Greece to re-bury recently discovered Turkish corpses

ISTANBUL

Greek authorities have decided to re-bury recently discovered 201 Turkish corpses, a Turkish expert said on Tuesday.

Neval Konuk Halacoglu, an expert on Ottoman heritage in Greece at Istanbul’s Marmara University, talked to Anadolu Agency over the latest developments regarding the Turkish corpses discovered in Greece’s northwest province of Chalkidiki.

Greece's Nea Propondita municipality decided to re-bury 201 corpses, which were traced to the Turkish population that used to live in the region before the 1923 population exchange agreement, she said.

The municipality informed that corpses would be re-buried in the municipal cemetery with an epitaph, Halacoglu added.

Underlining that the re-burial will be the first of its kind in Greece, she said: “We thank officials of the Nea Propondita municipality for the decision and the respectful attitude toward our tombs.”

In February, a Turkish-Muslim cemetery from the Ottoman era was discovered during the construction of a gymnasium in the garden of a school in Simandra Village in Chalkidiki Province of Greece.

The village was visited by the Turkish consul general of Thessaloniki and immediate demarches were made to the local Greek authorities to request further information.

Furthermore, the Greek ambassador to Ankara was summoned by the Foreign Ministry. An explanation was sought about the tombs and a request was made to cease construction at the site and a burial in accordance with Islamic rites.

​​​​​​​*Writing by Ahmet Gencturk