Turks living in Aegean islands hope for a ‘democratic initiative' from Greek government

The report on two Turkish Aegean islands, Gökçeada (Imbros) and Bozcada (Tenedos), which stresses that the Greek population on these islands was forced to leave their land, has sparked debates on the need of giving more rights to the Turks in the islands.

Furthermore, Swedish reporter for the PACE committee on legal affairs and human rights Andreas Gross, who prepared the report, has said that he will collect information about the situation of Turkish minorities on the Greek islands of Rhodes (Rodos) and Kos (İstanköy). Members of the committee, in addition to Turkish and Greek parliamentarians, will go to Rhodes and Kos to research how Greece treats the nearly 5,000 ethnic Turks residing on these islands.

Main problem: Education in Turkish

Education in the mother language constitutes one of the main problems Turks on the islands face. Since 1972, when education in the mother language was abolished in the Aegean Sea by the Greek government, Turkish children's encounters with their mother language have been restricted with their family and close relatives.

The Turkish Fethipaşa library on the biggest island of "the twelve islands," Rodos. Rodos was ruled by Ottomans until Italy captured the island in 1912, and the island was given to Greece in 1947. Greek citizens of Turkish origin complain of limited freedom of use of their mother language.

Yeşim Zambeli, who was born just one year after the abolishment of Turkish education, is one of the victims of the absence of courses in mother language in the Greek schools. She was educated in Greek during her primary and secondary school years and can only speak Turkish. Her daughter, Zümre Zambeli, is obliged to go school without Turkish courses and has difficulties in both languages but especially in Turkish. “Until I went to school, I spoke only Turkish, but in school I must learn Greek. Then I speak Greek in school and Turkish only at home. Now, I have to go to Turkish courses in summers in Turkey and always watch Turkish channels to not forget my Turkish” said Zümre.

Konstantinos Tsitselikis, an expert on human rights, underlined the ineffectiveness of EU membership on Greece's minority rights. He noted that Greece's membership to the union has created only indirect impacts on the minority issue, providing financial support to local administrations and emphasizing reports and discussions. “The discussions and later steps taken by the European Parliament would push the Greek government to alter legal regulations reflecting a discriminative attitude,” Tsitselikis said about Greece's legal changes in terms of abolishment of citizenship and the closure of a checkpoint on the Bulgaria border.

Turks living in the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea are increasingly hoping for the elimination of discrimination against them and especially after the release of a report from the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly's minority rights committee, which urges a ‘democratic initiative’ for the Greek government. Education in the mother tongue constitutes one of the main problems of Turks living on the islands

Turks living in Rhodes and Kos who speak both Turkish and Greek are considered not to require legal protections in the framework of the Treaty of Lausanne, and thus are deprived of the right of receiving an education in their mother language. In the 33 schools throughout Greece which implement special curriculums for people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, none have specifically cultural and language courses.

Furthermore, the recognition of the mufti of Rhodes by the central government, to which the Muslim community attached immense importance, is another problem for the Muslim minority in the island. More importantly, the administration of foundations on both islands is also problematic, due to the fact that the foundations are not ruled by the Muslim communities but rather the official committees from Athens. These committees cannot be held responsible for their activities in the Muslim community.

Tsitselikis also pointed at the European Act on National Minorities and said the approval of the act by both Ankara and Greece would diminish the impact of the Treaty of Lausanne on the protection of minorities in Turkey and Greece and that after the signing the protection of minority rights would be controlled by Europe's multi-partial system.

Greek citizenship with a Turkish and Islamic identity

“We want our children to be good Greek citizens but at the same time to be Muslims and Turks by protecting their identities,” said Mehmet Cilasın, one of the seven managers of the Rhodes Muslims Association, complaining on the burdens of keeping Islamic and Turkish culture alive on the island. He added that for Turkish culture not to be forgotten, they have downloaded traditional Turkish folkloric dances and taught them to ethnic-Turkish children.

Criticizing the stance of Greece on not enlarging the democratic rights of minorities despite European Union membership, which is very attentive in issues of freedom as well as cultural and political rights, Elçin Macar, a scholar from Yıldız Technical University, said: “Since the Copenhagen criteria were set, the EU has attached great importance to minority rights by imposing certain criteria on candidate countries and controlling its implementation. However, it is legally unable to follow the same policy for its member states because it has yet to form the necessary mechanisms.” He compared Greece and France in terms of their stance on minority rights and said France, even though it has avoided signing protocols on minority rights in the EU, has given its minorities democratic rights, while on the other hand, Greece had carried out unequal policies which are impossible to fit to the values of EU, in predominantly Turkish-populated western Thrace and the Aegean islands.

“Despite some problems, the condition of minorities in northern Greece has improved a lot since the beginning of the 1990s. Yet the Turks living there for centuries cannot identify themselves as Turks and are not allowed to mobilize under the name of ‘Turk',” he added. Touching upon developments in the European Council, Macar said it would have no political influence on Turkey and Greece but lead to psychological pressure which may turn to diplomatic pressure if problems continue.