Pomak community in Thrace seeks educational choice

Members of the Pomak community in Thrace are calling for greater educational choice, specifically requesting the option to attend public schools without mandatory Turkish language instruction. Representatives emphasize the need to preserve the Pomak language while maintaining their identity as Greek citizens.

The issue has been raised in the Hellenic Parliament and at the OSCE Conference on Human Dimensions in Warsaw. Irfan Mehmet Ali, a Pomak representative, stated that families should have the right to choose between Turkish language classes or public schooling without them.

Additionally, Benjamin Konde of the Cultural Association of Pomaks of Xanthi Prefecture has raised concerns at the OSCE regarding social exclusion and questioned certain community representations. The movement seeks to decouple religious identity from mother tongue and national identity, asserting that their native language is Pomak.