How Many More of Our Islands Must Be Occupied?!

While lecturing countries standing behind Israel the other day, Erdoğan used the following expressions:

“Be honest. Don't act one way one day and another the next... We want you to be upright, straightforward, but never turn around and be one way in the evening and another in the morning. Be like Turkey.”

I suppose for most of you, the first thing that came to mind was the dizzying U-turns in relations with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Greece, and Egypt!..

We will focus on Greece among these; because there are new developments that have gone unnoticed while the focus has been on Gaza and the judicial war.

Remember; when Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis explained his unchanging policies regarding Turkey and complained about our country during his 2022 US visit, Erdoğan reacted as follows:

“For me, there is no one named Mitsotakis anymore. I never accept holding such a meeting with him; because we walk the path with politicians who keep their word, who have personality and honor. Mitsotakis should think about what happens next himself. Whoever he wants to meet with, whoever he wants to have bases built for, let him go ahead and build them; we are enough for ourselves.”

But after the February 6 earthquake, these words were forgotten when Greece sent a rescue team, and the focus immediately shifted to a “positive agenda” in relations. So much so that Erdoğan and the then-Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu even celebrated the independence day that Greece won by massacring thousands of Turks and Muslims. Furthermore, the Greek side claimed during this process that Ankara had “stopped violations in the Aegean and was not conducting flights over the islands.”

STALLING TALKS

When Erdoğan and Mitsotakis met at the UN Summit in New York in September, the pro-government media created a spring-like atmosphere.

It was only 10 days after that summit; Mitsotakis gave an interview to the Greek Alfa television. The journalist's first question about Erdoğan was as follows:

“This meeting of yours with Erdoğan took place. When you saw Mr. Erdoğan in front of you, did you feel and perceive a different climate?.. I am talking about a man who, until a while ago, said, 'There is no Mitsotakis. I don't want to see him again.'”

Mitsotakis's answer was quite diplomatic, but it was full of messages.

While stating that he was moderately optimistic about the future of relations being more positive after the elections in both countries, he said, “I believe Turkey has also understood that it is not in its own interest to burn bridges with Europe and, to a certain extent, with the US. It recognizes Greece's important role in shaping relations with Europe and, to a certain extent, with the US; because the relationship between the US and Greece is geostrategic.”

While repeating Greece's well-known theses in the Aegean and the Mediterranean, he emphasized that he had always been consistent, and explained what the dialogue that had begun was primarily useful for as follows:

“What we have agreed on so far, that is, what is clear, I can say is the de-escalation of tension; the zeroing of flights... We have been seeing these not for months, but for weeks, they are continuing.”

So it was true; Ankara had zeroed out flights in the Aegean on the occasion of the start of the new dialogue process!..

THE ANSWER: ISRAELI MISSILES ON OUR BORDER

Let us look at Greece's attitude in response to such an important step by Ankara.

In the days when Mitsotakis made those statements, it was reported that Athens would place the Spike missiles to be purchased from Israel on the Turkish border...

It was revealed that some PKK terrorists detained in an operation carried out by our security forces in 4 provinces had received training at Greece's Lavrion Camp...

It was understood that the participation of the TRNC, which is an observer member, in the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) Summit held in Kazakhstan on November 3, was blocked by the US and the EU as a result of the lobbying activities of the Greek-Cypriot duo...

“SPRING ATMOSPHERE” FROM YAŞAR GÜLER

While this is the picture, four days ago, a “spring atmosphere” was created in our country again, and it was announced that the 4th Confidence Building Measures (CBM) Meeting between the Turkish and Greek Ministries of Defense delegations would be held.

After the meeting held in Ankara after a 4-year hiatus, the Ministry of National Defense announced that it had been decided to establish a Point of Contact Mechanism to facilitate the implementation of CBMs, while the pro-government media published a list of “agreed-upon measures.”

In the list, in addition to meetings, visits, joint exercises, cooperation between military academies, and organizing sports competitions, there was also such an item:

“Exchange of information and cooperation in the field of 'tele-medicine' between two military hospitals, one in Greece and one in Turkey.”

Excuse me, but hadn't military hospitals been closed in our country?

Anyway; after the Greek delegation left, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler said, “The meetings went very positively. Hopefully, we will continue like this. We will go to Greece in return for this.”

DISMISSIVENESS FROM DENDIAS

It would not be right not to convey Greece's attitude after this positive atmosphere.

Minister Güler's counterpart, Nikos Dendias, first said the following word for word:

“I do not want these meetings to give the impression that it is a negotiation about everything. This is not even a negotiation. I assigned an experienced diplomat at the Ministry of Defense, Ambassador Lalakos, my former Secretary General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to lead this group. Because this approach has diplomatic characteristics. But that is all. Confidence Building Measures are measures outlined in a list from ten years ago. If I remember correctly, there are 29 measures, and we are deciding which of these we will put to a referendum... These are measures related to, for example, sports matches between the two countries' armed forces, communication lines, and mutual visits. Let no one think that we have entered the deep waters of the Turkish-Greek dispute. This is not the job of the Ministry of Defense. It is the job of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The roles are different. However, having an understanding, having a good climate, having a calm is something we all want.”

Then he noted the following:

“Issues of national sovereignty cannot be a subject of dialogue for any country. Dialogue is not unlimited.”

In short; it is a picture of us being delusional by ourselves!..

12 MILES AND BOZCAADA-GÖKÇEADA MESSAGES

But there is also a before to this.

Dendias, who attended the 111th-anniversary ceremonies of the 'liberation' of Chios Island two days before the meeting held at the Ministry of National Defense, claimed that the continental shelf of Chios and all Aegean islands is 12 miles, and said, “The Hellenic Republic has a constitutional duty to defend these rights, which no Greek government will neglect.”

Could Ankara have not heard these? No, the government's own newspaper, Sabah, reminded that Turkey considers this a “casus belli” (cause for war) while reporting Dendias's 12-mile claim.

However, the Ministry of National Defense held that meeting as if nothing had happened.

Dendias also had an outburst on the day the meeting was held. Giving a lecture at the National Defense School on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Lausanne, Dendias claimed that Turkey did not respect the rights granted to the Greeks of Bozcaada and Gökçeada in Lausanne.

OUR ISLANDS HAVE TURNED INTO PALESTINE

Ümit Yalım, former Secretary General of the Ministry of National Defense, who does not let go of the issue of Greece occupying 20 islands and two rocky islets within the borders of İzmir, Aydın, and Muğla, made the following statements to Saygı Öztürk from Sözcü the other day:

“Greece, which first opened our islands to settlement, is now occupying them by deploying armed soldiers. According to the data of the Greek Ministry of Interior, there are more than 7 thousand registered voters and 6 thousand Greek soldiers stationed on our occupied islands. The population of the islands is increasing every year. Greece has opened 14 military bases on our occupied islands. Greece, which has placed heavy weapons such as cannons, mortars, anti-aircraft, and anti-tank weapons on the military bases, has turned the barrels of the weapons towards Turkey. Not a single diplomatic note has been given to Greece in 19 years, and no Government Directive has been given to the TAF to prevent the occupation. Greece appoints governors to our occupied islands, establishes municipalities and municipal councils on our islands, holds mayoral elections, and collects taxes. Turkey is turning into Palestine step by step... Erdoğan and the AKP Governments, who react to Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands, do not react to Greece's occupation of Turkish lands.”

Under these conditions, should we suggest, “Let the next Confidence Building Measures Meeting be held on the occupied islands, for example, Eşek or Bulamaç, instead of Athens.”?

Or if we asked, “I wonder which of our other islands Ankara is waiting to be occupied; Bozcaada and Gökçeada too?”?!..

Would it be of any use?!