Four Cretans recently set off to hoist the Greek flag on all the islets in the Eastern Mediterranean in a move which is clearly symbolic and in the framework of informing the world that they are Greek. This four men, according to "Creta Tv", are Manolis Mizeraki, Antonis Tsapinos, George Papoutsakis and Manolis Vardakis. The men stated that their only goal is to show the world that no one can break the patriotic spirit of the Greeks and make demands.
The act, which in our opinion is commendable, and inspiring, has not been received the same way in Turkey. According to a report on defence-point the Turkish government and the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, is presently monitoring this initiative very closely and doesn't view it as being all that "innocent".
Although the news site commends the young men for adopting this act, it also at the same time suggests that they should reconsider their plan of action and rather adopt a more cynical, and effective long-term initiative. Having a clear image on the operational capabilities and readiness of the Greek Armed Forces, the site notes that although the Greek armed forces are not afraid of the Turkish army there is always that one little thing that can spark a diplomatic chaos and then suddenly a crisis can break out.
The international community and predominantly the US, do not want any tension between Greece and Turkey, especially now since there are already many "hot spots" in the region that are ready to explode. As such, any action on the part of Greece might entangle our country into a diplomatic mess and pin our backs against the wall for basically doing nothing.
HellasFrappe agrees with defence-point on that note, but at the same time we cannot be idle and witness so many provocations against our country being committed by Turkey everyday either. On the other, we have been trained to view all the sides to the story and believe that although some things might look innocent they could be exploited and then used against us with a flick of the wrist. Let us make something clear here, we are convinced that these four men are doing this purely out of their love for Greece, but this innocent act can also trigger, (maybe even through a false flag), repercussions that can easily deprive our country later of exercising its international rights on matters of importance such as the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbon reserves.
Certainly our leaders are not saviors, especially in areas of international diplomacy, but they are in a better position to exploit all the international organs needed in order to make Greece's case better known. For this very reasoning, we agree with defence-point that caution is needed here.
Although this patriotic act is indeed commendable, it might be read differently from all of those who would like nothing more than to have a reason to ignite some sort of incident against our country.
One thing that really should be addressed -maybe in a parliamentary debate or an international conference- by all concerned -and which is long overdue- is the "Greekness" of all these islets. And this is because the term "grey zones" is something that only sprung up in 1996 during the Imia crisis. In our opinion this has no meaning whatsoever to the average Greek citizen because we believe and respect international treaties. Unfortunately this is not always the case in the diplomatic world, where imperialism still exists and as we have all seen over time things do work a wee bit differently here. Think about it. You can invade a country and if you have a stronger army, more money, or use explosive wit, charm and clever tactics you can basically get away with anything. Take for example the invasion of Cyprus, why is Turkey still there and why hasn't the international community acted against this? Or what about the invasion of Iraq, or even Afghanistan.
In such a framework, anything that could endanger Greece's attempt to legalize its international position right now should be put on the back burner. That is why we propose that these young men rethink their campaign until the situation becomes a little bit more positive for our country.
Posts
