Speaking during the “Technofest 2022” festival organized in Samsun on September 3, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued an open threat to Greece. In particular, Erdogan said: “Hey, Greece, remember the history, if you go further, you will pay dearly.” We have one thing to say to Greece: don’t forget Izmir. Your occupation of the islands will not hinder us. when the time comes, we will do something. In other words, we say that we can come suddenly one night.”
The phrase “Bir gece ansızın gelebiliriz” (“We can come suddenly one night”) as a threat began to be used in 1974. In the context of Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus. It later became a slogan for Turkish nationalists already in the context of targeting various minorities in mainland Turkey.
In 1974, during the Greek-Turkish clashes in Cyprus, to demoralize Turkish Cypriot fighters waiting for help from mainland Turkey, Greek radio stations regularly broadcast the Turkish song “Bekledim de gelmedin” (“I waited, you didn’t come, and you didn’t come”), implying that Turkey would not help to come to the Turkish Cypriots. In response to this, the Turkish radio station “Bayrak” broadcasts the song “Bu kadar yürekten çığma beni/Bir gece ansızın gelebilirim” (“Don’t call me so heartily/I may come suddenly one night”) to Cyprus on the night of the Turkish invasion.In 1974, within the framework of the “Atilla” military operation on July 20, Turkey invaded Cyprus, carrying out ethnic cleansing and effectively dividing the island into Turkish and Greek parts. The Turkish occupation of the northern part of Cyprus continues to this day.
As for the call “not to forget Izmir”, Erdogan’s “reminder” refers to 1919-22. to the capture, burning, and merciless slaughter and burning of the population of the Greek city of Izmir, which became the last tragic element of the Turkish-Greek war. In addition to the massacred Greeks in Izmir, many Armenians also died, in total 100 thousand people. The head of the neighboring state, with which Armenia is going to get closer “without preconditions”, rejecting the fake pacifist calls of the enemy, clearly threatens Greece with a new genocide.
Turkish-Greek relations are traditionally tense for a number of reasons, including the occupation of the northern part of Cyprus by Turkey, the demarcation of the water and air space of the Aegean Sea, etc. In particular, the Turkish authorities accuse Greece of militarizing the islands of the Aegean Sea, which violates existing international agreements. In turn, Greece accuses Turkey of violating its airspace.
The latest tension in Turkish-Greek relations was related to the statement of the Turkish Ministry of Defense, according to which on August 23, the Greek S-300 (C-300) missile system on the island of Crete allegedly tracked a Turkish F-16 planes. Turkish officials noted that this is considered a hostile action under NATO rules.
It should be noted that Greece denied the authenticity of the statement.
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