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Relations between Greece and Turkey have been marked by alternating periods of mutual hostility and reconciliation ever since Greece won its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832. Since then there have been four wars between the two countries - the Greco-Turkish War (1897), the Balkan Wars of 1912 to 1913, the First World War (1914 to 1918) and the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922).

Ottoman era

The Greek state which became independent in 1832 consisted only of the Greek mainland south of a line from Arta to Volos plus Euboia and the Cyclades. The rest of the Greek-speaking lands, including Crete and the rest of the Aegean islands, Epirus, Thessaly, Macedonia and Thrace, remained under Ottoman rule. More than a million Greeks also lived in what is now Turkey, mainly in the Ionian region around İzmir (called Smyrna by its Greek inhabitants) and in the Pontic region on the Black Sea coast.

Greek politicians of the 19th century were determined to obtain all these territories for a greatly enlarged Greek state, with Constantinople as its capital. Constantinople (now Istanbul) was the capital of the Eastern (ie Greek) half of the Roman Empire until is fall to the Turks in 1453. This was called the Great Idea (Megali Idea). The Ottomans naturally opposed these plans, and relations between Greece and the Ottoman state were always tense as a result. Greek nationalist feeling was aroused by regular nationalist revolts against Ottoman rule, particularly in Crete, which the Ottomans suppressed with considerable brutality.

During the Crimean War (1854 to 1856), Britain and France had to restrain Greece from attacking the Ottomans, by occupying Piraeus. Again during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877 the Greeks were keen to join in and liberate Greek lands from the Ottomans, but Greece was unable to take any real part in the war. Nevertheless the Congress of Berlin in 1881 gave Greece most of Thessaly and part of Epirus.

In 1897 a new revolt in Crete led to the first Greco-Turkish War. The Greeks were unable to dislodge the Ottomans from their fortifications along the northern border and the war ended in humiliation for Greece, with some small losses of territory. This war aroused Turkish nationalist sentiment within the Ottoman Empire and made the position of Greeks in the Empire worse.

The Young Turks, who seized power in the Ottoman Empire in 1907, were Turkish nationalists whose objective was to create a strong, centrally governed state. The Christian minorities, the Greeks and Armenians, saw their position in the Empire deteriorate. Crete was once again the flashpoint of Greek and Turkish nationalism. This led directly to the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, in which Greece seized Crete, the islands, the rest of Thessaly and Epirus, and coastal Macedonia from the Ottomans, in alliance with Serbia and Bulgaria. As the influence of the Young Turks grew, Greeks, especially Pontian Greeks, were subjected to mass killings and deportations.

The First World War and after

Greece entered the First World War with the intention of seizing Constantinople (ie, Istanbul) and Smyrna (ie, Izmir) from the Ottomans, with the encouragement of Britain and France, who also promised the Greeks Cyprus. Although there was little direct fighting between Greeks and Turks, when the Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1918 the Greeks were quick to claim the lands the Allies had promised them. The Treaty of Sèvres (1920) gave Greece eastern Thrace and a large area of western Anatolia around Smyrna. This Treaty was signed by the Ottoman Governement but was, however, never legally ratified.

Greece occupied Smyrna on May 15th 1919. Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk) landed in Samsun on May 19th 1919, this is regarded as the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence. Kemal established a nationalist movement to repel the armies that had occupied Turkey (including Italy, France and Britain) and establish new borders for a sovereign Turkish nation. Having created a separate government in Ankara, Kemal's government did not recognise the Treaty of Sevres which the Sultans government accepted, and fought to have it revoked. The Greek advances into Anatolia were eventually checked and the Greek army was forced into retreat.

The Turks reoccupied Asia Minor and entered Smyrna/Izmir on 9 September 1922. The Greek army and administration had already left by sea and the city was undefended. Many Greeks feared Turkish attacks in the wake of the capture of the city, possibly due to events that the pro-Turkish British High Commissioner Sir H. Rumbold described to Lord Curzon as inhumane acts committed by the Greek army in their retreat (note that similar accusations exist against the Turkish army in their actions against Greek civilians). The Greek retreat involved a scorched earth policy, this left large tracts of land and property ruined or destroyed. The burning of crops left the inhabitants of Smyrna close to starvation. With the possibility of social disorder once the Turkish army occupied Smyrna, Kemal was quick to issue a proclamation, sentencing any Turkish soldier to death who harmed non-combatants.

Feelings ran high however, many Turkish soldiers massacred Greek and Armenians. An American observer estimated the total deaths, from all causes, to be around 2,000 people, whilst a later study estimated the total number of people who perished to be up to 100,000. Some sources accuse the Turkish commander Nureddin Pasha of playing a direct role in the violence, others show the fighting to be of a sporadic and individual kind. During the hostilities, a fire had left Smyrna devastated. The cause of the fire is disputed, some opinions puts the blame on fleeing Greek troops, other accounts say it was started by Turkish troops who were looting shops. However, dominant opinion believes the fire to have escalated beyond control with Turkish troops creating fires whilst destroying the Armenian quarter and 'rounding up' its population, while a strong wind carried the flames across flimsily constructed buildings. George Horton, the Consul General of the United States in Smyrna at the time, criticised the actions of the Turkish army in Smyrna greatly and accused them of inhumane and brutal action actions against civilians. [1]

In the wake of this conflict there was a violent reaction against the Greek communities throughout Turkey, who were seen as disloyal since they identified more with their Greek heritage and Greece than Turkey. The central government made use of this prevalent attitude to continue its policy of ethnic cleansing. Ethnic and religious minorities in Turkey suffered lootings and massacres. To end this situation, the Treaty of Lausanne of July 1923 provided for an exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey. About one and a half million Greeks left Turkey for Greece and about half a million Turks left Greece for Turkey (note that the population exchange was on religious grounds, thus the exchange was officially that of Christians and Muslims). The exceptions to the population exchange were Istanbul and the island of Imbros and Tenedos, where the Greek minority (including the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church) was allowed to stay, and the eastern part of Greek Thrace, whose Turkish/Muslim minority was also allowed to stay. Due to the failure of the invasion and the heavy loss of life, Greece refers to the events following World War I as the Asia Minor Catastrophe/Disaster.

Between conflicts

The postwar leaders of Turkey and Greece, Kemal Atatürk and Eleftherios Venizelos, were determined to establish normal relations between the two states. After years of negotiations, a treaty was concluded in 1930, and Venizelos made a successful visit to Istanbul and Ankara. Greece renounced all its claims to Turkish territory. This was followed by the Balkan Pact of 1934, in which Greece and Turkey joined Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Romania and Albania in a treaty of mutual assistance and settled outstanding issues (Bulgaria refused to join). Both leaders recognising the need for peace resulted in more friendly relations, with Venizelos even nominating Atatürk for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934.

The main irritant to Turkish-Greek relations was now Cyprus, a British protectorate whose population was 80 percent Greek and 20 percent Turkish. In 1915 Britain offered Cyprus to Greece should she fight with Serbia. The Greek Cypriots desired unity (enosis) with Greece, and in 1931 there were nationalist riots in Nicosia. The Turks opposed this, desiring that the British stay in Cyprus, fearing for basic existence. The Greek government was forced by its financial and diplomatic dependence on Britain to disavow any desire for unification with Cyprus.

During World War II Greece was occupied by Nazi Germany while Turkey was pro-Axis. The Greeks suffered terrible privations in the last years of the war. In 1954 Greece, Turkey and Yugoslavia formed a new Balkan Pact for mutual defence against the Soviet Union.

The Cyprus crisis

Main article: Cyprus dispute

In the 1950s the Cyprus issue flared up again, with the Greek Cypriots under Archbishop Makarios demanding union with Greece, and the EOKA group launching a paramilitary movement against the British on the island. At first the Greek government gave no support to the movement, but by 1954 Greek public sympathy for the Cypriots was so great that Prime Minister Alexander Papagos took the Cyprus issue to the United Nations.

Turkish nationalist sentiment became inflamed at the idea that Cyprus would be ceded to Greece, and the Greek communities of Istanbul and Izmir were targeted in the Istanbul Pogrom of 1955. In response Greece withdrew from all co-operation with Turkey and the Balkan Pact collapsed.

In 1960 a compromise solution to the Cyprus issue was agreed on. Cyprus became independent, with a constitution guaranteeing a Greek president and a Turkish vice-president. Both Greek and Turkish troops were stationed on the island to protect the respective communities. Greek Prime Minister Constantine Caramanlis was the main architect of this plan, which led to an immediate improvement of relations with Turkey, particularly once Adnan Menderes was removed from power in Turkey.

Both Greek and Turkish Cypriots were displaced during the period of inter-communal strife in 1963 and 1964. A Liaison Committee was established, comprising of representatives of the three guarantor powers (Britain, Turkey and Greece) and the two communities. This established that in February 1964 1,600 Greek Cypriots had been displaced because of the fighting. The UN Secretary General estimated that eventually 25,000 Turkish Cypriots moved from their homes to nearby villages/towns as a result of the Christmas Massacre executed by Greek Cypriots, in which the number of Turkish Cypriots killed remains unknown.

On 30 December, Makarios declared his proposal of Constitutional amendment which included 13 articles. However, Turkey restated that it was against this and threatened war if Cyprus tried to achieve unity with Greece. In August Turkish aircraft bombed Greek troops that surrounded a Turkish village (Erenkoy) and war seemed imminent. Once again the Greek minority in Turkey suffered from the crisis, many Greeks fled the country, and there were even threats to expel the Ecumenical Patriarch. Eventually intervention by the United Nations led to another compromise settlement.

The Cyprus dispute fatally weakened the liberal Greek government of George Papandreou, and in April 1967 there was a military coup in Greece. Under the clumsy diplomacy of the military regime, there were periodic crises with Turkey. Turkey rightly suspected that the Greek regime was planning a pro-unification coup in Cyprus.

The Closure of the Halki Theological School

In 1971 the Turkish government closed down the Halki Theological School which was founded in the 19th century on the grounds of the Patriarchal Monastery of the Holy Trinity, which had occupied the site for over a thousand years. The Seminary, located on the island of Halki was closed in conformity with a Turkish law that forbids private universities, despite Article 24 of the Turkish Constitution which guarantees religious freedom and education. In 1998, Halki's board of trustees were ordered to disband until international pressure persuaded the Turkish authorities to reverse their decision. In October 1998, both houses of the US Congress passed resolutions that supported the reopening of Halki. In addition, human rights groups including Helsinki Watch support the reopening of Halki.

The 1974 crisis and after

On 15 July 1974 the Greek military regime staged a coup against Makarios, led by the Greek officers leading the National Guard. An ex-EOKA man, Nikos Sampson (who took part in the fights against the Turkish Cypriots, during the Christmas of 1963 mentioned above) was appointed president. Makarios escaped to Britain. On 20 July Turkey, using the guaranteur status arising from the trilateral agreements, invaded without any resistance from the British forces in the island, occupying the northern 40% and expelling the Greek population. Once again war between Greece and Turkey seemed imminent. War was averted when Sampson's coup collapsed a few days later and Makarios returned to power, and the Greek military regime also fell from power on 24 July, but the damage to Turkish-Greek relations was done, and the occupation of Northern Cyprus by Turkish troops would be a sticking point in Greco-Turkish relations for decades to come.

An additional complication arose in Greek-Turkish relations during the 1970s: the discovery of oil in the Aegean Sea. This was highlighted during the Sismik incident in 1987, when a Turkish ship was about to enter Greek waters to conduct oil survey. Prime minister Andreas Papandreou ordered to sink the ship if found within Greek waters. The Balkan Wars of 1913 had given Greece all the Aegean islands except Imbros and Tenedos, some of them only a few kilometres (barely more than 3 nautical miles) off the Turkish coast. According to the Turkish government, the Greek-Turkish maritime border had never been properly defined, and Turkey now claimed that the seabed resources connected to the Anatolian plate, namely oil, should be shared by the two countries, while the Greeks insisted that 12 nautical miles (22 km), as defined by the International Law of the Sea, is their sovereign right, which could also be lawfully executed by Turkey on the same grounds.

In recent years relations between Greece and Turkey have improved, mainly due to Greece's supportive attitude towards Turkey's efforts to join the EU, although various issues have never been fully resolved and remain constant sources of potential conflict. An attempt at rapprochement, dubbed the Davos process, was made in 1988. The retirement of the staunch socialist Greek prime minister Andreas Papandreou helped this improvement. His son, foreign minister George Papandreou, made considerable progress in improving relations. He found a willing partner in Ismail Cem and later in Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Since 1974, the Turkish state continuously violates Athens FIR flying rules set by ICAO and the Greek airspace, resulting in numerous operations of reconnaissance and interception against Turkish fighter jets by the Greek Air Force daily. These operations often cause casualties and loses for both the Greek and Turkish Air Forces. Amongst the lost pilots are the well known stories of Nikolaos Sialmas (Νικος Σιαλμας), fallen near Agios Eustratios island of Northern Aegean sea, the death of the Turkish F-16 pilot Nail Erdogan, who was shot-down by a Greek Mirage 2000 and the recent death of Kostas Iliakis (Κωστας Ηλιάκης), who has fallen after a mid-air collision with a Turkish F-16, as he was trying to stop a what was officially called "spying operation of Turkey towards Crete (Κρητη)" over the island of Karpathos at the South Aegean sea.

Timeline

July 20 1974 to July 24 1974: Cyprus Crisis (as mentioned above)
1974 to today: Turkey executes it's daily military flights by violating Athens FIR and in some occasions the Greek airspace as well. The response of the Greek airforce is to identify intercept and pursue those fighters aggressively till they exit proclaimed Greek airspace. During those years a number of accidents and shoot-downs have occurred. Athens has by ICAO rules legally extended its airspace, which runs 10 nautical miles (16 kilometers) from its coastline, which includes Turkish mainland. While Ankara insists on 6 nautical miles (10 kilometers), the same distance as for territorial waters, to prevent further aggressions.
25 December 1995 to 31 January 1996: Imia (in Greek) / Kardak (in Turkish) crisis brought the two countries to the brink of war.
2004 Turkey reconfirmed a "casus belli" if Greece extends its territorial waters to 12nm as the recent international treaty and international law allows. Turkey extended its territorial waters only in the Black Sea and the eastern mediterranean to 12nm. Greece hasn't yet extended its territorial waters in the Aegean, which by some would inflame the Greko-Turkish problems in the Aegean (such as continental shelf and airspace disputes).
12 April 2005 Greece and Turkey have agreed to establish direct communications between two air bases in an effort to defuse tension over mutual allegations of air space violations over the Aegean Sea.
23 May 2006 A Greek and a Turkish F-16 fighter jet collide in mid-air over the southern Aegean sea near the Greek island of Karpathos, located between the Greek Island of Crete and the Greek island of Rhodes. Greek fighters were scrambled to intercept the Turkish warplanes who allegedly acted as escorts to a R-F4 photo-reconnaissance plane, after they entered Greek airspace. Their mission was most certainly spying and photographing the S-300 anti-aircraft, anti-missile installations based in Crete. The two planes collided and crashed into international waters [2]. Exactly what was the cause of collision is not known. Some sources attribute it to aerial dogfight, while others believe that the Turkish pilot may have deliberately collided with the Greek F-16. The Turkish pilot was rescued by a Japanese Liquified petroleum gas tanker and was later picked up by a Turkish helicopter, after refusing to be picked up by a Greek helicopter. The Greek Government allowed the Turkish helicopter to collect the pilot for humanitarian reasons.Greek officials were present during the whole operation. The Greek pilot, Kostas Iliakis, was officialy announced dead after more than 120 hours of searching and was given a hero's funeral.

Notes

External links

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 ==Ottoman era==
-The Greek state which became independent in 1832 consisted only of the Greek mainland south of a line from [[Arta]] to [[Volos]] plus [[Euboia]] and the [[Cyclades]]. The rest of the Greek-speaking lands, including [[Crete]] and the rest of the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] islands, [[Epirus (region)|Epirus]], [[Thessaly]], [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]] and [[Thrace]], remained under Ottoman rule. More than a million Greeks also lived in what is now [[Turkey]], mainly in the [[Ionia|Ionian]] region around [[Izmir]] (called [[Smyrna]] by its Greek inhabitants) and in the [[Pontus|Pontic]] region on the [[Black Sea]] coast.
+The Greek state which became independent in 1832 consisted only of the Greek mainland south of a line from [[Arta]] to [[Volos]] plus [[Euboia]] and the [[Cyclades]]. The rest of the Greek-speaking lands, including [[Crete]] and the rest of the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] islands, [[Epirus (region)|Epirus]], [[Thessaly]], [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]] and [[Thrace]], remained under Ottoman rule. More than a million Greeks also lived in what is now [[Turkey]], mainly in the [[Ionia|Ionian]] region around [[Izmir|İzmir]] (called [[Smyrna]] by its Greek inhabitants) and in the [[Pontus|Pontic]] region on the [[Black Sea]] coast.
-Greek politicians of the 19th century were determined to obtain all these territories for a greatly enlarged Greek state, with [[Istanbul]] as its capital.  Constantinople (now [[Istanbul]]) was the capital of the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern]] (i.e. Greek) half of the Roman Empire until is fall to the Turks in 1453. This was called the Great Idea (''[[Megali Idea]]''). The Ottomans naturally opposed these plans, and relations between Greece and the Ottoman state were always tense as a result. Greek nationalist feeling was aroused by regular nationalist revolts against Ottoman rule, particularly in [[Crete]], which the Ottomans suppressed with considerable brutality.
+Greek politicians of the 19th century were determined to obtain all these territories for a greatly enlarged Greek state, with [[Constantinople]] as its capital.  Constantinople (now [[Istanbul]]) was the capital of the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern]] (ie Greek) half of the Roman Empire until is fall to the Turks in 1453. This was called the Great Idea (''[[Megali Idea]]''). The Ottomans naturally opposed these plans, and relations between Greece and the Ottoman state were always tense as a result. Greek nationalist feeling was aroused by regular nationalist revolts against Ottoman rule, particularly in [[Crete]], which the Ottomans suppressed with considerable brutality.
 During the [[Crimean War]] (1854 to 1856), [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and [[France]] had to restrain Greece from attacking the Ottomans, by occupying [[Piraeus]]. Again during the [[Russo-Turkish War]] of 1877 the Greeks were keen to join in and liberate Greek lands from the Ottomans, but Greece was unable to take any real part in the war. Nevertheless the [[Congress of Berlin]] in 1881 gave Greece most of [[Thessaly]] and part of Epirus.
@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 In 1897 a new revolt in Crete led to the first [[Greco-Turkish War (1897)|Greco-Turkish War]]. The Greeks were unable to dislodge the Ottomans from their fortifications along the northern border and the war ended in humiliation for Greece, with some small losses of territory. This war aroused Turkish nationalist sentiment within the Ottoman Empire and made the position of Greeks in the Empire worse.
-The [[Young Turks]], who seized power in the Ottoman Empire in 1907, were Turkish nationalists whose objective was to create a strong, centrally governed state. The Christian minorities, the Greeks and [[Armenians]], saw their position in the Empire deteriorate. Crete was once again the flashpoint of Greek and Turkish nationalism. This led directly to the [[Balkan Wars]] of 1912-1913, in which Greece seized Crete, the islands, the rest of Thessaly and Epirus, and coastal Macedonia from the Ottomans, in alliance with [[Serbia]] and [[Bulgaria]].
+The [[Young Turks]], who seized power in the Ottoman Empire in 1907, were Turkish nationalists whose objective was to create a strong, centrally governed state. The Christian minorities, the Greeks and [[Armenians]], saw their position in the Empire deteriorate. Crete was once again the flashpoint of Greek and Turkish nationalism. This led directly to the [[Balkan Wars]] of 1912-1913, in which Greece seized Crete, the islands, the rest of Thessaly and Epirus, and coastal Macedonia from the Ottomans, in alliance with [[Serbia]] and [[Bulgaria]]. As the influence of the [[Young Turks]] grew, Greeks, especially [[Pontian Greeks]], were subjected to mass killings and deportations.
 ==The First World War and after==
-The postwar period started out well for Greece. Prime Minister Eleutharios Venizelos (1854-1936) enjoyed great prestige with the western powers because he had brought his country into the war on their side. He managed to get almost everything Greece wanted in the Treaty of Sevres, 1920, the peace treaty concluded by the  powers with the defeated Ottoman Empire. Greece obtained Thrace right up to Constantinople/Istanbul, some important Aegean islands, and the right to rule Izmir (Smyrna) and its hinterland for a period of five years, after which a plebiscite was to be held.
-Greece entered the [[World War I|First World War]] with the intention of seizing [[Istanbul]] (ie, [[Constantinople]]) and [[Izmir]] (ie, [[Smyrna]]) from the Ottomans, with the encouragement of [[Britain]] and [[France]], who also promised the Greeks [[Cyprus]]. Although there was little direct fighting between Greeks and Turks, when the Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1918 the Greeks were quick to claim the lands the Allies had promised them. The [[Treaty of Sevres]] (1920) gave Greece eastern [[Thrace]] and a large area of western [[Anatolia]] around [[Izmir]]. This Treaty was signed by the Ottoman Governement but was, however, never legally ratified because the Ottoman Goverment had no authority on the Ankara Government, which had the real power those years.
+Greece entered the [[World War I|First World War]] with the intention of seizing [[Constantinople]] (ie, [[Istanbul]]) and [[Smyrna]] (ie, [[Izmir]]) from the Ottomans, with the encouragement of [[Britain]] and [[France]], who also promised the Greeks [[Cyprus]]. Although there was little direct fighting between Greeks and Turks, when the Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1918 the Greeks were quick to claim the lands the Allies had promised them. The [[Treaty of Sèvres]] (1920) gave Greece eastern [[Thrace]] and a large area of western [[Anatolia]] around [[Smyrna]]. This Treaty was signed by the Ottoman Governement but was, however, never legally ratified.
+Greece occupied Smyrna on May 15th [[1919]]. [[Mustafa Kemal]] (later Atatürk) landed in [[Samsun]] on May 19th 1919, this is regarded as the beginning of the [[Turkish War of Independence]]. Kemal established a nationalist movement to repel the armies that had occupied Turkey (including Italy, France and Britain) and establish new borders for a sovereign Turkish nation. Having created a separate government in [[Ankara]], Kemal's government did not recognise the Treaty of Sevres which the Sultans government accepted, and fought to have it revoked. The Greek advances into Anatolia were eventually checked and the Greek army was forced into retreat.
-Greek forces landed in Anatolia with western support, for the British and French had no troops there to enforce The Treaty of Sevres - the settlement imposed on the Ottoman Empire. Venizelos saw the chance to realize Greek Megali, or "The Great Idea." This nationalist program envisaged  a Greece spanning "two continents and five seas." Basically, this meant joining to Greece the heavily Greek coastal areas of western Anatolia and the Greek populated offshore islands.
+The Turks reoccupied Asia Minor and entered Smyrna/[[Izmir]] on [[9 September]] [[1922]]. The Greek army and administration had already left by sea and the city was undefended. Many Greeks feared Turkish attacks in the wake of the capture of the city, possibly due to events that the pro-Turkish British High Commissioner Sir H. Rumbold described to [[Lord Curzon]] as inhumane acts committed by the Greek army in their retreat (note that similar accusations exist against the Turkish army in their actions against Greek civilians). The Greek retreat involved a scorched earth policy, this left large tracts of land and property ruined or destroyed. The burning of crops left the inhabitants of Smyrna close to starvation. With the possibility of social disorder once the Turkish army occupied Smyrna, Kemal was quick to issue a proclamation, sentencing any Turkish soldier to death who harmed non-combatants.
-This goal seemed to have British backing, though in fact the main backer was  British Prime Minister [[David Lloyd George]] (1863-1945). (He lost his premiership in October 1922,  partly for supporting the Greek venture).  Lloyd George supported the Greeks because he hated the Turks and saw an opportunity for extending British influence to Anatolia.
+Feelings ran high however, many Turkish soldiers massacred Greek and Armenians. An American observer estimated the total deaths, from all causes, to be around 2,000 people, whilst a later study estimated the total number of people who perished to be up to 100,000. Some sources accuse the Turkish commander [[Nureddin Pasha]] of playing a direct role in the violence, others show the fighting to be of a sporadic and individual kind. During the hostilities, a fire had left Smyrna devastated. The cause of the fire is disputed, some opinions puts the blame on fleeing Greek troops, other accounts say it was started by Turkish troops who were looting shops. However, dominant opinion believes the fire to have escalated beyond control with Turkish troops creating fires whilst destroying the Armenian quarter and 'rounding up' its population, while a strong wind carried the flames across flimsily constructed buildings. George Horton, the Consul General of the United States in Smyrna at the time, criticised the actions of the Turkish army in Smyrna greatly and accused them of inhumane and brutal action actions against civilians. [http://www.kapatel.gr/matrix/science/eemet/patakis.htm]
-Greece occupied [[Izmir]] (Smyrna) on May 15th [[1919]]. When the Greeks occupied the [[Izmir]] region in 1919 and later, as they penetrated into central [[Anatolia]], they carried out a policy of genocide on a grand scale. Typical was the [[Aydin massacre]] of June 25, 1919. Greek troops at first subjected the Turkish quarter of the town to an intensive artillery bombardment. All Turks who tried to escape were shot down by Greek soldiers or civilian auxiliaries. Then the Greek Army entered the quarter and continued its orgy of destruction. Some Turkish families were burnt alive when their homes were set on fire. Others were gunned down in the streets. When four women who had barricaded themselves into a building were captured, they were impaled on wooden stakes. Altogether, an estimated 9,716 Turks were butchered that day. Also, as recorded by British M.L. Smith "The civil goverment founded by the invading Greek troops  followed a large and a multi-faceted colonization politics via taxation, direct and systematic of confiscation Turkish property".[REF:On the Greco-Turkish war, see: [[Michael Llewellyn Smith]], IONIAN VISION. Greece in Asia Minor 1919-1922, London, 1973]
+In the wake of this conflict there was a violent reaction against the Greek communities throughout Turkey, who were seen as disloyal since they identified more with their Greek heritage and Greece than Turkey. The central government made use of this prevalent attitude to continue its policy of ethnic cleansing. Ethnic and religious minorities in Turkey suffered lootings and massacres. To end this situation, the [[Treaty of Lausanne]] of July 1923 provided for an exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey. About one and a half million Greeks left Turkey for Greece and about half a million Turks left Greece for Turkey (note that the population exchange was on religious grounds, thus the exchange was officially that of [[Christians]] and [[Muslims]]). The exceptions to the population exchange were [[Istanbul]] and the island of [[Imbros and Tenedos]], where the Greek minority (including the [[Ecumenical Patriarch]] of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox Church]]) was allowed to stay, and the eastern part of Greek Thrace, whose Turkish/Muslim minority was also allowed to stay. Due to the failure of the invasion and the heavy loss of life, Greece refers to the events following World War I as the Asia Minor Catastrophe/Disaster.
-By the time the Greeks went to war with the Turks on June 22, 1920, the allies were in the process of recognizing the Turkish regime of [[Mustafa Kemal Ataturk]] (1881-1938), who had defeated the British Australian and New Zealander ([[ANZAC]]) forces at [[Gallipoli]] in 1915. Ataturk took over power from the decrepit Sultan. [[Venizelos]] and his party suffered defeat in the Greek elections of [[November 14]],[[1920]], because of popular dissatisfaction with the course of the war.
-[[Mustafa Kemal]] (later [[Ataturk|Atat√ºrk]]) landed in [[Samsun]] on May 19th 1919, this is regarded as the beginning of the [[Turkish War of Independence]]. Kemal established a nationalist movement to repel the armies that had occupied Turkey (including Italy, France and Britain) and reclaim the borders of Turkish nation. Having created a separate government in [[Ankara]], Kemal's government did not recognise the Treaty of Sevres which the Sultans government accepted, and fought to have it revoked. The Greek advances into Anatolia were eventually checked and the Greek army was forced into retreat.
-The Turks reoccupied Asia Minor and entered [[Izmir]] on [[9 September]] [[1922]]. Many Greeks feared Turkish attacks in the wake of the capture of the city, possibly due to events that the pro-Turkish British High Commissioner [[Sir H. Rumbold]] described to [[Lord Curzon]] as inhumane acts committed by the Greek army in their retreat. The Greek retreat involved a scorched earth policy, this left large tracts of land and property ruined or destroyed. The burning of crops left the inhabitants of Izmir close to starvation. With the possibility of social disorder once the Turkish army occupied Izmir, Kemal was quick to issue a proclamation, sentencing any Turkish soldier to death who harmed non-combatants.
-Due to conditions of war, unfortunately many lives were lost on both Turkish, Greek as well as Armenian side. An American observer had claimed that the total deaths, from all causes, to be around 2,000 people (whilst a later study estimated the total number of people who perished to be up to 100,000) however, there is no existing reference to support this claim. Some sources accuse the Turkish commander [[Nureddin Pasha]] of playing a direct role in the violence, others show the fighting to be of a sporadic and individual kind. During the hostilities, a fire had left Izmir (Smyrna) devastated leaving both Turks and Greeks homeless. The cause of the fire is disputed, some opinions puts the blame on fleeing Greek troops, although other accounts say it was started by Turkish troops who were looting shops. George Horton, the Consul General of the United States in Izmir at the time, criticised the actions of the Turkish army in Izmir greatly and accused them of inhumane and brutal action actions against civilians.
-[[Jews]] were also driven out of Turkish territories seized by the Greeks. The fate of the [[Jews of Salonika]] was typical. According to [[Jacov Benmayor]], an authority on subject:
-''In 1917 a great fire destroyed most of the town, leaving some 50,000 Jews homeless. The Greek government, which followed a policy of Helenizing the town, was ready to compensate the Jews whose house were destroyed, but it refused to let the Jews return to certain parts of the town, causing many of them to leave the country. . . . In 1922 a law(no. 236) was enacted which forced all the inhabitants of [[Salonika]] to refrain from working on Sundays, thus causing another wave of emigration....
-In 1932-34 the Campbell riots, which accompanied the elections and were [[anti-Semitic]] in tone, took place. An entire Jewish neighbourhood was burned to the ground by hooligans, and most of the Jews who lived in the Campbell neighbourhood emigrated after the riots.''
-The impressions of Mark Prentiss, an American industrial engineer who was a special representative of the Near East Relief, is also noteworthy. Being in Izmir at the time he later wrote his impressions. He also sent on January 11, 1923 a copy of this manuscript to Rear Adm. Mark L. Bristol of the United States, the US High Commissioner at the American Embassy in Istanbul:
-"Nearly everybody in America, it appears, is convinced that the Turks were responsible for the fire which added the final touches of tragedy to the Smyrna [Izmir] horror. The unanimity and firmness of this conviction surprised me at first, as I believe it would have surprised anybody else, of whatever nationality or political allegiance, who had recently come from the scene of the disaster. The motive, usually considered of supreme importance in crimes of this sort, does not clearly point to the Turks. They had captured Smyrna. The city, as it stood, was one of the greatest prizes ever taken in Oriental warfare. The Turks had unquestioned title to its foods, its commodities of all sorts, its houses. It was a store house of supplies most urgently needed for its peoples and armies. Why destroy it?"
-Evidence gathered by Paul Grescovitch, Chief of the Smyrna Fire Department points to the Armenians as authors of the fire. The series of events which led up to the final terror on the Smyrna waterfront,  began in the first days of September, when Rear Admiral Mark L. Bristol, United States High Commissioner at Constantinople, organized the Smyrna Emergency Relief Committee in anticipation of what might happen in the city if it fell, as then seemed inevitable, to the Turks.
-The USS Destroyer Lawrence, under command of Capt. Wolleson proceeded to Izmir, carrying this committee. "We arrived on the evening of Friday, the eighth of September [1922], in time to see the last of the Greek army leaving the city...One of the most serious situations that confronted the committee was the possibility of fire. This situation developed into one of extreme anxiety when we learned that the entire city police department, together with nearly all the Greeks who were members of the fire department, had deserted their posts and fled the city in fear of the approaching Turkish army. I made it my business to make a general survey of the situation, and I found that the fire fighting forces consisted of approximately sixty men with two small station houses. I found two reasonably good fire engines and about half a dozen hand machines that were used along the waterfront by dropping an intake hose over the sea wall into the water. There were only a few buildings in the city over three stories high, the great majority being two..."
-The Greco-Turkish war went on for two years, and a British military force was involved on the Greek side. The final victory went to the Turks whose troops entered Izmir in September 1922, when the city was destroyed by fire. The defeat led two Greek generals to take control of the government in Athens and King Constantine abdicated in favor of his son, George II (1890-1947, King 1922-23 and 1933-39, exile 1939-45, King 1945-47). Six leaders were tried for treason and executed, including the commander-in-chief. They were the scapegoats for the defeat.
-In the wake of this conflict there was a violent reaction against the Greek communities throughout Turkey, who were seen as disloyal since they identified more with their Greek heritage and Greece than Turkey. The [[Treaty of Lausanne]] of July 1923 provided for an exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey. About one and a half million Greeks left Turkey for Greece and about half a million Turks left Greece for Turkey (note that the population exchange was on religious grounds, thus the exchange was officially that of [[Christians]] and [[Muslims]]). The exceptions to the population exchange were [[Istanbul]] and the island of [[Imbros and Tenedos]], where the Greek minority (including the [[Ecumenical Patriarch]] of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox Church]]) was allowed to stay, and the eastern part of Greek Thrace, whose Turkish/Muslim minority was also allowed to stay. Due to the failure of the invasion and the heavy loss of life, Greece refers to the events following World War I as the Asia Minor Catastrophe/Disaster. H.J.Psomiades in "The Eastern Question" points out that since 1912 some 4 million muslims (most of Turkish origin)had left Greece or areas occupied by Greece.
-The Greek catastrophe sent King George II into exile in December 1923 and Greece was proclaimed a Republic on May 1, 1924. In October that year, Greece attacked Bulgaria and there was some fighting, but the conflict was resolved by the League of Nations which fined Greece. In August, a general overthrew his predecessor and imposed a new constitution. Venizelos was Premier in 1928-32, and again in 1933, after which he led the opposition and attempted a military and naval revolt in March 1935. The revolt failed and Venizelos went into exile.
-Sadly history suggests that Greece was determined to exterminate as many Turks including other minorities such as Jews as possible even before Smyrna/Izmir incidence. The Greek war of Independence set the tone for all that was to follow:
-To quote the distinguished historian Mr William St.Clair:
-"The Turks of Greece left few traces. They disappeared suddenly and finally in the spring of 1821 unmourned and unnoticed by the rest of the world.It is hard to believe then that Greece had once contained a large population of Turkish descent living in small communities all over the country, prosperous farmers, merchants, and officials,whose families had known no other home for hundreds of years. As the Greeks said "The moon devoured them." Upwards of Twenty thousand Turkish men, women, and children were murdered by their Greek neighbours in few weeks of slaughter. They were killed deliberately, without qualm or scruple, and there were no regrets either then or later..."
-All over the Pelopponense roamed mobs of Greeks armed with clubs, scythes, and a few firearms, killing, plundering, and burning. They were often lead by Christian priests who exhorted them to greater efforts in their holy work... Within a few weeks the Turkish and Moslem Albanian population of Pelopponse previously about ninth of the whole , had ceased to exit.
-During this period the inhabitants of the important islands of Hydra, Spetsae, and Psara decided to join the revolutionaries.... They armed their ships and began to attack traders flying the Turkish flag. They ranged all over the Aegean and beyond. Many Turkish merchant ships were captured, their crews killed, or thrown overboard, and the booty brought back to port. On several occasions ships crowded with Moslem pilgrims on their way to or from Mecca were seized and the crews and passengers put to death.... The crew of a Turkish corvette, fifty-seven men in all, were brought back to Hydra in triumph and individually roasted to death over fires on the beach."
-Short Bibliography for this subsection:
-* For a general introduction and survey of Greek history, see: Richard Clogg, ''A Concise History of Greece'', Cambridge, England, 1991.
-* For a survey of interwar Greece, see: B.Jelavich, ''History of the Balkans'', vol. 2. Twentieth Century.
-* On Greek nationalism, see: Stephen G. Xydis, ''Modern Greek Nationalism,'' in Sugar and Lederer, Nationalism in Eastern Europe;
-* On the population exchange, see: S.P. Ladas, ''The Exchange of Minorities, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey,'' London, 1932.
-* For Greek-British relations and especially British policy toward Greece, see: Giannes S. Koliopoulos, ''Greece and the British Connection. 1935-1941'', Oxford, 1977;
-* On Greek politics, 1922-1936, see: George T. Mavrogordatos, ''Stillborn Republic: Social Coalitions and Party Strategies in Greece, 1922-1936'', Berkeley, CA., 1983.
-*  Kirli, Biray Kolluoglu ''Forgetting the Smyrna Fire'', History Workshop Journal - Issue 60, Autumn 2005, pp. 25-44 [http://www.btinternet.com/~cy74/atr.htm]
-*  Who Burned Izmir?[http://www.Turcoman.btinternet.co.uk]
-*  Who Burned Izmir?[http://www.ataa.org/ataa/ref/izmir.html]
 ==Between conflicts==
-The postwar leaders of Turkey and Greece, [[Kemal Ataturk]] and [[Eleftherios Venizelos]], were determined to establish normal relations between the two states. After years of negotiations, a treaty was concluded in 1930, and Venizelos made a successful visit to [[Istanbul]] and [[Ankara]]. Greece renounced all its claims to Turkish territory. This was followed by the [[Balkan Pact]] of 1934, in which Greece and Turkey joined [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]], [[Romania]] and [[Albania]] in a treaty of mutual assistance and settled outstanding issues ([[Bulgaria]] refused to join). Both leaders recognising the need for peace resulted in more friendly relations, with Venizelos even nominating Atat√ºrk for the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1934.
+The postwar leaders of Turkey and Greece, [[Kemal Atatürk]] and [[Eleftherios Venizelos]], were determined to establish normal relations between the two states. After years of negotiations, a treaty was concluded in 1930, and Venizelos made a successful visit to [[Istanbul]] and [[Ankara]]. Greece renounced all its claims to Turkish territory. This was followed by the [[Balkan Pact]] of 1934, in which Greece and Turkey joined [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]], [[Romania]] and [[Albania]] in a treaty of mutual assistance and settled outstanding issues ([[Bulgaria]] refused to join). Both leaders recognising the need for peace resulted in more friendly relations, with Venizelos even nominating Atatürk for the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1934.
 The main irritant to Turkish-Greek relations was now [[Cyprus]], a British protectorate whose population was 80 percent Greek and 20 percent Turkish. In 1915 Britain offered Cyprus to Greece should she fight with Serbia. The Greek Cypriots desired unity (''enosis'') with Greece, and in 1931 there were nationalist riots in [[Nicosia]]. The Turks opposed this, desiring that the British stay in Cyprus, fearing for basic existence. The Greek government was forced by its financial and diplomatic dependence on Britain to disavow any desire for unification with Cyprus.
@@ Line 109: / Line 53: @@
 ==The Closure of the Halki Theological School==
-In 1971 the Turkish government closed down the [[Halki seminary|Halki Theological School]]. The seminary which was closed in 1971 under a law limiting the activities at post-secondary religious schools in Turkey due to the given conditions of the day. School was founded in the 19th century on the grounds of the Patriarchal Monastery of the Holy Trinity,  which had occupied the site for over a thousand years. The Seminary, located on the island of [[Halki]] was closed in conformity with a Turkish law that forbids private universities, despite Article 24 of the Turkish Constitution which guarantees religious freedom and education. In 1998, Halki's board of trustees were ordered to disband until international pressure persuaded the Turkish authorities to reverse their decision. In October 1998, both houses of the [[US Congress]] passed [http://www.greece.org/themis/halki2/hcon_res345.pdf resolutions that supported the reopening of Halki]. In addition, human rights groups including [[Helsinki Watch]] support the reopening of Halki.
+In 1971 the Turkish government closed down the [[Halki seminary|Halki Theological School]] which was founded in the 19th century on the grounds of the Patriarchal Monastery of the Holy Trinity,  which had occupied the site for over a thousand years. The Seminary, located on the island of [[Halki]] was closed in conformity with a Turkish law that forbids private universities, despite Article 24 of the Turkish Constitution which guarantees religious freedom and education. In 1998, Halki's board of trustees were ordered to disband until international pressure persuaded the Turkish authorities to reverse their decision. In October 1998, both houses of the [[US Congress]] passed [http://www.greece.org/themis/halki2/hcon_res345.pdf resolutions that supported the reopening of Halki]. In addition, human rights groups including [[Helsinki Watch]] support the reopening of Halki.
 ==The 1974 crisis and after==
-On [[15 July]] [[1974]] the Greek military regime staged a [[coup]] against [[Makarios]], led by the Greek officers leading the National Guard. An ex-[[EOKA]] man, [[Nikos Sampson]] (who took part in the fights against the Turkish Cypriots, during the Christmas of 1963 mentioned above) was appointed president. Makarios escaped to Britain. To avoid massive slaughtering of Turkish Cypriots by Greek rebels, Turkey, using the guaranteur status arising from the trilateral agreements, landed its troops to the island on [[20 July]] without any resistance from the British forces, occupying the northern 40% and expelling the Greek population. Once again war between Greece and Turkey seemed imminent. War was averted when Sampson's coup collapsed a few days later and Makarios returned to power, and the Greek military regime also fell from power on [[24 July]], but the damage to Turkish-Greek relations was done, and the occupation of Northern Cyprus by Turkish troops would be a sticking point in Greco-Turkish relations for decades to come.
+On [[15 July]] [[1974]] the Greek military regime staged a [[coup]] against [[Makarios]], led by the Greek officers leading the National Guard. An ex-[[EOKA]] man, [[Nikos Sampson]] (who took part in the fights against the Turkish Cypriots, during the Christmas of 1963 mentioned above) was appointed president. Makarios escaped to Britain. On [[20 July]] Turkey, using the guaranteur status arising from the trilateral agreements, invaded without any resistance from the British forces in the island, occupying the northern 40% and expelling the Greek population. Once again war between Greece and Turkey seemed imminent. War was averted when Sampson's coup collapsed a few days later and Makarios returned to power, and the Greek military regime also fell from power on [[24 July]], but the damage to Turkish-Greek relations was done, and the occupation of Northern Cyprus by Turkish troops would be a sticking point in Greco-Turkish relations for decades to come.
-Once we take into account Turkish-Greek problems within the historical perspective in a neutral and objective point of view briefly, it is seen that the problems and tension between the parties are increased after the 1974 Cyprus Peace Intervention. In 1974, Greece was under the administration of military junta. Nikos Sampson supported by this administration pulled down the legal Makarios administration through intervention. Turkish Cypriots were trying to preserve themselves with the horror of being slaughtered in the internment camps at any moment. Turkey cannot tolerate Greece's settling Cyprus and control its southern part, as she took the control of all Aegean islands gradually and reached the Western Anatolian coasts in the historical perspective of Turkey. Moreover, the Turks on the island could be slaughtered at any moment. With this anxiety, Peace Intervention was acted in Cyprus in 1974. In the aftermath of Cyprus Peace Intervention, a particular order was provided. Makarios turned back to the island and military junta lost power and democratic developments were enhanced. After Cyprus Peace Intervention, Turkey always wanted to agree on an agreement that would not create the same problems in the island and that would provide permanent peace and stability.
-An additional complication arose in Greek-Turkish relations during the 1970s: the discovery of oil in the [[Aegean Sea]]. This was highlighted during the Sismik incident in 1987, when a Turkish ship was about to enter Greek waters to conduct oil survey. Prime minister [[Andreas Papandreou]] ordered to sink the ship if found within Greek waters. The [[Balkan Wars]] of 1913 had given Greece all the Aegean islands except [[Gokceada (Imbros) and Bozcaada (Tenedos)]], some of them only a few kilometres (barely more than 3 nautical miles) off the Turkish coast. According to the Turkish government, the Greek-Turkish maritime border had never been properly defined, and Turkey now claimed that the seabed resources connected to the Anatolian plate, namely oil, should be shared by the two countries, while the Greeks insisted that 12 nautical miles (22 km), as defined by the International [[Law of the Sea]], is their sovereign right, which could also be lawfully executed by Turkey on the same grounds.
-In recent years relations between Greece and Turkey have improved, mainly due to Greece's supportive attitude towards Turkey's efforts to join the [[EU]], although various issues have never been fully resolved and remain constant sources of potential conflict. An attempt at rapprochement, dubbed the [[Davos process]], was made in 1988. The retirement of the staunch socialist Greek prime minister [[Andreas Papandreou]] helped this improvement. His son, foreign minister [[George Andreas Papandreou|George Papandreou]], made considerable progress in improving relations. He found a willing partner in [[Ismail Cem]] and later in Turkish prime minister [[Recep Tayyip Erdoƒüan|Recep Tayyip Erdogan]].
-Since 1974, the Greek state continuously violates Turkish flying rules set by [[ICAO]] and the Turkish airspace, resulting in numerous operations of reconnaissance and interception against Greek fighter jets resulting in "Dog fights". These "dog fights" are recorded daily by both Greek and Turkish sides ad fllowed by radar or air transmission. These operations often cause casualties and loses for both the Greek and Turkish Air Forces. Amongst the lost pilots are the well known stories of Nikolaos Sialmas , fallen near Agios Eustratios island of Northern Aegean sea, the death of the Turkish F-16 pilot Nail Erdogan, who was shot-down by a Greek [[Mirage 2000]] and the recent death of Kostas Iliakis, who has fallen after a mid-air collision with a Turkish F-16, as he was trying to stop a what was officially called "spying operation of Turkey towards [[Crete]]" over the island of [[Karpathos]] at the South Aegean sea. Overall, these losses are most unfortunate for Turkish and Greek pilots and their families.
-Greece armed the islands near Turkey that were required to be disarmed according to the agreements. She tried to increase the limit of continental shelf to 12 miles through interpreting the results of the Third Sea Law Conference from her own point of view without taking into account justice and equity principles. She argued that Turkey cannot have a continental shelf without her own territorial waters. Greece started to run up a flag to the very small Aegean islands that were not given to Greece according to the Agreements and open them for settlements. With these applications, Greece arguing those islands is her territorial waters, wanted to demonstrate Aegean Sea as the "Greek Sea". In this situation, Turkey having a long coastal shelf in the Aegean, with the exception of her continental waters, that decrease to 1 to 3 miles in some regions, is put in a situation in which she cannot do fishing, have military forces in the Aegean with the exception of sea forces' harmless right of passage and do practice/ field exercise. Turkey cannot stay without doing anything in this situation; thus, she put forward counter arguments. In this situation, a vicious political tension was inaugurated between the parties that are going to be used in internal political affairs as well. In some cases, Turkish and Greek Sea Forces have come up against. The last one of these took place in Kardak Crisis. The reason of this Crisis is a small island on which goats are living.
-"...The fluctuations in foreign policies of both countries indicate an uncertainty in strategic orientation that was a natural result of the post-Cold War international environment. For both countries, the Imia-Kardak crisis of 1996 marks the culmination of this strategic disorientation. It is not easy to understand this crisis in materialistic terms. For many outsiders, it was a crisis over two tiny, barren islets inhabited only by goats. Indeed the challenge that this crisis posed for those who prefer to explain international relations in materialistic terms finds one of its most interesting expressions in the words of the U.S. National Security Council spokesman David Johnson: "Sovereignty prompts people to do strange things."(1)
-The Imia-Kardak crisis was an epitome of what Alexander Wendt calls the "social construction of power politics". This crisis cannot be understood without its social context. First, the historical reservoir of negative images, prejudices and stereotypes about the "Other" is very critical in the emergence and escalation of the crisis. This is one of the main points in constructivist analysis of international relations, which puts a special emphasis on the social context of state behavior. In his analysis of the Suez crisis, Paul Kowert argues that the crisis occurred not because of "what" it involved, but rather because of "who" it involved: "Just as people are not highly suspicious of every other person they encounter, so states are not equally threatened by (or suspicious of) every other state they 'encounter' "(2)
-Some have argued that the Imia-Kardak crisis strengthened negative perceptions and hostile feelings in both Greece and Turkey, thus bringing an increase in the security dilemma.(22) It is possible to agree with this argument since the Imia-Kardak crisis had a negative influence on Greek-Turkish relations, even prompting talk of a civilizational clash on both sides of the Aegean: Greece portrayed Turkey as "barbarian," "uncivilized," and "Asiatic." Turkey, on the other hand, argued that Greece was the "spoilt child of the West." (6) However, it is also possible to argue that the Imia-Kardak crisis created the first motives toward a rapprochement in Greek-Turkish relations. In other words, the crisis can be considered as a "blessing in disguise" since it generated strong pressure from the United States and the European Union, especially on Athens, to reach an understanding with Ankara, and compelled Simitis' government to abandon Greece's long-held policy of 'no talks with Turkey.'(3)
-Ironically, then, this crisis, with its influence on the initiation of a dialogue between two countries, marks not only the culmination of a conflict but also the first steps towards overcoming the obstacles in the way of cooperation and positive identification. It is also important to note that the Imia-Kardak crisis resulted in an increase in the "civic diplomacy" or "second-track diplomacy" which is usually associated with the earthquakes.(4)
-But in the Aegean Sea , there are hundreds of islands like this island and this provides great opportunities to Greece about territorial waters and continental shelf. Yet, Turkey claimed that not even a piece of a territorial area was to be turned over to another country without an agreement and that there are several islands in the Aegean as an instance of it. While this thesis was produced, historical, political and legal aspects had been studied for a long time. This thesis came into agenda about this small island and increased the tension when it was used as a domestic political card.
-"....Both Greece and Turkey were going through a very difficult period of readjustment, and in this process both of them felt themselves isolated by their Western partners. In Greece, the Balkan crisis led to an increase in the feeling of insecurity by adding a new element to the old threat from the east (i.e., Turkey). As Loukas Tsoulakis argues, Greece's European partners mostly remained indifferent to her concerns and fears. When Greece was
-chastised by paternalistic Europeans for not behaving like civilized Scandinavians in the Balkans [this experience] confirmed to Greeks the profound ignorance of their partners of the history and the realities of the region." (5)
-Please read for complete article
--Identities in Question:  Greek-Turkish Relations in a Period of Transformation?
-Ayten Gundogdu
-References from : http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2001/issue1/jv5n1a8.html
-(1)"Brinkmen on the Rocks: Greece and Turkey Stop Just Short of War Over a Pair of Stony Outcroppings in the Wine-Dark Sea," Time International, February 12, 1996, Vol. 147, No. 7.
-(2) Paul Kowert, "Agent versus Structure in the Construction of National Identity," in Vendulka Kubakova Nicholas Onuf, and Paul Kowert (eds), International Relations in a Constructed World (New York and London: M. E. Sharpe, 1998), p. 108. In his analysis of the social construction of anarchy, Alexander Wendt puts forward a similar argument: "People act toward objects, including other actors, on the basis of the meanings that the objects have for them. States act differently toward enemies than they do toward friends because enemies are threatening and friends are not." See Wendt, "Anarchy is what states make of it," pp. 396-7.
+An additional complication arose in Greek-Turkish relations during the 1970s: the discovery of oil in the [[Aegean Sea]]. This was highlighted during the Sismik incident in 1987, when a Turkish ship was about to enter Greek waters to conduct oil survey. Prime minister [[Andreas Papandreou]] ordered to sink the ship if found within Greek waters. The [[Balkan Wars]] of 1913 had given Greece all the Aegean islands except [[Imbros and Tenedos]], some of them only a few kilometres (barely more than 3 nautical miles) off the Turkish coast. According to the Turkish government, the Greek-Turkish maritime border had never been properly defined, and Turkey now claimed that the seabed resources connected to the Anatolian plate, namely oil, should be shared by the two countries, while the Greeks insisted that 12 nautical miles (22 km), as defined by the International [[Law of the Sea]], is their sovereign right, which could also be lawfully executed by Turkey on the same grounds.
-(3)Ekavi Athenassopoulou, "Blessing in Disguise? The Imia-Kardak Crisis and Greek-Turkish Relations," Mediterranean Politics, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Winter 1997), p. 97.
+In recent years relations between Greece and Turkey have improved, mainly due to Greece's supportive attitude towards Turkey's efforts to join the [[EU]], although various issues have never been fully resolved and remain constant sources of potential conflict. An attempt at rapprochement, dubbed the [[Davos process]], was made in 1988. The retirement of the staunch socialist Greek prime minister [[Andreas Papandreou]] helped this improvement. His son, foreign minister [[George Andreas Papandreou|George Papandreou]], made considerable progress in improving relations. He found a willing partner in [[Ismail Cem]] and later in Turkish prime minister [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]].
-(4)Especially the economic interest groups in both countries acted in opposition to the official line followed by their governments. After mentioning that the Greek and Turkish tourist operators signed a "protocol of cooperation" following the Imia-Kardak crisis of 1996, Ioakimidis makes the following conclusion: "Never in the past had Greek economic interests been so openly at odds with the official policy pursued by the country over such a sensitive area (Greek-Turkish relations)." See P.C. Ioakimidis, "The Model of Foreign Policy-Making in Greece: Personalities versus Institutions," in Stelios Stavridis, Theodore Couloumbis, and Thanos Veremis (eds), The Foreign Policies of the Euroepan Union's Mediterranean States and Applicant Countries in the 1990s, p. 157.
+Since 1974, the Turkish state continuously violates Athens FIR flying rules set by [[ICAO]] and the Greek airspace, resulting in numerous operations of reconnaissance and interception against Turkish fighter jets by the Greek Air Force daily. These operations often cause casualties and loses for both the Greek and Turkish Air Forces. Amongst the lost pilots are the well known stories of Nikolaos Sialmas (Νικος Σιαλμας), fallen near Agios Eustratios island of Northern Aegean sea, the death of the Turkish F-16 pilot Nail Erdogan, who was shot-down by a Greek [[Mirage 2000]] and the recent death of Kostas Iliakis (Κωστας Ηλιάκης), who has fallen after a mid-air collision with a Turkish F-16, as he was trying to stop a what was officially called "spying operation of Turkey towards [[Crete]] (Κρητη)" over the island of [[Karpathos]] at the South Aegean sea.
-(5)Loukas Tsoulakis, "Is Greece an Awkward Partner?" in Kevin Featherstone and Kostas Ifantis (eds), Greece in a Changing Europe: Between European Integration and Balkan Disintegration (Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1996), p. 28.
-(6) For a critical analysis of the "hate speech" used during the Imia-Kardak crisis, see Mariana Lenkova (ed.), 'Hate Speech' in the Balkans (Vienne: The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, 1998).
 ==Timeline==
 *[[July 20]] [[1974]] to [[July 24]] [[1974]]: Cyprus Crisis (as mentioned above)
-*[[1974]] to today: During those years a number of accidents and shoot-downs have occurred. Athens intends to extend its airspace, which runs 10 nautical miles (16 kilometers) from its coastline, which includes Turkish mainland. While Ankara insists on 6 nautical miles (10 kilometers), the same distance as for territorial waters, to prevent further aggressions.
+*[[1974]] to today: Turkey executes it's daily military flights by violating Athens FIR and in some occasions the Greek airspace as well. The response of the Greek airforce is to identify intercept and pursue those fighters aggressively till they exit proclaimed Greek airspace. During those years a number of accidents and shoot-downs have occurred. Athens has by ICAO rules legally extended its airspace, which runs 10 nautical miles (16 kilometers) from its coastline, which includes Turkish mainland. While Ankara insists on 6 nautical miles (10 kilometers), the same distance as for territorial waters, to prevent further aggressions.
 *[[25 December]] [[1995]] to [[31 January]] [[1996]]: [[Imia-Kardak crisis|Imia (in Greek) / Kardak (in Turkish) crisis]] brought the two countries to the brink of war.
-*[[8 October]] [[1996]] Greek Mirage-2000 fighters intercepted two Turkish [[F-16]] in international airspace. One of the Greek pilots, Thanos Grivas, deliberately fired [[Magic IR]] AA missiles to one of the Turkish jets and shot it down, which caused the death of the Turkish Pilot [[Nail Erdogan]] [http://www.turks.us/article.php?story=20040304083228294]. It was also reported that the brother of Thanos Grivas was also a pilot, who lost control of his fighter and crashed into the sea during a previous dog fighting incident over Aegean sea.
 *[[2004]] Turkey reconfirmed a "[[casus belli]]" if Greece extends its territorial waters to 12nm as the recent international treaty and international law allows. Turkey extended its territorial waters only in the [[Black Sea]] and the eastern mediterranean to 12nm. Greece hasn't yet extended its territorial waters in the Aegean, which by some would inflame the Greko-Turkish problems in the Aegean (such as continental shelf and airspace disputes).
 *[[12 April]] [[2005]] [[Greece]] and [[Turkey]] have agreed to establish direct communications between two air bases in an effort to defuse tension over mutual allegations of air space violations over the Aegean Sea.
-*[[23 May]] [[2006]] A Greek and a Turkish F-16 fighter jet collide in mid-air over the southern Aegean sea near the Greek island of [[Karpathos]], located between the Greek Island of [[Crete]] and the Greek island of [[Rhodes]]. Greek fighters were scrambled to intercept the Turkish warplanes, after they entered international airspace. The Greek plane collided with the Turkish plane, hitting it from the bottom, and they both crashed into international waters [http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/05/23/greece.crash/index.html]. Exactly what was the cause of collision is not known. Some sources attribute it to aerial ''dogfight'', but the flight records of the Turkish plane, which are also provided to NATO by Turkish authorities, indicate that a regular course was being followed by the Turkish pilot, and it is the Greek fighter that caused the collision. The Turkish pilot was rescued by a Japanese [[Liquified petroleum gas]] [[tanker (ship)|tanker]] and was later picked up by a Turkish helicopter, after refusing to be picked up by a Greek helicopter. The Greek pilot, Kostas Iliakis, was officialy announced dead after more than 120 hours of searching.
+*[[23 May]] [[2006]] A Greek and a Turkish F-16 fighter jet collide in mid-air over the southern Aegean sea near the Greek island of [[Karpathos]], located between the Greek Island of [[Crete]] and the Greek island of [[Rhodes]]. Greek fighters were scrambled to intercept the Turkish warplanes who allegedly acted as escorts to a R-F4 photo-reconnaissance plane, after they entered Greek airspace. Their mission was most certainly [[spying]] and photographing the [[S-300]] anti-aircraft, anti-missile installations based in [[Crete]]. The two planes collided and crashed into international waters [http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/05/23/greece.crash/index.html]. Exactly what was the cause of collision is not known. Some sources attribute it to aerial ''dogfight'', while others believe that the Turkish pilot may have deliberately collided with the Greek F-16. The Turkish pilot was rescued by a Japanese [[Liquified petroleum gas]] [[tanker (ship)|tanker]] and was later picked up by a Turkish helicopter, after refusing to be picked up by a Greek helicopter. The Greek Government allowed the Turkish helicopter to collect the pilot for ''humanitarian reasons''.Greek officials were present during the whole operation. The Greek pilot, Kostas Iliakis, was officialy announced dead after more than 120 hours of searching and was given a hero's funeral.
 ==Further reading==
@@ Line 181: / Line 90: @@
 ==External links==
-*[http://www.betnahrain.org/bbs/index.pl/noframes/read/4580 Discussions on so-called Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide]
+*[http://www.hellenicgenocide.org/ Hellenic Genocide]
+*[http://www.hri.org/docs/Horton/hb-title.html Hellenic Genocide:Horton's "Blight of Asia"]
 *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3689687.stm Turkish PM on landmark Greek trip]
 *[http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS041.pdf Greece-Turkey boundary study by Florida State University, College of Law]