Did no one say a word because he didn't roast a lamb?!

On Monday, Erdoğan has an important guest. Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis will be paying a return visit.

Do not pay attention to the tales from the pro-government media that “the visit has created excitement in the neighbor.” In reality, they are the ones who are giddy with excitement because Mitsotakis is coming!..

How much is revealed by these words from Erdoğan after this week's Presidential Cabinet meeting:

“Greek Prime Minister Mr. Mitsotakis will come to Ankara as part of an official visit. Like the double-headed Seljuk eagle, we will seek ways to develop our relations with both the east and the west on the basis of our common interests.”

From where to where?!.. Just 2 years ago, from the defiance of “For me, there is no one named Mitsotakis anymore,” to this!..

So, is Greece on the same page as Ankara? Is there any change in its position against Turkey?

It is enough to look at the statement Mitsotakis made about his visit to Turkey about 15 days ago.

Emphasizing that this rapprochement has “yielded some important results so far,” he explained that “a calm atmosphere prevails in the Aegean,” that “illegal migration has decreased significantly, and that local tradespeople on the islands have gained economic benefits through the 'visa at the gate' practice.”

In other words, implying that “We have been the winners in the rapprochement so far,” he gave the message that the dialogue would be a gateway to new gains!..

Is this the picture or not; let's take a look at the balance sheet of the last month.

On April 15-17, at the “Our Ocean” conference held in Athens, Mitsotakis declared two large marine parks in the Ionian Sea and the Aegean. According to experts, the declaration of a marine park under the guise of protecting marine life and nature in the Aegean was “a step towards the de facto declaration of an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in a region that also includes the Islands, Islets, and Rocks whose Sovereignty Has Not Been Transferred to Greece by Treaties (EGAAYDAK).”

Of course, Ankara also saw the danger and jumped up!..

First the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the AKP Spokesperson, and finally the Ministry of National Defense warned Greece.

The Foreign Ministry stated, “We will not accept the de facto situations that are attempted to be created on disputed geographical formations”... AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik emphasized that this was “a situation that sabotages the normalization process”... The Ministry of National Defense also said, “We are on alert.”

But before the ink on these reactions and warnings had even dried, Erdoğan announced that Mitsotakis's visit would be an important milestone in Turkey-Greece relations!..

Following this, a delegation from the Ministry of National Defense, which had gone on “alert,” visited the Greek 31st Mechanized Infantry Brigade Command!..

Afterward, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis in London and held a 2.5-hour meeting. As we learned from the Greek media, the one-on-one meeting was held “under conditions of extreme secrecy”!..

GENOCIDE SLANDER AND COMMEMORATING GALLIPOLI

19 days before Mitsotakis's visit to Turkey, April 24 was the day of the genocide slander. Sharing a post for this day, Mitsotakis said, “Today is Remembrance Day, the 109th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian genocide. We commemorate the victims and keep their memory alive.”

Minister of National Defense Dendias also stated, accompanied by a photo of his visit to the so-called genocide monument in Yerevan on March 4, that “historical truth must be recognized so that crimes against humanity are not repeated.”

Our friends (!) did not forget the 109th anniversary of the Gallipoli land battles, which began on April 24-25, when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk received the title of “Hero of Anafartalar”!..

Defense Minister Dendias attended the “honor and remembrance day” ceremony held for the soldiers they lost in these battles and gave messages such as, “The Gallipoli battles did not achieve their strategic goals. However, they left an indelible mark on our collective memory as a monument to human courage. It created a blood bond between Greece and its allies.”

THEY LANDED ON OUR ISLANDS

It was February 22; Defense Minister Dendias said, “Everything beyond 3 miles from the Turkish coast in the Aegean belongs to Greece.” Ankara did not say a word.

When there was no reaction, as retired Rear Admiral Cem Gürdeniz, the namesake of the Blue Homeland, said, “their arrogance continued.”

11 days before Mitsotakis's visit to Turkey, at the beginning of this month, as part of a “visit to the Eastern Aegean islands,” Dendias landed on islands that have never had their sovereignty transferred to Greece and should also be in a non-military status according to the Treaties of Lausanne and Paris, along with Greek generals, and inspected the military units there.

One of the islands visited was Eşek Island, which is attached to our Aydın province, and Ankara again did not say a word.

It was this time 7 years ago; the then Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos also went to Eşek Island by helicopter with the Commander of the Land Forces, Lieutenant General Stefanis, and roasted a lamb at a barbecue party he organized there and raised a toast.

When they were going by helicopter, our air controller warned them that they were flying in Turkish airspace, to which Kammenos replied, “We are in Greek airspace. I am the Greek Minister of Defense,” and upon our controller's insistence, he cursed in Turkish.

WHY DID WE REMIND YOU OF THIS?

At that time, Ankara had reacted to this disgrace, albeit weakly; Fikri Işık, who was the Minister of National Defense, said, “The Greek Defense Minister is putting on a show. We will not be in a position to be a tool for their show, but everyone, especially the Greek Defense Minister, knows very well that Turkey will not bow to a fait accompli in any way,” and Ömer Çelik, who is the AKP Spokesperson today, explained that “there is no question of violating Turkey's sovereign rights or taking a place that is Turkish territory from Turkey's hands by going there,” and said that “the necessary response will be given at a time to be determined by Turkey.”

Whether our administrators have become so accustomed to such challenges, whether it is because Dendias did not roast a lamb and raise a toast on Eşek Island like Kammenos, or whether they have fallen silent this time so as not to cast a shadow on Mitsotakis's visit, is unknown; but it is understood that the time for “giving the necessary response” has not yet come!..

KARIYE MOSQUE IN “CONSTANTINOPLE”

As is known, it was decided that Kariye would be opened for worship along with the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. The decision came into effect in recent days after a strange 4-year process.

Like Hagia Sophia, the first to be disturbed by this was again Greece. While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs described this as a “provocation for the international community,” a call was made to Mitsotakis to postpone his visit to Turkey.

The pro-government media reported Mitsotakis's response to this call as follows:

“Mitsotakis said he would express his dissatisfaction with the conversion of the Kariye Monastery in Istanbul into a mosque during his visit... Mitsotakis stated, 'The visit should not be postponed, as it is important to keep communication channels open. It is much better for me to go to President Erdoğan and personally convey my discomfort with this choice of the Turkish government than to create a crisis that would destroy the progress we have achieved in Turkish-Greek relations in recent times.' Stating that the Kariye Mosque is not a bilateral issue between Turkey and Greece, Mitsotakis stated that the mosque is a very important world cultural heritage. Mitsotakis stated that he found this decision wrong.”

However, there were important details in what Mitsotakis said both in the post he made on his social media account regarding this issue and in the meeting he held with President Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

In his post, Mitsotakis, who said that the “completely unnecessary conversion of the Kariye Monastery into a mosque” is “an act that insults the rich history of Constantinople,” also said the following in his meeting with Sakellaropoulou:

“I want to clearly state my strong dissatisfaction, which all Greeks share, regarding the unnecessary conversion of the Kariye Monastery, a historic Byzantine temple, into a mosque. I believe that this behavior is an act that harms the rich history of Constantinople, which is the intersection point of civilizations, and I will definitely address this issue when I meet with President Erdoğan.”

Greek President Sakellaropoulou replied, “The issue of the Kariye Monastery becoming a mosque does not send a good message, because the Kariye Monastery is an ecumenical monument, not just an Orthodox church. It is a universal monument of cultural heritage... Protecting cultural and religious heritage, especially if it has this universal character, is a duty for all of us and is a sign of our respect for these values,” and wished Mitsotakis good luck on his journey to Turkey.

As can be seen, these people are interfering with our country's sovereign rights in every field; but according to our media, there is a “positive atmosphere” in the relations between the two countries!..

If this is “positive,” what could be negative?!

Müyesser YILDIZ

May 10, 2024