>Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: p. 8-98–9</ref>

There are presently two Turkish MPs from the Western Thrace portion of [[East Macedonia and Thrace]], both of whom are affiliated to the Panhellenic Socialist Movement: [[Tsetin Mantatzi]] (Xanthi) and [[Achmet Chatziosman]] (Rhodope), former president (1999–2007) of the [[Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace]] created by former (1989) MP [[Sadik Achmet]] in 1991.<ref>Βιογραφικά -– [http://www.parliament.gr/synthesh/mp.asp?MPID=909 ΟΣΜΑΝ ΑΧΜΕΤ ΧΑΤΖΗ, ΒΟΥΛΕΥΤΗΣ ΡΟΔΟΠΗΣ, ΣΗΜΑ ΤΟΥ ΠΑΝΕΛΛΗΝΙΟΥ ΣΟΣΙΑΛΙΣΤΙΚΟΥ ΚΙΝΗΜΑΤΟΣ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090907201204/http://www.parliament.gr/synthesh/mp.asp?MPID=909 |date=2009-09-07 }}, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, accessed on September 24, 2009</ref>

For SYRIZA (which presently has no MP in Xanthi or Rhodope), Chasan Malkots and Chousein Zeimpek are candidates in Xanthi,<ref>[http://www.syriza.gr/syriza/region?p=Νομός ΞΑΝΘΗΣ Νομός ΞΑΝΘΗΣ -– Υποψήφιοι]</ref> and in Rhodope<ref>[http://www.syriza.gr/syriza/region?p=Νομός ΡΟΔΟΠΗΣ Νομός ΡΟΔΟΠΗΣ -– Υποψήφιοι]</ref> Dr. [[Moustafa Moustafa]] (former MP) and Tzelalentin Giourtsou.<ref name=zaman>Hasan Haci, [http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-188768-turkish-minority-vote-worth-its-weight-in-gold-in-greek-elections.html Turkish minority vote worth its weight in gold in Greek elections], Today's Zaman, October 3, 2009</ref>

[[Image:2019 European Parliament election in Greece result.svg|upright=1.5|thumb|{{colorboxcolor box|green}} Turkish minority's [[Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace]] emerged as the first party in [[Xanthi (regional unit)|Xanthi]] and [[Rhodope (regional unit)|Rhodope]] in [[2019 European Parliament election in Greece|2019 European Parliament elections]].]]

In [[2014 European Parliament election in Greece|2014]] and [[2019 European Parliament election in Greece]], [[Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace]] (DEB) has emerged as the first party in [[Xanthi (regional unit)|Xanthi]] and [[Rhodope (regional unit)|Rhodope]] regional units, under Moustafa Ali Tsavous, and most currently under [[Tsidem Asafoglou]], respectively. In 2019 elections, DEB received 38% of the votes in Xanthi regional unit and 25.24% of the votes in Rhodope regional unit.<ref name="2019results">{{cite news |title=Yunanistan'da AP seçimlerinde DEB başarısı |url=https://www.dunya.com/dunya/yunanistanda-ap-secimlerinde-deb-basarisi-haberi-446557 |date=31 May 2019|access-date=21 October 2019 |agency=[[Anadolu Agency]] |publisher=Dünya}}</ref> DEB also received 1.30% of the votes in [[Evros (regional unit)|Evros]] regional unit. While in the overall region of [[Eastern Macedonia and Thrace]], the party came in as the 3rd biggest party after top 2 national parties [[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]] and [[Syriza]].{{cncitation needed|date=March 2022}}

According to the former Article 19 of the 1955 Citizenship Law (No. 3370), a person of non-Greek ethnic origin leaving Greece without the intention of returning may be declared as having lost Greek nationality. According to the Greek government, between 1955 and 1998, approximately 60,000 Greek Muslim individuals, predominantly Turkish, were deprived of their citizenship under Article 19. Of these 60,000, approximately 7,182 lost their citizenship between 1981 and 1997.<ref name="hrw.org">[[Human Rights Watch]], [https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/greece/Greec991-06.htm Greece -– The Turks of Western Thrace], January 1999</ref> The application of this law to the Turks of Western Thrace was a retaliatory measure in response to the devastating state-sponsored pogrom which [[Istanbul pogrom|targeted the Greeks of Istanbul]] in September 1955.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Anagnostou | first = Dia | title = Deepening Democracy or Defending the Nation? The Europeanisation of minority Rights and Greek Citizenship | journal = West European Politics | volume = 28 | issue = 2 | pages = 338 | year = 2005 | doi = 10.1080/01402380500059785| s2cid = 153877386 }}</ref> The pogrom precipitated an exodus of ethnic Greeks from Turkey. Article 19 was repealed in 1998, though not retroactively.<ref name="hrw.org"/>

Since the Treaty of Lausanne used the criterion of religion to refer to the ethnic communities, the Greek Government has usually insisted that the basis of identification of a minority is religious and not ethnic (or national).<ref>Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: p. 6</ref> ThusSuccessive Greek officialsGovernment referpolicies refused to acknowledge the Muslimexistence minorityof an ethnic Turkish community in [[Northern Greece]], and insisted on referring to Western Thrace Turks as [[Greek Muslims]], whosuggesting that they were basednot mainlyof inethnic WesternTurkish Thrace.origin Muslimbut communitieswere alsothe liveddescendants inof Ottoman-era [[Greek Macedonia]],converts to Islam like the [[EpirusVallahades]], and other [[CreteGreek Muslims]] (seeof [[CretanGreek TurksMacedonia]]).<ref>{{Harvnb|Whitman|1990|loc=14}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Whitman|1990|loc=15}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Madianou|2005|loc=34}}.</ref> andThis werepolicy was introduced immediately after the descendantsunilateral [[Declaration of Ottoman-eraIndependence Greekof convertsthe toTurkish IslamRepublic whoof joinedNorthern Cyprus|declaration of independence]] of the [[Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus]] in 1983 on lands that once had an 82% Greek majority before becoming [[Milletrefugees]] (Ottomanduring the [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus|Turkish Empire)invasion]] in 1974. However,The theseGreek particulargovernment communitiesdeclared werethat relocatedit fromwas Greecea measure to Turkeyavert followingthe possibility of the Greek region of [[PopulationEastern exchangeMacedonia betweenand GreeceThrace]] andbecoming Turkey|Populationa exchange"second signedCyprus" betweensometime in the twofuture countriesor of being [[Cession|ceded]] into 1922-23,[[Turkey]] withon onlythe basis of the Greekethnic Muslimsorigin of its Muslim inhabitants.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Antoniou|first=Dimitris|title=Western ThraceThracian exemptedMuslims fromin itAthens|journal=Balkanologie|year=2005|volume=IX|issue=1–2|url=http://balkanologie.revues.org/index579.html}}</ref>

[[imageFile:Batı Trakya Vakfı Cami.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Western Thrace Foundation Mosque in [[Zeytinburnu]], [[İstanbul]] Istanbul]]

There are some members of the [[Greek Muslims|Greek Muslim]] community among the some 350,000 [[Greeks in Germany|Greeks living in Germany]] who are Turks or who espouse a Turkish identity.<ref>{{Harvnb|Westerlund|Svanberg|1999|loc=320-321320–321}}.</ref> The majority of Turks immigrated from [[Western Thrace]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Council of Europe: Parliamentary Assembly|2007|loc=118}}.</ref> In the 1960s and 1970s, the Thracian tobacco industry was affected by a severe crisis and many tobacco growers lost their income. This resulted in many Turks leaving their homes and immigrating to [[Germany]] with estimates suggesting that today there are now between 12,000<ref>{{Harvnb|Clogg|2002|loc=84}}.</ref> and 25,000<ref>{{cite web|author=International Assembly of Western Thrace Turks|title=POLITICAL AND CIVIL ORGANISATION COMMISSION|url=http://www.batitrakya.info/btt/Content.aspx?mID=4;12&l=en-US|access-date=2010-05-19}}</ref> residing in Germany.

There are an estimated 600-700600–700 Western Thrace Turks living in [[London]] although this does not include those who are British-born. The total number living outside London is unknown.<ref name="Şentürk 2008 loc=427"/> However even their small number, Western Thrace Turks in the UK have their own community ('''Association of Western Thrace Turks UK''')<ref>[http://www.batitrakya.org.uk/ Official website of Association of Western Thrace Turks in UK]</ref>

*[[:tr:Hakan Çavuşoğlu|Hakan Çavuşoğlu]], Turkish Deputy Prime Minister<ref>{{cite web|year=2017|title=Turkish minister born in Greece seeks to improve ties with Athens|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/diplomacy/2017/11/03/turkish-minister-born-in-greece-seeks-to-improve-ties-with-athens|publisher=Daily Sabah|access-date=18 November 2017}}</ref>

*{{citation |last=Sugar|first=Peter F.|year=1983|title=Southeastern Europe under Ottoman rule, 1354-18041354–1804|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=0-295-96033-7}}.

* [https://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/g/greece/greece924.pdf Human Rights Watch document: ''Greece -– Improvements for Turkish minority -– Problems remain'', April 1992]

* [https://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/g/greece/greec991.pdf Human Rights Watch document: ''Greece -– The Turks of Western Thrace'', January 1999]