The Turkish press took the provocation a step further by claiming that 9 Greek islands belong to Turkey and questioning the sovereignty of 22 islands.
Daily and in a systematic way Turkish pro-government media propagandize for the domination of the Greek islands, aiming to create a narrative against Greece and Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
He first spoke in the United States, after armaments and F-16s. Now what bothered Turkey was the visit of Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Pserimos, Kos and Astypalea. This is how the issue of demilitarization demanded by Ankara arises in a threatening manner.
The interview of the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Tsavousoglu in the Anatoli news agency, where he threatened that Ankara would challenge the sovereignty of the islands if the troops were not withdrawn, raised the tone of the Turkish media. This was followed by the statements of Mr.’s Erdogan’s government partner, Devlet Bahceli, who clarified that he was claiming the Dodecanese as “their heart is turned to Turkey”.
According to the SKAI correspondent in Istanbul Manolis Kostidisin the evening zone of all news television networks there are broadcasts of political debates, the guests of which in the last month very often start two issues:
- With the possibility of intervention in Syria and the issue of the US presence in Greece and the demilitarization of the Aegean islands.
- With the presentation of maps, long discussions take place where Greece is presented as “an instrument of foreign powers that want to besiege Turkey”. References are made to the Treaties of Sevres and Lausanne, as well as to the current status of the islands.
Political analysts say the televised debate benefits the Turkish government, as instead of discussing the problems of the Turkish economy, 25-year-old inflation or the devaluation of the pound, Turkish citizens are being bombarded with a new logic of revisionism.
Military analysts, retired officers of the Turkish Armed Forces and some journalists, who express extreme positions, are invited to the panels of the television networks. On CNN Turk political analyst proposed “occupation of some Greek islands”, with Hurriyet newspaper director Ahmet Hakan not intervening. Rear Admiral e.a. of the Turkish Navy Jihad Yaici stated that “Pserimos belongs to Turkey”. University professors recall the “Ottoman past of the islands” and claim that “once Greece violated the terms, the islands must be returned to Turkey that succeeded the Ottoman Empire”!
On the other hand Erdogan unleashed direct threats during the Efes military exercise. He said that “Turkey will not relinquish its rights in the Aegean and will not hesitate to exercise the rights given to it by the international treaties for the militarization of the islands, when necessary.” “We call once again on Greece to stop militarizing the islands, which are in a demilitarized regime, and to act in accordance with international conditions. “I’m not joking, I’re serious,” he said.
Today the Turkish press went provocative one step further by claiming that 9 Greek islands belong to Turkey and challenging the sovereignty of 22 islands.
The pro-government newspaper MILLIONS writes on its front page that “some of the islands that Turkey can claim due to militarization are Rhodes, Chios and Lesvos. Respectively the newspaper YENI SAFAK says 22 of the 23 islands are militarized. Only Halki is demilitarized. He emphasizes, however, that “stratification is a threat.”
According to the article, Turkey has the sovereignty of 9 islands and that in Greece only the right of use was given. Among them are Lemnos, Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Ikaria, Rhodes etc.
On the other hand, the Turkish opposition press focuses on the country’s economic hardship.
