Turkey invaded Cyprus on July 20, 1974, and has not looked back. While Turks may say they did so to protect Cyprus’ Turkish minority, Greece’s return to democracy made any Greek plans to unite with Cyprus moot. Turkey’s subsequent second invasion in August 1974 was nothing less than a land grab followed by methodical ethnic cleansing. Today, there are as many displaced Cypriots than there are displaced Palestinians.
Cyprus is, of course, not alone: Turkey has also grabbed territory and conducted ethnic cleansing in both Syria and Iraq.
The crisis in Cyprus has long been a forgotten and largely frozen conflict. U.N. officials and other diplomats occasionally hosted talks, but the reluctance of one side or another to change the status quo ultimately doomed each round. In 1983, the Turkish-backed government in Northern Cyprus declared its independence, a move no other country but Turkey recognized.
In short, this means that not only the European Union and NATO, but also Turkey’s closest allies such as Somalia, Azerbaijan, and Malaysia, as well as every single other UN member rejects Turkey’s claims to territorial waters around Cyprus and by extension recognizes that the entirety of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone belongs to the recognized Cypriot government in Nicosia rather than the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
By sending ships into Cypriot waters to drill for oil and gas, Turkey is simply seeking to steal Cypriot resources for its own use. For all of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s anti-colonial rhetoric, he now presides over the most flagrant example of 21st century imperial exploitation.
The question then becomes, what will Europe do about it?
No one wants war with Turkey, an attitude that Erdoğan counts upon as he embraces ever more resources. But, with every day, week, and month that pass once Turkey finds and begins exploiting Eastern Mediterranean energy, ever greater amounts of Cypriot resources will be stolen.
Perhaps it’s time then that European countries and others seeking to reinforce the rule of law target Turkey’s own bank balance.
Erdoğan has made the state-owned Turkish Air the flagship of his own ambitions. State media brag about the airline’s ever-increasing reach, and Erdoğan recently inaugurated a major new airport outside Istanbul to accommodate greater Turkish air traffic. (The airline apparently also supports more covert operations for Erdoğan, such as illegally transporting Turkish weaponry). Of course, the airline also supports Turkey’s economically important tourism industry.
Perhaps, then, the European Union and the United States could respond to Turkish provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean by denying Turkish Air landing rights. Let the airline fly to Somalia, Sudan, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan, but there is no reason why European countries should support Turkey’s economy at a time when Erdoğan seeks to supplement it with theft.
Diplomatic hand-wringing on Cyprus has not resolved the problem for 45 years, and there’s no reason to suspect finger-wagging will be enough to do so now. It’s time the European Union and those committed to the post-World War II liberal order do more to show Erdoğan that the world has had enough of Turkey’s pillaging. If Turkey’s new airport loses traffic and if beach resorts in Turkey and Turkish-occupied Cyprus go vacant, so be it. The solution is simple: Withdraw Turkey’s ships and end Turkey’s illegal occupation.
Michael Rubin (@Mrubin1971) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a former Pentagon official.
To Mr. Rubin,
Thank you for pointing out the crimes of Turkish Airlines. While it pretends to be a civilian carrier, it is a weapon in Turkey’s political and military strategy. In addition to spreading the threat of Turkish might hegemony, it transports weapons, ISIS terrorists, and subsidizes the transport of Turkish goods–mostly food items–to drive out other Middle Eastern exporters from the market by undercutting them. Thus, it’s no accident that every Turkish item at stores selling Middle Easter in North America is cheaper than the Greek, Israeli, and Arab equivalent. It has been so even before the lira took a bath. The airline is 49.9 percent owned by the Turkish government. Erdogan, his extended family, and his friends have a significant share of the rest.
Mr. Rubin, I would be very grateful if you cautioned Israelis about Turkey’s grand strategy to dominate the Middle East which includes Israel. Anti-Semitism has deep roots in Turkey where “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and Hitler’s “Mein Kamph” have been permanent bestsellers. Israel should form a military alliance with Greece, Egypt, and Cyprus to stop Turkey’s plans to dominate the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey has been very successful in double-dealing. After years of trying to topple Egypt’s Sisi, Erdogan has suddenly begun to court Egypt. After years of hostility to Israel, it started to send friendly signals to Israel recently so as to ingratiate itself to the new U. S administration. Finally, Turkey sees Israel as a rival in advancing Ankara’s designs to dominate Azerbaijan.
Very good article.
Thank you.
Cutting off Turkish airlines’ access to Europe is a great idea.
But why no mention that Israel still has very strong economic relations with Turkey?
Let Israel – not just Europe and the US – impose economic sanctions on Turkey.
I believe that Turkish airlines allows flights from New York to Tel Aviv.
Let Israel disallow such flights.
There is much Israel can do. But is it willing to do so, or is it leaving its fights, once again, to others to conduct?
By the way, why no condemnation of Israel’s deep and immoral involvement with Turkey and terrorists in the war against Armenians?