The vice president of the Kemalists opposition People’s Republican Party (CHP) and MP for Istanbul, Fethi Açıkel, has resigned from the Turkish Ministry of Defence over alleged violations of Turkish territorial waters by Greece.
Referring to an incident that took place on July 17, when, according to Turkish claims, the Greek Coast Guard pushed a boat with illegal immigrants into Turkish territorial waters, Açıkel asked to be informed by the Minister of Defence Hulusi Akar for the reasons that “there was no intervention of the security forces against the Greek port vessel that violated the territorial waters, reaching just 1.5 kilometers from our shores.”
The CHP vice president attacked the Ministry of Defence on the day of the sad anniversary of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, defiantly calling it a “peace operation”.
“We point out that on the anniversary of the peace operation in Cyprus, the harassment against our borders was kept silent. The silence about the harassment of our borders casts a shadow on the philosophy of national sovereignty of our Republic,” he said.
In the same mood, Açıkel asked Akar to inform the body:
• How many alleged “repulsions” of irregular migrants Greece carried out in the Aegean Sea from 2018 to July 2022 and what is the total number of irregular migrants returned to Turkey.
• How many alleged violations of Turkey’s territorial waters were carried out by Greece, from 2018 to July 2022.
• Whether there was a military or diplomatic response to Greece’s violation of Turkey’s sovereignty, just 1.5 km from the coast of the country. If diplomatic actions have been taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs towards Greece.
• Why was there no strong response to these events, which constitute an open intervention by Greek vessels against Turkey’s border security and national sovereignty.
• What kind of measures are being taken by the Ministry of Defence so that there are no similar violations of Turkish territorial waters in the Aegean Sea by Greece in the future.
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