"A New Approach for Rumeli Turks
Ferai Tinc
Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on ethnic nationalism and the situation of Rumeli Turks, meaning ethnic Turks living in former Ottoman territories, and their descendants living in Turkey. A summary of her column is as follows:
�During the Rumeli Turks Culture and Solidarity Association�s congress in Istanbul yesterday, I saw that the association�s logo has a horseman bearing a green flag with three crescents. I heard that the three crescents represented the Ottoman victory over Istanbul (then Constantinople). Maybe this is the case. However, recently, the issue of Turks living outside Turkey has been evaluated only as part of nationalism. Don�t you think that it has an effect, because this image has been in the exclusive possession of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and its followers? Turks living in Balkan countries, mostly in Kosovo, have lost their status as a fundamental element. I believe the disorganization of Turks from the Balkans to Iraq has an impact on this situation. Lutfi Turkkan, a former chairmen of the association, said, �Turks are the only ethnic group whose language has been prohibited in Yugoslavia and whose rights aren�t recognized.� These words prove this fact."
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