Greek, Turkish Jets Collide Over Aegean

Warplanes from Greece and Turkey collided over the Aegean Sea as they shadowed each other Tuesday in disputed airspace, and officials said the Turkish pilot was rescued unhurt.

There were conflicting reports on the fate of the Greek pilot. A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said the Greek pilot had died, but officials in Athens said a rescue operation was still under way.

The two F-16 fighter jets collided over international waters near the island of Karpathos after two Greek jets intercepted two Turkish warplanes, military officials from both countries said.

Greek officials claimed the Turkish planes were acting as escorts to an R-F4 photo-reconnaissance plane.

Fighter planes from the two NATO members frequently intercept each other over the Aegean, mostly in areas of disputed airspace. Long-standing disputes over airspace and territorial rights in the Aegean have nearly led to three wars between them since 1974.

The Greek and Turkish military chiefs as well as both nations foreign ministers spoke shortly after the crash and said it would not escalate tensions.

Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and her Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gull "expressed their regret for today's incident and agreed that this incident must not affect the two countries' goal of improving their relations," the Greek Foreign Ministry said.

Aerial intercepts were especially common during the 1980s and 1990s, fueling fears they could trigger hostilities between the two countries, because the fighter jets were often armed.

Greece says its national airspace extends to 10 miles, but Turkey recognizes only six miles — the same distance as territorial waters.

The Turkish military said its pilot, 1st Lt. Halil Ibrahim Ozdemir, was rescued unhurt by a merchant ship and put on a Turkish military helicopter.

The Greek statement said the planes collided at 27,000 feet after the Turkish jets "violated air traffic rules."

Greek military officials said the Turkish plane caused the collision by a "sudden maneuver." Evangelos Antonaros, a Greek government spokesman, described the crash as "a particularly unfortunate incident."

Relations between Greece and Turkey have been steadily deteriorating in recent months, despite Athens' promotion of Turkey's candidacy to join the European Union and Premier Costas Caramanalis' personal friendship with Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Observers said neither country would want tensions to mount given that the lucrative tourism season is about to begin.

"Tension would be catastrophic for both countries' tourism industries," said Theodore Couloumbis, director of the Greek think tank ELIAMEP. "I don't think this incident will lead to an escalation."

The Greek jet was based at Souda Air Force base on the island of Crete. Karpathos, in the southeast Aegean, is about 270 miles from Athens.

Associated Press Writer Benjamin Harvey in Turkey and Nicholas Paphitis in Athens contributed to this report.

Oh cool...

...In July 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus and has occupied the northern part of the island ever since.

have you ever consider or ever thought about it ? Why the island has been occupied by Turkey ? If you ever think that the Greek Cypriots are only the victims my friend you are unfortunately totally wrong...If you deny the slaughter that has been against Turks you will totally be wrong again. But the problem lies here..In history books greeks read how brutal turks are , how merciless they are..Although relations get better and better this is what the people still keep in their minds...

.when the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453 they renamed it Istanbul. The Sultan Mehmed entered the city, went directly to Haghia Sophia Church, and ordered it to be converted into a mosque.

and as for that you are talking of 1453. Hagia Sophia is no longer a mosque and it is converted into a museum by Ataturk's order in mid 1930s. Besides you cant consider 1453 in todays minds.Why ? Because do you think christianity had great times during old ages..Have you forgotten the inqusitiaon ? And now should i say there was inqusition 1000 years ago so all the christians are so bad people..I guess you can see my point..doing so is ridiculous.

But my friend you can believe whatever you would like to believe..Greeks and Turks live side by side in this region and what i am defending is the best " we should learn to live together " If you want to object this it is your problem.On the other hand , just thinking that turks are or greeks are uncompromisable unfortuantely thats not a good point to start etiher.

and i can post things like that too...

The simplest definition of the Cyprus conflict is that there are two distinct communities living on the island, namely the Turkish and the Greek Cypriot communities with deep roots in history directly involving their respective motherlands, Turkey and Greece. The conflict emanates from the Greek and Greek-Cypriot aspirations and acts aiming at the annexation of the island to Greece after the annihilation of the Turkish-Cypriot community. The Turks are, naturally, determined to prevent such an annihilation and the annexation of the island to Greece.

In this context, the Cyprus problem is intimately connected with the so-called Greek "great idea" (megali idea) aiming at recreating the Byzantine Empire. As such, the Cyprus problem has its roots in the Greek rebellion in Morea against the Ottoman Government in 1821. In those days a certain Dimitrios Ipatros worked together with the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus, Kiprianos, enrolling him as a member of the Greek rebel organization Haeteria Philiki, obtaining monetary and moral support for the rebellion.

While Turkey was confronted by the Greek rebellion, assistance was requested from the autonomy-seeking Governor of Egypt, Mohamed Ali of Kavala and Cyprus was left under his control to be retaken by the Sublime Port in 1840. Later, the Ottoman-Russian War of 1877-78 resulted in an Ottoman disaster and in the Berlin Congress of 1878 the administration of Cyprus was left to Great Britain to be used as a base on condition that Great Britain would cooperate with the Ottoman Empire if Russia attacked once again. The document relevant to the British occupation of the island was the Cyprus Convention of 1 July 1878 explicitly stating that the British presence was provisional because in an annex to the said Convention it was stipulated that if Russia restored to Turkey the Turkish provinces of Kars, Ardahan and the other Russian conquests in Eastern Anatolia made during the 1877-78 war, then Cyprus would also be evacuated by Britain and the Cyprus Convention would be terminated.

In the meantime, the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus connected itself to the new Greek nationalist-expansionist underground organization Etniki Haeteria espousing the championship of Enosis, or, in other words, annexation to Greece. Britain also never intended to return Cyprus to the Turks because of British strategic and other interests.

Within this framework, Greek Orthodox Bishop Kiprianos of Kitium received Sir Garnet Wolseley, the first British High Commissioner to Cyprus, on his arrival to the island in early July 1878 with the following plea: "We accept the change of government in as much as we trust that Great Britain will help Cyprus, as it did the Ionian (or, in other words, Aegean) islands to be united with mother Greece with which it is naturally connected". This plea of Kiprianos was sympathetically received and, for instance, the Liberal Party leader Gladstone (later Prime Minister) remarked in March 1897 in the following way: "I subjoin the satisfaction I should feel, were it granted to me before the close of my long life, to see the population of that Hellenic island placed by friendly arrangement in organic union with their brethren of the Kingdom of Greece and Crete.". Similarly Winston Churchill, visiting the island in 1907 stated: " I think it only natural that the Cypriot people who are of Greek descent should regard their incorporation with what may be called their motherland as an ideal to be earnestly, devoutly and fervently cherished.".

Encouraged by such statements, in 1898 a patriotic Cypriot league was founded in Athens with the object of effecting in Cyprus the same revolution as had taken place in Crete and aiming at instilling into the minds of the Greek youth of the island that their great object in life was to advance the cause of Enosis. Consequently the Turkish-Cypriots were subjected to an onslaught by the Greeks on every occasion - in 1882, in 1895, during the Turco-Greek War of 1897, the Cretan crisis of 1898, in 1902, 1907 and during the Balkan war of 1912.

When eventually the First World War started in 1914 and the Ottoman Empire joined the Axis together with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany, the British unilaterally declared the 1878 Cyprus Convention null and void and annexed Cyprus. This announcement resulted in a further onslaught of the Turkish-Cypriot community by the Greek-Cypriots leading to wholesale emigration of the Turkish-Cypriots to Anatolia. Furthermore, Britain promulgated a Royal Decree on 27th of November 1917 requesting the islanders to opt for British citizenship within two years. When the Russians had to evacuate Kars, Ardahan, Batumi and other Turkish Eastern territories following the Bolshevik revolution, still abiding by the stipulations of the Cyprus Convention of 1878, Turkey requested the return of Cyprus as this was a provision that was mutually agreed upon. The British, however, overlooking their treaty obligations rejected this request.

In the meantime the members of the Turkish community in Cyprus who preferred to retain their Ottoman citizenship were treated as enemy aliens causing further Turkish emigration as they were suffering considerable economic and administrative discrimination.

At the end of the First World War, when the allies were attempting to impose on Turkey the Treaty of Sèvres, the British requested the Ottoman Empire the legal secession of Cyprus to British ownership. The Government of Ankara under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal, however, totally rejected the Treaty of Sèvres. After the success of the Kemalist Government, the discussions in Lausanne aiming at creating a delicate balance between Turkey and Greece, made the status of Cyprus an integral part of the eventual peace settlement in the Eastern Mediterranean and under the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 Turkey and Greece agreed that Cyprus would be under British sovereignty. Nevertheless, the Greek Orthodox Church in Cyprus right away proceeded into an intensification of its campaign for the annexation of Cyprus to Greece (Enosis) already launched in 1878. The Turkish-Cypriot community, fearing colonization by Greece, firmly opposed this campaign and cooperated with the British, assisting them in the administration of the island. The British, on the other hand, tried to appease the Greek community and provided a prominent presence for the Greeks in the Government of the Island by declaring Cyprus a Crown colony in 1925 and creating an Executive Council as well as a Legislative Council with a pronounced Greek majority that would function under the nominal leadership of a British Governor.

In 1931 the Greek Cypriots encouraged by the Greek Orthodox Church and despite the lenience of the British Governor, nevertheless, resorted to violence and revolted against the British Government in the cause of Enosis. This rebellion was swiftly crushed by the British but, unfortunately, the emergency measures that followed the Greek Cypriot rebellion were of general application and resulted in the suppression of the Turkish Cypriot community rights as well. The economic development of the Turkish community was thus adversely affected and the development of the Turkish community in terms of its aspirations in the fields of commerce, language and culture were curtailed.

At the end of the Second World War the Greek Cypriot campaign for Enosis was intensified once again from 1945 onwards. The Greek Orthodox Church attempted to misuse the principle of self-determination that was universally accepted in the context of the United Nations, claiming that only the Greek Cypriot community had the right for self-determination and that the destiny of Cyprus, therefore, should be left in the hands of the Greek community. As there was no single Cyprus nation but two entirely different ethnic communities living in the island, the principle of self-determination, from a proper implementation of the international law point of view could not be applied to only the Greek Cypriot community. Indeed, international law, in the presence of two distinct and entirely different ethnic communities in the island could only be applied to and be exercised by each of these two communities individually and separately. Failure to do so would have meant the denial of the right of self-determination to the Turkish Cypriot community and would hence constitute a violation of international law.

In this context, the Turkish Cypriot community attempted to defend their legitimate right of survival by opposing the Greek Cypriot efforts for Enosis. This resulted in wholesale Greek Cypriot attacks on the Turkish Cypriot population. As the Turkish community, which was lesser in number than the Greek community, lived in a widely dispersed manner over the island, the extent of the Greek Cypriot pressure on the Turkish Cypriots was very great. Under such intimidation the Turkish Cypriots were unable to continue to live among the Greek Cypriots and they were being compelled to abandon mixed villages, taking refuge in nearby Turkish Cypriot villages while consequently being deprived of their lands and homes by force. This Turkish Cypriot exodus resulted in the general impoverishment of the Turkish Cypriot community.

In 1950 the Greek Orthodox Church in Cyprus staged a so-called attempt to ascertain the wishes of an imaginary "people of Cyprus" claiming that it was holding a "plebiscite". Naturally the Turkish Cypriot community refused to recognise this masquarade of a so-called plebiscite which was obviously devoid of any legal basis whatsoever. In accordance with the precepts of both constitutional and international law the Turkish Cypriots continued to request that the right of self-determination should be exercised not only by the Greek Cypriots but by the Turkish Cypriots as well, as two distinct ethnic communities existed in the island and the rule of law required separate and equal treatment of both.

In 1950 Makarios III became the Archbishop of Cyprus whereupon he took an oath in church that he would achieve Enosis before his death. In 1953 Makarios managed to secure the support of the Greek government and created a terrorist movement (later to be known as EOKA) and in 1954 a Greek officer named Grivas arrived in Cyprus to become the leader of the EOKA terrorist movement. The EOKA sowed terror all over the island with the objective of uniting Cyprus with Greece. On 1st April 1955 EOKA proclaimed that its sole ultimate objective was uniting Cyprus with Greece.

In the meantime, between 1954 and 1958, Greece made several attempts in the United Nations to achieve Enosis under the guise of self-determination which Greece claimed to be an exclusive right for only the Greek-Cypriots, while in the island EOKA terror continued not only against the British government but also, and, perhaps, much more violently the Turkish community whom the EOKA considered as the greatest obstacle on their way to Enosis. During this period the Turkish-Cypriot community was driven away from thirty-three mixed villages and the Turkish homes in these villages were immediately burnt down by the Greek Cypriots.

I want you to remember that while I may be born and raised American, 8 years of Greek school as a boy and more than a dozen trips to Greece with my family have taught me to speak the language fluently and to know Greece's history almost inside-out.

Well that is great because i really appreciate people who dont forget their roots :)

It also taught me all that I needed (and more than I wanted) to know about the Turks and what they did to my people and their country for nearly 400 years.
Well that is true that Turks or Ottomans ruled your country for 400 years. But i will ask you something..British were in India and Pakistan right..Brits are the ones that the sun never went down on their Empire. Or remember the French in Africa.Most of the countries where french moved now speak french and mostly christians. I am just telling this for one reason. Ottomans did just one thing. They moved and ruled your country and the only thing they were interested in was collecting the taxes.. You protected your religion your language.

So from Turkey's uncooperativeness that cost American soldiers their lives, to her being oh-so kind and turning what was one of Greece's and Orthodoxy's most cherished and important churches into a museum after "only" almost 500 years of Turkey's having defamed it, I wish you lots of luck in trying to sell me on how Turks are "misunderstood" but truly swell folks once you get to know em' better.

Well you are writing kind maybe but the hatred you feel unfortuately is obvious. Yes turkey didnt cooperate with the USA. Thats correct. This might have costed lives of American people thats correct too..But do you know how many countries want to withdraw their soldiers from Iraq now ? And besides 100 years later we will be here and Iraq will be here too. ANd maybe in 100 years time the USA wont be here..who knows..what i have been trying to tell is i like iraq or not we will continue to live with them in this region so it is our right to be much more sensetive about this issues here...ANd i am telling this even though i do not like Arabians that much...
ANd again , about the Hagia Sophia you are talking of 600 hundres years ago.. Neither the christian world nor the muslim world had todays values..I am not proud that Hagia Sophia is converted into a mosque..But i am glad at least a mistake that has been made is changed....

But please just think if someone ( you , me or anyone else ) thinks that he is or his country is always right in every matter and dont you think that there might be something wrong there..Well turks are brutal but greeks are so innocent..or the vice versa..do you think in all cases this may be true.. I dont think so..

What i am just telling in all of these incidents we should know our past , history that is good but we should not live with our past..If we do so we will never have a future.

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