North Cyprus Media Watch: GREEK EXPANSIONISM

Expansionist policies, diplomatic intrigue, proud and shameless support for terrorism aimed at Greece's political ends, use of terrorist style cell-organizations with the involvement of GREEK DIPLOMATS, GREEK ARMY, AND ORTHODOX PRIESTS; and DENIAL on the diplomatic level.

Greece tries to expand at the expense of Turks
A brief look at the history of modern Greece tells the unequivocal tale of Greek Expansionism. Contrary to Greek propaganda, it is NOT Turkey who has expansionist claims, but Greece against Turkey.

GREEK EXPANSIONISM
1832-1950

The Kingdom of Greece established in 1832 as a state had a territorial area amounting only to:

47,516 square kilometres.
Greece's current area is:

131,990square kilometres.
Currently in 1999, Greece is working on expanding its territoy from the present 131,990square kilometres to over 300,000 square kilometers. And Greece is doing this while proclaiming Turkey as an expansionist state on all forums where she is represented at the expense of Turkey.

The territorial expansion from 48,000 to the present 132,000 square kilometers at the expense of Turkish territories was accomplished in accordance with Megalo Idea in a planned and quite systematic manner.

This has been Greek policy since 1832. The first King of Greece believed that Greece would seize all the territories belonging to the Turks so throughly that he was introducing himself to his surroundings as the "Byzantine Emperor." Artists he invited from Europe were painting illusionary pictures depicting him in the Byzantine costumes with his sword drawn out and attacking the Turks in front of the walls of St. Sophia and Istanbul. He was also engaged in organizing gangs of bandits for attacks against the Turks. While forming clandestine organizations in Epirus and Thessaly and provoking the Greeks living within the Turkish boundaries into starting riots, the Greeks were also provoking and arming the Cretan Greeks of Ottoman nationality.

The territories of Macedonia, Theselia, Western Thrace, Salonica, Aegean islands, Crete were annexed at various times through diplomatic intrigues and the help of Greece's patron states...

Thus, in some ways, as a gift from the Western states 47,516 square kilometres territory grew up to the current 131,990 square kilometres.

Greece tried to annex western Anotolia through an occupation supported by all western powers after WW-I. This attempt ended with the definitive defeat of Greece in 1922 (as had been the case in all conquest attempts).

GREEK EXPANSIONISM
1950-2000

Since the 1950 s, Greece already attempted to annex Cyprus. Greek aggression was stoped in 1974 only through the landing of Turkish forces on the island...

Currently, Greece is pushing on the issue of 12 mile limit, and once again plans on a unilateral fait accompli. Turkey has explicitly declared that any such attempt will be considered casus belli -reason for war.

Turkey's conflict with Greece in the Aegean stems from the fact that Greece does not wish to recognise the status quo, and meanwhile per usual she tries to create the image that Turkey is the aggressor... [ The status quo in the Aegean consists of (a) The demilitarised status of the Western Anatolian Islands (b) Territorial waters of 6 miles and air space of corresponding dimensions (c) A continental shelf that has to be limited through negotiations in an equitable manner (d) Free use of the international sea and air space of the Aegean ]

Put in very simple terms, if more than 3602 islands and rock outcrops scattered in the Aegean is assumed to have territorial waters of 12 miles, then 71,53 % of the Aegean would come under Greek sovereignty and this would give Greece an area over 300,000 square kilometers. Thus any civil and war ships crossing from the Black Sea into the Mediterranean would be forced to ask for permission from the Greek government. Such a requirement would not be acceptable to any country. The distance in miles of Western Anatolian Islands to Turkiye and Greece mainlands will give a clearer picture:
Island's name Distance to Greece Distance to Turkey
Semadirek---50 miles to Gr------20 miles to Turkey
Limni--------32 miles to Gr------32 miles to Turkey
Midilli--------85 miles to Gr------8 miles to Turkey
Sakýz-------62 miles to Gr------4 miles to Turkey
Sisam-------95 miles to Gr------2 miles to Turkey
Nikarya-----72 miles to Gr------32 miles to Turkey
Istanköy----100 miles to Gr------3 miles to Turkey
Rodos-------210 miles to Gr------10 miles to Turkey
Tilos--------210 miles to Gr------10 miles to Turkey

Greece is also currently working on the annexation of eastern Black Sea region through establishment of the imaginary "Pontus Greek State"...

It is also worth noting the Greek dream of "conquest of Istanbul" (sic) and recovery of the Byzantine Empire.

GREEK EXPANSIONISM

corrections