Sunday, October 26, 2014

Where is Mr President to be “found”?

First entry: 27 October 2014
Where is Mr President to be “found”?
Where is Mr President to be “found”?
The dangerous escalation of Turkish provocations in Cyprus’s EEZ zone during the last few days is no coincidence. On the contrary, these are some absolutely deliberate and carefully planned moves by Ankara, aiming to hinder the positive developments pertaining to the upcoming exploitation of gas reserves by Greece and Cyprus, to which they belong by international Law of Sea.
Worrying intensely about the strengthening of Greece and Cyprus’s political and economic role in the broader area – which is also due to Athens and Nicosia’s cooperation with Tel Aviv and Cairo, Turkey is now trying to act ahead of developments and stop or at least obstruct the perfectly legitimate exploitation of the Cypriot and Greek underwater wealth with its usual method of “bullying”.
Turkey is actually attempting to forcefully take a piece of the “share” of someone else’s property! And it doesn’t restrict itself to direct and provocative declarations of aimless claims and demands regarding the internationally recognised Cypriot EEZ, presenting itself as a supposed “representative” of the illegal Turkish-Cypriot pseudo-state’s interests.
At the same time it is trying to “undermine” in any way possible the recognition of Greece’s EEZ in the Aegean, questioning a series of legal and sovereign rights that our country has. Ankara disputes the following:
  • Greece’s right to expand its territorial sea by up to 12 nautical miles, as the Law of Sea foresees and as almost every other coastal country in the international community has already done. This dispute is accompanied by war threats as well! Turkey is speaking of casus belli!
  • The range of the Greek national airspace, through constant violations by Turkish military aircraft.
  • Our national sovereignty over islands, through the novelty theory of “grey zones”. They reached the point of violating that sovereignty even in cases of inhabited islands. A clear example of this is the case of Kastellorizo. They even include it in the… eastern Mediterranean instead of the southern Aegean Sea, using this ridiculous “argument” to restrict the Greek EEZ and cut it away from the Cypriot one, although they normally border with each other. And we should not of course forget Turkey’s constant demand for the demilitarisation of the eastern Aegean islands, whatever that means and with what lurks behind it…
  • Greece’s powers within the Athens FIR (Flight Information Region), under ICAO rules (International Civil Aviation Organisation). Turkey is constantly refusing to comply with air traffic regulations, while at the same time questioning our country’s activity in terms of search and rescue operations within its area of control.
Facing all these constant and forever escalating disputes and illegitimate claims by Ankara, which are being promoted through war threats and violent infringements of our national airspace and waters – often with armed military aircraft flying over our inhabited islands, Greece must respond in a peaceful but at the same time determined and effective way, making use of all its “weapons” and particularly of its EU membership.
Also, in order for Greece to come up with an effective response, a national action plan is required, and all national powers must be united in implementing it. What else must happen for our state and political leadership to meet and liaise? Which point must the Turkish Barbaros and its war convoy reach for us to wake up? Why must our country always be united in national disasters and not in preventing them? And furthermore: Where is the President of the Greek Republic to be found? And what does he intend to do? Will he continue to remain silent and be… absent or will he finally take initiative so that our political leaders come together on crucial national issues? Will Mr Karolos Papoulias cease the opportunity to write a positive ending to his presidential term, which is coming to a close? Or will he continue with this deafening silence?

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