The Long History Of Pakistan Antagonizing Cyprus On Behalf Of Turkey

By Paul Antonopoulos, Fort Russ, Nov 25, 2019

Pakistan seems to support Turkey, but one must know what it is asking for in Cyprus and the Aegean – especially since it is thousands of kilometers away and is demanding the rights of Kashmir.

Recently, apart from illegal immigration, which is by far the most serious threat not only to Greece but to the whole of Hellenism, two relatively new and in many unknown issues concern the Greeks.

One is the statements of US President Nicolas Burns, who served in the highest levels of the US Foreign Ministry but also as an ambassador to Athens, where, according to Greek diplomats, he left the best impression after serving his country.

Nicolas Burns, answering journalist Athanasios Ellis’s question “if Greece can rely on the US at a critical moment in the confrontation with Turkey” replied:

“I’m sorry to say it, but if Greece needs US support in a hot incident with Turkey, I don’t think it will get it from President Trump.”

Speaking at the Delphi Forum, which is being held in Washington, Mr. Burns also stressed that the US Department of State and Defense would be more credible if there was the need, adding that “I cannot imagine a hypothetical scenario where Greece will be the aggressor.”

The second issue is the presence of the Navy and Air Force in the Mediterranean and the Aegean, and the clear statement by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who said that “Turkey has supported Pakistan’s position on the Kashmir issue, and Pakistan supported Turkey in the Cyprus problem.”

As can be seen, the two issues are interrelated. That is why we will look back at Turkey’s “Operation Barbarism” – and not peace – in Cyprus, and the international situation on the first day of the landing:

Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the message he sent Ecevit said of the operation: “Pakistan strongly supports the peace operation launched by Turkey to stop the breach.” The message also stated that the Pakistani people and government have always been feeding brotherly sentiments about the Turks, and that at this difficult time all Pakistanis are on the side of Turkey unconditionally.

Syrian President Hafez Assad, in turn, said in a statement on the operation that he supports the Turkish government’s attitude and shows understanding in the business.

The Moscow Radio also broadcast live: “The Turks came to Cyprus in the morning. Turkey […] made use of its most natural right, as a last resort, and landed on the Island.”

Tirana Radio broadcast live that the Albanian state and nation, like all the nations of the world, support Turkey on the Cyprus issue and have a very positive view of the business that has begun, adding that Albania is on the side of the brotherly state of Turkey.

On the second day of operations, the reactions were as follows:

Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said: “I am ready to go to war and fight shoulder to shoulder with Turkish soldiers […] we will not be left with arms crossed in the problems that Turkey is facing it.”

On the same day, Libya’s ambassador to Ankara’s embassy, ​​Suleyman Atayaka, who promised to supply oil to Turkey, went to the foreign ministry and held some talks.

A group of Pakistanis residing in Ankara staged a demonstration for the rights of Turkish Cypriots, stating that they support their Turkish brothers’ operation in Cyprus. The Pakistanis held placards with the slogans written in Turkish, Urdu and English: “We stand by the Turkish nation”, “Our blood for the Turkish nation”, “Pakistan and Turkey are brothers.” “The Pakistani nation is next to the Turkish nation.”

Meanwhile the foreign press covered the business extensively. The Sunday Times [in Britain], in an article titled “A Dangerous But Fair Business”, wrote that “Turkey’s business in Cyprus is a fair act that derives from the rights granted to it by the agreements and is made to safeguard them. its national interests.”

In a major article in the Kuwait Times newspaper, the Kuwait Times wrote that Turkey’s business is not an attack, and that this is absolutely fair, as there were no other ways left to protect the rights of Turkish Cypriots. He also wrote that Kuwait and the other Arab countries support Turkey not only because it is a Muslim country, but also because the law is with it.

Immediately after the sinking of the” Kocatepe “on July 21, 1974, Pakistan sent a campaign hospital to Turkey, as well as Iran, which also sent a wagon full of sanitary material.

The president of the Libyan Revolutionary Council, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, telephoned the Turkish envoy in Tripoli and assured him that he was ready to send spare parts and any other assistance to Turkey. After that, Libya did indeed supply the necessary supplies.

These were some of the reactions and discussed for the following reasons:

First, to understand how important it is to have on your side the international public opinion.

Second, to understand Turkey’s current situation in the Eastern Mediterranean – Cyprus, as opposed to 1974, and to interpret its move to bring Pakistan into our neighborhood.

It has therefore brought Pakistan into our neighborhood in response to the trilogies of Greece and Cyprus with Egypt, and to show that it has an active ally in the region and thus to make it an “international” issue in its illegal and irrational demands to infringe on Greek and Cypriot waters.

In addition to the strategic, I call on supporters of open border policy to consider how much harm they have done to their homeland by bringing permanent residents to Greece for decades to openly support the invasion of Cyprus with slogans such as “We are on the side of the Turkish nation”, “Our blood for the Turkish nation”, “Pakistan and Turkey are brothers”, “The Pakistani nation is next to the Turkish nation.”

And don’t tell me that these are old, because the statement of the Prime Minister of Pakistan is the day before yesterday and it was at a time when Pakistani planes were violating Greek airspace and Pakistani ships were supporting Turkish, to the detriment of Cyprus.

Translated from INFOGNOMON.

Paul Antonopoulos4693 Posts 0 Comments

Paul Antonopoulos is a Research Fellow at the Center for Syncretic Studies. He has an MA in International Relations and is interested in Great Power Rivalry as well as the International Relations and Political Economy of the Middle East and Latin America.

 https://www.fort-russ.com/2019/11/the-long-history-of-pakistan-antagonizing-cyprus-on-behalf-of-turkey/