Τρίτη 19 Μαρτίου 2024
weather-icon 21o
The lies of the PM’s office regarding the freeing of the two Greek officers

The lies of the PM’s office regarding the freeing of the two Greek officers

One can conclude that the decision of the court (or the Turkish government) was the result of intense backroom consultations, from which the Greek government was totally absent

Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to free the two Greek army officers caught the Greek government by surprise.

They never expected such a gift from the “sultan”, at least not now.

Just a few weeks ago, Alternate Defence Minister Fotis Kouvelis said that the officers, Angelos Mitretodis and Dimitris Kouklatzis, might stay in a Turkish prison for another 18 months.

Kouvelis again today confirmed the government’s surprise over the fact that the two officers’ ordeal ended so soon. Even the two men’s lawyers could not believe the ruling, as they had not submitted their next petition for release (all previous ones were rejected).

From that alone, one can conclude that the decision of the court (or the Turkish government) was the result of intense backroom consultations, from which the Greek government was totally absent.

Though the release brought joy to all Greeks, the handling of the affair by the PM’s office is noteworthy.

The government hastened to grab the political life vest that others had thrown to it. Was it the Americans who pressured Ankara? Was it the Europeans with whom Turkey did not want a complete rupture? Was it Russia, which has an intervening role in Turkey? Was it perhaps Erdogan, who wanted to extricate himself from a tough situation?

Whoever intervened and whatever happened over the last days that resulted in the two officers returning to Greece is absolutely welcome.

Perhaps any government that was in the position of the SYRIZA-Independent Greeks government would have done the same. They would have used Mitretodis and Kouklatzis as a victory trophy of foreign policy and diplomacy.

That is exactly what this government also did. It grabbed a life vest, so as not to drown in the ashes of the Mati tragedy. Yet, once again it is doing so crudely, and with a communications-oriented approach. It is not just the effort to exploit the officers’ return with an after-midnight show, on the great feast day of the Virgin Mary.

There is also a non-paper distributed by the PM’s office in order to explain the reasons why Turkey decided to free the two officers.

Though no one now knows what led Ankara to open the gates of the prison, the government hastened to celebrate, by lying and skewing reality, as it emerges from a series of events.

The truth according to the PM’s office

According to the PM’s office, the release of the officers occurred for the following reasons:

  1. The open, multi-level channels between Greece and Turkey
  2. PM Tsipras’ three visits to Turkey in 2015-2016, and the meetings of the two countries’ foreign ministers, which contributed decisively to handling the refugee crisis, building the EU-Turkey strategic partnership, and advancing Cyprus talks
  3. Greece’s support for the democratically elected government of Turkey during the abortive coup in July, 2016
  4. The steadfast support for Turkey’s European prospects , and for maintaining EU-Turkey channels of communication
  5. The first visit of a Turkish president to Athens in 65 years
  6. Athens’ decision not to participate in economic sanctions against Turkey in the recent period
  7. PM Tsipras’ meeting with Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the July Nato summit
  8. Greece’s efforts to highlight and internationalise the issue with allies and international organisations
  9. Turkey’s effort to restart relations with the EU and its member-states (restoring ties with The Netherlands, meeting Merkel, approaching Austria), in a period when Turkey faces economic problems and US-Turkish relations are in crisis. Turkey released the officers with the knowledge that the issue – after Greece’s pro-active stance – would help efforts towards a restart of EU-Turkish relations

Of all these putative reasons for the release of the Greek army officers, the government is right about only four.

Avoiding imposing economic sanctions sent a positive message.

Secondly, the issue was internationalised, though that is not exclusively the result of the government’s actions. Great efforts were made in the European parliament by New Democracy MEPs Manolis Kaefaloyannis (who went to the Edirne prison) and Yorgos Kyrtsos, and Movement for change MEP Nikos Androulakis.

All political parties and the media contributed to the case of the two officers and their unjust imprisonment becoming widely known.

Thirdly, Turkey wanted to build bridges with Europe, especially now that it is at loggerheads with the US.

The fourth point is the Tsipras-Erdogan meeting on the sidelines of the Nato summit. Things that were not publicised may have been said, helping to defuse tensions.

The lies

It is a great lie for the government to say that multi-level communications channels helped. A few hours before the officers were set free, the government announced that it was freezing confidence-building measures with Turkey. Hence, even issues of low politics stopped right before the release, as Athens thought that the channels of communication were closed.

The PM’s office says that the basic reason for the release was Tsipras’ visit to Ankara and Erdogan’s historic trip to Athens. It purposely ignores the fact that over the last year, Greek-Turkish relations are at the worst level in decades.

The government wants to hide the fact that in the last 10 months there were three very serious incidents in the Aegean, with efforts by Turkish vessels to sink Greek ones.

It purposely forgets that for the first time we had Greek officers on the island of Ro firing warning shots at a Turkish helicopter that was flying at an altitude of just 200 metres.

It also forgets that the heroic Air Force pilot Baltadoros crashed and died after dogfights in the Aegean.

Moreover, violations of Greek airspace have multiplied recently.

Sports in

Η Φενέρμπαχτσε σκέφτεται να αποχωρήσει από το πρωτάθλημα Τουρκίας

Η Φενέρμπαχτσε συγκάλεσε έκτακτο διοικητικό συμβούλιο και εξετάζει το ενδεχόμενο αποχώρησης από το πρωτάθλημα, μετά τα επεισόδια στην Τραπεζούντα.

Ακολουθήστε το in.gr στο Google News και μάθετε πρώτοι όλες τις ειδήσεις

in.gr | Ταυτότητα

Διαχειριστής - Διευθυντής: Λευτέρης Θ. Χαραλαμπόπουλος

Διευθύντρια Σύνταξης: Αργυρώ Τσατσούλη

Ιδιοκτησία - Δικαιούχος domain name: ΑΛΤΕΡ ΕΓΚΟ ΜΜΕ Α.Ε.

Νόμιμος Εκπρόσωπος: Ιωάννης Βρέντζος

Έδρα - Γραφεία: Λεωφόρος Συγγρού αρ 340, Καλλιθέα, ΤΚ 17673

ΑΦΜ: 800745939, ΔΟΥ: ΦΑΕ ΠΕΙΡΑΙΑ

Ηλεκτρονική διεύθυνση Επικοινωνίας: in@alteregomedia.org, Τηλ. Επικοινωνίας: 2107547007

Τρίτη 19 Μαρτίου 2024