[/QUOTE]
A scene of terror in the Aegean is being set by Turkey, following the resurgence of the dispute over the sovereignty of Greek islands. The reason given by the Turkish government is the militarization of these islands, which they claim violates the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. It was the treaty that defined the country's borders after the First World War and the Asia Minor Campaign.
These are half-truths and unreliable approaches, which Turkey adapts to its own needs. Let's see what Athens says about all this, starting with the example of Lemnos and Samothrace. Indeed, the Lausanne Convention provided for the demilitarization of the two islands (such as the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, Imbros and Tenedos). What Turkey does not say is that this provision was abolished by the Montreux Convention in 1936. Indeed, at that time Ankara had recognized in writing Greece's right to arm the two outlying islands.
As regards Mytilene, Chios, Samos and Ikaria, they refer to the Lausanne Peace Treaty which of course does not provide for demilitarization. The only restriction imposed was that no naval bases or fortifications should be established on the four islands. The treaty gave Greece the right to maintain there "the usual number of those called up for military service, who may be trained on the spot."
The text also refers to an explicit prohibition of overflights by Greek aircraft over the coast of Asia Minor and by Turkish aircraft over the four Greek islands. Therefore, it is Turkey that violates this treaty almost daily.
What applies to the Dodecanese
The status of the Dodecanese is governed by the Paris Convention of 1947, through which these islands were ceded to Greece by Italy. In the Convention there is a provision for demilitarisation, which the Soviet Union included in the text. The provision was in fact annulled by the creation of NATO (1949) and the Warsaw Pact (1955), the military alliance of the communist states of Central and Eastern Europe.
Despite the fact that Turkey is not a party to the Paris Convention, Athens has made it clear more than once that it maintains national guard forces in the Dodecanese under the 1990 Treaty on the Reduction of Conventional Arms in Europe.
Even if none of the above were true, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs invokes the natural and legal right of all states to defend themselves in the event of a threat. A threat that exists if we talk about the daily statements of Turkish officials, if we look at the violations of the Athens FIR or the Greek continental shelf and if we consider the number of military units that Ankara maintains on the coast of Asia Minor.
As it clearly appears, Turkey's arguments are refuted by the course of history, its own actions and, of course, international law. Not what Erdogan, Cavusoglu and Akar refer to on a daily basis. What all the other states on the planet recognize and follow.
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[/URL]
Source
