The Washington Post Blog is featuring a discussion of the following question:
Issues such as the status of Cyprus and Turkey's accession to
the EU hinge upon Greece-Turkey relations. What policy on either side
do you think would be most productive or most damaging towards peaceful
and cooperative relations?
Here's my two cents worth on the subject:
Why are we deluding ourselves? Perhaps some in Turkey
may desire EU membership and all the accompanying accoutrements that it will
bring. Unfortunately, the Turkish government and more importantly, the Turkish
military, are not willing to alter policies that might change the current
paradigm. First, they are not willing to concede a modicum of religious freedom
to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Their objective is to maintain tight control
over the Patriarch and thus relegate the Patriarchate to either total
irrelevancy or extinction. Second, their provocations in the Aegean
continue. Rather than submitting to judicial arbitration in the World Court in
order to achieve a lasting and equitable solution to Aegean issues, they
continue to conduct military incursions of Greek airspace. For example, the
recent collision of two military aircraft over the Aegean took place during a
Turkish air reconnaissance mission over Crete, hardly the action of a friendly
nation. Third, no matter how hard we strive to justify her record, Turkey
invaded, ethnically cleansed and occupied a large portion of Cyprus. After
thirty-two years, it still maintains a large occupation force on the island, has
imported thousands of Turkish settlers to alter its ethnic make-up , refused to
account for two thousand missing persons, continues to sell private property
belonging to Greek Cypriots, and sadly, looks the other way as religious and
historical sites are destroyed and looted. The same actions by any other nation
would have been roundly condemned by American and European governments alike.
Instead we demand more concessions from the Greek Cypriots and from Greece. The
question we must ask is why are Turkish policies intransigent? The answer is
simple. Turkish foreign policy is a reflection of Turkey's view of itself, i.e.
the inheritor of the Ottoman legacy, a major player in the region who will
not kowtow to "weak" neighbors or Western powers it views as equals. Turkey's
two and a half war strategy is not dead, it's just waiting for the right
time.
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