When an Imam – appointed, in accordance with the law of the Greek state, by the Mufti of Komotini – states publicly that he is being threatened or slandered by his fellow townspeople, reports the incident in a written report, via his attorney, to the Foreign Minister, and chooses the judicial path for dealing with the threats and with his being slandered as a “Greek mole and a traitor” by an associate of the Turkish consulate in Komotini, there is an issue, and this issue has to be cleared up immediately. All the more so given the fact that allegations have been made of the involvement of the Turkish Consul in Komotini.
The Foreign Ministry will summon the Turkish Ambassador in Athens and serve him with an official demarche from the Greek government regarding the alleged role of the Turkish Consul General in Komotini.
It is unallowable that alleged actions on the part of Turkey’s representative in Komotini – actions that would be beyond his consular duties and, we hope, unbeknownst to the Turkish government – should cause friction and tension between the two countries, particularly on the eve of the Turkish Foreign Minister’s visit to Athens and ahead of the upcoming meeting of the Greek-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council.
October 25, 2012