tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-165290376032593437.post2462711384790591516..comments2023-09-26T09:28:50.128-04:00Comments on IMINT & Analysis: The Cypriot Missile CrisisSean O'Connorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12262754627111404755noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-165290376032593437.post-11362960182977087952011-03-22T04:39:40.271-04:002011-03-22T04:39:40.271-04:00Anonymous [I just discovered this discussion, hope...Anonymous [I just discovered this discussion, hopefully this comment is not too late]:<br /><br />Your own blinkers are showing in a major way.<br /><br />1. The Sevres agreement was never ratified by the Ottoman parliament. It was in fact rejected in favour of the "National Pact" (Misak-i Milli). <br /><br />2. The British who were occupying Istanbul subsequently stormed the Ottoman parliament, and sent most of the MPs to exile in Malta.<br /><br />3. A Nationalist revolt, under the command of Mustafa Kemal, expelled the Greek occupiers, and the Sevres agreement was null and void. The Lausanne treaty took its place. A modern Republic of Turkey was formed. The Greeks of Anatolia were unfortunately affected by this, but so were millions of Turks expelled from Greece/Balkans over the 1911-1922 period. No one is innocent. It might be easy to get symphatisers in the "civilised" Christian West if you are Christian, like Greeks, but this does not change the facts.<br /><br />4. The Turkish people wrote their own history with blood and rejected the history the allies tried to impose on them. This is how history is made, not by treaties imposed on a defeated government under occupation, which had lost its legitimacy. The people refused to be defeated.<br /><br />5. The Lausanne agreement still stands, the international order brought about by the WWI victors directly led to<br /><br />(a) WWII<br />(b) Imperialist partition of the middle east into british and french spheres of influence, and lots of instability and suffering since then.<br /><br />6. The Turkish republic was not drawn as a line on the sand, was not "bestowed" on the Turkish people by imperialist powers, with imported royalty [see Greece, see Saudi, Jordan, etc.]. <br /><br />As to the current state of affairs, after the hypocrisy of the EU accepting Greek Cypriots who rejected the UN brokered agreement, a price is being paid.<br /><br />You can look around you and see that "international law" is a pretty nebulous concept, which is applied willy-nilly by the powerful. <br /><br />Greece extending territorial waters to 12nm would completely encircle Turkey. This is not acceptable and Turkey won't accept it. Especially delusional is the idea that a tiny island [Meis = Megisti(?)] which is 2-3km from the Turkish coast has its own continental shelf and can be used to extend an EEZ to areas of Aegean/Mediterranean where no other nearby major Greek islands exist.<br /><br />If the Greek approach was friendlier it would be reciprocated, since of course we don't see you as an existential threat. That doesn't mean you can extend your territorial waters to 12nm, since it has an unacceptable cost to us.<br /><br />Live with it, or fight it when you have the opportunity.Kodlunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-165290376032593437.post-59290535648741714272008-05-11T15:16:00.000-04:002008-05-11T15:16:00.000-04:00In my previous comment I made a mistake and I forg...In my previous comment I made a mistake and I forgot to mention the treaty of St-Germain,one of the FIVE treaties, which were signed after the end of the WWI. Mea culpa...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-165290376032593437.post-12268629254233315212008-05-10T20:01:00.000-04:002008-05-10T20:01:00.000-04:00@ mark pyruzYou write “To understand Turkish sensi...@ mark pyruz<BR/>You write “To understand Turkish sensitivities, look no farther than the Greek invasion of Turkey during the early part of the 20th century.”<BR/>You better start learning history without blinkers.<BR/>As a matter of fact the greek army was present in Asia Minor in 1920 after the signature of the treaty of Sevres (10/8/1920), which was one of the 4 treaties which were signed after the end of WW I during the Paris Peace Conference (Treaties of: i)Versailles; ii) Neuilly; iii) Trianon; iv) Sevres; ) <BR/>The treaty of Sevres had four signatories from the turkish part: Rıza Tevfik, the grand vizier Damat Ferid Pasha, ambassador Hadi Pasha and the minister of education Reşid Halis . <BR/>As a consequence, the presence of the greek armed forces in the region of Ismir wasn’t illegal. Furthermore, you have to consider that the majority of the population of the city of Izmir was of greek origin (of course, in the countryside the Turks were predominant).<BR/>However, I believe that all these belong to the past.<BR/>I prefer to see the current state of relations and political choices of the 2 countries. What I am seeing is that Greece is a country with a population of 11 million people, when Turkey has a population of 70-75 million people. It is ridiculous to think that we can threaten you.<BR/>Moreover, another tangible reality is that the northern part of Cyprus is occupied by 40.000 soldiers and officers of the turkish army.<BR/>Last but not least, I would like to ask you which country in the whole world threatens (June 9, 1995 Resolution of the Turkish Grand National Assembly) one of its neighbors with proclamation of war in case it decides to extend its territorial waters to 12 miles, as it has the right to do according to the Montego Bay Convention for the Law of the Sea of 1982? The answer is: Turkey. <BR/>As a matter of fact, Turkey has stated on several occasions that any extension of the Greek territorial waters would constitute a “casus belli” (=cause of war). <BR/>Today, more than 130 states claim territorial seas of 12 miles. Therefore, the 12 mile territorial sea has become such a common and widespread state practice that undoubtedly the Law of the Sea Convention has embodied an already existing rule of customary international law. Turkey is not a persistent objector to the formation of this customary rule. Indeed, since 1964 Turkey has claimed its own 12 mile territorial sea in the Black Sea and along its Mediterranean coast. <BR/>The Turkish threat constitutes a direct violation of art. 2.4 of the UN Charter, which stipulates that all UN members must refrain «from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state».Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-165290376032593437.post-30742340418433809012008-05-03T02:24:00.000-04:002008-05-03T02:24:00.000-04:00Good history lesson. Thanks, Sean.To understand Tu...Good history lesson. Thanks, Sean.<BR/><BR/>To understand Turkish sensitivities, look no farther than the Greek invasion of Turkey during the early part of the 20th century.Mark Pyruzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00595161519097596575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-165290376032593437.post-58065083821773371992008-05-02T16:16:00.000-04:002008-05-02T16:16:00.000-04:00As usual Sean, very well written article - if I di...As usual Sean, very well written article - if I didnt know better I'd say u wrote Intel reports professionally ;)Doug in Dispatchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04661971772707543000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-165290376032593437.post-89237450126536282042008-05-01T16:12:00.000-04:002008-05-01T16:12:00.000-04:00Great article, very interesting and informative......Great article, very interesting and informative.....Cogsinisterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14360257150612695473noreply@blogger.com