Greek diplomacy has made it clear in all directions in Ankara that “national sovereign rights, in sea, land and air, are by definition and irrevocably, non-negotiable”.
By Penelope Galliou
Despite the clear international outcry against Turkey’s revisionism and the support of Athens against the non-existent Turkish claims and objections that reach the point of questioning the sovereignty of Greek islands, Ankara continues the challenge, exceeding every limit.
After the meeting of the National Security Council of Turkeyand while there had been previous leaks that the subject of discussion – apart from the Syrian issue – would also be Athens’ position, the tones of tension rose sharply with Ankara defiantly and nonexistently asking for the demilitarization of Aegean islands.
Claims repeated and rejected not only by the Greek side, which is only guided by International Law and the Law of the Sea, but by all of our country’s partners and allies, who have taken a clear and unequivocal position in favor of Athens and against the absurdities of Ankara.
According to government sources, after all, Greek diplomacy has made it clear in all directions and emphatically and imperatively in Ankara that “national sovereign rights, in sea, land and air, are by definition and irrevocably non-negotiable”.
The security council of the neighboring country, under his chairmanship Tayyip Erdoganfollowed the path of fake news and distortion of reality stating that “we expect Greece, which is indifferent to dialogue proposals, to end as soon as possible the militarization activities of the islands with a demilitarized regime and all violations of international treaties and international of law”.
The landless and illegal claims of Turkey and its leadership are not the first time they have been formulated and are included in the list of slanders and lies that it spews from time to time against Greece, in the context of tactics and pursuits that “I claim a lot to achieve in a possible dialogue or a possible negotiation of something…”.
The view that the islands of the eastern Aegean and the Dodecanese were ceded to Greece under the guise of demilitarization began to be expressed by Turkey after 1990. Until recently, it stopped at this point. However, Turkish jurists, such as Husein Pazarci, who was head of the legal service of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kurumahmut and Baseren et al., since 1997 expressed the opinion (“meteor argument” according to Angelos Syrigos) that demilitarization is necessary condition for Greek sovereignty.
The Greek side considers that the issue of the militarization of the islands is linked to the supreme right of every state to take measures for its legitimate defense. And this right is non-negotiable!
What is provided for in Article 51 of the UN Charter on legitimate defence
Greece accepts its obligations deriving from the Treaties of Lausanne and Paris for the demilitarization of the islands, as well as that from 1974 it began to rapidly arm the islands of the Eastern Aegean. The reason for all this was the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in July 1974. Now the possibility of a Turkish attack on Thrace or on some Aegean island is a real possibility.
On the anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1975, Turkey established in Smyrna the 4th Army (Aegean Army), which was outside the NATO plans, has a large number of landing craft and specializes in amphibious operations.
Finally, Turkey maintains its threat casus belli in case Greece exercises its legal right to extend its territorial waters to 12 miles in the Aegean. All this led our country to undertake the defense processes that will allow it to exercise, if necessary, the right of legal defense. This is provided for in article 51 of the UN Charter and defines the following:
“Nothing in this Charter shall prevent the natural right of individual or collective lawful defence, in the event that a Member of the United Nations is subjected to armed attack, until such time as the Security Council shall take such measures as may be necessary to maintain international peace and security…”. The right of legal defense has the character of jus cogens (mandatory International Law), so it takes precedence over any contractual obligations.
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I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have been an author at News Bulletin 247 for the past 2 years. I mostly cover politics news. I am a highly experienced and respected journalist. I have won numerous awards for my work.
