Western Thrace Θράκη
—  Region of Greece  —
Western Thrace within Greece
Annexation by Greece	1920
Regions abolished as admin. subdivisions	1987
Capital	Komotini
Regional units	List Xanthi Rhodope Evros
Area
• Total	8,578 km2 (3,312 sq mi)
Population
• Total	362,038 (2,001 census) 368,993 (2,006 estimate)
• Density	43/km2 (110/sq mi)
Demonym	Thracians
Website	www.mathra.gr

Western Thrace or simply Thrace (Greek: [Δυτική] Θράκη, [Dytikí] Thráki, [ˈθraci]; Turkish: Batı Trakya, Bulgarian: Западна Тракия, Zapadna Trakiya) is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia, Epirus and sometimes Thessaly, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece. It is also called Greek Thrace to distinguish it from Eastern Thrace, which lies east of the river Evros and forms the European part of Turkey, and the area to the north, in Bulgaria, known as Northern Thrace.

Thrace is divided into the three regional units (former prefectures): Xanthi, Rhodope and Evros, which together with the Macedonian regional units of Drama, Kavala and Thasos form the East Macedonia and Thrace region.

Area - Demographics[link]

The approximate area of Thrace is 8,578 km² with a population of 368,993 (2006 est.). More than two-thirds of the population are Orthodox Christian Greeks, while the remainder (approx. 120,000) are Muslims who are an officially recognised minority of Greece. Of these, the majority (67%) are of Turkish origin, while another third are Pomaks who mainly inhabit the mountainous parts of the region. The Roma of Thrace are also mainly Muslim, unlike their ethnic kin in other parts of the country who generally profess the Orthodox faith of the Greek majority. Thrace is bordered by Bulgaria to the north, Turkey to the east, the Aegean Sea to the south and the Greek region of Macedonia to the west. Alexandroupoli is the largest city, with a population of around 52,720 (2001 census). Below is a table of the largest Thracian towns and cities.

History[link]

Komotini's Clock Tower

The region had been under the rule of the Byzantine Empire from the time of the division of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western empires in the early fourth century AD. The Ottoman Empire conquered most of the region in the 14th century and ruled it till the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913. During Ottoman rule, Thrace had a mixed population of Turks and Bulgarians, with a strong Greek element in the cities and the Aegean Sea littoral. A smaller number of Pomaks, Jews, Armenians and Roma also lived in the region.

During the First Balkan War, the Balkan League (Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria and Montenegro) fought against the Ottoman Empire and annexed most of its European territory, including Thrace. Western Thrace was occupied by Bulgarian troops who defeated the Ottoman army. On November 15, 1912 on the right bank of the river Maritza Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps captured the Turkish corps of Yaver Paha, which defends the Eastern Rhodopes and Western Thrace from invading Bulgarians.

The victors quickly fell into dispute on how to divide the newly conquered lands, resulting in the Second Balkan War. In August 1913 Bulgaria was defeated, but gained Western Thrace under the terms of the Treaty of Bucharest.

In the following years, the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire) (with which Bulgaria had sided) lost World War I and as a result Western Thrace was withdrawn from Bulgaria under the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Neuilly.^[1] Western Thrace was under temporary management of the Entente led by French General Sharpe. In the second half of April 1920 in San Remo conference of the prime ministers of the main allies of the Entente powers (except USA) Western Thrace was given to Greece.

Throughout the Balkan Wars and World War I, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey each forced respective minority populations in the Thrace region out of areas they controlled. A large population of Greeks in Eastern Thrace, and Black Sea coastal and southern Bulgaria, was expelled south and west into Greek-controlled Thrace. Concurrently, a large population of Bulgarians was forced from the region into Bulgaria by Greek and Turkish actions. Turkish populations in the area were also targeted by Bulgarian and Greek forces and pushed eastward. As part of the Treaty of Neuilly, and subsequent agreements, the status of the expelled populations was legitimized. This was followed by a further population exchange which radically changed the demographics of the region toward increased ethnic homogenization within the territories each respective country ultimately was awarded.

This was followed by the large-scale Greek-Turkish population exchanges of 1923 (Treaty of Lausanne), which finalized the reversal of Western and Eastern Thrace region's pre-Balkan War demography. The treaty granted the status of a minority to the Muslims in Western Thrace, in exchange for a similar status for the ethnic Greek minority in Istanbul and the Aegean islands of Imbros and Tenedos. When Bulgaria occupied Western Thrace as one of the Axis Powers during World War II, it further changed the demographics by arresting the region's Jews and deporting them to death camps administered by Germany.

Politics[link]

The Muslim minority of Thrace has been a source of diplomatic tension between Greece and Turkey. Turkey considers the whole of the Muslim minority a strictly Turkish minority. Greece, on the other hand, considers the whole minority to be Greek citizens of diverse origins and a recognised religious minority under Greece's international obligations (Treaty of Lausanne). Athens affords no official recognition to a Turkish or any other ethnicity.

Such documents as the said paper of the Greek Consulate Berlin^{[citation needed]} have no effect on the minority politics of Greece concerning the concession of any ethnic identity to the Muslim minority and they primarily serve as information publications about Greece to the world.

Within the larger definition of the Muslim minority, the Turks of Western Thrace were exempted from the 1922-1923 Exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey and were granted special rights within the framework of Lausanne Treaty, such as education in the Turkish language.

However, there are ethnic differences within the 'Turkish' minority. The estimated numbers of its constituent ethnic groups are given in a document of the Greek Consulate Berlin^{[citation needed]} as follows:

• total number of Muslim Minority is: 120,000
• Turkish: 50%
• Pomak origin: 35%
• Roma origin: 15%

In 1923, the population of Western Thrace was 191,699, of whom 129,120 (67%) were Turks and 33,910 (18%) were Greeks; the remaining 28,669 were mostly Bulgarians, along with small numbers of Jews and Armenians(before the population exchange).^[2]

Economy[link]

The economy of Thrace in recent years has become less dependent on agriculture. A number of Greek-owned high-tech industries belonging to the telecommunications industry have settled in the area. The Via Egnatia motorway which passes through Thrace, has contributed to the further development of the region. Tourism is slowly becoming more and more important as the Aegean coast of Region of Thrace boasts quite a few beautiful beaches. Additionally, there is the potential for winter tourism activities in the Rhodopi mountains, the natural border with Bulgaria which are covered by dense forest.

Miscellaneous[link]

Ruins of the ancient city of Abdera.

• Abdera, an ancient Greek coastal town in the prefecture of Xanthi is the birth place of the Greek philosophers Democritus, considered by some the father of the atomic theory, and Protagoras, who is credited with having invented the role of the professional sophist or teacher of "virtue".
• Thrace and in particular the Rhodope mountains, its northern mountainous part, is home to one of the two surviving brown bear (species Ursus arctos) populations in Greece (the other is in the Pindus mountains, in central Greece).
• The Greek-Turkish border is a major entering point of illegal immigrants from Asia (Kurds, Afghans, Pakistanis) trying to enter Europe.

See also[link]

• Turks of Western Thrace
• East Macedonia and Thrace
• Xanthi Prefecture
• Rhodope Prefecture
• Evros Prefecture
• Democritus University of Thrace
• Muslim minority of Greece
• Provisional Government of Western Thrace
• Bulgaria during World War I

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Öksüz, Hikmet (2004), The Reasons for Immigration from Western Thrace to Turkey (1923-1950), http://www.azinlikca.net/: Turkish Review of Balkan Studies, http://www.azinlikca.net/pdfs/thesis/The_Reasons_for_immigration_from_Western_Thrace_to_Turkey.pdf 
• Whitman, Lois (1990), Destroying ethnic identity: the Turks of Greece, Human Rights Watch, ISBN 0-929692-70-5, http://books.google.com/books?id=gDXbrQHGjbIC .

External links[link]

• Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace
• Combined Prefectural Authority of Drama, Kavala and Xanthi
• Combined Prefectural Authority of Rhodope and Evros
• Prefecture of Xanthi
• Thrakiki.gr
• Prefecture of Rhodope
• Prefecture of Evros
• Democritus University of Thrace
• Municipality of Feres

v t e Geographic departments of Greece Aegean Islands Central Greece Crete Epirus Ionian Islands Macedonia Peloponnese Thessaly Thrace

The southern part of the region of Thrace.

Turks of Western Thrace (Turkish: Batı Trakya Türkleri) are ethnic Turks who live in Western Thrace, in the north-eastern part of Greece.

According to the Greek census of 1991, there were approximately 50,000 Turks in Western Thrace, out of the approximately 98,000 strong Muslim minority of Greece.^[1] Other sources estimate the size of the Turkish community between 120,000 and 130,000.^[2][3]

The Greek government refers to the Turkish community as part of the Greek Muslims or Hellenic Muslims, and does not recognise a separate Turkish minority in Western Thrace.^[2] Nevertheless, the fundamental rights of this community are enshrined in the Greek constitution and the Treaty of Lausanne.

History[link]

Western Thrace became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1354 and remained in Turkish hands until 1913. At this time, the Turkish community outnumbered 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.^[4] 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.^[5] By 1923, the population of Western Thrace was 191,699, of whom 129,120 (67%) were Turks and 33,910 (18%) were Greeks; the remaining 28,669 were mostly Bulgarians, along with small numbers of Jews and Armenians.^[6] Under a protocol of the same year, the Turks of Western Thrace were exempted from the 1922-1923 exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey and were granted rights within the framework of the Lausanne Treaty. However, since 1923, between 300,000 to 400,000 Turks have left Western Thrace most of which have immigrated to Turkey.^[7][8]

According to the Turkish thesis, as it was presented at Lausanne Peace Conference (1923), the general distribution of population in Western Thrace was as follows^[9]:

Demographics[link]

The Turkish community has a strong presence in Komotini (Turkish: Gümülcine) and Xanthi (Turkish: İskeçe) departments, 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 36-38% of the Rhodopi Department population, 12-24% in the Xanthi Department and less than 5% in the Evros Department.^[10]

Culture[link]

Language[link]

According to Ethnologue, in 1976 the Turkish language was spoken by 128,000 people in Greece, the majority of which are located in Western Thrace.^[11] However, the Greek language is also widely used.^{[citation needed]}

Obligations of the Treaty of Lausanne[link]

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:^[12]

• Protection of life and liberty without regard to birth, nationality, language, race or religion
• Free exercise of religion
• Freedom of movement and of emigration
• Equality before the law
• The same civil and political rights enjoyed by the majority
• Free use of language in private, in commerce, in religion, the press and publications, at public meetings and in the courts
• The right to establish and control charitable, religious and social institutions and schools
• Primary schools in which instruction is given in both languages
• Full protection for religious establishments and pious foundation

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. However, at no time since 1923 did Greek officials instigate, support, or undertake measures against the Muslims of Western Thrace similar to those undertaken by successive Turkish Governments against the Greek minority in Turkey (like forced labor battalions, the Istanbul pogrom), a minority that is nearly eliminated today (70,000 in 1923 to 3,000 in 2000).^[13]

Politics[link]

Members of the Greek Parliament[link]

In 1990 a new electoral law was introduced in Greece, which set a threshold of at least 3% of the nationwide vote for a party to be represented in the parliament, independent Turkish MPs were thus barred from election at the 1993 elections. The participation of members of the minority in the Hellenic Parliament is since then assured by Turkish candidats from nationwide political parties, and the Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace, which succeeded the Independent Muslim List in 1991, practically disappeared from the electoral scene.^[14]

Greek legislative election, 2009[link]

There are presently two Turkish MPs from Western Thrace, both affiliated to the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, Çetin Mandacı (Xanthi) and Ahmet Hacıosman (Rhodope), former president (1999–2007) of the Party of Friendship, Equality and Peace created by former (1989) MP Sadık Ahmet in 1991.^[17]

At least 14 candidates from the Turkish minority have been nominated, mainly in Rhodope and Xanthi.^[18]

For New Democracy, former MP (2004–2007) İlhan Ahmet and Ahmet Ahmet are candidates in Rhodope,^[19] and in Xanthi Aysel Zeybek and Ahmet Budur.^[20] Zeybek had lost her Greek citizenship under Article 19 of the Greek Citizenship Code, which allowed of its revocation for non-ethnic Greeks who left the country.^[21] After a lengthy legal battle, she finally won her case with a second appeal before the European Court of Human Rights and re-secured her Greek citizenship in 2001.

For PASOK, Çetin Mandacı and Seval Osmanoğlu are among the 5 candidates in Xanthi, Rıdvan Kocamümin and Ahmet Hacıosman among the 5 in Rhodope.^[22]

For the KKE (which presently has no MP in Xanthi or Rhodope), Faik Faik in Rhodope and Hasan Efendi in Xanthi.

For SYRIZA (which presently has no MP in Xanthi or Rhodope), Hasan Malkoç and Hüseyin Zeybek are candidates in Xanthi,^[23] and in Rhodope^[24] Dr. Mustafa Mustafa (former MP) and Celalettin Yurtçu.^[25]

Human rights issues[link]

This section relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Discussion about the problems with the sole source used may be found on the talk page. (January 2010)

Citizenship[link]

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.^[26] Article 19 was repealed in 1998, though not retroactively.^[26]

Ethnic identity[link]

Since the Treaty of Lausanne used the criterion of religion to refer to the ethnic communities, Greek Government spokesmen have usually insisted that the basis of identification is religious and not ethnic (or national).^[27] Thus Greek officials refer to the Muslim minority in Greece, but deny the existence of a Turkish minority.^[28][29][30] Greek courts have also outlawed the use of the word 'Turkish' to describe the Turkish community. In 1988, the Greek High Court affirmed a 1986 decision of the Court of Appeals of Thrace in which the Union of Turkish Associations of Western Thrace was ordered closed. The court held that the use of the word 'Turkish' referred to citizens of Turkey, and could not be used to describe citizens of Greece; the use of the word 'Turkish' to describe Greek Muslims was held to endanger public order.^[31] This led to about 10,000 people demonstrating against the decision in Western Thrace. According to members of the Turkish minority, it was the first time ethnic Turks had taken to the streets.^[32]

Freedom of expression[link]

More than 10 newspapers are issued in the Turkish language. According to some sources, newspapers, magazines and books published in Turkey are not allowed entry into Western Thrace,^[33] and Turkish television and radio stations are sometimes jammed.^[34] According to other sources the minority has full and independent access to its own newspapers radio, television, and other written media coming from Turkey, regardless of their content.^[35]

Ownership of land[link]

In 1922, Turks owned 84% of the land in Western Thrace, but now the minority estimates this figure to be between 20–40%. This stems from various practices of the Greek administration whereby ethnic Greeks are encouraged to purchase Turkish land with soft loans granted by the state.^[8][36]

Religious freedom[link]

According to the Lausanne Treaty, the Turkish minority is entitled to freedom of religion and to the right to control charitable and religious institutions. However, the Turkish community believes that these international law guarantees have been violated by the Greek government^[37] by denying permission to repair or rebuild old mosques or to build new mosques, by denying the right to choose the muftis (this chief religious officers), and by efforts to control the Turkish communities charitable foundations.^[38] According to another source, more than 5 new mosques are being built in the prefecture of Xanthi alone and 19 new mosques are being built in the prefecture of Rhodope alone, while in the same prefecture the number of mosques exceeds 160.^[39]

Incidents[link]

According to a report by a local organization there have been frequent (six in 2010 and three in the first months of 2011) attacks against the private and public property of Turks in Western Thrace. Among the recent incidents are three in 2010 (in Kahveci, Kırmahalle, Popos and Ifestos at Komotini) where attackers desecrated Turkish cemeteries and broke tombstones. There were also attacks against mosques, Turkish associations and Turkish consulates, attackers used methods like throwing stones, molotov bombs and damaging buildings.^{[40][41][42][43][44]}

Migration[link]

Internal migration[link]

In the 1980s, the Greek Government offered clerical jobs in banks and public administrations in Athens to the Turkish speaking minority^[45] allegedly to weaken their presence in Western Thrace.^[46] Moreover, those who accepted these jobs were deprived of their minority rights when they moved to Athens, which partly explains why there are no mosques or Turkish language schools in Athens.^[46] The majority who primarily come from Komotini and to a lesser extent from Xanthi live in the neighbourhood of Gazi which is close to the centre of Athens. There are different estimates about the number of people from Western Thrace living in the Athens vicinity (Attica) which vary between 5,000 to 10,000 people.^[47] By leaving Western Thrace and integrating into Athens, some Turks that are still living in Western Thrace have seen those who have migrated to Athens as 'betraying' their community.^[48]

Diaspora[link]

Between 300,000 to 400,000 Turks have left Western Thrace since 1923; most of them immigrated to Turkey.^[7][8] Western Thrace Turks have also immigrated to Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria and Italy. Thus, overall there are an estimated 1 million Turks whose roots are from Western Thrace.^[49]

Americas[link]

United States of America[link]

A fairly large number of ethnic Turks from Western Thrace emigrated and settled in the United States roughly between 1900 and 1914 when American immigration policies were quite liberal. These Turks were listed as Bulgarians and Greeks due to their country of origin, even though they were ethnic Turks and identified themselves as such.^[50] Moreover, many immigrant families who were ethnically Albanian, Bulgarian, Greek, Macedonian or Serbian included children of Turkish origin whose parents had been cleansed after Macedonia was partitioned between Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece following the Balkan War of 1912-13. These Turkish children had been sheltered, baptised and adopted, and then used as field laborers. When the adopting families had to emigrate to America, they listed these children as family members, although most of these Turkish children still remembered their ethnic origin.^[50]

Europe[link]

It is estimated that there is between 25,000 and 40,000 Western Thrace Turks living in Western Europe.^[51][52]

Germany[link]

There are some members of the Greek Muslim community among the some 350,000 Greeks living in Germany who are Turks or who espouse a Turkish identity.^[53] The majority of Turks immigrated from Western Thrace.^[54] 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^[55] and 25,000^[56] residing in Germany.

Netherlands[link]

A minority of Western Thrace Turks can be found in the Netherlands, especially in the Randstad region; after Germany, the Netherlands is the most popular destination for Turkish immigrants.^[57]

United Kingdom[link]

There is an estimated 600-700 Western Thrace Turks living in London although this does not include those who are British born. The total number living outside of London is unknown.^[57] However even their small number, Western Thrace Turks in the UK have a own comminty (Association of Western Thrace Turks UK)^[58]

Notable people[link]

• Sadık Ahmet, Doctor
• Cavit Çağlar
• Nimet Çalapala
• Turgay Cin
• Şerif Gören, Winner of 1982 Palme d'Or in Cannes Film Festival
• Yahya Gür
• Ahmet Hacıosman, Politician
• Hasan Hatipoğlu
• Mustafa Hüseyinoğlu, Actor
• Hadi Hüsman
• Mehmet Esat İleri, Politician
• Çetin Mandacı, Politician
• Mustafa Mustafa, Politician
• Hüseyin Mümin, Footballer

See also[link]

• 1990 Komotini events
• Cretan Turks
• Turks of the Dodecanese
• Western Thrace
• Provisional Government of Western Thrace
• Greeks in Turkey

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

External links[link]

• Human Rights Watch document: Destroying ethnic identity - The Turks of Greece, August 1990
• Human Rights Watch document: Greece - Improvements for Turkish minority - Problems remain, April 1992
• Human Rights Watch document: Greece - The Turks of Western Thrace, January 1999
• Umbrella organisation of Western Thrace Turks and UN-ECOSOC member: Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe

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