Thracian Pro-Consulate Groups Exploit Civil Protection – “Trojan I”

A particularly serious case, straddling the fine line between international voluntary cooperation and geopolitical influence, took place from May 15 to 17, 2026, in Thessaloniki and Halkidiki (Neos Marmaras).

The first major pan-European civil protection and search-and-rescue exercise named “Doureios I”, organized by the newly established Federation of European Volunteer Civil Protection Teams (EMEF / Elite Mission European Federation), brings to the forefront critical questions that require immediate answers from the competent authorities.

While the event was presented as a celebration of volunteerism and solidarity with the participation of seven countries (Greece, Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Skopje State, Hungary, Kosovo, Serbia) and scenarios ranging from extrications to rescues from a burning boat, its behind-the-scenes and operational structure raises serious concerns.

The Burning Questions of the Event

Based on official data, statements from key figures, and reports that have come to light, five major questions arise:

1. How does a volunteer exercise come under the full control of a foreign state agency?

Although “Doureios I” was promoted as an initiative of the volunteer federation EMEF, Turkish media and the participants themselves confirm that the state Disaster and Emergency Management Authority of Turkey (AFAD) had full coordination, control, and training of the teams.

AFAD deployed operational vehicles from Edirne, technical personnel, and its own earthquake simulation truck from Izmir, which even operated at central points in Thessaloniki (White Tower). Furthermore, the Turkish delegation began its activities with a visit to the Turkish Consulate.

• The question:
  How is it permitted for a foreign, state, and highly politicized agency from Ankara to assume general coordination and operational culture of volunteer teams within Greek territory?

2. What is the role of EPOMEA, Sibel Mustafaoglu, and Salih Meric?

At the heart of the event is the Greek volunteer team EPOMEA Thessaloniki, which, according to its president Milto Benaki, has maintained contacts with AFAD since 2013.

Key figures in the development of this cooperation are Sibel Mustafaoglu (member of EPOMEA Thessaloniki and coordinator responsible for Turkey) and academic Salih Meric (EPOMEA representative in Turkey).

Ms. Mustafaoglu notably stated that “a 14-year dream is coming true,” referring to the establishment of a joint Balkan Federation under Ankara’s watch.

• The question:
  What is the exact agenda of this coexistence when the actions of these individuals go beyond the narrow limits of civil protection and touch on regional influence networks extending from Thrace to the Balkans?

3. What are their roles and who assigned them?

The establishment of the international federation in Thessaloniki, with the participation of six Balkan countries and Turkey in a leading role, creates faits accomplis. Mr. Meric and Ms. Mustafaoglu appear as the official intermediaries and coordinators between Greek volunteer structures and the central administration of AFAD in Ankara.

• The question:
  Who legitimized these roles? Do these individuals and NGOs have the authorization to negotiate with Turkish state agencies for the creation of joint intervention protocols and international certifications (INSARAG), bypassing official national mechanisms?

4. Who is the Greek supporter and how is the Region of Central Macedonia involved?

In the event’s materials and official meetings (even at the Turkish Consulate), the name of EMEF President, Nikos Tserkezidis, Entrepreneur [see cover photo with the Turkish Consul of Thessaloniki] stands out as the main driver and supporter of this effort, surrounded by numerous Greek presenters and officials (such as the Director of Civil Protection of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, Mr. K. Kokolakis).

• The question: What is the financial and logistical coverage of this large exercise? What is the role and official position of the Region of Central Macedonia? Did the Region or other local government bodies provide permits, sponsorship, or support for an activity where a foreign state agency (AFAD) had the leading role on Greek soil?

5. Were the Greek Security Authorities and relevant Ministries informed?

This is perhaps the most critical question arising from the dynamic presence of AFAD and Balkan volunteers in Macedonia and Halkidiki.

• The question: Was the General Secretariat for Civil Protection in Greece officially informed? Were the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and, most importantly, the Greek Security Authorities aware? Did the responsible state agencies know that under the pretext of a volunteer exercise, a network of relations is being formed where civil protection, social networking, and minority representation coexist in a unified environment of Turkish public presence and influence in Northern Greece?

The Penetration in Thrace and the Deep Consular Network

The “Doureios I” exercise is not an isolated incident but the culmination of a plan that has been systematically evolving recently, with a clear focus on the sensitive region of Thrace.

Sibel Mustafaoglu, a PASOK official in Rodopi who enjoys the trust of the party leadership as well as the Mayor of Komotini, Giannis Garanis, has taken on the role of a “battering ram” for the expansion of this peculiar humanitarian diplomacy in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (EMTH) for months.

• The “landing” in Rodopi:
  Since late 2024, Ms. Mustafaoglu, accompanying Mr. Milto Benaki, held meetings with the EMTH Regional Governor Christodoulos Topsidis and the Mayor of Komotini Giannis Garanis, promoting the establishment of an EPOMEA branch in Rodopi and securing premises in Komotini. In March 2025, Ms. Mustafaoglu officially participated as “EPOMEA Rodopi branch” in the official meeting for coordinating civil protection ahead of the fire season, gaining access to the internal planning of Greek authorities.

• Suspicious contacts in Edirne:
  In May 2025, Mr. Benaki and Ms. Mustafaoglu visited Edirne, where they met with Governor Yunus Sezer and the local leadership of AFAD, praising the Turkish agency. More worryingly, on the same day, they met with Murat Ahmet Yörük, Ambassador at the Turkish MFA Representative Office in Edirne, who is considered one of the main arms of anti-Greek actions targeting Thrace. Conversely, from the meeting they reportedly had with the Greek Consul General in Edirne, Aris Radiopoulos, not a single photo was released.

• Meeting with the Deep State in Ankara:
  The networking of this scheme was confirmed in a highly ceremonial manner in November 2025, when Sibel Mustafaoglu and Salih Meric (President of KARDEF) visited the Turkish National Assembly in Ankara. There, they were received by AKP ruling party MP Şebnem Bursalı in a meeting where the “expectations of compatriots from Western Thrace” were discussed. Mr. Meric is closely connected with nationalist circles of the Turkish diaspora (KARDEF, RUBASAM), while the BRTK Federation, operating in the same environment, had caused a serious incident by laying a black wreath at the Greek Consulate in Edirne, referring to the “massacre of Turks in 1821.”

• Consular receptions:
  Ms. Mustafaoglu does not hide her close ties with the deep-state consular system of Komotini, celebrating Kurban Bayram in the courtyard of the Turkish Consulate and publicly declaring her participation “in our institutions and organizations” (meaning the paramilitary mechanisms of Ankara in Thrace).

Editor’s Comment

The new evidence proves that the “Doureios I” exercise in Halkidiki was not merely an “unfortunate” voluntary collaboration but the culmination of a systematic operation to instrumentalize Civil Protection by the pro-consulate circles of Thrace.

R.T. Erdogan deliberately downgraded the traditional Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) because it did not fully submit to his power, and in its place, he expanded AFAD, turning it into a fully controlled instrument of state and ideological imposition. This institution, which even Turkish citizens themselves accuse of catastrophic failure and incompetence during the deadly 2023 Kahramanmaras earthquakes, is now being presented to us as a “global model” by Ms. Mustafaoglu and her co-organizers.

The question now turns dramatically to the head of EPOMEA, Mr. Milto Benaki: Is it possible that a man who wears camouflage uniform and leads Greek rescuers does not realize that the truly valuable work of his organization is being fully instrumentalized by the pro-consulate minor players of Komotini and the deep state of Ankara?

Will the PASOK leadership in Athens and the Mayor of Komotini continue to tolerate this “convenient double-speak” of their officials, who one day sit in the seats of Greek local government and the next negotiate with the nationalist arms of the AKP in Ankara? Civil Protection is National Security. And in Thrace, some are playing dangerous games with fire.

Source: TAXIARHISpress