By Editorial Board of Daily Sabah
Tensions have been growing between Turkey and Greece in recent months. After years of peaceful coexistence, the long-forgotten hostilities of the 1990s are threatening to reemerge.
Most recently, the hoisting of the Greek flag on an uninhabited Turkish islet in the Aegean Sea fueled tensions between the two countries. Turkish officials warned their Greek counterparts to refrain from acts of provocation, while a spokesman for the Greek government denied knowledge of the incident. The current escalation, which hurts Greek interests and reflects the country’s reduction to a proxy for Germany, must end without further delay.
There is no reasonable explanation for Greece’s aggression toward Turkey. First of all, the two countries are not in the same league. Turkey is an economic powerhouse with 80 million citizens. Greece, in turn, is still crippled by political and economic instability. If you drive a small car into a concrete wall, it would be unreasonable to think that the wall, instead of the car, would suffer the consequences.
We understand that the Greek government believes that fueling nationalist fervor could distract the public’s attention from their shortcomings. At the same time, they presumably think that they can remain on Germany’s good side by antagonizing Turkey.
The fact that Athens is willing to turn a blind eye to its interests and bend over backward just to please the German government shows that Greece is not an independent country. Although Greek patriots like to brag about their war of independence against the Ottoman Empire, the truth is that Greece is currently a vassal state.
Anyone remotely familiar with the history of tensions between Turkey and Greece would know that there has never been a serious problem between the Turkish and Greek people. The Turks want nothing but happiness, economic welfare and security for their neighbors. It’s time for the Greek people to want the same things for themselves.
The Turkish people view Greece as an adorable country. Turkey’s business community has a positive view of Greece, whose economy faces serious challenges today. The Greek people could help themselves by tapping into Turkey’s sympathies and attracting investors. The influx of Turkish tourists to the Greek islands alone creates thousands of jobs in Greece and generates considerable revenue.
Already troubled by political and economic instability, the last thing Greece needs right now is having to deal with new challenges.
In this sense, we call on Greece to protect the interests of its own people instead of serving as a proxy for other governments. Greek patriots must resist efforts by third countries to get Athens to do their dirty work.
The immediate goal of all Greek patriots must be to ensure that their country is liberated from the yoke of German economic imperialism. The Greek people must resist efforts by Germany to enslave their economy. These are efforts to distract attention from economic imperialism by fueling tensions between Turkey and Greece. The Greek people must start paying attention to the real issues
