BLUE HOMELANDS? Who has the right to dream of them? And certainly who does NOT!
"BLUE HOMELANDS? Who has the right to dream of them? And certainly who DOESN'T!"
P. P. Groumbos
Just recently, in an interview, Turkish President Erdogan, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Ottoman victory at the naval battle of Preveza in 1538, stated, among other things: "We continue with faith and unwavering will to defend and protect our rights and interests at sea, with full awareness of how important the defense of our "Blue Homeland" is."
What arrogance and audacity! One defends what is one's own. The "Blue Homeland", as Turkey dares to define and dream of it, is an imaginary demarcation and strategic planning for the control of a maritime vital space from Turkey in the Black Sea, Aegean Sea, Libyan Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, with the objective of its geopolitical upgrade and its emergence as a planetary power. Turkey does not hide its ambitions: it dreams of the revival of the Ottoman Empire. It certainly has in mind that this means drawing new borders, abolishing - violating old agreements that were sealed with blood. It means violating the UN Charter. How likely is this to happen without the consent - tolerance of the great powers: USA, England, France, Russia, China...?
Probably unlikely.
No matter how many anniversaries Erdogan (Turkey) celebrates, they are the result of violent conquests, something he dreams of repeating for the realization of "Blue Homeland"Let the Turks understand very well that they are temporary conquerors of the peoples who were violently enslaved by their ancestors, who came from the depths of Asia. Blue Homelands have the right to seek those peoples who inhabited these places long before the arrival of the ancestors of today's Turks.
Let's see what Historical Science has to say. The Proto-Hellenes lived on the Ionian islands, on the Aemos peninsula in the southern part of the Balkans, on the Aegean islands and in Asia Minor thousands of years ago. Genetic studies show that the prehistoric Cretans and the Peloponnesians, descendants of the Proto-Hellenes, not only have genetic affinity with each other, but also with modern Greeks at a rate of 75%.
The order of internal migrations in mainland Greece during the 2nd millennium BC is historically proven based on ancient Greek dialects as stated by American linguist Eric Hubb in a 2012 study on the tree of the Indo-European language family.
After the prehistoric period of the Mycenaeans comes the Classical era, the empire established by Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire, and then the Byzantine Empire.
The Ottoman Empire was essentially created later, between the 14th and 16th centuries, after continuous wars and mainly after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. For the Aegean islands, history has recorded that in the year 1537 (many years after the fall of Constantinople) the Ottomans occupied a series of islands, which had been inhabited by Greeks since the 15th century BC, such as Syros, Aegina, Ios, Paros, Tinos, Karpathos, Kasos and Naxos. They officially annexed the Duchy of Naxos (which had several Aegean islands) to the Ottoman Empire in 1579! And they conquered Tinos in 1715!
This brief historical review proves, without a doubt, how many years the Greeks lived and still live, and how many years the Turks lived as conquerors in the areas that Turkey dares to claim as its "Blue Homeland".
Nevertheless, Turkish politicians continue their provocative statements about the “Blue Homeland”. A few months ago, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said during a teleconference: “Turkey has the determination, will and ability to defend its rights and interests in its “Blue Homeland”, which includes Cyprus”. And where did Turkey get these rights from? From the 250 years of being enslaved under the Ottoman yoke and then being freed (in 1830) to be subordinated to the new Greek state?
While just a few days ago, referring to the Greek islands, he noted that Turkey "ignores the movements and actions that the Greeks take on islands that have in no way been given their sovereignty in Greece." These statements are beyond all logic and provocative. The Aegean islands that Turkey includes in the delimitation of the "Blue Homeland" are not under Greek sovereignty? In other words, to which country do they belong according to the Treaty of Lausanne, which was signed almost 100 years ago?
Let's not kid ourselves.
The ideology of the Blue Homeland is a convenient framework that tries to justify Turkey's revisionist behavior. When Turkey talks about the Blue Homeland, it is as if it is talking about the "living space" that Hitler sought for Germany in 1940. As then, the reactions of the Great Powers were initially lukewarm and with appeasement they thought they could put a brake on Hitler's appetites. The outcome is known. It took rivers of blood to stop Hitler and Germany.
Drawing lessons from history, we must fight to prevent this historical, bloody pattern from being repeated. As Greeks, we are obliged to be ready with high morale to defend our Homeland and at the same time inform the international community about Turkey's unhistorical and illegal claims.
Let Turkey and those who support it in its illegal and unprecedented claims understand well that the "Blue Homeland" they claim has an owner! Greece and the Greeks.
If Turkey desires the peaceful coexistence of the two peoples, it must change its behavior.
The progress and sustainable development of both peoples as well as the wider region are not achieved under threats of war, with continuous violations of the airspace over the Greek islands and the failure to observe International Law and respect for the UN Charter.
Let us all understand that History does not dethrone but teaches us that Hubris has a heavy price in store for the insulter in the end and Nemesis is ultimately imposed. Unfortunately, the EU is conspicuous by its absence, since, seeing only commercial interests, it tolerates violations of International treaties and International Law. The main burden falls on the largest European power today, which with its behavior and tolerance, if not encouragement, allows Turkey to be ugly and threatening. The time has come for Germany and Europe to choose sides. International legitimacy or unprovoked show of force and gunboat policy? The lies and evasions are over. If the prophecy of Saint Paisios is verified and Turkey is dissolved, with many negative consequences for Germany and some other countries in Europe, the absolute responsibility will be borne entirely by Erdogan and his political leadership. And unfortunately, the great powers that let Turkey behave as it does will not be without responsibility. The times are not waiting! This phrase was spoken by Pericles, the great politician of ancient Athens and was later recorded by his great admirer, Thucydides. In simple words, “the times do not wait, we must act.”
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