The Cultural Affiliation of the Pomaks in Greece’s northern metropolis of Xanthi issued a damning assertion just lately, forward of Sunday’s personal go to of Turkish Overseas Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Western Thrace.
The Affiliation mentioned that Cavusoglu just isn’t welcome of their area and declared him a ”persona non grata.”
The rationale for this hostile response on behalf of the Pomaks is the truth that Cavusoglu and the Turkish authorities insist on calling the Greek Muslim minority of Western Thrace ”Turkish.”
”After we died for these lands, we didn’t know [speak] Turkish,” their assertion says.
”Over the latest a long time, the Pomaks and Roma of Thrace have been subjected to a cultural and linguistic genocide by Turkish settlers,” the damning assertion continues, solely so as to add that ”the minority is one and it’s outlined by the Treaty of Lausanne; it’s Muslim and it consists of communities which have just one factor in frequent: Their faith!”
Who’re the Pomaks
The Pomaks are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting Bulgaria, northeastern Greece, and primarily northwestern Turkey.
Roughly 220,000 Pomaks stay in Bulgaria and are recognized there as ”Bulgarian Muslims.”
In Greece, their quantity is roughly 50,000 folks, who stay primarily in villages throughout Western Thrace often called ”Pomakohoria,” that means the villages of the Pomaks.
The time period ”Pomak” has additionally been used as a wider designation, together with additionally the Slavic Muslim populations of North Macedonia and Albania, aside from these of Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey.
The Pomaks converse varied Bulgarian dialects and people spoken in Greece and Turkey are known as the Pomak language, which the Greek authorities now attempt to protect with minority colleges in Western Thrace educating it.
The neighborhood in Greece is usually fluent within the Greek language, and a lot of them have a powerful ethnic Greek identification regardless of their spiritual distinction in comparison with Greece’s prevalent faith, Orthodox Christianity.
Nevertheless, there may be additionally an rising variety of people who undertake Turkish as their first language because of schooling and household hyperlinks with the Turkish folks.
Cavusoglu to Go to Greece Regardless of Tensions
The go to of Cavusoglu to Greece on Could 31 has been scheduled to carry talks together with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias, and has sparked destructive reactions, primarily resulting from his intention to go privately to Western Thrace the day earlier than.
The Turkish Minister confirmed his go to with the state broadcaster TRT on Could 26.
Cavusoglu had mentioned earlier this week that his talks with the Greek Overseas Minister additionally purpose to arrange for a attainable assembly between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The go to comes greater than a month after Greek Overseas Minister Nikos Dendias held talks in Ankara the place Cavusoglu and his counterpart had a war of words at a joint press conference.
The 2 Ministers argued in entrance of cameras in the course of the press convention in a uncommon heated public trade. They remained at odds over plenty of points, regardless of hopes that their assembly may have opened a chance to minimize tensions over maritime boundaries and power exploration rights within the Jap Mediterranean.
The go to of Dendias to Turkey was the primary between the 2 nations after tensions rose to a fever pitch in 2020 over maritime boundaries and power exploration within the Jap Mediterranean, resulting in a navy buildup that featured warships from the 2 international locations dealing with off.