The efforts of the Ambassador at the Turkish Consulate in Komotini to impact the parliamentary process in Greece last week by saying that a recent provision that was adopted by the Greek Parliament was unacceptable - because he more or less rules in Thrace- might of prompted the angry reaction of the Greek Foreign Ministry, but it has also had a positive impact since the subject of Thrace has finally been opened. The provision which was adopted by Parliament concerns the teaching of the Quran in public schools -in the Greek language- where Muslim minority students are enrolled.
Ankara does not find this acceptable because at the moment it apparently operates secondary schools that supposedly teach the Quran, but in the Turkish language thereby creating a false feeling of ethnicity to the Greek Muslim minority there. Basically, Turkey's "workers" in Thrace are urging Greek Muslims to send their children to minority-only schools (not bilingual public schools), so as not to lose their religious and national identity, and to further the reach of Islamic Turkish identity.
The Pomak community in the region is a prime example. At present they are under a lot of pressure from the Consulate's workers (spread all over Thrace) to deny their identity and embrace the Turkish identity. They are constantly being told that their language is a "dialect" and not a language and that their true identity is Turkish. This of course is absurd because the Pomak people are descended from Bulgaria. The Roma people are another example and have also been targeted by the Turkish consulate.
The Greek government only knows this too well. Indeed, many mistakes have been made in the past in this region, but the State is now willing to take initiatives with the aim of getting the situation under control.
Now that the Bill has passed, the recruitment process will proceed as follows: (and not as the Turkish press has presented it).
The Ministry of Education will set up a five member committee to select the Imams. Its members will comprise of 1) a mufti, 2) an employee of the Ministry of Education, 3) a faculty member with expertise in Islamic studies, 4) a Muslim theologian who will be appointed by the Ministry of Education and 5) another Muslim theologian who be appointed by the mufti.
Those selected will sign a contract for nine of nine months with the Ministry of Education so that the phenomenon that was caused by Law 3536/2007, when the mufti of Komotini refused to sign the contracts of Imams - after pressure from the Turkish Consulate, is not repeated.
Over the past fifty years, Turkey has given incredible power to its Consulate in Komotini. In return the Consulate has acted as a state within a state -with the incomprehensible tolerance of Greek authorities- and it has successfully managed to create a powerful and well-supported network that literally Turkifies Pomaks and Roma peoples. At the same time it also creates the right conditions that might allow Turkey to one day attempt to claim all of -or part of- the energy reserves in the Northern Aegean (especially the Babouris deposit, etc.) depending of course on the developments and/or the reaction of Greece. Ankara's ultimate goal of course is to get control of the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline, if it is ever actually constructed and put into operation.
At the same time, Ankara aims to use the Muslim minority in this area so that it can have the last word in the eastern area of this region (around the Nestos River). But most importantly so that it can finally achieve a continuous and sharp line in the center of the Aegean.
The talk show posted above and titled "Who Runs The Show In Thrace" features this very subject. It was broadcasted on Saturday night on Kontra Channel and is a wonderful panel discussion that analyzes the current situation in Thrace. There are only two points we want to make about the discussion. One, we are glad that the conservative New Democracy government is taking on initiatives that respect religious freedom but at the same time do not advocate for "Turkish ethnicity" and two we are saddened that the two participants at the discussion (from SYRIZA and from DIMAR) are not supporting the New Democracy party on this, and are more "Turk friendly".
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