Why Turkey Wants to Invade the Greek Islands

Gatesstone Institute ^ | February 28, 2018 at 5:00 am | Uzay Bulut

[Texas Fossil]

• Turkish propagandists also have been twisting facts to try to portray Greece as the aggressor.

• Although Turkey knows that the islands are legally and historically Greek, Turkish authorities want to occupy and Turkify them, presumably to further the campaign of annihilating the Greeks, as they did in Anatolia from 1914 to 1923 and after.

• Any attack against Greece should be treated as an attack against the West.

There is one issue on which Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its main opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), are in complete agreement: The conviction that the Greek islands are occupied Turkish territory and must be reconquered. So strong is this determination that the leaders of both parties have openly threatened to invade the Aegean.

The only conflict on this issue between the two parties is in competing to prove which is more powerful and patriotic, and which possesses the courage to carry out the threat against Greece. While the CHP is accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's AKP party of enabling Greece to occupy Turkish lands, the AKP is attacking the CHP, Turkey's founding party, for allowing Greece to take the islands through the 1924 Treaty of Lausanne, the 1932 Turkish-Italian Agreements, and the 1947 Paris Treaty, which recognized the islands of the Aegean as Greek territory.

[marron]

Turkey itself is originally greek.

And we forget that, alongside the massacre of Armenians and Assyrians, the Turks were busy slaughtering Greeks at the very same time. Total Christian deaths number in the several millions. And that is in (almost) living memory.

[Texas Fossil]

You are correct. And Turkey has NEVER admitted any part of the Armenian Genocide. Nor any of the other Massacres.

“And that is in (almost) living memory.” BUMP!

[Texas Fossil]

Well, from what I’ve read they arrested none of the 1,000,000 who gathered at the end of the “Adalet” (Justice) March months ago. The Kemalist did that, but never mentioned that they were Kemalists. Erdogan is still afraid of the Kemalists.

[VietVet876]

Hey, the Turks like boys. The Greeks like boys. Why shouldn’t they all just get along?

[fella]

Mussulmen do what mussulmen got to do in obeying their so-called holy book.

[Texas Fossil]

The only understand force.

[Texas Fossil]

The pic?

Looks like it smells bad.

[Texas Fossil]

Not sure. Russia responds to money and assets.

I believe Putin is playing with Erdogan. But he stepped away from the Kurds in Efrin. I’m sure that is meant to make them support Assad. So far that has not happened.

Turkey is playing with fire here. If someone unified the Kurds, Turkey itself might be in play.

[Rebelbase]

The prison guard from the movie Midnight Express.

[Texas Fossil]

It will be interesting.

[Texas Fossil]

I’ve never seen it.

Turk Prisons?

[OPINION] Turkish gov’t distorts facts reported by UN Special Rapporteur on torture

http://www.platformpj.org/opinion-turkish-govt-distorts-facts-reported-un-special-rapporteur-torture/

Not a place you want to be.

[Rebelbase]

According to the movie it was the same way 40+ years ago.

[Texas Fossil]

Probably true.

[Sergio]

If I remember correctly, it began when some Turks, visiting Greece, took a Greek kings wife with them back to Turkey, ticking off said Greek king. The Greek kings amphibious forces numbered 1000 ships, the city they attacked is Troy, the gals name was Helen.

[SMARTY]

There’s no love lost between the Greeks and the Turks...this is a continuation of the old Muslim vs. the world scenario

[SMARTY]

What is good for America is great for the rest of the world.. what is bad for America is EXTRA bad for the rest of the world.

You’d think they would have all that figured out by now

[Texas Fossil]

Good people understand that what you said is correct.

Bad people universally oppose it.

So depending on how many good guys and bad guys are in a nation, support varies.

In the Middle East, the culture often prevents any discussion of this.

[scrabblehack]

At least one of the Greek isles was for sale some time ago. Greece has had chronic fiscal difficulty. Why don’t they just buy them?

[Texas Fossil]

Helen, yep. Old battle.

[pepsionice]

Two issues:

1. When anyone talks about Greek isles for sale...it typically needs to be discussed on size. These are usually islands that amount to fifty acres or less. Most people would like the idea but then discover there’s no fresh water supply, and there’s probably only sustainability for like a dozen sheep/goats.

2. This oil/natural gas discussion is typically about a underwater ‘field’ (triangle in shape) between Cyprus, Israel, and Egypt. Pull up the Google map and look at it. The dynamic here is that it’s away from the north part of Cyprus which is controlled by the Turks. The south part of the isle is Greek Cypriot controlled.

The Turks can grumble about this and threaten ships in the region, but legally, it’s way beyond their control, and beyond the north side of the isle.