SPECIAL REPORT - There are reasons why Filis says the GENOCIDE of Greek Pontians never took place

By Marina Spanos

Editor in Chief HellasFrappe 

Famed philosopher George Santayana once said that "those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Over the last one hundred years our world witnessed the Holocaust, countless wars and the genocide of millions of people. All these events noted above occurred in a short period proving that remembrance alone is not the issue, the aim is to stare at the root causes that led to these mass atrocities and raise awareness about them so that they will not be repeated.

As of today, the Greek Minister of Education Nikos Filis can be considered a persona non grata. During an interview on STAR channel late on Monday night, Filis refuted the occurrence of the GENOCIDE of the Greeks from Pontus which we all know involved the slaughtering of well over 350,000 thousand innocent men, women and children. He instead said that the butchering of the Greeks in the Black Sea region by brutal Ottoman Turks was simply a case of ethnic cleansing rather than genocide.

     "I said that as a historian, considering the positions of many historians and international relations experts. We made a distinction between bloody ethnic cleansing and genocide as a phenomenon. This does not mean that we do not recognize the blood, pain and everything that Pontic people have suffered due to the cruelty of Turks. But genocide, as a strictly scientific term, is something different," said Filis.

During the interview he noted that this was his personal opinion, because, as he so eloquently noted, he did not want to impose his personal opinion as a state policy. What a laugh. He thinks we are totally oblivious to history, as well as his party’s sins on this subject (which will be disclosed further below).

His opinion was obviously not received well, and many people took offense to his words and for good reason. So why is all of Greece so angry at him today? For one, his comments are aligned to those of the Turkish government which does not recognize any genocides (Greek, Armenian and Assyrian). Most importantly it is against Greek national interests.

What is worse is that there are already some reports circulating on the web today saying that he even did Ankara a diplomatic favor by saying this.

(If this fact alone does not ignite a nerve in you, then I really do not know what would. Personally I viewed it as a direct provocation and my nerves skyrocketed.)

In my opinion he repeats the views which have already been expressed by other neocon Greeks such as Maria Repoussi (former MP for DIMAR). Some may recall that a couple of years ago she attempted to make us believe that the massacre of Greeks in Asia Minor, or Smyrna, was nothing more than a gathering at a Turkish port. This scandalous view was even documented in school text books. Thankfully the textbooks stopped being circulated but her views and attempts to push her interpretations of history as truths never did. Not only did she provoke our sentiment in the past when she walked out of the Greek parliament when they held a moment of silence over the Greeks who perished in these genocides, but she has also proposed that Greeks forget about other historical events too!

An anti-Hellene by nature, Mrs. Repousi believes that Greeks should ignore commemorating the exodus of Missolonghi, they should also stop celebrating the Battle of Spetses (with the blowing up the Armata), totally ignore the events at Kougi and she also  believes that we should stop hailing the Revolutionary Flag of Agia Lavra when we commemorate Independence Day on March 25th.  This progressive neocon thinker, and pro-Turkey voice, says that all these commemorations and celebrations are "banal" and "nationalistically cheap", and adds that they provide nothing to our national expression as Greeks. (Read relevant story by clicking HERE)

Filis, just like Repoussi, forget that they both serve (served) the Greek Parliament of which has officially recognized this historical event as a GENOCIDE and  designated May 19 as an annual day of remembrance. Specifically, the decree was published in the Greek Government Gazette on March 8, 1994 and affirmed the genocide in the Pontus region of Asia Minor. A second decree followed affirming the genocide of Greeks in Asia Minor as a whole and designated September 14th as a day of commemoration. Both these laws were signed by the President of the Republic, however, they were not immediately ratified because of political interventions from (SURPRISE SURPRISE) SYRIZA's very own Avgi newspaper. (source Wikipedia )

Don't take my word for it, check out the information for yourself on Wikipedia: It notes that the SYRIZA Leftist newspaper "Avgi" had the initiative for freezing the application of this law. At the time, the subject became the center of a political debate between various Greek politicians, with the left being against it. The president of the left-ecologists coalition Synaspismos party Nikos Konstantopoulos and A. Elefantis, known for his books on the history of Greek communism, were some of the politicians who expressed their opposition to the decree. It should be noted that SYRIZA's previous title was Synaspismos.

Thankfully, not all Lefitsts agreed with their rhetoric. The non-parliamentary left-wing nationalist intellectual and author George Karabelias bitterly criticized Elefantis and others who opposed the recognition of genocide and called them "revisionist historians". He even accused the Greek main-stream left of a "distorted ideological evolution". He said that for the Greek left May 19 is a "day of amnesia". On its part, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) has over the last decade adopted the term "Genocide of the Greeks of Pontus" in its official newspaper Rizospastis and since then it even participates in memorial events.

Therefore there is no room for excuses about so called "opinions" because we now know the stance that the SYRIZA party has had in the past on this very subject.

In any case, Filis and all of the SYRIZA party, have pledged an oath to respect the decisions of the Greek parliament. He should keep in mind that when he speaks he is not representing himself, his party's distorted ideological views, or the people who only voted for him, but he is instead representing the government of all of the Greek people (Pontian Greeks included).

As such, I decided that this would be another teachable moment, both for Repoussi and Filis, as well as all those who live in a make believe world that wants us to paint visions of sugar plums and rainbows when we refer to Turkey and its past crimes.

credit Wikipedia

     "According to various sources the Greek death toll in the Pontus region of Anatolia ranges from 300,000 to 360,000. Estimates for the death toll of Anatolian Greeks as a whole are significantly higher, a team of American researchers found in the early postwar period that the total number of Greeks killed may approach 900,000 people. Political scientist Adam Jones also suggests the figure of 750,000 casualties. Scholar Rudolph Rummel compiled various figures from several studies to estimate lower and higher bounds for the death toll between 1914 and 1923. His estimates ranged from 289,000 to 459,000 deaths in the Greek genocide throughout this period. According to the figures by the Greek government together with the Patriarchate, a total of one million people were estimated to be massacred. Source Wikipedia


THE FACTS

According to Wikipedia, in December 2007 the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) passed a resolution (with an "overwhelming" majority) affirming that the 1914–23 campaign against Greeks who lived in the Black Sea region constituted GENOCIDE. Employing the term "Greek Genocide", it affirmed that this population of Greeks were subject to GENOCIDE alongside other groups, namely Armenians and Assyrians. The resolution was adopted on December 1, 2007 and the press release issued by the organization on December 16.

Greek communities began inhabiting Anatolia (Greek for “east”), otherwise referred to as the Asia Minor, since the 12th century BCE. Wikipedia notes that the Turks migrated into Anatolia over the first millennium CE and by the 14th century had established the Ottoman Empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_genocide

     "The Pontic people lived in Turkey for well over 3000 years and are descendants of Greek colonists who arrived there long before the ancestors of present day Turks. The Turks, under the founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk, pursued a deliberate policy of "Turkey for the Turks." It was adopted against the backdrop of the Greek occupation of parts of Asia Minor as spelled out in the Treaty of Versailles. Its purpose was to rid Turkey of its Greek, Armenian and Assyrian Christians. The resulting Greek-Turkish War of 1919-1922 and the defeat of the Greek Army sounded the death knell for Christian minorities in Turkey. The process began with Christian owned businesses being boycotted, leading to bankruptcies and confiscation of property.  Eventually intellectuals and community leaders were rounded up and executed."

Surprisingly Wikipedia also notes the methods that were used in the massacres.

      "One of the methods used in the elimination of the Greek population was the "labor battalions. Young people were captured and forced to do exhausting slave labor by the Turkish State, in order to reconstruct areas destroyed during the war. Some were sent to concentration camps and amongst the survivors was the well known writer, Elias Venezis, who later described his experiences in his book 'Number 31328.' Thousands died of exhaustion, starvation and dehydration on forced marches. This effective method was used by the Turks  to force the weaker population, including women and children, to walk for hundreds of kilometers until they died. This was known as the 'Light Death.'
If you think that these events were not recorded then think again. They were documented by American, as well as the German and Austrian diplomats of the time.
       "Unlike Germany which has taken responsibility for its sins committed in World War II, Turkey still refuses to even admit that these events occurred, let alone apologize for the genocide and ethnic cleansing it inflicted on a helpless population. Not only were the people expunged from Turkey, so too were any traces of their existence. Admitting guilt would entail casting a shadow on Kemal Ataturk. The present Turkish government has gone to extraordinary lengths to quash any attempt to publicize these events throughout the world, including keeping their own people ignorant of their history. To do so would require a reexamination of the very foundation on which the modern Turkish State is built." (Source - The Pontic Greek Genocide)"

HOW TURKS CONTINUE TO COMMIT GENOCIDE TILL THIS DAY

Today some attempt to rewrite history. Usually this is done by those with a political agenda in a winner take all approach (example George Soros). All they are basically doing is picking up where the perpetrators of a GENOCIDE left off. We can actually see this happening in the mainstream media, through the rhetoric from various neocon scholars, historians and deep thinkers. Not only are all these people in service of the Turkish government, which on its part continues to dehumanize, demonize, and destroy, by putting the "right spin" on all the events that haunt it, they are also distorting history and passing off their interpretations of history as facts.

No matter how much they try they cannot rewrite history itself, however their goal is more sinister. By repeating their lies and propaganda over and over again they hope that their views will eventually be adopted by the masses as the only truth. A fine example of this is FYROM. George Soros worked his magic in this former Yugoslav state and today all those under the age of 20, or since the destabilization of Yugoslavia, actually believe that they are direct descendants of Alexander the Great.

Everyone with half a brain knows that the Greek, Armenian and Assyrian genocides, were perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks. Even the Kurds, who were once active participants and abetted this genocide with the Ottomans (mostly against Assyrians), have today admitted this fact and now condemn this time in history. Unfortunately they, as well as other Muslim groups in the East, now find themselves in a reversal of roles and have become the target of draconian Turkish policies that are designed to suppress their identity and language. Let us not forget that this is exactly what was done to all of the Greeks who miraculously remained in some parts of Turkey.

For Greeks, Assyrians and Armenians, the genocide has not ended, and it cannot end so long as Turkey denies that it ever occurred. This is why Ankara has spent billions on influencing Western diplomats and officials to look the other way, or basically keep silent on this matter.

Has it worked?

Yes it has!

The West, (with the exception of Australia, Cyprus and very few other countries), has surrendered to this decades old denial of the Turkish government deciding that it is more important to placate the neo-Ottomans than to be truthful about history. It is no secret that they have adopted this policy on account of economic, military and geopolitical reasons. Let us not forget that the US has a huge airbase in Turkey that they need for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. From what we read Turks have threatened to close that base, cancel purchases of American military equipment, boycott American goods and even pass their own resolution condemning 19th century US government massacres of Native Americans (if the US ever did recognize any of these GENOCIDES.

Unfortunately there are other more controversial reasons as well.

A couple of years ago, Turkey was awash in dramatic disclosures connecting officials there to the right-wing Grey Wolves, the terrorist band which has preyed on the region for years. In 1981, a terrorist from the Grey Wolves had even attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II in Vatican City.
Did Turkey allow the mafia and right-wing extremists to operate death squads and to smuggle drugs with impunity? This I cannot answer dear Frappers, but reports at the time (check link below) claim that the rupture of such state secrets also released clues to other major Cold War mysteries.

     "Besides the attempted papal assassination, the Turkish disclosures could shed light on the collapse of the Vatican bank in 1982 and the operation of a clandestine pipeline that pumped sophisticated military hardware into the Middle East — apparently from NATO stockpiles in Europe — in exchange for heroin sold by the Mafia in the United States." (source https://syria360.wordpress.com/2015/06/27/gladio-on-the-trail-of-turkeys-terrorist-grey-wolves/ )

Do you think that operations such as those noted above died with the fall of the Soviet Union? Apparently they didn't; Operation Gladio B is the continuation of the old NATO Gladio program and geopolitical analysts claim that it covers a tangled web of covert operatives, billionaire Imams, drug running, prison breaks and terror strikes. The same officials believe that the ultimate goal is the destabilization of Central Asia and the Caucasus. You can probably find out more about this subject by just googling Gladio B on the web.

(Also, search and see how this coincides with what is happening in Syria with all the foreign rebels operating there. You will be surprised to learn that history is once again repeating itself.)

I personally am clueless on such operations, because I cannot tolerate any type of violence, but the little that I have read notes that Turkey is once again using such operations to continue its barbarism and genocidal acts in Syria. One recent article that was posted on the web and supports my argument is an interview by Taleb Ibrahim (check link in this paragraph). According to him Turkey's T.Erdogan is displacing people in Syria. Does the tactic sound familiar to the events endured by the Greeks, Assyrians and Armenians one hundred years ago? It is! He says that the so called rebels, (who we all know now are foreigners that are paid by countries such as Qatar, S.Arabia and Turkey to destabilize this country) are "cleansing" many areas in Syria while Turkey is shipping thousands of Islamist Turks from other Turkish lands there to settle, take over entire villages and eventually bring down the Syrian government of Bashir Assad. In a few words, he reveals how Erdogan is pushing Syrians out of Syria and changing the demographics of this country from Arabs to Islamist Turks (by using ISIS to perform GENOCIDE). Why is he doing this? Aside from his dreams of reviving a new Ottoman empire he is also acting on behalf of many interests that cannot perform these acts because they are acts of war! Even wars have rules and ethnic cleansing, or in this case GENOCIDE, cannot be committed and is considered as a war crime. (View VIDEO by clicking HERE).


THE BOTTOM LINE

How can such psychological wounds be healed if a crime is never acknowledged by the perpetrator? To survive ordeals such as a genocide, or to lose your loved ones to such senseless violence, has an undeniable effect on the shaping of one’s character, personality, and general life experiences. Genocide is a grave matter and exemplifies the absolute worst in, or shows its perpetrators to be devoid of, humanity. If Greek government officials are permitted to dismiss these acts, then genocide is trivialized, and a vicious cycle ensues. So now do you understand why we decided to slam the statements by Mr. Filis?

Friends, the plight of the Greeks of Pontus, just like the Asia Minor Catastrophe and the Greek-Turkish War of 1919-1922, are events that shaped modern Greek History and that speak to the hearts of all Greeks. The only thing that Pontians want is that the world will come to know of their tragic fate. Those who deny these events, as Filis and Repoussi have done, only help countries such as Turkey to repeat such atrocities again (example Syria).

As with the Armenian Genocide, Filis and Repoussi and all Greek neocons opposing the recognition of the Greek Genocide of Asia Minor, attempt to shift focus away from the unfathomable reality of the historical event by portraying the issue as one of nationalism and ethnic conflict rather than of healing and remembrance.

I think prominent U.S. scholar and author of “Black Dog of Fate” Professor Peter Balakian said it best when he stated:

     "the driving force behind the renewed awareness of Turkey’s Greek holocaust transcends nationality and ideology: this is not about ethnic conflict, Greek vs. Turk or Armenian vs. Turk, this is about universal moral issues and universal human rights issues... Clearly, denying genocide paves the way for future genocide, for it suggests to the world that governments can commit mass murder with impunity.”

My personal feelings about Alexis Tsipras’ government are irrelevant at this point because the facts speak volumes. No government official has a right to express his or her “opinion" on historical facts which have shaped borders and are still considered as fresh wounds by the Greek people. When they make statements –whatever these statements may be- they are speaking as an entity, or a government. If they want to express their personal views then they should get out of office and write a book. To deny historical facts is not only an attack on the morale of the Pontians, who till this day live with this bloody memory, but it is an affront to the dignity of all the victims, both living and dead.

Thankfully I am not alone with these views, many ministers from all parties criticised Filis’ statements as did a score of people from all walks of life on the social networks. The main opposition New Democracy party even organized a petition demanding his removal from office as did Pontian Greek associations.

The Greek Left, especially SYRIZA, now has a chance to rehabilitate its past and correct the mistakes that it once made on this issue by unequivocally recognizing that what befell on the Greek populations in Turkey was GENOCIDE as defined by the 1948 United Nations Convention on The Prevention and Punishment of The Crime of Genocide. If the government wants to save face then it must immediately scream out the word GENOCIDE, force Filis to apologize to the Pontian people, and then ask him to resign.

I will repeat it once again, refusing to say the word GENOCIDE because it will sour Turkey is just another form of aggression and simply allows Ankara to continue with the process of genocide. Most importantly, it prevents the healing of wounds that were inflicted by the GENOCIDE on our people, kills the dignity of the remaining survivors and destroys the remembrance of this tragic crime.

A couple of days ago I announced that I would not be posting any articles on HellasFrappe because the blog has not received any donations to maintain itself. Following the latest comments by Filis, I decided to wave this decision and write a special report to voice my opinion on his statements because -as always- when something tugs at my heart, heats up my nerves and provokes my logic I react immediately. As I was researching the material used in this article I came across this video which was posted by a Greek analyst who is an expert on Turkish affairs and then re-posted on facebook by a Frapper. It features a famed Turkish performer singing about the plight of the Pontian people. This should put some neocon Greeks to shame since they regrettably want us to forget, while some Turks, who know the truth, have the courage to even sing it out loud. (Please listen to the words).

NOTES

• The genocide of the eastern Christians of the city of Smyrna in 1922 as researched and documented by Professor M. H. Dobkin (source)
• EXPOSED: The REAL cause of the sudden Syrian migrant crisis into Europe
• Operation Gladio - http://operation-gladio.net/counter-guerilla and http://operation-gladio.net/tags/turkey
• The Ottoman Greek Genocide by Malini Nair, Rachel Steinberg and Gina Montegna - https://prezi.com/swim4wlp69mt/ottoman-greek-genocide/
• In Commemoration of the Genocide of the Greeks of Pontus - http://www.notevenmyname.com/3.html
• When Greeks Think about Turks: The View from Anthropology - https://books.google.gr
• Genocide Watch - http://www.genocidewatch.org/aboutus/thecostofdenial.html
• Action alert - http://www.ahmp.org/gkgen.html

Greek crisis prompts FYROM to push for NATO membership

Greece’s growing political and economic problems have its small neighbor FYROM sensing an opportunity to push hard for joining NATO, a move that has been stalled for years thanks to Athens’ opposition because of disputes over FYROM’s name.

Defense Minister Zoran Jolevski told POLITICO his country would be prepared to apply to join NATO using the ungainly name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,” which is insisted on by Greece.

     “All NATO member countries recognized that Macedonia had by that point met the NATO membership criteria,” said Jolevski. “Unfortunately our southern neighbor added one more criterion to that summit, the name.”

Greece argued that its northern neighbor should instead be called New Macedonia or Upper Macedonia, whereupon Macedonia sued Greece at the International Court of Justice and won in 2011. But its moment had passed.

The alliance’s formal position is that the country “has to find a mutually acceptable solution with Greece to the issue over its name before it can be invited to join NATO.” But with Greece in meltdown, FYROM sees a chance to break the stalemate by announcing that it’s willing to join NATO as FYROM, while pointing out that its forces have served alongside NATO forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Read more at: Politico

Plot "Silver drachma" - A sick plan to get Greece out of the euro following the downfall of Karamanlis - MUST READ

The evidence that was presented by Supreme Court investigator against Corruption Dimitri Foukas can only be described as shocking and something that can only be found in spy movies. Foukas, who has been investigating the wire tapping case that occurred during Costas Karamanlis' rule as well as the assassination attempt against the former prime minister, in a clear and documented way, shows us how the US government worked to overthrow the Karamanlis government, as well as the dark and sinister role that close associates of George Papandreou played to materialize this plot (otherwise known as  "Pythia 1").

Aside from the major plot "Pythia1" which aimed to destabilise Greece politically, socially and especially financially, and just before wrapping up his investigation, the Supreme Court investigator suddenly stumbled upon yet another plot. According to what is presented in his inquiry, he apparently discovered that there was an organized effort from a group of unnamed people to remove Greece from the eurozone!

Before presenting the evidence, HellasFrappe wants to note that Foukas has been investigating the wiretapping case as well as the "Pythia1" plot, that concern preparatory acts of treason during Karamanlis' rule. Both cases, were merged into a grand investigation in 2013, and now that they have reached their completion will be submitted to the Supreme Council's Appeals Court where the judiciary will decide what further course of action to take. The investigation is featured in a multi-page document that shockingly also reveals a plan for a new national currency, or "silver drachma", in 2012, and which once again stars Alex Rondos, one of George Papandreou's closest associates. The case also links powerful personalities, secret service agents in Greece and in the US, (agents who suddenly disappeared), confidential reports and Wikileaks cables.

(If you wish to find out more about Alex Rondos then we propose that you click on one of the links below.)

Back to our story, the plot to remove Greece from the Eurozone was surprisingly discovered when Foukas was monitoring the telephone calls that were made by Alex Rondos -a man who had reportedly known about the plan to destabilise Greece as noted in previous reports on HellasFrappe-. During this period, the name of a Mexican businessman (silver mine owner) suddenly surfaced. According to what was noted, the name of Julio Salinas Price surfaced, a man who had once also acted as an economics advisor to the Mexican government.

Foukas' report claims that Rondos came into contact with Salinas Price in 2012 when Papadimos was in power, (just a little after George Papandreou resigned as premier). The purpose, according to the evidence, was to promote Greece's exit from the eurozone and then introduce a new national currency (that the military news site defencenet -which revealed the story- calls "silver drachma"). The plot, according to Foukas, foresaw the introduction of a new currency with an estimated value that would have been twice the annual GDP, capped at 20% of silver value, and which would have been supplied by Price.

With all this new information in hand, Foukas then began to investigate Price's visit (s) to Greece as well as the contacts the the Mexican businessman made in Athens. He even seized incriminating evidence on these visits after conducting a search at a private home from an unnamed source. The military news site defencenet claims that it knows the name of this individual but reserves the right to keep his/her identity confidential -for the time being- because the investigation is still ongoing. Nonetheless, it is reported that 70 billion Euros would have been issued towards the issuance of this new currency, to which consultancy fees and brokers' fees would have also been added.

The Supreme Court Investigator has already began criminal proceedings against all the unidentified individuals involved in this new sinister plot, and the possible actions that followed or proceeded this act and that aimed at lobbying and forcing the Greek government at the time to alter policies that concern Greek international affairs.

It should be clarified, that these actions also include the assassination attempt (s) against Costas Karamanlis as well. Those who have followed this story on HellasFrappe in previous posts know that Foukas' investigation discovered that the perpetrators behind this grand plan worked feverishly to end Greece's political and economic rapprochement with Russia in the areas of energy, and the supply of military equipment and procurement.

(Karamanlis who had made the first opening to Russia with the aim of making Greece and international energy hub, was not well-liked by the West because of these political choices. HellasFrappe has presented a plethora of articles that prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that George Papandreou's rise to power was well planned by the West so that all the agreements that were signed during Karamanlis' rule could be dissolved. If one examines Foukas' report they will discover that there is even a paragraph dedicated to the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline as well as the controversial South stream pipeline, These two references alone prove the motive behind the unjust downfall of Karamanlis.)

Foukas also featured Wikileaks cables and the testimony of key witnesses in his report proving that when Karamanlis and Vladimir Putin decided to move ahead with the pipeline projects, the US government made a decision to dissolve these agreements as soon as possible (and obviously get rid of the Karamanlis government).

The above information is corroborated by fact sheets from the Greek secret services (EYP) and testimony from an agent with the  codename "ΘΣ 13".

According to the judicial report -which we once again repeat was featured on the military web site defencenet on Friday- the US began to reveal its support for the TAP pipeline after 2009. This was confirmed in Victor Resti's testimony, who after meeting with the US president in May 2012, began to promote the US' position -which was in favor of the TAP pipeline- to the Greek leadership. The result was a gradual abandonment of the Russian pipeline projects that were signed by Karamanlis, and a commitment from the Greek side -or the then Papandreou government- to favor the TAP pipeline instead. At the same time, the purchase and supply of military equipment from Russia was also abandoned.

According to Foukas, on 26.03.2014 a former agent from EYP contacted his office requesting an extraordinary meeting. At the meeting, which took place the very same day, the Greek agent conveyed a message to Foukas that was passed on to him by a member of the US intelligence service demanding that the mega investigation -into Karamanlis' assassination and Greece's destabilisation- be stopped right away, because Greek-US relations were once again on track and the case was preventing their further development.

Foukas of course did not stop the investigation and continued on feverishly and as such also discovered this new plot.

In his inquiry he talks about the wire-tapping scandal revealing that specialized phones were used to monitor dozens of politicians, members of the government and dozens of others, including Costas Karamanlis. According to what he discovered, the wire-tapping occurred from August 2004 until March 2005 by an American agent with the code name William B. The phones that were used in this operation were apparently purchased in the area of Piraeus by William B's wife with the name Petros Markou. When one of the four phone lines were being investigated by Foukas, it was discovered that the telephone connection was activated by another device with subscriber information linked to the American Embassy. When the case was brought to light, William B suddenly and mysteriously disappeared from Greece.

The inquiry -supported by Wikileaks cables- also reveals that during Karamanlis' rule there were officials at the National Intelligence service that were leaking information -breaching state secrets- because they were not in favor -or political fans- of the leadership. As it turned out in 2005 some of these intelligence officers -who had access to top secret information-, removed confidential state documents without any authorization and passed them on to the then MEP for the PASOK party Michalis Karchimakis -another very close associate of George Papandreou-. Reference - defencenet

What is the Pythia1 Plan - according to previous posts from HF:

The Pythia1 plan had four main points: The assassination plot against Karamanlis had as its objective to postpone and/or cancel his government’s decision to move ahead with an energy policy that would make Greece a fair player in the global energy market, while it was part of a larger plan that was set to totally destabilize the country’s economic and political system.

First Phase:  Political instability. During Karamanlis' run as Prime Minister, the political climate in Greece began to crumble and the mainstream media (which some hint was bought out to do so) suddenly began broadcasting stories suggesting that the government of Karamanlis was accepting kickbacks or was involved in money laundering in the Monastery of Vatopedi case. The news began to tarnish the image of Karamanlis’ Cabinet, while the aim was to strike at the core… Karamanlis himself so that he could lose his credibility with the people. It worked. After months and months of propaganda, the people turned their back on Karamanlis, his political career was totally tarnished, and he lost the elections to George Papandreou in October 2009.

Second Phase: Economic unrest: This was achieved with various methods that even included the various kidnappings of several prominent businessmen, throwing the business community in a panic.

Third Phase: Social instability. This was implemented with various forms of social unrest, including terrorist acts.

Fourth Phase: Weaken Foreign Policy. Karamanlis’ foreign policy began to suddenly show signs of weakening and Greece began to suddenly lose ground with its allies.

For more please read...

OPINION - Does The Papandreou +Rondos +Lazzard +Sorros Alliance = The Rothchilds? You Bet It Does!
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2013/11/opinion-does-papandreou-rondos-lazzard.html

Arrest Warrent Against Head of KYP... In Assassination Attempt Against Karamanlis
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2015/02/arrest-warrent-against-head-of-kyp-in.html

PASOK MP Implicated In Karamanlis Wire-Tapping Case - Breached State Secrets
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2013/11/pasok-mp-implicated-in-karamanlis-wire.html

RealNews Report Says Greek-Americans & NSA Behind Spy Network Against Costas Karamanlis
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2013/11/realnews-report-says-greek-americans.html

SPECIAL REPORT - Supreme Court To Merge Cases Of Wire-Tapping, Pythia Plan,Assassination Plot Against Karamanlis Into ONE
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2013/02/special-report-supreme-court-to-merge.html

Case on Suspicious Death of Vodafone Employee Associated to Greek Wire-tapping Scandal Re-opens
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.gr/2012/04/case-on-suspicious-death-of-vodafone.html

PART l - Plot to assassinate Costas Karamanlis revealed (VIDEO)
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/06/plot-to-assassinate-kostas-karamanlis.html

PART II – Plot to assassinate Costas Karamanlis revealed (VIDEO)
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/06/part-ii-plot-to-assassinate-kostas.html

PART III - Authorities launch formal investigation into assassination plot against Karamanlis
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/08/authorities-launch-formal-investigation.html

SPECIAL REPORT - Prosecution Wraps Up Investigation Into Assassination Attempt Of Karamanlis
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2012/03/special-report-prosecution-wraps-up.html

SPECIAL REPORT - Either You Leave, Or We Kill You - (Karamanlis) A Hostage For 242 Days
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/12/special-report-either-you-leave-or-we.html

Makeleio Show Explores Papandreou and SYRIZA Role In Downfall of Karamanlis (VIDEO)
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2012/12/makeleio-show-explores-papandreou-and.html

Was Mossad, MI6 & CIA Behind Assassination Plot Of Karamanlis?
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2012/03/was-mossad-mi6-cia-behind-assassination.html

Ambassador Threatens Greek MP Over Energy Policy - Connected To Karamanlis Assassination Plot
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2013/01/ambassador-threatens-greek-mp-over.html

Does Papandreou agree with Rondos’ views about sharing the Aegean with Turkey?
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/10/does-papandreou-agree-with-rondos-views.html

Epikaira article confirms that Papandreou was in secret talks with US + Israel over natural gas + oil
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/08/epikaira-article-confirms-that.html

SPECIAL REPORT - Classified documents reveal US energy coup & Papandreou's retreat on FYROM
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/10/special-report-classified-documents.html

SPECIAL REPORT - Does Papandreou work on behalf of Greek or US interests? (VIDEOS)
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/10/special-report-does-papandreou-work-on.html
References: HellasFrappe, AMNA, enikos, www.kontranews.gr

BREAKING - Russia States That It Is Willing to Consider Loans To Greece

Ahead of talks between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich was quoted in an interview on RT television as saying that Moscow is willing to consider giving financial aid to Greece.

     "We will support any decision (on the Greek debt crisis) that is proposed by Greece and our European partners," Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said. "The most important things for us are investment projects and trade with Greece. If financial support is needed, we will consider this question," he said.
      "A stable Europe and a stable Greece is a priority for us. We will support the resolution of Greece’s financial crisis by all possible means," the deputy prime minister stressed.

Many countries in Europe want sanctions against Russia to be lifted as soon as possible, and Greece is one of those countries, he noted.

     "Those countries think about their economy, and not about politics. We believe that this is a constructive approach," Dvorkovich added.
     "We definitely hold more consultations now with countries like this than with leading European countries that do not want to continue economic dialogue," he stressed.

Check VIDEO at 2.25

Sources - Itar-Tass, RT, YouTube

Russia & Greece Sign Memorandum On Extension of Turkish Stream Pipeline

Russian and Greek Energy Ministers, Alexander Novak and Panagiotis Lafazanis respectively, signed a memorandum on construction of the extension of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline across Greek territory at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.

     "Our meeting today is a historical meeting… The memorandum expresses the readiness of both sides to bring the south direction of the pipeline to implementation," Lafazanis said.

According to Lafazanis, the project will unite all the people of Europe who will be involved in it.

     "The pipeline will connect not only Greece and Russia, but also the peoples of Europe. Our message that it is a message of stability and friendship… The pipeline we are beginning today is not against anyone in Europe or anyone else, it is a pipeline for peace, stability in the whole region," the minister said.

According to the Greek minister, energy could play a uniting role to counter the Cold War. Moscow and Athens are opening a new productive path towards Europe, Lafazanis said, adding that he hoped the countries would complete the project.

     "We go to the next step — to the second step. We hope that we will win the second battle, as we won the first one," Lafazanis said, referring to the process of reaching the pipeline deal

Sources:  RT, Sputnik ,

Lafazanis Tells US: Choice to support Russian natural gas pipeline is beneficial for Greece

Greece is not a plot and cannot be blackmailed, nor does it believe that with its choices in the energy sector can become "part of a problem", stated Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis in response to statements from US Department of State coordinator for International Energy Affairs Amos Hoschstein in regards to Greece's stance on a proposed Russian natural gas pipeline.

During the 31st convention of the International Coordinating Committee "Justice for Cyprus" (PSEKA), Hochstein demanded that the construction of the gas pipeline from Turkey to Greece be stopped. He claimed that the pipeline would undermine alternative plans to supply energy resources to Europe and increase reliance on Russia.

     "We are dealing with the energy crisis in Europe. If Greece continues to promote a pipeline for supplying Russian natural gas to Europe, it will be part of the problem, not a solution," Hochstein said.

According to him, Central and Eastern European countries buy gas from only one supplier, but now it is possible to diversify shipments and "Greece would play a major role" in the diversification.

Lafazanis was quick to reply:

     "On the contrary, our choice to support a pipeline carrying Russian gas on Greek territory is nationally and economically beneficial (for Greece) and gives positive solutions for cooperation, sufficiency in energy and the safety of the region and Europe. Greece is following a new independent and multidimensional energy policy with the ambition to make the country a multilateral energy hub within which will be allocated and distributed the routes and the natural gas origin sources without exclusions and neo Cold War prejudice. The new emerging independent Greece is a source of stability, safety and trust for all peoples. A force that shows a different way for peace, progress, justice and relations of equality among all countries." 

Earlier in May, on a visit to Athens, Hochstein had apparently voiced his opposition to the construction of the new gas pipeline. At the time Lafazanis had once against said that the project would serve Greece’s national interests.

Note on PSEKA conference: Greek-American and Cypriot-American leaders from across the United States representing major national and local organizations of the community gathered in Washington, DC for the 31st Annual Cyprus and Hellenic Leadership Conference June 3-5. The Government of Cyprus was represented by the Presidential Commissioner for Humanitarian Issues and Overseas Cypriots Photis Photiou. The conference was held to show the importance Cyprus can play as a strategic partner of the United States, in a volatile area and influence high-level administration officials who formulate U.S. policy toward Cyprus, Greece and Turkey.

Editor's Note: We are not fans of SYRIZA, and especially Mr. Lafazanis but we applaud him for his stance and courage. Greece has every right to make its own decisions that are beneficial to the country's national interests. Because of our geo-strategic position, many foreign interests have never allowed Greece to accelerate and develop its energy industry. This was about to change in 2007 with former conservative leader Costas Karamanlis when he foresaw the tsunami that was coming and decided to steer Greece towards the East. As such, China made a huge investment in Greece and today the Piraeus port can challenge other major ports in Europe. He also listened to his long-time advisor and veteran diplomat Petros Molyviatis and strengthened relations with Moscow with the aim of making Greece an international energy hub. Unfortunately we all know what happened to him. His government was toppled from the inside from various conservative hawks (D.B) and from American puppet George Papandreou, he was discredited and made to look incompetent and there was even an attempt to assassinate him. It takes courage to say NO to the West. Until now only Costas Karamanlis was able to say NO on the issue of FYROM, Cyprus and the Grey Zones in the Aegean. Let us hope that Lafazanis will follow suit. If you want to find out more about the manner in which the US has been pressuring Greece over the past few years to abandon its energy ambitions with Russia because of its own interests, and what happened when Karamanlis decided to say NO to the West then please click HERE.

Lafazanis: Financing agreed to extend Russian pipeline to Greece - Deal to be signed in St.Petersburg

The financing of the extension of a pipeline carrying Russian gas from Turkey to Greece has been secured and a deal could be signed this month, said a report from France24 quoting Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis. The report, quoting Lafazanis' statements in an interview with Russian public television, notes that he had had a series of very productive meetings in Russia, which is ready to participate in the financing. Lafazanis said there is "enormous interest" among Greek companies for an extension of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline.

Moscow axed its South Stream gas pipeline to southeastern Europe in 2014, even though construction had already begun, as relations with the EU hit a nadir over Russia's role in the Ukraine conflict. Instead Moscow announced a pipeline to Turkey, which should be ready in December 2016, and told European nations they would need to build links to get the gas.

Ever since the radical-left SYRIZA party swept the elections in January, Moscow has been courting Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, a former communist who has made no secret of his desire for closer ties with Russia and criticised the EU sanctions imposed over Ukraine. Tsipras is struggling to unblock EU and IMF rescue funds and Russia has dangled the possibility it will help finance the project, which it has alluded will generate revenue that Athens could use to help pay off its mountain of debt.

     "We already know that it will be a Greek public company which would be in charge and furthermore, the question of financing is already resolved: the infrastructure costs are estimated at around two billion dollars," said Lafazanis.

The minister said a deal could be reached by the three-day Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum that begins on June 18. Russian media have said that other countries interested in linking up the pipeline in Greece are hesitant for fear of angering the European Union.

Source: France24

Balkans on Fire: FYROManian Maidan & the Ottoman Trail

The unrest in FYROM was unexpected to the uninitiated. They started with an opposition party announcement that police is covering up the killing of a young man by prime minister's security detail in 2011. Several experts have linked this sudden unrest, which threatens to destabilize not only FYROM but the Balkans as a whole, with the country's refusal to join sanctions and Skopje's support for the Turkish Stream. This version assumes, at the conspiracy level theory, that the unrest was inspired by US intelligence services which are trying to make life difficult for Russia.

Expert Aleksandr Sobyanin, the Director of Strategic Planning Service of the Border Area Cooperation Association, rejected it. In his view, the unrest in FYROM has nothing to do with Turkish Stream. Paradoxical, isn't it? But if we are to dig deeper, we'll realize the aims of the complex game played by the world's intelligence services in the Balkans, including the Turkish MIT which is playing the first fiddle.

Background Note: MIT is the National Intelligence Organization of Turkey, or the National Security Service.

For starters, the Balkans are penetrated by the extensive spider web of the Albanian  Mafia which is wholly controlled by MIT. The Albanians' business in Europe consists of drugs and other smuggled goods.

Kosovo Albanians control 70% of Germany's and Switzerland's heroin market.

The Balkans have become a transit corridor which originates in South-Eastern Asia. The so-called Balkan Route carries 80% of all drugs sold in Europe. Albania, Kosovo, and western FYROM have become a large drug warehouse.

Opium from Afghanistan and Pakistan is processed in Turkey, then sent to Europe via Kosovo and Czech Republic. Then the Balkan Route continues to Great Britain through the French port of Calais. Turkey supports the Albanian drug trade on state level, through its embassies, consulates, and cultural centers.

Albanian Mafia is today the most powerful in Europe, having crushed even the Cosa Nostra and become a de-facto branch of Al-Qaeda in Europe.

It is invulnerable to police infiltration because it is built on familial clans which gives the criminal network and the Turkish intelligence that is backing it considerable ability to destabilize the situation in any European country.

Some claim that the Albanian, and, therefore, the Turkish trail, should be sought even in the Charlie Hebdo affair. It can't be ruled out that's what the two investigators from Limoges, who committed suicide in suspicious circumstances, were trying to unravel.

On May 10th a group of Albanian militants invaded Kumanovo, which is populated by a concentrated Albanian minority, in order to launch a separatist uprising. The police was able to neutralize the intruders with some difficulty. Eight police died.

The Prime Minister of FYROM Nikola Gruyevsky was then accused of inability to deal with the Albanian Mafia, which provoked additional unrest.

Europe right now is gravely worried about the possibility of a big war in the Balkans. There are good reasons for such worries. Albanians have always gotten what they wanted and their dream is the creation of  Greater Albania.

Background Note: Greater Albania is the pan-Albanian idea of uniting all territories which are or were at any point in time inhabited by the Albanian ethnos. Most of Greater Albania is located on the territory of former Yugoslavia. In the event of successful implementation of the project, the contemporary Albania would be joined by north-western portions of FYROM, southern areas of Serbia including Kosovo and Preshevo valley, and the southern regions of Montenegro which are populated by Albanians. It should also be noted that Albanian nationalist ideologues consider northern parts of Greece their territory as well.

The likelihood of unrest expanding to the point of reaching the stage of controlled chaos is quite high in several Balkan states. It can't be ruled out that European great powers, France and Germany, will turn a blind eye on it, hoping that the Albanian nationalists will neutralize the tendency by several small European states, including FYROM but also Greece and Serbia, to pursue an independent economic and political course. But the real beneficiary of the next big Balkan war would be Turkey.

Its president Erdogan, who is backed by the army, concluded an alliance with Turkey's Islamists as part of a general effort to restore the Ottoman Empire.

Already five years ago Turkey's Prime Minister Akhmet Davutoglu described Turkey's geostrategic vectors:

     "We'll make the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East together with Turkey the center of future international politics. This is the objective of Turkey's foreign policy and we will reach it. There are more Bosnians in Turkey than in Bosnians, more Abkhaz and Chechens than in Abkhazia and Chechnya, more Albanians than in Albania, because that's our Ottoman inheritance."

The Albanians are being used as an instrument. Their task is to create chaos in the Balkans, and turn them into Europe's Somalia.

Right now Ukraine is being "somalized".

The Balkans are next in line.

When the suffering of the Balkan peoples becomes unbearable, when a genuine humanitarian catastrophe starts unfolding, then Turkish peacekeepers will appear "on a white horse." The Turkish Army will harshly suppress Albanian crime networks, stop the bloodshed, and will de-facto control problem territories. Thus re-establishing Ottoman possessions in Europe.

The second vector of Ottoman expansion is the Middle East.

Here the Turks can get only as far as Syria, which Russia will never give up, not to the Turks nor to ISIS. Likewise Turkey has no prospects for success in the foreseeable future in the Caucasus, and their leaders understand it.

Therefore Russian diplomacy, which understands the "Turkish game" perfectly well, is conducting itself in a correct and even calm manner when commenting on Balkan events.

As of right now Turkey's schemes don't threaten Russia's interests. Moreover, Russia's intervention in the Balkans would be too big a burden to bear, considering our current stand-off with the West. The US is limiting itself to general editing of the Balkan scenario because they, too, would benefit from controlled chaos.

Nobody talks out loud about their intentions. Everyone is calling for peace. And, as often happens in such cases, war is becoming inevitable.

OCC247

Lafazanis: Greece preparing request to join BRICS

Greece is preparing and will probably submit a request to participate in the new development bank for BRICS countries and has secured Russia’s support on the issue, Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis told ANA-MPA news agency on Friday evening.

     “During my meeting with Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergey Storchak, we secured the decisive Russian support to Greece’s request for participation in the new development bank of BRICS countries. The relevant request for Greece’s participation… will be symbolic and will be paid in installments, while right after operations begin, it will be able to accept financial support,” the minister said.

Lafazanis added that technical details were also discussed on how to submit the request so that it will be accepted after discussions within the Greek government conclude.

He also noted that he also discussed the credit facility that will be provided by Russian banks to the Greek company which will undertake the construction of the new gas pipeline which will cross Greece.

     “Repayment of the Russian loan will be achieved by the profits made through the operation of the pipeline and this facility is not related to loans or economic assistance between states,” he said.

ANA MPA

Provocative Comments by US Ambassador to Cyprus Spark Strong Reaction

By George Psyllides (Cyprus Mail) - The Cyprus government on Wednesday said a statement by US Ambassador John Koenig that he did not see the Cyprus problem as one of invasion and occupation was unacceptable and only served to create problems in the ongoing dialogue.

     “It disregards and fully contravenes historical events,” government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said. “Such statements create problems in the ongoing dialogue, and to a considerable extent, it is statements like these that for years have hindered progress in the Cyprus problem.”

Asked if the government intended to protest to the US, Christodoulides said: “the ambassador was expressing his personal positions; despite this, yes, the matter will be discussed with the American government.”

Koening made the comment during an open discussion at the University of Cyprus on Wednesday evening.

When one student brought up the issue of Turkish troops and settlers in Cyprus, Koenig said the US certainly did not support the occupation of another country, nor did it condone the practice of settling.

     “The Cyprus conflict of course began 51 years ago and in that context of course it took a huge and tragic turn in 1974, and I am not in any way justifying what happened then, but it cannot be reduced to a problem of invasion and occupation,” he said. “That is in fact to ignore your own history. But I do not regard the Cyprus problem as a problem of invasion and occupation. If you don’t like it, I can’t help it. I do not regard that as the core of the Cyprus problem.”

He then pointed out that the Greek Cypriot view was not necessarily shared by Turkish Cypriots and urged an honest inward glance as to why that might be. The ambassador was referring to the inter-communal strife that broke out on the island three years after independence.

The main clashes started in December 1963 although there had been violent incidents between the two communities even before the British gave up control of the island. The violence started after Archbishop Makarios proposed 13 amendments to the constitution, ostensibly to make it more functional following a deadlock in parliament caused by the vetoes of Turkish Cypriot legislators. There was disagreement and the Turkish Cypriots left their posts – they say they were forced out – in parliament and the government. By 1974, much of the island’s Turkish Cypriot population was living in enclaves, which started forming after 1963.

As expected, the ambassador’s statement infuriated Greek Cypriot political parties. House President Yiannakis Omirou described it as a “monument to insolence” and an “affront to American foreign policy”.

Main opposition AKEL said the statement was provocative and unacceptable.

Instead of trying to help the procedure, once more, the American ambassador makes it difficult with his misplaced statements.

     “If the Cyprus problem is not a matter of invasion and occupation, then what are Turkish troops doing on the island for more than 40 years?” spokesman Giorgos Loukaides said.

He also wondered why United Nations resolutions demanded the withdrawal of the troops.

     “We do not need Mr Koening to convince us that the Cyprus problem has its internal aspect. From there however, to the claim it is not an invasion an occupation problem, there is a huge distance,” the party spokesman added.

DIKO chairman Nicolas Papadopoulos said the ambassador made the claim because that was what the Turkish side considered.

EDEK said the government must immediately ask for the ambassador’s withdrawal.

The party said after his unacceptable and historically unfounded references, Koening was persona non grata.

Koening’s term ends this summer.

EVROKO said the statement caused grief, anger and disappointment to the Cypriot people, while the Citizens’ Alliance said he acted as an ambassador for Turkey and its expansionist designs.

The Green Party said it was not convinced Koening was expressing his personal position but rather that of the US government.

Mistakes and Shame

Mistakes and Shame

On May 9th, we commemorated the 70th anniversary of the victory against Nazi Germany. History will remember this date as one on which what we call “the West” and which in reality is only the circle of European allies of the United States, has committed a major political mistake. In this mistake, the responsibility of President François Hollande is significant, and could have profound consequences. It’s not only a mistake, it’s a shame, and a damning one! The following article was given to HellasFrappe to publish. It was written by by Jacques Sapir (and translated by Anne-Marie de Grazia) and first featured at russeurope.hypotheses.org

Putin isolated ?

Under the pressure of the United States, a majority of European countries renounced sending a President or a Prime Minister to Moscow to attend the great parade commemorating Victory. But, and this is extremely important, China, India and numerous countries of Latin America made the trip as well as some European leaders like the Czech President or the Greek one. If we measure the demographic weight of these representatives, they make up over 50% of the World population. If one measures their economic weight, it is high, too, around 40%. To speak under these conditions of an “isolation” of Vladimir Putin is an absurdity.

But the political symbolism is even more important. The chiefs of State or chiefs of governments of the « BRICS » countries and of the countries of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation went to Moscow. The presence of the Chinese and of the Indians acquires an even greater, more particular significance. The population of China paid an extremely heavy tribute to a conflict which, for China, started not in 1939, but in 1937. In fact, it is – behind the USSR – the country which has suffered the most. The atrocities committed by the Japanese army were abominable. Indian troops fought against Germany and Italy as well as against Japan. The participation of contingents of the Chinese and Indian armies to the parade in Moscow reaches, from all evidence, beyond mere commemoration.

It was clear therefore that this 9th of May would assume particular importance. Because of the attitude of the United States, but also because of the cowardice, not to use a more injurious term, of the European leaders, this 9th of May 2015 has confirmed that the world is split in two. It has symbolized the opposition of an “old world” of the Atlantic Basin to this new world emerging around Asia which is constantly attracting new countries. One can only, in this regard, take due notice of the Chinese or Sino-Russian initiatives [1], of the Asiatic Bank of Investment in Infrastructures [2] (BAII/AIIB), all the way to the project of a Eurasian Union, which are constantly taking on importance. These initiatives could have been conceived in a frame of openness to the “old world.” It is the responsibility of the United States, but also of those who out of a herd instinct or out of fear have followed in their footsteps, to have provoked the symbolic rupture between these two worlds, which has been verified with the parade of May 9th.

The responsibility of François Hollande.

Traditionally, it is France who seeks to re-establish dialog and which strives, because it has a universalist conception of certain principles, to bring down prejudices and to reduce hostilities between blocks. General de Gaulle pronounced many speeches against the « blocks-politics, » of which the one at Phnom Penh, in 1967, remains the most famous. By deciding, in the last minute, to send Laurent Fabius, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, not only did François Hollande commit a heavy mistake, but he discredited himself durably on the international scene. Sending the Minister of Foreign Affairs clearly sends an undignified message of “neither-nor.” If one wanted to be present in Moscow, the President should have made the trip, or his Prime Minister (Manuel Valls) who, we must remember, according to the Constitution, « leads the politics of the country. » But François Hollande preferred to take in the sun in the Caribbean and Manuel Valls to engage in disgraceful polemics against Emmanuel Todd. History will remember this desertion, both physical and moral, of the two most important authorities in our country and the disgrace they inflicted not just to Russia but to France too.

But most serious is the fact that if, in the future, France should be – justifiably – troubled by this resurgence of “blocks-politics,” it will no longer have any legitimacy to speak up against it. François Mitterrand, who had a sense of History and of formula, used the expression «the little telegraph boy » to denounce the visit of Valery Giscard d’Estaing to Moscow at the beginning (1979) of the war against Afghanistan. But today, at a moment when it would have been important to be in Moscow, be it only to bear witness through his presence of the unity of the world and to enter into conversation with these leaders of the “new world,” the French President preferred to play the absentee subscriber. His absence is an abdication and a damning shame.

The consequences.

This abdication will doubtlessly have profound and durable consequences at least as long as the current political personnel will be in power. One forgets, or feigns to ignore that, within the government and the political class in Russia, Vladimir Putin is one of the most pro-Western [3]. In one sense, he took due notice of the principles of international politics which were the basis of international relations since the 1980s, at the moment when they were being increasingly abandoned by the United States and their allies.

The question of the principles and rules, which must command over international relations is at the heart of the problematic defended by Vladimir Putin since the speech he pronounced in Munich in 2007[4]. He came back to this theme several times, particularly in 2012[5]. This latter declaration is particularly important because it predates the Ukrainian crisis. One of the points broached by Putin is the following: « The recent series of armed conflicts started under the pretext of humanitarian aims is undermining the time-honoured principle of state sovereignty, creating a moral and legal void in the practice of international relations. It is often said that human rights override state sovereignty. This is undoubtedly true – crimes against humanity must be punished by the International Court. However, when state sovereignty is too easily violated in the name of this provision, when human rights are protected from abroad and on a selective basis, and when the same rights of a population are trampled underfoot in the process of such “protection,” including the most basic and sacred right – the right to one’s life – these actions cannot be considered a noble mission but rather outright demagogy. » [6] .

This question was already in the air in 2007, when Vladimir Putin had called for a clarification of the rules of International Law. Since 2003, from the American intervention in Iraq, it became obvious that a tendency to interpret rules to their sole profit was driving the policies of the United-States[7]. We know that this drift of American policy towards ever more « interventionism » has only reinforced itself.

Similarly, in 2012, he expressed the following reflections as to the will of the United States to build themselves up into an invulnerable bastion: « By definition, absolute invulnerability for one country would in theory require absolute vulnerability for all others. This is something that cannot be accepted. » [8]. We see here the responsibility of the American policies in the progressive stiffening of the Russian position. The incapacity of the United States to admit that the XXI century will not be the American century is pregnant with conflict.

Multipolarity or unipolarity of the world.

The attitude of the United States, and of the countries which follow them or which they constrain into following them is in the process of welding together an alliance of the new world against the old one. This was not the initial project of Vladimir Putin who, in his 2007 speech, was talking about a multipolar world. The reconstruction of Russia did not imply a direct confrontation with the United States [9]. Russia, for all that it sought to free international institutions from the American grasp, did not want to monopolize them for itself. [10]. At the conference of Munich in 2007, we find this declaration of Vladimir Putin : “I consider that the unipolar model is not only unacceptable but also impossible in today’s world. And this is not only because if there was individual leadership in today’s – and precisely in today’s – world, then the military, political and economic resources would not suffice. What is even more important is that the model itself is flawed because at its basis there is and can be no moral foundations for modern civilisation.”

Not enough attention has been given to what Vladimir Putin said. Yet, he drove home the message again shortly after in the same speech: “We are seeing a greater and greater disdain for the basic principles of international law. And independent legal norms are, as a matter of fact, coming increasingly closer to one state’s legal system. One state and, of course, first and foremost the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way. This is visible in the economic, political, cultural and educational policies it imposes on other nations.” [12].

He was not alone among Russian leaders to hold such a discourse. In an article published both in the Russian press and the Financial Times the then Minister of Finances, Alexis Kudrin, declared:  « It is not difficult to understand that if one of these structures [Kudrin is referring here to the IMF as well as to the World Bank] is perceived by a significant part of the world as insuring the domination of one country or of one group of countries, it will lose its legitimacy. It will cease to be an efficient instrument »[13].

This passage shows the Russian position articulating two elements which were distinct but linked. The first is a doubt about the capacities of one country (here he clearly means the United States) to assemble all the means required in order to exert its hegemony in an efficient way. It is an argument of realism. Even the most powerful and the richest country in the world cannot insure alone the stability of the world. The American project exceeds American strength. This is an observation against which little can be said. But there is a second argument which is no less important and which is situated at the level of the principles of Law. There exist no norms on which to found unipolarity.

In his book of 2002, Evguenni Primakov, who was Prime Minister of Russia in 1998 and 1999, and who remains one of the great connoisseurs of international politics, said just that[14]. Not that the various countries are not able to define common interests, or even that there exist common values. Putin’s speech is by no means “relativistic.” He only assesses that these values (the “moral and ethical basis”) cannot be the foundation of unipolarity, because the exercise of power, political or economic, cannot be defined in terms of values but must also be defined according to interests. This is tantamount to refuting the thesis of a de-politisation of international relations which, in the mind of those who promote it, is to become reduced to Human Rights and to the “laws” of economy. If international relations are not technical (the mere operating of common norms) but political (the management of different and potentially conflicting interests) including in economic relations, then any aspiration to hegemony becomes immoral.

In praise of Gaullian politics. 

One understands then that it is important to break this new dynamic of “blocks-policy” in order to revert to the dynamics of a multipolar world, and this is what the Russian government was expecting from France. But we are forced to take act of the fact that the French government and its Prime Minister have failed on this point, as on many another. Beyond the shame and anger inspired to us by the attitude of François Hollande and of Manuel Valls, beyond the disgust we feel at the insult not only to the Russian people but to those of China and India, and to all those who have come to Moscow on May 9th, we must observe coldly that either by calculation or out of cowardice, the French leaders, by abdicating their natural role, contribute to precipitate the world into a future made of wars and conflicts. Their responsibility in having given up Gaullian politics at the moment when they were required, shows their congenital incapacity and will remain in History. It’s a mistake and – as we have known since Talleyrand – mistakes in politics are worse than crimes.

We should remember the poem The Scythians, written by Alexander Blok in 1918. His words still resound today with an eery force. Did he not write then: « Comrades! We shall be brothers!/ But if you refuse, – we have nothing to lose./ And we can be perfidious, too.  For centuries you will be cursed/By generations of sick children! /Everywhere we shall withdraw/ into the thickness of our forests. And to seductive Europe,/We shall show our Asiatic grin. »

The Scythians

You are millions. We are hordes and hordes and hordes.
Try and take us on!
Yes, Scythians – we! Yes, Asians – we!
With slanted, greedy eyes!

To you – the centuries, to us – but an hour.
We, like obedient slaves,
Held up a shield between two enemy races –
The Mongols and Europe!

For centuries and centuries your old furnace raged
And drowned out the roar of avalanches,
And Lisbon and Messina’s fall
To you was but a monstrous tale!

For hundreds of years you gazed at the East,
Storing up and melting down our jewels,
And, jeering, you merely counted the days
Until you could point at us your guns!

The time is come. Trouble beats its wings –
And every day our grudges grow,
And the day will come when every trace
Of your Paestums may vanish!

O, old world! While you still survive,
While you still suffer your sweet torture,
Come to a halt, sage as Oedipus,
Before the ancient riddle of the Sphinx!

Russia is the Sphinx. Rejoicing, grieving,
And drenched in black blood,
It gazes, gazes, gazes at you,
With hatred and with love!

It has been centuries since you’ve loved
As our blood still loves!
You have forgotten that the world holds love
To burn and to destroy!

We love everything – the fire of cold maths,
The inspiration of divine vision,
We understand everything – sharp Gallic thinking
And gloomy Teutonic genius…

We remember everything – the hell of Parisian streets,
And Venetian chills,
The distant aroma of lemon groves
And the smoke towers of Cologne…

We love the flesh – its flavor and its color,
The stifling, mortal scent of flesh…
Will you blame us, if your bones crack
Under our strong and tender paws?
 …
Come to us! Out of the horrors of war,
Come into our peaceful arms!
While there is still time – sheathe the old sword,
Comrades! We shall be brothers!

But if you will not – we have nothing to lose,
And we can be perfidious, too!
For centuries and centuries you will be cursed
By generations of sick children!

Everywhere into our woods and thickets
We shall withdraw! And to seductive Europe
We shall show our Asiatic grins…

Translators: Tatiana Tulchinsky, Andrew Wachtel, and Gwenan Wilbur

Notes

• [1] Garibov K., « La Russie a adhéré officiellement au pool de réserves monétaires des BRICS », text posted on SPUTNIK 27 April 2015, http://fr.sputniknews.com/opinion/20150427/1015850582.html
• [2] http://www.lefigaro.fr/conjoncture/2015/04/17/20002-20150417ARTFIG00363-cette-banque-chinoise-qui-veut-concurrencer-la-banque-mondiale.php
• [3] See discussion between Fyodor Lyukanov and Max Fisher published on http://valdaiclub.com/usa/77200.html
• [4] A complete and faithful translation of this speech can be found in the review La lettre Sentinel, n° 43-44, January-February 2007, pp. 24-29
• [5] Vladimir Putin on foreign policy: Russia and the changing world, declaration published in http://valdaiclub.com/politics/39300.html
• [6] Idem, page 2. [7] J. Sapir, “Endiguer l’isolationnisme interventionniste providentialiste américain” in La Revue Internationale et Stratégique, n°51, autumn 2003, pp. 37-44
• [8] Vladimir Putin on foreign policy: Russia and the changing world, declaration published in http://valdaiclub.com/politics/39300.html, p.2, « By definition, absolute invulnerability for one country would in theory require absolute vulnerability for all others. This is something that cannot be accepted. »
• [9] Sapir J., “ Russie : retour gagnant ” in La Revue pour l’intelligence du monde, n°7, March-April 2007, pp. 28-38.
• [10] A. Kudrin, « Bretton Woods Redux », in Moscow Times, 2 October 2007 (tribune also published in The Financial Times).
• [11] See the review La lettre Sentinel, n° 43-44, January-February 2007, pp. 25.
• [12] La lettre Sentinel, n° 43-44, p. 25 and ssq.
• [13] A. Kudrin, op.cit..
• [14] E. Primakov, Le monde après le 11 septembre et la guerre en Irak, Presses de la renaissance, Paris, 2003, Mir Posle 11 sentjabrja, Mysl,., pp. 138-151.

GEOPOLITICS: Russia Turkey and the New Greek Sirtaki

According to geopolitical analyst F. William Engdahl, the European Union has an uncanny knack for shooting itself in the foot. He claims that under strong pressure from a Russo-phobic Washington administration and various Russo-phobic EU governments, Brussels decided to take steps in 2014 to block the bilateral agreements between Russia’s state Gazprom and EU countries such as Greece and Bulgaria to buy gas from a new Russian pipeline that was to have been called South Stream, the southern counterpart to the Gazprom-Germany North Stream line.

F. William Engdahl (NEO) - For the neoconservatives in the Obama State Department and Pentagon, that would have forged far too strong EU-Russia economic ties that would significantly weaken America’s ability to blackmail the EU. The EU Commission is brazenly violating all legal precepts by trying to enforce, retroactively, new laws that they claim Gazprom has violated. Further they forced the weak government of Bulgaria last year to back out of their Gazprom contract.

Washington’s Russo-phobes were gloating as they fantasized about getting a nuclear deal with Russia’s ally Iran that could woo Teheran to double-cross Moscow and sell Iranian gas from South Pars, the world’s largest gas field, via another pipeline through to Iran’s city of Bazargan at the border with Turkey where it would transit Turkey on to Greece and Italy.

Unlike the failed US Nabucco gas project which lacked gas, the Persian Pipeline, were Iran to be foolish enough to let Washington control it, would have gas, lots of it to weaken Russia’s hold on EU gas markets that were previously supplied via Gazprom via older Ukraine pipelines.

Putin calls EU bluff

As we noted at the time last December, Russian President Vladimir Putin caught the EU by surprise when he announced cancellation of the South Stream Gazprom EU project during a visit in Turkey with President Erdogan. There Putin proposed instead an alternative that would pipe Russia’s gas through Turkey to the door of EU member Greece. There different EU states could “take it or leave it.” The advantage for Gazprom and Russia is that they would not be responsible for construction of the needed EU pipelines.

When he announced the decision, he stated bluntly, “If Europe doesn’t want to realize this, then it means it won’t be realized. We will redirect the flow of our energy resources to other regions of the world. We couldn’t get necessary permissions from Bulgaria, so we cannot continue with the project. We can’t make all the investment just to be stopped at the Bulgarian border. Of course, this is the choice of our friends in Europe.” South Stream would have provided secure delivery to southern EU countries including Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Croatia and also Serbia. It would avoid the current transit pipelines running through Ukraine.

Now less than six months later Russia and Turkey have completed the landmark deal to begin deliveries of Gazprom Russian gas via a new “Turkish Stream” pipeline into and across Turkey through a pipeline now in construction. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller announced on May 7 that, “An agreement has been made on the beginning of exploitation and deliveries of [Russian] gas along the Turkish Stream in December 2016.” The statement came following Miller’s meeting earlier in the day with Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız. The new pipeline will travel through Turkey to a gas hub on the Turkish-Greek border for further distribution to European customers.

A geopolitical cherry on top

And only minutes after the successful Russia-Turkish agreement, Putin, reported to be a master chess player, made a master geopolitical chess move into the European Union disaster that is called the Eurozone.

Greek news outlet, Capital.gr, reported that the very same day Miller’s Turkey Gazprom deal was finalized, Putin had an apparently very cordial phone chat with Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras. After the talk, Putin’s office released a statement that Putin had told Tsipras that Russia would be willing to extend money to Greece in return for Greek participation in the Turkish Stream project into the EU. The Kremlin statement said, “In that context, the Russian side confirmed its willingness to consider the issue of extending financing to state and private companies that will cooperate in the project.”

    In Tsipras’ April 8 meeting with Putin Russia denied it had made a deal on energy; that all changed on May 7 after Turkey finalized Turkish Stream

After Tsipras’ talks with Putin in Moscow on April 8, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, issued a denial of Der Spiegel reports that the two had come to an agreement in which Moscow would advance the cash-desperate Greek government with an immediate €5 billion cash advance from Russia based on expected future profits linked to the pipeline. The Greek energy minister said at the time that Athens would repay Moscow after 2019, when the pipeline is expected to start operating.

That was on April 8. Flash forward to May 7 and the finalization of the Russia-Turkish Stream deal, and it seems now that there is also a Russia-Greece deal to advance Athens the sizeable cash sum, just before Athens must come up with large sums to repay IMF and EU loans in order to get more senseless EU and ECB “support.” The difference was clearly the finalization of the Turkish Stream. Now EU bureaucrats in Brussels have new gas pains as Putin puts a Greek cherry atop Moscow’s Turkish geopolitical deal on gas.

If the Russia cash advance to Tsipras comes to pass, not only will Athens be able to dance a Sirtaki. This time it will be a dance in which the role of Zorba is played by a Russian, Vladimir Putin, not the Mexican, Anthony Quinn.

Wolfgang Schaüble, Angela Merkel, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker all will have three options. They can decide to stand on the sidelines and clap to the sensuous rhythms of the new Sirtaki. They can join in the dance by refusing Washington blackmail on renewing EU economic sanctions against Russia. Or they can go on to boycott the dance and sink deeper into a new crisis of the Euro.

The ongoing panic selloff in German bond markets over recent days suggests it might be wise for the Berlin government to consider an entire new choreography for its European Grand Strategy. The old Atlantic NATO dance is rapidly becoming a Danse Macabre for Germany and for Europe. Putin’s Sirtaki would be far more fun for Europe and the world.

The author, F. William Engdahl, is strategic risk consultant and lecturer, he holds a degree in politics from Princeton University and is a best-selling author on oil and geopolitics, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.