Turkish warships are accused of harassing Greek Cypriot fishermen in international waters, threatening to tow boats and take crews prisoner.
Warships commanded by the Islamist government in Ankara are reported to have approached a Cypriot fishing boat belonging to the ‘Ta Psarokaika’ company at 2 in the morning.
The boat was in international waters a full 16 nautical miles from the Turkish coast but was ordered to leave the area and push off out to 24 nautical miles, according to the Cyprus Mail.
Captain Aristos Aristeidou said he was shocked by the command as Cypriots have been fishing in the area for years, but left — under escort — after the warships returned at 4 a.m. and threatened to tow the fishing boat to Turkey and imprison the crew.
Turkey Threatens to Sink Italian Oil Vessel Off Cyprus https://t.co/tjXHgIocsi
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 24, 2018
The Turks often attempt to bully Cyprus, a Greek-speaking EU member-state with a population of only around 800,000. They invaded the country in 1974 — opening fire on British soldiers and journalists who were present on the island while doing so — and established the so-called ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ on the territory they illegally occupied.
The puppet state is not recognised by any country other than Turkey, but Ankara acts aggressively to protect its supposed interests.
For example, Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently sent warships to prevent Italian oil prospecting ships licenced by the Greek Cypriot government from operating, with Ankara vowing it will not allow any wealth to be extracted from the Cypriot seabed unless it is shared with the occupied north.
Turkey Threatens to Invade Greece and Seize Aegean Islands https://t.co/B4nrQ0VDij
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 23, 2018
Ankara also attempts to impose its will on Greece proper, with Turkish warplanes and naval vessels violating their European neighbour’s airspace and territorial waters hundreds or even thousands of times a year.
The Hellenic Air Force is often forced to scramble to intercept these incursions, which turned deadly when a Greek pilot crashed into the Aegean Sea and died during one of these missions in April.
Much of the Turkish state is established on land wrested from the Greek-speaking world by the Ottomans, in particular its European foothold in Istanbul (Constantinople) and East Thrace.
Turkish leaders have designs on Greek territory to this day, with the constant aggression in the Aegean being part of a strategy to forcefully assert claims on a number of Greek islands.
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