Cyprus occupation enters 37th year

[pelsar]

On July 20, 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus, a tiny island-nation on the eastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea, on the pretext of protecting the minority Turkish population on the island after a coup sponsored by the military junta in Greece forced the elected president of Cyprus to flee.

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Turkish troops set up what became known as the "Attila Line" and a Turkish occupation force of 40,000 troops have guarded the occupied territory since 1974, preventing Greek-Cypriots from returning to their ancestral homes.
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Over the past 37 years, more than 120,000 Muslim settlers have been brought from mainland Turkey to occupied Cyprus,

http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/2011/07/20/opinion/srv0000012613234.txt
just some background info on the turks in cyprus....


more here
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=mediterranean-gas-2011-03-13
...That is, Ankara has been frequently reminding countries like Egypt, Israel and Syria that: a) in the absence of the Turkish Cypriot element in the administration of the island, the Greek Cypriots alone cannot represent the government of the entire island;



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it appears one of the real reasons that the turks are attempting to raise the stakes is that they want part of the gas that israel found in the med and the deals that are being worked out between cyprus and israel......guess they feel left out and get to use the Palestinians as an excuse to get some attention

[holdencaufield]

1. Very true...

"it appears one of the real reasons that the turks are attempting to raise the stakes is that they want part of the gas that israel found in the med and the deals that are being worked out between cyprus and israel......guess they feel left out and get to use the Palestinians as an excuse to get some attention"

That's a very valid assumption -- but you left out another. In order to punch is Arab Leadership street-cred card, Erdogan knows he needs to up the anti-Israel rhetoric up to Ahmadinejad level. Otherwise, his people might mistake him for a moderate.

[King_David]

2. Exactly , it is not concern about Palustinians at all

That is driving Turkey.

Nor is it about any faux outrage about

a self defense legal blockade.

It is all about Turkish GREED!

[shira]

3. Doesn't matter - it puts Israel in a tight spot and that's what's great about it. n/t

[aranthus]

4. So Turkey is actually guilty of many of the things of which Israel is only accused.

Unprovoked invasion; lengthy occupation with no end in sight; refusing return of innocent refugees; moving in colonists. When do the anti-Turkish protests start?

[shira]

5. It must be something else other than all the perceived commonalities that bring protestors out...

I wonder what it is...

:eyes:

[Swede]

6. Not to mention the Kurds and Armenians.

The Turks are no innocents.