Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is provocative once again regarding the Aegean islands. Speaking on the occasion of the 93rd anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic, Erdogan said that the islands in the eastern Aegean belonging to Greece under the Treaty of Lausanne were Turkish and have elements of Turkish culture.
"I am teaching a history lesson here. I talked about Lausanne and they were annoyed. Why; The islands in front of our noses, I call it, were ours. In these islands we have our history, our monuments, our mosques. They are still annoyed when we say them. Why? ”He wondered.
"Those who signed these are responsible," he said, leaving tips for Kemal Ataturk. Erdogan's statement is the latest in a series of disputes over Turkey's borders created by Kemal Ataturk and set in Lausanne in 1923. Greek diplomacy says Mr Erdogan's rhetoric is primarily about the internal any aspirations that the Turkish leader may have in the Mosul area.
This is because Ankara claims to be militarily involved in the ongoing operation to liberate Mosul from the Islamic State, but also to have a place at the table where the future of the region will be decided. In recent days, Mr. Erdogan has spoken about the Turkish population living in northern Iraq and the need to protect themselves.
Reintroduction of the death penalty
Erdoγan also spoke about the reinstatement of the death penalty in Turkey and assured that the issue would be introduced for discussion in the Turkish National Assembly, without giving a specific timetable, adding that criticism of the issue by Western countries "does not counts".
"Soon, soon, do not worry. It will happen soon, God willing, "the Turkish leader said during a speech in Ankara, responding to a crowd shouting" we want the death penalty "for the perpetrators of the failed July coup.
"Our government will submit this to the National Assembly. "I am convinced that the National Assembly will approve it and when it comes to me, I will ratify it," Erdogan said.
A possible parliamentary debate on the death penalty is expected to be stormy, according to Agence France-Presse, at a time when the government is hoping to get opposition lawmakers to revise the constitution and establish a purely presidential system.
From the very next day of the coup attempt on July 15, the President of Turkey promised to eradicate the "virus" of rioters within the State, talking about the reinstatement of the death penalty, thus provoking the wrath of the European Union.
The death penalty was abolished in 2004 as part of Ankara's candidacy for EU membership, and its reinstatement could mean a "freeze" in negotiations.
"The West said that, the West said the other. "I'm sorry, but what counts is not what the West says, it's what my people say," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech marking the opening ceremony of a high-speed train station in the Turkish capital.
Source: iefimerida.gr