Blog

OPEN LETTER

to the President of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Your Excellency,

We had met and talked several times during the years 2006-2012 when I was Secretary General of the Organization for Black Sea Cooperation (OSCE). I even remember congratulating you at the time because you were the only Prime Minister of Turkey who managed to limit the interventions of the armed forces in the political life of your country.

The reason I am writing you today is the threats you are systematically hurling against my country and, above all, against the Greek islands of the Aegean. I believe that you should stop threatening us because, among other things (Greece is currently well-equipped and ready for war), you are being exposed to our NATO allies and the international community as unhistorical, a fact that does not do honor to a leader of your stature. That is why I will attempt today, in an effort to help you, to remind you of the real historical facts about the Greek islands of the Aegean, lest you thus renounce your unhistorical revisionist accusations.

Let me start from the Lemnos and SamothraceThe demilitarization of these islands (which, together with the demilitarization of the Dardanelles, the Sea of ​​Marmara and the islands of Imbros, Tenedos and Lagos, was originally provided for by the Lausanne Convention on the Straits of 1923) was abolished from the Montreux Convention of 1936. Greece's right to arm Samothrace was recognized from Turkey according to the letter sent on May 6, 1936 by the Turkish Ambassador to Athens Roussen Esref, following instructions from Ankara. The letter repeated the statement of the then Turkish Foreign Minister, Rustu Aras, who addressed the Turkish Grand National Assembly on the occasion of the ratification of the Montreux Convention. His statements were as follows: "The provisions concerning the islands of Lemnos and Samothrace, which belong to our neighboring and friendly country Greece and were demilitarized in accordance with the Lausanne Convention of 1923, also abolished with the new Montreux Convention and this pleases us particularly". In support of my words, I refer you to the Journal of the Minutes of the Turkish National Assembly, issue 12, July 31/1936, p. 309. The above references prove to me, Mr. President, that you yourself, your country, recognized in the most official way the right of Lemnos and Samothrace to arm themselves. Therefore, what is the reason for you to ignore your commitments today?

I now move on to the status of the islands. Of Mytilene, Chios, Samos and Ikaria. You complain that Greece has violated the Treaty of Lausanne and has militarized these islands. But, Your Excellency Mr. President, the Peace Treaty of Lausanne not provides that the specific islands will be under a demilitarization regime. Article 13 of the Treaty of Lausanne provides the following: "In order to ensure peace, the Greek Government is obliged to observe the following measures on the islands of Mytilene, Chios, Samos and Ikaria:

– The said islands will not be used for the establishment of a naval base or for the erection of any fortification work.

– Greek military aviation will be prohibited from flying over the territory of the Anatolian coast. Accordingly, the The Ottoman Government will prohibit its military aviation from flying over the said islands.

– The Greek military forces in the said islands shall be limited to the usual number of those called up for military service, who may be trained on the spot, as well as to a gendarmerie and police force comparable to that existing throughout the entire Greek territory.”

Therefore, Your Excellency, there are no violations by Greece of the Treaty of Lausanne. On the contrary, there are Turkish violations with the overflights of your aircraft over the islands in question. If we admit, Mr. President, that no one has the right to misinterpret the provisions of international treaties as they please, shouldn't you withdraw your argumentation based on inaccurate interpretations? Do you believe that the other states, except Turkey, are not able to accurately understand the contents of an international treaty?

Regarding the status of the islands of the Southeastern Aegean, the Dodecanese, I mention the following: You were neutral in World War II and only towards the end did you declare war on Germany. The Dodecanese were ceded to Greece in full sovereignty by the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947. The provisions of this treaty provide for the demilitarization of these islands ("The above islands shall be demilitarized and shall remain demilitarized"). However, regarding your claims for the demilitarization of the Dodecanese, I would like to inform you of the following facts that you may not be aware of. Your country is not a contracting party in the above-mentioned Treaty of 1947. Therefore, this treaty constitutes a “res inter alios acta”, that is, a matter concerning other States. And because, according to Article 34 of the Vienna Convention on Treaties “a Treaty it does not create obligations or rights for third countries "outside the contracting parties", Turkey, as a non-contracting party, has no right to invoke the provisions of the 1947 Peace Convention. In addition, we recall that the demilitarization regime of the Dodecanese was established after decisive intervention by the Soviet Union and reflects the political expediencies of that time.

This is how things are, Your Excellency, and I would ask you to get a little serious so as not to lose the prestige you have acquired so far due to Turkey's stance on Ukraine and your relations with Russia.

If, nevertheless, you attempt an attack against Greece, be sure that you will fail as the Italians failed in 1940.

Please accept, Mr. President, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos

Honorary Ambassador

Secretary General of the BSEC (2006-2012)

Aegion, 14.12.2022