The wise Greek Admiral who speaks the truth in his book "Hanging Up the Uniform"

The economic crisis currently being experienced in Turkey also has external dimensions. One of these is the issue of armament that our neighbor in the West, Greece, receives from imperial countries. 

Greece is constantly arming itself against Turkey. In this context, according to media reports dated July 22, 2024, Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis was even able to use the phrase "We could come to Ankara suddenly one night with F-35s" during a television program he attended. 

Greek state figures continue to make similar outbursts when they experience problems in domestic politics. 

Despite all this, a very small number of Greek intellectuals are able to look at Turkish-Greek relations from an objective perspective.

One of them is retired Admiral Andonis Andonyadis, who served as the Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff between 2002 and 2005. 

Andonyadis evaluated Turkish-Greek relations from an objective perspective in his book titled "Hanging Up the Uniform". I learned about the first translation of the book in Turkey from an article by Yorgo Kırbaki in the Hürriyet newspaper dated October 1, 2008. We included a portion of these translations in our book, "Recent History of the Turks of Rhodes and Kos - 'The Silent Scream Rising in the Aegean Sea'"(*).

A competent evaluation of the book has also been made by Cem Gürdeniz in his article titled "An Admiral from Greece and His Book"(**).

WHAT DOES ANDONYADİS SAY ABOUT THE "TURKEY THREAT" TABOO IN GREECE?

In the translation made by Yorgo Kırbaki, it is reported that Andonis Andonyadis tears down the "Turkey Threat" taboo in Greece.

 The Admiral wrote the following: “Turkey and the world recognize 6 miles. Today, Greece exercises its sovereign rights over an airspace (10 miles) beyond its territorial waters (6 miles). We have the right to extend our territorial waters to 12 miles in accordance with international law. However, since we are not exercising this right, there is no need to make ourselves look ridiculous with a patent that has no equal worldwide by saying our airspace is one thing and our territorial waters are another width. Greece's unilateral declaration of 10 miles at the beginning of the 20th century (1931) carries no meaning for the international community. The international community, and of course Turkey, recognizes 6 miles as our airspace. 

The situation is different from what 95 percent of us believe. The situation is different from what 95 percent of the Greek people and 70 percent of the Greek parliament believe. The FIR region is unrelated to the exercise of a country's sovereign rights. These are flight identification regions. In some countries with islands, FIR regions may overlap with national airspace boundaries. However, this is not the case for Greece. 35 percent of the areas we call the Athens FIR are international airspace, and Greece has no sovereign rights over this area. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) also clearly states that its provisions only cover civil aircraft. Therefore, all warplanes, and of course Turkish warplanes, do not have to submit a flight plan when they fly in areas outside Greek airspace in the Athens FIR region. Greece may request a flight plan for the safety of flights, but the other party has no such obligation according to international rules.

Only fools die for the interpretation of the law. Turkish warplanes enter the international areas of the Athens FIR line almost every day, effectively showing that they have no obligation to submit a flight plan. Greece considers this a violation of air traffic rules and scrambles warplanes to "identify" Turkish planes. Dogfights occur. Turkish warplanes also pass through areas between 6 and 10 miles during their flights, effectively showing that they do not accept Greece's claim that its airspace is 10 miles. Greece then considers this a violation of its national airspace and scrambles warplanes for harassment. The result is again a dogfight. 

One does not need to be a soldier to understand that blood is shed for the sake of actions within the framework of the interpretation of international law. Only fools die for the sake of the interpretation of the law.

If we want Sakarya, Turkey becomes a threat. I have never agreed with the view prevailing in Greece regarding the magnitude and form of the Turkish threat; as I became interested in Turkish-Greek issues, the view that the subjects of dispute were more about political stupidity than essential reasons gained weight. If a person who has dealt with Turkish-Greek issues for years has not been able to identify a serious threat, they are either stupid or there are gaps in the definition of the threat. I saw many mistakes in myself, but stupidity was not among them. For example, if Greece wants to expand its borders to Sakarya again or annex Cyprus, or decides to provide military support to the Kurds' efforts to declare an autonomous state, only then could Turkey be a serious threat.”

A WISE ADMIRAL IN GREECE

In his article, Cem Gürdeniz also reports that Andonis Andonyadis is an extremely sincere, gentlemanly, wise personality who is well-versed in universal culture and also very knowledgeable. For Andonyadis, he says; “He had open and innovative ideas. He was courageously stating and defending his ideas on many sensitive issues, especially those that could be considered taboo in his own country, primarily the institution of religion, i.e., Orthodox Christianity, and Turkish-Greek relations. He had a secular worldview. He was a statesman far removed from delusional concepts such as Byzantium, Pan-Hellenism, and Megali Idea. For this reason, I was not surprised at all when I learned years later, following his retirement, that he had been declared persona non grata by the church. His critical ideas regarding the influence of the clergy on domestic politics and social sociology in Greece were very instructive. On the other hand, he believed that Turkish-Greek relations, which work quite well on an individual basis, would also improve and enter their normal course between states and governments over time.”

ANDONYADİS CONTINUED TO EVALUATE TURKISH-GREEK RELATIONS REALISTICALLY.

Cem Gürdeniz wrote that in an interview he gave to a Greek television channel at the beginning of July 2020, Andonis Andonyadis continued to defend the same ideas, and in a tense environment, he did not meet the expectations of the program producers and the moderator, and without paying attention to the fanatical comments that belittled the Turks, he said very cool-headedly: ''I did not understand your question (what happens if a Turkish drilling ship is sent to the south of Crete?), you say you will sink the ship, but we do not have an exclusive economic zone that we claim to own in that region, by what right will we sink their ships... Turkey is looking after its interests and is actually doing very well. It is definitely doing what it has to do within the framework of international law... International law has a purpose and a benefit, it is like a barrier against the strongest laws... We are stronger than the Macedonians and we made them accept our laws in the name dispute. And now Turkey is doing this to us. Let me remind you, international law has no enforcement methods, you cannot force anyone to do this...''

OUR MONEY GOES TO THOSE WHO WANT A FIGHT

Andonis Andonyadis also said the following in his book "Hanging Up the Uniform": “Our money goes to those who want a fight. Turkish-Greek disputes cause large sums of money that could be spent to meet many social needs to go to weapons. Both countries spend this money on armament programs, which are a monster that does not know what it means to be full. This money goes into the pockets of people who want the tension to be maintained because our fighting means their survival...”

I would also like to add: “Greece is a country that is wanted to be used as a battering ram against Turkey. Is there a need to go far? Doesn't Greece, which is constantly arming itself on the Aegean islands and Western Thrace, enrich the arms manufacturers of Europe, especially the United States?”

GREECE NEEDS BRAVE AND WISE PEOPLE LIKE ANDONYADİS IN TURKISH-GREEK RELATIONS

Based on my observations, experiences, and what I have read, I can say the following: “In Greece, there is a problematic and negative anti-Turkism created for the imperialist policies of Westerners as an extension of Orientalism. The created anti-Turkism has paved the way for the Greeks' search for identity and has brought about a perception in the form of 'Turks are tyrants who do not recognize rights' and 'It has brought poverty, ignorance, fatigue, pain, trouble, whips, bastinado, and death to the Greeks.'

As a result of all this, there are two types of Greek intellectuals in terms of their approach to Turkish-Greek relations in Greece. One of these intellectual groups looks at Turkish-Greek relations from the perspective of facts without falling into the trap of imperialism, while the other group looks at it negatively.

However, it is observed that the second group is a more crowded and powerful group.

As for the Greek people, a large part of them are under the influence of Greek clergymen whose existence depends on Turkophobia and/or some Greek politicians who want to maintain their power through anti-Turkism when they experience problems in domestic politics.”

Some in Turkey do not know. In Greece, where the second group is dominant, the idea of "demolishing architectural works" left over from the Ottomans has also become dominant, and most of the architectural works have been destroyed by being left to the destruction of time. For example, those who take a city tour in Thessaloniki observe this. The same situation applies to Rhodes and Kos. They say that they were left behind by the "Barbarians - Turks according to the Greeks" and that there is no longer any need for these works.(***)

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(*)Kaymakçı, M., C. Özgün, 2015. Recent History of the Turks of Rhodes and Kos - “The Silent Scream Rising in the Aegean Sea”, Publications of the Rhodes, Kos and Dodecanese Islands Turks Culture and Solidarity Association. İzmir

(**)Gürdeniz, C., 2024. An Admiral from Greece and his book, August 11, 2024. Veryansın tv

(***)https://www.arkeolojikhaber.com/haber-hollandali-tarihci-yunanistandaki-osmanli-eserlerini-nasil-kurtardigini-anlatti-23604/; Kiel, M., 2019. Ottoman-Turkish Monuments Of Architecture On Rhodes And Kos Between Neglect And Demolition On One Hand And Careful Restoration On The Other. (Ed.,) Mustafa Kaymakçı, Cihan Özgün, Fırat Yaldız (In.) Turkish Foundations in Rhodes and Kos. Pub.; Rhodes, Kos and the Dodecanese Islands Turks Culture and Solidarity Association and Eğitim Yayınevi, p.223-233)