The leader of the Turkish nationalists and government partner of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Devlet Bahçeli, openly challenges the status of the Dodecanese islands.
Moreover, he announced that a march would take place in Smyrna and demanded the “independence” of the Dodecanese which should be released from the… Greek yoke.
The partner of the Turkish President called for a protest march in Smyrna on the 9th of September at 9.00 am demanding the review of the Dodecanese legal status. It was something that he had firstly called for last Saturday. “First and foremost, our goal is to decisively march in protest in Smyrna on the 9th of the 9th month of the year at 9 o’clock, that is, on the 9th September, 2020. In Smyrna, we threw the enemy into the sea. We demand the independence of the Dodecanese,” the Turkish nationalist said.
“Taking into account the geographical, political and other specificities of the Dodecanese, it raises hopes for peace and stability in the Aegean Sea and, therefore, the injustice against our country will be re-established if the legal status of the island is re-examined,” he added.
The Vice President, Fuat Oktay, had challenged earlier the Treaty of Paris signed in 1947, under which the Dodecanese islands were ceded from Italy to Greece.
Devlet Bahçeli deemed the Dodecanese issue as “a bleeding wound” for the Turkish nation and said: “These islands were unjustly, shamelessly and illegally taken out of our hands. The status of the Dodecanese islands must be reviewed. Greece and its tyrannical rulers aim to surround us, but they have proved the lack of property rights regarding those islands. Turkey has rights in the region of the Dodecanese. We hold memories and there are traces that do not fade,” he added.