Expulsion of Greeks from Istanbul

A long-term policy of ethno-religious cleansing and Turkification of the economy was implemented from 1908 by the local Ottoman authorities. Such tendencies continued after the Greek–Turkish population exchange of 1923 against the remaining Greek communities, exemplified in the "wealth" tax of 1942 and the pogrom of 1955. while the government of İsmet İnönü and the local press launched a campaign for the justification of the premeditated expulsion of Istanbul Greeks. From 1963 Turkey found itself in diplomatic isolation while NATO and CENTO, organizations in which it was a member, refused to support the Turkish claims for Cyprus. ==Population affected==

The measures immediately affected more than 10,000 ethnic Greeks who held Greek passports and were allowed to remain in Turkey under the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), the subsequent Greek–Turkish population exchange, as well as the Greek–Turkish agreement of 1930. The first wave of expulsion included businessmen and in general members of the community supposed to have conducted activities detrimental to the Turkish state. The state authorities also expelled – allegedly due to anti-Turkish activity – handicapped and disabled persons as well as people with mental illness and individuals who suffered from incurable diseases; even people who had died some years before. ==Restrictions==

Fundamental human rights violations The deportees were informed of their expulsion order by police officers either at their homes or workplaces. They were then transferred to the "Greek Department" at the police headquarters of Istanbul and forced to sign a document in which they had to admit to a number of charges as well as that they "...consented to leave Turkey of their own will". They were allowed to take only 220 Turkish lira (approximately US$22) with them, as well as a single piece of luggage weighing or less. Typical headlines in the Turkish press referred to Greeks as "genetically flawed and ruthless blood-shedders" and "the evil, historical enemy of Turks". On 14 April 1964, Turkish student organizations joined this anti-Greek campaign. Their common declaration was published on the front cover of almost all Istanbul newspapers: Its religious publications were banned. Greek Orthodox clerics were prohibited from entering local Greek schools. In November 1964, the morning prayer was banned from Greek schools. The Turkish government also began refusing permission for the repair of dilapidated educational institutions. On 15 September 1964, the authorities prohibited all books written in Greek inside the Greek schools of Istanbul and their libraries. Religious celebrations, including Christmas and Easter, were also forbidden inside schools. From December 1964, Greek pupils were prohibited from speaking Greek during class breaks. On 21 April 1964, the local authorities forcibly occupied and closed the Greek Orphanage of Büyükada (Prinkipos), thus depriving 165 orphans of their lodgings and education. In various instances, Turkish mobs attacked the Patriarchate and other religious monuments. In one case, on 9 September 1964, the Greek cemetery at Kuzguncuk was desecrated. ==Reactions outside Turkey==

As the expulsion policy became wide-scale the Greek government asked for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council in September 1964. The president of the council, Platon D. Morozov, as well as the Soviet Union, condemned the "massive deportations". However, Western countries preferred to avoid any involvement against the ongoing expulsion policy. ==Aftermath==

The exodus of Istanbul Greeks indicated that the coexistence of Muslims and Greek Orthodox in Istanbul, which had survived for centuries, that was ratified under the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne, had completely failed. The expulsion had multiple and complex repercussions for Turkey in the fields of both domestic and foreign policy. It also struck a blow to the concept of a pluralistic society, in a country that would tolerate the presence of the remaining non-Muslim element. On the other hand, it fuelled nationalist agitation and fervor in both Greece and Turkey, and further deteriorated Greek–Turkish relations. The exodus continued during the subsequent years with additional thousands of local Greeks leaving Istanbul in fear of losing their lives and property. This occurred after pressure was exerted by the Council of the European Union in the context of Turkey's application for membership in the European Union. However, the state authorities in Turkey were still imposing restrictions and appropriating minority properties through similar legal processes, and continued to refuse to allow Greek citizens to possess or inherit any kind of property. Similarly, donations by members of the Greek minority to non-Muslim minority institutions were considered the property of the Turkish state. As a result of such policies of Turkification, several parts of Istanbul that had been predominantly inhabited by minorities were evacuated during the 1950s and 1960s and were fully abandoned and filled with decaying buildings. Some of them were subsequently occupied by rural migrants who finally achieved ownership after a certain time period of uncontested occupation. Today Istanbul has lost most of its multicultural character. ==See also==