The Imia crisis came to a head in the early hours of 31 January 1996, at a time when the Simitis government was taking its first steps, bringing Greece and Turkey to the brink of armed confrontation.[/QUOTE]
The Imia crisis came to a head in the early hours of 31 January 1996, at a time when the Simitis government was taking its first steps, bringing Greece and Turkey to the brink of armed confrontation.
The incident is part of the context of the Greek-Turkish disputes in the Aegean Sea, which emerged dynamically in the spotlight after the post-independence period. Greece recognises the delimitation of the continental shelf as its only difference with its neighbour, while Turkey raises the issues of airspace (it recognises 6 and not 10 miles), the Athens FIR, the demilitarisation of the Aegean islands and, with the Imia crisis, the status of some rocky islets ("Grey Zones").
Imia (Kardak in Turkish) are two small uninhabited islets between the island complex of the Dodecanese and the south-western coast of Turkey. They are 3.8 nautical miles from Bodrum (Halicarnassus) in Turkey, 5.5 nautical miles from Kalymnos and 2.5 nautical miles from the nearest Greek territory, the rocky islet of Kalolimnos.
Imia were ceded to Greece by Italy in 1947 under the Treaty of Paris, following the incorporation of the Dodecanese after the end of World War II. The Turkish state had accepted Greece's suzerainty over these islands. The challenge to the Greek status of Imia began with a naval accident that occurred on 25 December 1995. The Turks tried to apply their own interpretation of the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), which had ceded the Dodecanese to Italy in its entirety and not by name, and to challenge the Greek sovereignty of some of the islets.
The Chronicle of the Crisis
25 December 1995. The captain refuses assistance from the Coast Guard, claiming that he was in Turkish territory and that the only competent authorities are those of his own country.
26 December 1995: The Kalymnos Port Authority informs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which in turn informs the Turkish Foreign Ministry that if a tugboat does not intervene, the Turkish ship will be in danger.
26 December 1995: The Kalymnos Port Authority informs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which in turn informs the Turkish Foreign Ministry that if a tugboat does not intervene, the Turkish ship will be in danger.
27 December 1995: The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs the Greek Embassy that, regardless of who would undertake the rescue of the ship, there was a general issue.
28 December 1995: Two Greek tugs detach the Turkish freighter and take it to the Turkish port of Kyuluk. On the morning of the same day, a Turkish fighter aircraft crashes in Greek territorial waters, in the area of Lesbos, following an engagement with Greek fighters. With Greek assistance, the Turkish pilot is rescued.
29 December 1995.
9 January 1996: The Greek Foreign Ministry responds belatedly, rejecting the notice.
15 January 1996: Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, who is hospitalized at the Onaseio, resigns.
16 January 1996: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, realizing the Turkish game, asks the Ministry of National Defence for increased vigilance measures in the Imia region.
19 January 1996: The PASOK parliamentary group elects Konstantinos Simitis as the new Prime Minister.
19 January 1996: The PASOK parliamentary group elects Konstantinos Simitis as the new Prime Minister.
26 January 1996. He would later be accused by his PASOK comrades of being the one who added fuel to the fire.
January 27, 1996. They lower the Greek flag and raise the Turkish flag. The whole operation is filmed and shown by the TV channel of "Houriet".
January 28, 1996. In the evening, Greek frogmen disembark at Megali Imia, without being seen by the Turkish warships alongside. The political order to the Greek military is to avoid any escalation of tension.
29 January 1996. Turkey's Prime Minister Tansu Çiller calls for negotiations on the status of the Aegean rocky islands. Turkish warships violate Greek territorial waters and approach Imia. Greece makes representations to the EU and the USA.
30 January 1996. Bill Clinton tells him the Greek position that our country does not want tension, but if provoked it will react forcefully. The government says it is ready to withdraw the troops, but not the Greek flag. The warships "Navarino" and "Themistocles" rush to Imia. The Turkish Foreign Minister declares that there are other Aegean islands with unclear legal status and does not accept the Greek proposal (withdrawal of the troops, not the flag).
31 January 1996
00:00 A meeting is called at the Prime Minister's office. The Foreign Minister, Theodoros Pangalos, arrives late because he is taking part in a television broadcast.01:40 Information arrives at the General Staff that Turkish commandos are landing at Mikri Imia.04:30 A Greek Navy helicopter is launched from the frigate "Navarino" to confirm the information. Bad weather conditions prevail.
04:50 The helicopter crew reports that they have spotted about 10 Turkish commandos with their flag. It is ordered to return to its base and while flying between the islets of Pita and Kalolimnos it reports a malfunction and disappears from radar. They are later recovered dead and the three crew members, Lieutenant Christodoulos Karathanasis, Lieutenant Panagiotis Vlachakos and Chief Petty Officer Hector Yialopsos, were killed. Various opinions have been expressed about the causes of the helicopter crash. The official view of the Greek state was that the aircraft crashed due to bad weather and loss of orientation of the pilot. However, in Greece there is a widespread opinion that the helicopter was shot down either by the Turkish navy or by the Turkish cruisers on the island and that the event was concealed in order to end the crisis and not to lead the two countries to a generalised conflict or even war.
06:00 The Americans, through Secretary of State Richard Holbrook, are imposing their will on both sides. "No ships, no troops, no flags" they declare, or in more elegant diplomatic language, that the status quo ante should apply. By noon on 31 January 1996 the ships, soldiers and flags had been withdrawn from Imia.
The Imia Crisis had no consequences as regards the status of the islands. However, it did give Turkey an excuse to raise the issue of "Grey Zones" in the Aegean, challenging Greece's sovereignty over several islands and putting another issue on the agenda of Greek-Turkish disputes. However, the Greek side never accepted the existence of such an issue, citing international treaties.
The events in Imia shook the credibility of the Greek government, especially when Prime Minister Costas Simitis thanked the Americans for their catalytic role in de-escalating the tensions.
Source: sansimera
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs to Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
