Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan made new aggressive statements during his opening speech at the 51st Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which is being held in Istanbul. Ankara, once again, attempts to present as "oppressed" populations who are nothing more than Greek citizens, distorting the historical and legal reality of Thrace, the Dodecanese and Cyprus.
"Turkish" minority in Thrace? Ankara reinstates the mechanism of provocation
Hakan Fidan, referring to the Muslim minority of Thrace, directly called it "Turkish" and stated:
“The Turkish Muslim minority in Western Thrace and the Turkish population of the Dodecanese in Greece face serious violations that prevent them from enjoying even the most basic rights and freedoms. The attention of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to this issue is critical to ensuring that the national identity, religious education and cultural rights of the Turkish Muslim minority are respected by the Greek authorities.”
This statement comes on top of fifty years of targeted Turkish influence in Thrace – through consulates, banks, associations and educational institutions. All of this constitutes a “silent landing” on Greek soil. Today, even Greek Pomaks, who for years were marginalized, are raising their voices and rejecting the Turkish redefinition of their identity.
And yet, Turkey continues with impunity, because the national line, the firm voice and the international diplomatic determination on the Greek side are absent. There has never been a substantive response – neither from cross-party consensus, nor from international bodies.
Cyprus: Illegal Occupation under the cloak of “equality”
But he didn't stop there. Fidan also made a clear challenge regarding the Cyprus issue:
“There are two peoples and two states on the island of Cyprus. As an integral part of the Islamic world, the Turkish Cypriot state is represented as an observer in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Unfortunately, the Turkish Cypriots continue to live under the unjust and inhuman isolation imposed on them for decades. We call on all members to support their inherent rights and to cooperate directly with them.”
This is not just a statement. It is a dangerous reinstatement of the Turkish position on “two states” in Cyprus. At the same time as it maintains a military presence on the territory of a European Union member state, it attempts to equate the illegal pseudo-state with the Republic of Cyprus.
The international community must not remain idle – but first, we must not remain idle.
As long as the Greek and Cypriot sides avoid clear national strategies, Turkey will "expand" with words, influence, threats, and faits accomplis.
Silence is complicity.
Tolerance for the falsification of History gives rise to new dramas.
Thrace is Greece. The Dodecanese is Greece. Cyprus is an independent state.
You cannot allow anyone to build politics on lies and propaganda.
History is not given to us. It is conquered.
And when we are slow to respond, they take away our right to speak.
Watch the video:
New Fidan challenges - Turkey's reaction to the terrorist attack on a Greek Orthodox church
Ioanna Lazarou
Publisher – Greek News and Radio FL
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SKAI.gr
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