Saturday, December 21, 2019

Turkey Racks Up Tension In The Eastern Mediterranean

https://www.eurasiareview.com/21122019-turkey-racks-up-tension-in-the-eastern-mediterranean-oped/#comment-815869

.


...except for the first paragraph, "an area largely inhabited by ethnic Turks", the article is factually correct. The late President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Papadopoulos, as a young man, once said that Turkish Cypriots are a part of the Cypriot fabric, that by taking a map of the island and scattering sand over it, one can accurately describe where you would find them.

...indeed, "Turkishness" has divided the island, as it is dividing Turkey now.  And yet, lets not forget that those "Turkish" and "Greek" in Cyprus were never busy for the most part killing each other. Those Cypriot, not "Greek" or not "Turkish", those who stayed in their homes and on their farms, those believing that a notion such as Humankind, a Rule of Law, and Universal Principals exists, were their victims, now disappeared, or murdered. This is the Cyprus, "Problem".

...consider, how gas exploration, the Aegean, and now Libya have been linked to the Cyprus Problem.
Consider Erdogan's declared ambitions for a "Blue Turkey", (is the "Russian pond" next?), and that he has declared the Treaty of Lausanne, "tossed out a window"; most recently, "the Treaty of Serves (placed) into the corner", describing as this important, the drones being deployed to the illegally occupied territories in Cyprus. Consider, after the Americans, and the Chinese, what deal did he strike for the Russian S-400s? It is not "equity" Erdogan seeks through his actions, but total supremacy.

Yet, it would not be hard for Erdogan to change his intentions, with the recognition that Cypriots exist. It requires a comprehensive solution involving all of Turkey's neighbours.

One hopes that Erdogan's vision is greater than defining Turkey exclusively as a religious empire centered around a Caliphate in Istanbul, the "protector" of such a State/state; that to the rest of us not "Turkish" he lives, not in infamy, but as a Statesman who deserves much esteem, who by bringing the protagonists together, bettering the world for all.

No comments: