Erdogan's tidal wave of violations cause rough seas in Mediterranean
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's dreams of reviving
the Ottoman Empire based upon the terrorist pillars of the Brotherhood have not
been limited to controlling land, as it has done by invading Syria and Iraq. Rather,
his flimsy ambitions have also sailed to the open waters, as he seeks to exert
more control in the Mediterranean to ensure safe exploration and seizure of
neighboring countries’ oil, as well as to harass countries in the region.
International violations
In flagrant violation of international law and covenants,
Erdogan and Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the Libya’s Government of National Accord
(GNA) in Tripoli, signed an agreement demarcating maritime borders in the
Mediterranean Sea in November 2019, which provoked angry international
reactions, as the agreement clearly encroaches upon the sovereignty of Eastern
Mediterranean countries.
Libyan national institutions have rejected the controversial
agreement, threatening not to allow Ankara or others pillage Libya’s wealth and
resources under any cover, while European Union leaders consider the agreement
between Turkey and the GNA to be in violation of international law, especially following
Erdogan's logistical support for terrorists in Libya by sending weapons and
mercenaries to help the GNA.
Weeks after Ankara and the GNA concluded two maritime and
security agreements to demarcate the borders in the Mediterranean, Greece,
Cyprus and Israel completed the EastMed agreement in January 2020, which
eliminates Turkey's ambitions to control energy supplies in the region.
Despite European sanctions already imposed on Turkey, Ankara
has insisted on exploring for gas in the Eastern Mediterranean region, claiming
that its discoveries would provide for a degree of stability and political
independence.
Turkish extortion
The Turkish president has frequently used the refugee issue
as a political card to pressure the European Union and achieve financial gains
and aid. A "readmission" agreement was struck in 2016, ending illegal
immigration flows from Turkey to European countries and ensuring better
conditions for receiving refugees in Turkey, where there are 3.6 million Syrian
refugees, in exchange for support of $6.7 billion.
Under this agreement, Turkey obtained financial payments and
aid from European countries, led by England, France and Germany, in an attempt
to revive Turkey’s exhausted economy, which has already received $6.2 billion
in aid from the EU.
Turkey also threatened to return ISIS prisoners to their European
countries of origin, causing a headache for these countries and putting them in
a very dangerous predicament before their people, especially after many of
these countries have witnessed several terrorist attacks. So these countries
have no choice but to try to satisfy Turkey financially in order to prevent it
from sending foreign ISIS fighters to Europe.
Syrian safe zone
The Turkish incursion into Syria joins the list of Erdogan's
crimes, as he wanted to establish a safe zone on the Syrian-Turkish border in
the region of Kobani and Afrin, passing through Jarabulus in the countryside of
Aleppo, and penetrating 30 kilometers into Syrian territory along 68 miles of
border. The safe zone came as a security and military agreement between
Washington and Ankara to withdraw heavy weapons for a distance of 20 km, in
addition to freeing the region of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
Dr. Tarek Fahmy, professor of political science at Cairo
University, stated that Erdogan seeks to send a message to regional parties in
the Eastern Mediterranean and call for the possibility of dialogue with
Mediterranean countries, except for Cyprus, which Ankara does not recognize. At
the same time, the Turkish president challenges the international community and
tends to adopt unilateral options in support of the GNA.
