A possible withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Cyprus will not only facilitate the goals of imperialist Western nations, but it will also jeopardize the future of our kinsmen and strengthen PKK terrorists on the island.
European Union is a union that always gives importance to human rights. But ironically, one of two EU member states, Greek Cyprus, is basically founded by so-called leaders with acknowledged backgrounds in terrorism. The other one is Greece, whose spoiled acts and support of terrorism ironically do not disturb the so-called Western civilization either. This is the Greece that surpassed European states in practicing double-standards, injustice and atrocities by prohibiting our kinsmen living in Western Trace to be called ‘Turk' and establishing their own associations under the name ‘Turk' in spite of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and appointing Muftis (religious leaders) from Athens forcibly and not letting the Turks to choose their own Muftis. Our relations with Greeks and Greek Cypriots, who are protected by hypocritical West, are managed despite their hostile efforts to collaborate with the Armenians to spread libelous and false news and engage in defamation campaigns.
Hypocritical Western world cannot answer this issue, which best exemplifies its injustices: “Why could Czech and Slovak communities, which are very similar in terms of ethnicity, religion, language, history and culture, secede from Czechoslovakia in one night and this was welcomed. Or why Yugoslavia was allowed to split into seven peoples and seven republics, while two hostile societies [in Cyprus], which do not have any relations and do not have any common aspects in terms of ethnicity, religion, culture and history, are tried to be hold together forcibly?”
What are the goals of Western nations in this compulsion? Hypocritical Western states have to explain why they disregard the support of Greece and Greek Cyprus for terrorism, while they always express their disapproval of terrorism.
As a matter of fact, it would be naïve to expect those, mostly NATO member EU nations, which support the terrorism of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militarily, politically and economically in various degrees, to condemn Greece and Greek Cyprus about such support.
Greece's support for the PKK:
It is obvious that the PKK is supported by Greece, considering the PKK's historical development with major support from Greece. Greece has always intended to damage Turkey in every way and seize a portion of our land as a part of its ‘great idea', “Megali Idea”.
To this end, Greece initially helped the establishment and assistance of ASALA, the Armenian Terror Organization, with the agony she experienced after our 1974 Peace Operation in Cyprus. Following our state's strike against ASALA, Greece changed her tactics and started to play its cards on Kurds.
In this context, first it initiated the “Lavrion Camp” near Athens. Ayfer Kaya with the code name Rozarin, who was responsible for military training at the Lavrion Refugee Camp that was once used to treat foreign refugees, told in an interview with the Time Magazine that Kurdish young men coming to the camp receive military training under the auspices of Greek officers. They are then they sent to Turkey for terrorist activities.
It was known that until the 1990s, Lavrion was one of PKK's most important training bases along with Bekaa Valley. Those activities in Lavrion, which is still known to function, are continuing right in front of the secret services of our so-called NATO allies. This point, and the fact that our allies are trying to take advantage of the PKK card for their intentions about Turkey, is more obvious when the origins of the guns captured from the PKK are considered.
It is an acknowledged fact, that Lavrion and the support given to the PKK is a national policy of Greece and it is backed by every Greek government and the deputies of PASOK, DIKKI and the YDP.
Following developments and information about the PKK's active presence in Greece as a result of Greeks' and Greeks Cypriot's vengeance pursuit for their defeat in 1974 are presented in various media agencies:
· Stelyos Papathemelis, who was a member of the Greek Parliament, was a PASOK member who nourished and directed ASALA's and PKK's activities against Turkey. In 1978-1979, he joined and represented his party in the conventions organized by ASALA in various European countries, and made speeches such as: “Turks are enemies of all of us. They only understand violence, so their blood has to be shed in order to bring them to their knees.” During his two terms of Public Order Ministry in the PASOK government, Papathemelis supported terrorism against Turkey in Greek Cyprus. In October 29, 1994, while Turks in northern Cyprus were celebrating their “Republic Day Festival”, Public Order Minister of Greece came to the island and participated in a convention in Lefkoşa (Nicosia). In the convention, he got together with representatives of the PKK, ASALA and a Greek terrorist organization functioning in Cyprus under the name of “Committee of Solidarity with Kurdistan”. In the convention, the future terrorist activities in Turkey for the year 1995 were discussed and decisions were made.
· Another person who was helping the terrorist activities of the PKK was a PASOK politician Panayotis Sguridis, who was the vice president for the president of the Greek Parliament, Apostolos Kaklamanis. He was a fan of terrorist chief Abdullah Öcalan, who killed 35,000 innocent people. Sguridis paid countless visits to PKK camps in Syria and Lebanon and met Öcalan there.
· Among the other Greek politicians who supported the PKK terrorist organization, were PASOK deputy Dimitrios Vunatsos, Greek Parliament President Apostos Kaklamanis, ex-Minister of Education Dimitrios Arsenis, ex-Minister of National Defense Tsohazopoulos, ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Pangalos. During the first term of the Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, PKK's activities in Greece, which used to be an important educational and logistical base for the PKK, were moved to Greek Cyprus as a result of pressure from Turkey and reactions from the world. As Greek Cyprus started to reach some of it goals in accessing the EU in the mid-1990s, it got encouraged and intensified the support for the PKK that it once gave to ASALA as a so-called state policy, in accord with hostility toward Turkey and the goal of capturing the whole island to itself.
In this context:
· In 1990, offices of Kurdistan National Liberation Front (ERNK) and Kurdish Democratic People's Unions (YDK) opened in Lefkoşa.
· Following this, Kurdistan Culture Association Office was opened in Limassol.
· Trodos, Mashera and Stavrovoru terrorist camps were built in order to train PKK members and send them to Turkey to commit terrorist activities. The camp in Trodos was built on the land that belongs to the Greek National Church.
· Moreover, two offices in Limasol and Lefkoşa that belonged directly to PKK were opened with special help from Cypriot Greeks.
· It was confirmed that in the March of 1996 Greek Orthodox Church invited the head terrorist Öcalan to city of Baf (Paphos) and gave him a significant amount of money.
· It was known that in 1990s, the PKK was smuggling arms over Lazkiye Harbor while trafficking drugs to Europe through Greek Cyprus.
· It is was also known that Greek Cyprus was a first stop for the guns that the PKK acquired from several countries. The allegations about transportation of the arms that the PKK purchased from Russia, which included $7 million-worth of guns and 8 SAM-7 ground-to-air anti-aircraft missiles, by a Greek Cypriot flagged ship called Nissos to Greek Cyprus and then to the PKK over Syria exemplify this point.
· There are more allegations that Greek Cyprus carried out those activities more secretly after its accession to the EU.
· It is known that in the early 2000s, about 500 PKK militants took shelter in Greek Cyprus and took payment from the Greek Cypriots under the name of social assistance.
· It is known that institutes and terrorists of PKK extensions received support from European and Greek Non-governmental Organizations (NGO) and in addition to this, the Greek Administration supported those extensions in terms of material and political assistance.
· In line with Greek Cypriot National Policy, the Democratic Center Union Party's (EDEK) and Greek Communist Party's (AKEL) common policy was that “Turkey is the common enemy of the Kurds and Greeks” and therefore the PKK should be supported in every way. This particular point shapes the Greek-PKK relations.
· It is known that wounded PKK terrorists in our southern borders were most of the times treated in Greek Cypriot hospitals.
· The most solid example of Greek's hostile policies against Turkey is the fact that when terrorist Abdullah Öcalan was apprehended in Kenya on February 16, 1999, he had a Greek Cypriot passport arranged in the name of Lazaros Mavros, who was a columnist in the Fileleftheros Newspaper, published in Greek Cyprus, and the head terrorist is taken from the Embassy of Greece in Kenya.
· It is rather meaningful that right after this incident, Representatives House of the Greek Cyprus has taken decisions that condemned the arrest of the head terrorist and declared the continuation for the support given to the PKK.
It is obvious that enemies of Turks, who clearly have common goals about Turkey, are going to take advantage of Greek Cyprus, which is in a strategically important location because of its proximity to Turkey, Syria and the Middle East. This is important because as the PKK cannot continue its activities in Syria and Lebanon freely it will use the island as a base thanks to special efforts and support from the Greeks.
Escalation of PKK Activities in KKTC
It is especially attention attracting that since the gates opened in Cyprus on April 23, 2003, Greek agents and PKK elements, who can freely enter northern Cyprus, increased their terrorism serving activities in northern Cyprus. It is also striking that PKK-related associations and institutes in Greek Cyprus have increased their propaganda aimed for Kurdish-descendant students and citizens in northern Cyprus and have started to provide those students with financial assistance. The PKK militants among the Kurdish construction workers on both sides of the island have intensified PKK propaganda and recruitment efforts under the Greek Administration's watch and support, facilitated by the free passage through the borders and the present indifferent policies of the northern Cyprus administration. Another important point is that all anti-Turkish activities in the world are controlled and directed from Greece, and PKK militants take their orders from their so-called commanders in Greece.
Efforts for the withdrawal of the Turkish troops from the island
The common and most important aim of PKK militants and some similar groups in northern Cyprus and Greek Cypriots as well is the ‘withdrawal of the Turkish troops from the island'.
Our kinsmen in Cyprus are intensely propagated, and they are tried to be deceived about this issue by false and very unfair news. However, there is a historical fact that has to be remembered: the massacres Greek Cypriots committed against our kinsmen in 1963 and in 1967, which were performed according to the Akritas Plan. However, the Turkish Armed Forces saved our kinsmen from almost being totally massacred in 1974 after a Greek coup, which was a part of a second plan called Ifestos. Therefore, it is necessary to mention that a possible withdrawal of the Turkish troops from the island will not only facilitate the goals of imperialist Western nations, but it will also jeopardize the future of our kinsmen and will help to strengthen the presence of PKK terrorists on the island.