Members of the Edirne Balkan Turks Federation laid a black wreath in front of the Edirne Consulate of Greece to commemorate the Turks who were massacred in the city of Tripolice in the Peloponnese Peninsula in 1821.
Members of the federation gathered in front of the consulate in Şükrüpaşa District on the 205th anniversary of the massacre and commemorated those who lost their lives. As part of the commemoration program, a painting exhibition was opened on Saraçlar Street.
'WE HAVE NOT FORGOT YOUR MASSACRES, WE WILL NOT FORGET, WE WILL NOT LET YOU FORGET'
Speaking on behalf of the Edirne Balkan Turks Federation and Associations in front of the Consulate, Secretary General of the Balkan Rumelian Turks Confederation, İsmail Kocaköse, stated that Greece must face the historical facts and said, "September and October 1821 is a period remembered with unforgettable massacres in Greek history. Not accepting, ignoring, rejecting and denying are not enough to eliminate historical facts. Just as there will be no compensation for a past full of massacres at every moment of history, there is no choice but to accept it. In just three days Killing around 40 thousand women, children and the elderly, who had no crime other than being Turks, is a fact that took place in Greek history. The rebels even dug up the Turkish cemetery, took out their bones and burned them. Can it be forgotten that the rebels murdered Tripolice Judge Halim Efendi, who encouraged the Turks to resist the rebellion, by pouring oil on them and burning them? 'The road was completely covered with corpses.' The person who said this is none other than Theodoros Kolokotronis, the commander-in-chief of the Greek rebels. Let's look back 105 years ago. You know, the issue that Greece calls the 'Asia Minor Disaster'. What do you call it when your rulers, whose strings are in the hands of others, target Anatolia and take the punishment for their defeat on the unarmed Anatolian people? he said.
Reacting to the Greek administration, Kocaköse said, "Stop making hostile propaganda against the Turks 24 hours a day on your televisions, radios and newspapers. Don't be afraid of the Turks. We are friends as long as you are friends. Turkey is a haven of refuge even for you. Even the fact that your current Prime Minister and his family, who had to escape from the military junta, took refuge in Türkiye in the 1970s is an indication of how peaceful we are. The opening of Greek schools in Türkiye one by one." The response cannot be for Greece to close down the Turkish schools in Western Thrace one by one. How fair is it that the management of the Turkish foundation properties in Greece was dismissed and replaced by people you appointed in 1967? How right is it, according to international laws, for you to sell the confiscated foundation properties at extortionate auctions? How long will you not implement the decision of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the return of the names of Turkish non-governmental organizations in Western Thrace? "Neither history nor humanity will forgive your massacres, we will not forget them, we will not let them be forgotten."
'OUR WORD IS AGAINST FORGETTING AND THE KILLING OF CIVILIANS'
Mehmet Kamar, Chairman of Babaeski Balkan Turks Solidarity Association Culture and Art Formation, also drew attention to the dimensions of the massacre and said, "We are not here today to say that one nation is superior to the other. While we are talking about the pain of one people, we are not here to belittle the pain of another people. Because one of the greatest lessons history has left us is that the blood of an innocent person is innocent blood, no matter what flag it was shed under. We may not know the names of the Muslims and Jews killed in Mora one by one today. Their houses, "We may not remember their faces or voices, but they too had a mother, a father, a child, a loved one. They too had lives left unfinished, doors unopened, words unspoken."
After the speeches, a black wreath was laid in front of the Greek Consulate. Citizens showed interest in the painting exhibition opened on Saraçlar Street as part of the commemoration events.
