In the beginning, Europe was the centre of the world; or it thought it was. It still is in the planispheres.  We can find them with the United States at the center, or China, but they are not as widespread globally. At the heart of Europe is the Mediterranean, a melting pot of cultures, trade and conflicts. Europe colonized much of the world, to the west, south and east – always in relation to the old continent. It caused damage, but also fostered lasting and fruitful encounters.

Thus, for better or for worse, the old continent has influenced the planet for centuries. But now it is being influenced by a conspicuous part of the world. The countries involved are those of the so-called “Wider Mediterranean”, a geopolitical region with fluid borders. It includes the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), as well as the entire Sahel belt and the Horn of Africa to the south, the countries bordering the Black Sea to the northeast, the Persian Gulf, through to Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is from many of these countries that the migratory flows which have been affecting Europe for decades originate, and while the old continent continues to manage these as an emergency, it has become clear that this is a structural issue.  The causes which urge people to migrate are numerous and interrelated. Conflicts, political circumstances, violations of human rights, lack of work and future prospects, population growth, environmental problems, all contribute to determining in the countries of departure, difficult in if not tragic living conditions, which induce an increasing number of people to migrate in search of a better life.

The circumstances described above are in no way new. Yet, with every new arrival, and despite the numerous European and state laws regulating migration flows, Europe as a Union, and its individual states, are overcome by panic, be they  initial ports of entry, (Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Malta), or in northern and eastern Europe, many of which have no intention of redistributing on their territory migrants arriving in other European countries (Austria, Hungary and Poland, among others).

It would perhaps be appropriate to keep the panic in check and take time to reflect. No one has any intention of denying that migration from countries of what we call the Wider Mediterranean actually exists, that it will not abate, and that, especially due to the explosive demographic growth of those countries, it is likely to increase. This will, of course, have repercussions on our societies.  “Immigration anxiety”, however, could decrease if we consider the data for 2022 provided by the Flow Monitoring of the International Organization for Migration: the number of migrants to Europe has significantly decreased from 2016 to the present day – 389,976 people compared to the current 93,723. The peak of arrivals is almost always recorded concurrently with wars or political-social unrest, as for instance at the time of the Arab Spring or in the most tragic moments of the Syrian war.  On these occasions, many of those arriving were people who would fall into the category of asylum seekers and subsequently refugees.

However, what mainly concerns governments is the issue of ‘irregular’ immigrants. There are a wide range of different categories which we use to attempt to classify migrants and in fact it is difficult to accurately define the boundaries.  To give an example: those who might be granted refugee status are irregulars when they enter the host country, if not illegal. They will then have to go through a long process to be identified as asylum seekers and finally recognized as refugees.  What about climate migrants? Is fleeing from a country where droughts have wiped out any possibility of food security or access to water, really that different from fleeing a country at war or where one is subject to persecution? Aren’t people’s lives still at risk? The same should apply to economic migrants, who, driven by their country of origin’s precarious economic conditions, are fleeing from poverty. Isn’t theirs also a request for asylum?

Rather than cry out against invasion, European countries should examine the situation more thoroughly and reconsider many of the existing laws, perhaps making both the terms for reception less complex, as well as those regulating the repatriation of non-entitled migrants less cumbersome and long; or by increasingly facilitating humanitarian corridors and reopening regular immigration channels. Immigration can also have positive effects, especially considering that Europe is a country suffering from drastic ageing.

However, as Giorgio Gomel, President of the Alliance for Middle East Peace Europe points out, we are well aware that the migration issue “conjures up an ethical-political dilemma, that is the contrast between an ethics of hospitality and an ethics of security”.  Perhaps, the real solution to the problems concerning migration lies in being able to make the two ethics coexist, and fully acknowledging that, if well managed, exchanges between countries can also bring something positive.

L'articolo Europe and the ‘Wider Mediterranean’: a Tale of Migrations proviene da InsideOver.

The latest statements of Turkish Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar, have fueled further the already increased tension between Greece and Turkey. Akar, during his visit to one of the major players of the Turkish Defense Industry, missile producer Roketsan, publicly stated that Greece “illegally” maintains armed forces in sixteen islands in the Aegean Sea. He stressed out that Athens should stop ignoring international treaties and demilitarize the aforementioned areas. He also referred to the developments in Libya pointing that the Turkish controversial moves in the region are fully compliant with international law and Greece should reconsider its stance and start behaving as a trustworthy neighbor. With regards to Cyprus, he repeated that Ankara has been doing and will continue to take all the appropriate measures to protect the Turkish-Cypriot community of the island and the rights of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the de facto state established in the north of the island after the Turkish invasion in 1974, which is internationally recognized only by Turkey.

The rationale behind the Turkish claims

But where are these Turkish demands for demilitarization coming from? Akar is referring to a series of treaties among Greece, Turkey and other countries, that have been signed during the 20th century and which dictate the status of the Aegean islands. The Greek islands in the Aegean Sea according to these treaties could be categorized as below:

Samothrace and Lemnos Islands in the Northern Aegean

According to the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, the islands of Samothrace and Lemnos should be demilitarized, and this is one of the main pillars of the Turkish -unfounded- argument. Unfounded because the 1936 Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits, has replaced the provisions of the Lausanne Treaty for the aforementioned islands and fully restored the rights of Greece to station armed forces there. Turkey has approved the Montreux Convention, and the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time, Dr. Tevfik Rüştü Aras, has explicitly accepted all the provisions of the Convention both home and abroad.

Ikaria, Chios, Lesvos and Samos Islands

With regard to these islands, Article 13 of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne clarifies that Greece should not establish “naval base and fortification” in their territory. Indeed, Greece has been following these instructions ever since, establishing a military presence in these islands within the limitations of the Treaty. Additionally, there is another provision referring to those islands, advising that Greek and Turkish military aircraft should avoid flying over these areas. Here we should address a serious contradiction of the Turkish accusations, since the Turkish Air Force has been breaching the Greek airspace, with fighter jets flying over these islands, on a regular basis over the last decades. This is a quite interesting fact, the implications of which could be further examined in another article in the near future.

Dodecanese – Islands of Southeastern Aegean

Those islands in the Southeastern part of the Aegean Sea, have been under Italian occupation since 1912, and have been granted to Greece with the Treaty of Paris in 1947. According to this treaty, those islands should be demilitarized and in this context, Greece has officially stationed only National Guard units in those locations, in compliance with the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE). On top of that, particularly for the case of Dodecanese, the status of Turkey is deemed as res inter alios acta, considering that Greece and Italy are the two contracting parties in the treaty, therefore any Turkish objections for the past and current status of the islands are simply irrelevant.

It is apparent that the Turkish claims cannot be backed by international treaties or any interpretation of the International Law; however, using the alleged demilitarization argument, is not a new tactic for Ankara. Every time Turkey crosses the lines, causing international criticism over a dispute with Greece, the same rhetoric is being adopted in an effort to provoke Athens, boost the morale of the Turkish public and disorientate the international community. It is notable that similar comments have been made again by Akar, less than a year ago.

The Greek Reaction

The Greek Side has promptly responded to the provocative statements of the Turkish Minister, with an official press release from the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Turkish stance has been described as hypocritic, considering that Ankara is continuously questioning the territorial integrity of the neighboring countries and regularly ignores the International Law, or interprets it according to the Turkish interests; there has also been a special reference to the violation of the UN-imposed arms embargo in Libya. Concluding, the Greek response highlighted the significance of the legitimate right to self-defense; a right that every sovereign state has and the Turkish side seems to be persistently ignoring, according to the Greek statement.

The implications of this announcement are even more interesting when combined with the assertions made by the newly-appointed Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff a couple of days ago. General Konstantinos Floros, during the Change of Command Ceremony on January 21, stated that Greece is currently going through a turbulent and challenging period, with regards to the ongoing geopolitical developments within and around the country. According to the Greek General, the most appropriate way to maintain stability and peace in the region is to be constantly well-prepared for war.

L'articolo Ankara Calling for the Demilitarization of Greek islands proviene da InsideOver.