A Turkish Cypriot singer drew the ire of Greeks after performing a song that praised the 1922 liberation of western Turkish city of İzmir from Greek occupiers.
Işın Karaca sang "Izmir Marşı" at a concert organized by the Young Academics’ Association (GAT) in Komotini, a city in northern Greece with a significant Turkish minority. The song’s lyrics commemorate Republic of Türkiye founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's forces entering Izmir during Turkish War of Independence.
The performance drew sharp criticism from local media. Evros News condemned it as an “unacceptable provocation,” while Komotini Press accused Karaca of “committing an indecency on Greek soil” by offending her Greek co-funders. Opposition party Syriza MP Rena Dourou called the event “Turkish revisionism in action in Thrace” and urged the Greek Foreign Ministry to take a stand, warning that inaction could imply acceptance of the provocation.
Karaca, who was born to a Turkish Cypriot family in the U.K., defended her performance on Instagram. She criticized her Greek critics, emphasizing the importance of respect and mutual understanding between cultures. "You cannot criticize the great love I experienced on stage," she stated. “We are human beings first and foremost!”
Some social media users speculated that Karaca’s performance was a response to Greek singer Despina Vandi’s recent refusal to perform in Türkiye due to a flag dispute. Vandi had declined to perform in Çeşme, Türkiye, where the stage featured the Turkish flag and a portrait of Atatürk, leading to a local backlash. In an Instagram post, Vandi expressed respect for her audience but criticized the event’s political undertones, stating that it made her participation impossible.
