Oh time, oh more!
With unfathomable audacity, Sultan Erdogan contrasted the Copenhagen criteria (rule of law, human rights, freedom of the press, etc.) invoked by Chancellor Friedrich Merz as a "conditio sine qua non" for Turkey's accession process to the EU, with Ankara's criteria (authoritarian regime, non-existence of human and political rights, silencing of the press, contempt for the rules of International Law, etc.), even taking credit for these achievements and essentially calling on Europe to adapt to its medieval criteria. And Chancellor Merz's mere acceptance of this offensive behavior, with its impermissible pervasiveness towards the usefulness of the Turkish army and its defense industry, instead of his immediate departure, if not as a sign of respect for himself, at least as a sign of respect for the authorities of the EU, constitutes a clear legitimization of Turkey's anti-democratic and revisionist policy.
The visit of German Chancellor Merz and the previous visit of British Prime Minister Starmer are perceived as an inspiration by the Great European Powers and a reward for Turkey's expansionist policy in the Eastern Mediterranean, especially when, with NATO as a fig leaf, these powers are, as they should not, strengthening Erdogan's defenses with new weapons systems, while they know full well that he is pursuing an aggressive policy against Greece, dividing the Aegean with the ideological narrative of the blue homeland, which he promotes with the silent guilt of the EU. It is certain that the EU itself, if we, under the pretext of the unforgettable homelands, had presented a similar narrative about the claim of the Ionian zone in Asia Minor, would have reacted, because supposedly this would constitute undermining peace in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.
When in 1940 Greece's determined resistance in World War II stirred up a storm of enthusiasm in the exhausted Europe, which was encouraged amidst Nazi gloom and fear, leading Churchill to the well-known philhellene statements, when the projects of the EU, represented by the 4 great powers - Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain - are the values of freedom, equality and democracy, any defense assistance under any pretext to Turkey becomes a betrayal of the values of the European edifice.
If, of course, Chancellor Merz's conscience is weighed down by Turkey's pro-German stance in two World Wars, the presence of 2.500 German companies in Turkey, as well as the presence of 3,5 million Turkish immigrants, his potential voters in Germany, for the England of democratic principles, our common struggle against Nazism, to which we contributed rivers of blood, especially within the framework of the allied "ANIMALS" project, should be weighed down.
Chris Woodhouse, deputy head of the British mission in occupied Greece, points out in the preface to George Horton's book (published 1974) the unjust and callous behavior of the Allies against the Christian Greek population in 1922 in Smyrna, which continued in the same way in 1974 in Cyprus. A
If Horton were alive today, he would extend this observation to the present day. English governments, notes Chris Woodhouse, with a few exceptions, are generally pro-Turkish!!! In fact, the pro-Turkish syndrome of the English is such, Woodhouse continues, that the London "Times" at the height of the Cyprus crisis characterized the Turk as "our ally in two World Wars", a statement that would certainly make the bones of Churchill and the English in Gallipoli creak. The attitude of Europeans, who nullify the sovereign European project to support the rule of law, democracy and fundamental human rights, when they defiantly tolerate or consciously turn a blind eye to the violation of political rights by the Sultan of Turkey (see Ekrem Imamoglu, who is rumored to be sentenced to 23 years in prison!!!) or of minority rights based on the UN Charter (see Kurds) remains problematic.
In the face of this European stance of hypocrisy and violation of every concept of principles, there must be a diplomatic response from all members of the scientific community, from all diplomatic missions and a multidimensional reaction from Greece. Above all, however, immediate and systematic preparation is required through the creation of a strong defense industry that will guarantee the deterrence and reversal of what is happening against us by our allies. The recent effort to transform an army of parades into an army of deterrence, capable of responding to modern threats by integrating strategic technology and similar domestically produced weapons systems, constitutes an important factor in the defense equation. The shift of our defense industry to the production of drones and anti-drones systems and laser systems is also the trigger for the co-production of training aircraft with the aim of making this production autonomous, to form the basis for future aeronautical developments.
The Ministry of Defense should also have pulled out the plans for the TOMA CENTAUR from its drawers, upgrading its armament with anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, a self-protection system, etc., so that our country can finally implement its own successful design proposal, which will provide a solution to the great shortage of similar defense equipment, under the condition of recovering the ownership status of ELVO. Unless, of course, the Ministry of Defense intends to proceed immediately to a Rheinmetall TOMA production line with a corresponding transfer of know-how. The recovery also observed in our shipbuilding industry, especially now that the Salamis Shipyards Administration claims that it is able to build any warship faster and cheaper than any other Shipyard abroad, creates a first-class opportunity that the Government must exploit.
It is advisable, of course, for someone to advise the new US Ambassador to secure the promise of the Planetary Commander that revisionist practices that change the status quo in the Aegean will not be permitted by the US, in order to halt the imperialist neo-Ottoman hysteria. Of course, our obligation to engage in a struggle to independently safeguard our rights remains unquestioned, since unfortunately, in the realist policy that, according to Thucydides, prevails worldwide, allied support proves to be precarious. That is why the rearmament of the country and the maintenance of at least air and naval superiority is an existential and indispensable condition.
Peace, unfortunately, is only secured through force.
photo by mfk, https://pixabay.com
