Cyprus-Forum.com

[Nikitas]

Tim said:

"Yes, there have been two major departures from the National Pact border policy since the Turkish Republic was founded,"

Sorry Tim, but living in Greece for 30 years or so, my experience says otherwise. There is hardly a day that goes past that the Greek air force does not have to scramble planes to intercept Turkish planes overflying Greek territory. This is a deliberate challenge to existing frontiers that the Turks themselves approved and signed in international conventions.

The territorial doctrine of Mustafa Kemal was obviously abandoned a long time ago. Now they formulate strange theories like the "grey areas" of the Aegean, which extend to the south of Crete (the Libyan Sea) and charge that the island of Gavdos is "disputed" and threaten if Greece extends its territorial waters in the Ionian Sea, the one that faces Italy!

Today, the Turkish Army, on its website, has put on pages with the Turkish monuments of Rhodos, and has included the usual veiled threats about the arming of the Dodecanese. Presumably they would prefer to have the islands unarmed and as available as Cyprus.

Under this doctrine and the continual challenge and unilateral challenge to established borders how is one supposed to trust Turkey and not be guilty of negligence at the very least?