Arrian municipality: Krasnic’s provocation with Turkish characterization
A visiting Kosovo mayor sparked controversy by publicly calling a Greek municipality "Turkey's Turkish municipality" on social media, prompting criticism over the improper characterization.
A serious institutional and political misstep occurred during a visit by the mayor of Mamuša, Kosovo, Abdulhadi Krasniqi, to the Arrian municipality in Rodopi, northeastern Greece.
Krasniqi, who was traveling to Turkey, visited the town hall in Fillyra and met with the mayor of the Arrian municipality, Erdem Hüseyin, accompanied by members of his delegation, where the customary exchange of commemorative gifts took place.
The controversy arose from the public statement by the Kosovar official on social media, where he explicitly characterized the Greek local authority as “Turkey’s Turkish municipality, Kozlukebir municipality” (“Yunanistan’ın Türk Belediyesi Kozlukebir Belediyesi”), choosing an unacceptable national designation for a public body of the Hellenic Republic.
In the Greek legal order and public administration, there is no such thing as a “Turkish municipality”, as the Arrian municipality is an institutional organization of local government belonging to the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, representing all its citizens regardless of origin.
Abdulhadi Krasniqi, a member of the Democratic Turkish Party of Kosovo (KDTP) and mayor of the Turkish-speaking Mamuša, improperly transferred a demographic and political Turkish characterization to the level of administrative entity.
Meanwhile, a thorough examination of available records and biographical information does not indicate that he was a member or fighter of the UÇK, although he maintains a clear political and symbolic identification with the related narrative in Kosovo.
At the same time, the meeting took on an official character from the side of the mayor of the Arrian municipality, Erdem Hüseyin, who announced a reciprocal visit to Mamuša in the coming months.
Despite the fact that the photographs show the official flags of Greece and the European Union at the town hall, the silence of the Arrian municipal authority in the face of Krasniqi’s provocation raises legitimate questions, making an immediate public statement and a demand for correction of the controversial post necessary.
Questions for the mayor of the Arrian municipality
The controversial wording belongs exclusively to Abdulhadi Krasniqi. There is no evidence to date that Erdem Hüseyin used or publicly endorsed the characterization “Turkish municipality of Greece.”
However, because the visit took place at the town hall and was photographically presented as a meeting of two elected officials, the Arrian municipality must take a position:
- Was the visit official or private?
- In what capacity and on the basis of what program was Krasniqi received?
- What issues were discussed and was there agreement on future cooperation?
- Does the mayor of the Arrian municipality agree with the characterization “Turkish municipality of Greece”?
- Will he ask Krasniqi to publicly correct the post?
- Why was no immediate clarification issued by the Arrian municipality?
Hosting a foreign municipal official is not in itself problematic. Cooperation between municipalities and contacts between Balkan societies can be useful and productive.
However, in the name of hospitality or “brotherhood,” the ethnic appropriation of a Greek public institution cannot be accepted. The Arrian municipality represents all its citizens and operates within the administrative and constitutional framework of the Hellenic Republic.
Immediate correction of the post by Krasniqi and a clear statement by the mayor of the Arrian municipality are the minimum required by the institutional order.
Source: RodopiPress / Journalistic Investigation
Editorial Comment: The deliberate attempt at ethnic redefinition of a Greek public institution in the sensitive region of Thrace cannot be downgraded to a simple diplomatic oversight or private communication. Local government must operate strictly within the constitutional and institutional framework of the Hellenic Republic, and any tolerance of rhetoric that serves revisionist purposes or transforms Greek municipalities into bridgeheads of nationalist narratives irreparably exposes those who choose to remain silent.
