PROVOCATION - Turkish MP- "Greek occupation" of NE Aegean, Dodecanese & Cretan Sea

credit Imerisia

An interesting article was published on Imerisia earlier this week concerning a series of questions that were submitted for discussion at the Turkish National Assembly. We are guessing that ... someone is trying to prepare a "climate" of hostility here... Hope we are wrong.

A question referring to a so called "Greek occupation of Turkish islands" in the northern Aegean, the Dodecanese and the Cretan Sea was submitted by the the deputy of the Republican People's Party (opposition) Bulent Teztzan at the Turkish National Assembly recently which asking for it to be answered by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

According to dispatch from the Turkish ANKA news agency the MP referred to the "Greekness" of the islands of Oinousses, Fournoi, Thimena, Agathonisi, Arki Farmakonisi, Kalolimnos, Pserimos , Giali, Levitha, Kinaros and (in the Cretan Sea and the islands of) Gavdos, Dias, Dionysus, Gaidouronisi and Koufonissi .

He said that the Turkish Foreign Ministry has been concentrated on meddling in the internal affairs of Syria, and it is being silent about what is going on towards its boarders with Greece. In fact he is so fixated on whether or not these islands are Greek that he asked the Turkish government if it were true that they were looking the other way on the illegal, as he put it, occupation of these islands in the Aegean. "For what reason was the Greek flag allowed to be raised on Agathonisi? What does your Ministry plan to do about this de facto occupation? "

Similar dilemmas were raised by Turkey's Democratic Party a little while back. The the former president of that party Namik Kemal Zeybek had raised the issue of a so-called "occupation" of the islands of Agathonisi and Farmakonisi.

In fact an article which appeared in the Turkish newspaper "Hurriyet" (dated May 13, 2011) cited sources from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said that Turkey's policy concerning the Aegean Sea has not changed and noted that issues such as these were being addressed at talks between the two countries. Shockingly the report had also said that it was not an appropriate or fruitful period to address the "status of these islands." Original article in Greek can be found on Imerisia

IF you want to learn more about this... then we propose that you read the following articles

With The Threat of War - Turkey Issues Permits For Gas Exploration Near Rhodes And Kastelorizo 
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2012/04/with-threat-of-war-turkey-issues.html 

SPECIAL REPORT - PASOK's Proposal That Will Allow Turkey To Swallow Up Half Of Dodecanese Exposed!
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2011/11/special-report-why-is-papaconstantinou.html

Are Turks planning to flag two Greek islands?
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2011/05/are-turks-planning-to-flag-two-greek.html