Imia-Kardak crisis

The Imia-Kardak crisis was a conflict that arose between Turkey and Greece in the Aegean Sea in 1996. Kardak Rocks (Imia in Greek, sometimes referred to as İkizce in Turkish) are two tiny islets that lie in the Aegean Sea, 3.8 nautical miles (about 7 km) off the Mugla Province, on the southwestern coast of Turkey, and 5.5 nautical miles (about 10 km) off the Greek island of Kalymnos. Their total surface area is 10 acres (about 40,000 m²).

Contents

1 Overview 2 Legality of the islets 2.1 Greek Thesis 2.2 Turkish thesis 3 Also see 4 External links

Overview

A Turkish bulk carrier ran ashore the Kardak/Imia rocks on 25 December, 1995. As the maritime boundary between Turkey and Greece has never been thoroughly defined, during the salvage operations of the ship, the sovereignty issue over these islets arose. This issue had not been discussed at any time in either the Greek or Turkish media, or had never been a matter of dispute in the sometimes tender political climate between these countries earlier.

The event was not known to either the Greek or the Turkish public until a month later, when the Greek periodical GRAMMA ran a story on 20 January, 1996, one day after Costas Simitis was appointed to form the new Greek government as prime minister. The article brought severe reaction from the Greek press, which was followed by the mayor of Kalymnos and a priest hoisting up a Greek flag on the rocks on 26 January, which held no man-made constructions. As opposed to this action, some Turkish journalists and TV anchors flew to the islet with a helicopter and raised a Turkish flag, bringing down the Greek one, the whole events being broadcast live on Turkish television stations. In 24 hours, by 30 January, the Greek navy changed the flag, which resulted in exchange of fierce statements lead by the Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller and the Greek Prime Minister Simitis. A Greek helicopter crashed (some speculating due to Turkish fire), but this was concealed by both states [1] (http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/pdf/Greek-Turkish-Media.PDF) to prevent further escalation. Turkish and Greek naval forces were alerted and warships of both countries, both NATO members, sailed to the islets.

The conflict subsided with the US envoy Richard Holbrooke and NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana intermediating, and the navy patrols of both countries withdrawing from around the region.

Legality of the islets

There are many small isles, islets and rocks in the Aegean, status of which are not delimited by the territorial waters of neither Turkey nor Greece, and international treaties do not determine their ownership. Most of these can not sustain human habitation, like Kardak-Imia. However, obviously the Imia-Kardak crisis related to the disputed legality of the islets is part of a larger conflict dubbed the "Aegean problem" which comprises disputes over the continental shelf, the territorial waters, the air space and the demilitarization of the Aegean islands, all of which help shape the main conflict between Turkey and Greece. None of the above issues have been debated on international level, are repeatedly discussed by the politicians of both countries, however have not been decisively resolved.

The Dodecanese island chain was acquired by Italy with the Turkish-Italian convention (Ankara Convention) signed in 1932, later which the rights to these islands were ceded to Greece by Italy with the 1947 Treaty of Paris.

Greek Thesis

• Greece claims that the Meeting Minutes of the Ankara Convention should be considered having the force of a treaty, and a reference to Kardak rocks made in one of these minutes is in effect.
• The Greek thesis also asserts that the Kardak rocks are linked to the Dodecanese chain (that they were adjacent islets), and were ceded by Turkey to Greece through Italy with the respective treaties.
• According to Greece, Kardak Rocks have existed within its administrative structure since 1948 (Greek law dated 1948, no. 547), they have been included in the Greek territory in both Greek and international maps with the names Limnia or Imia since then, and that Turkey has not disputed these until 1995.

Turkish thesis

• Turkey denies the Greek thesis as "unacceptable" and claims that the relevant minutes referencing to the Kardak rocks were not signed, as opposed to the other minutes, and therefore they do not have the force of a treaty.
• Turkey also insists that the islands ceded to Italy with the 1932 Dodecanese treaty were explicitly mentioned by name, and did not include the disputed rocks.
• Turkey claims that the maps with Limnia/Imia depicted as Kardak rocks merely stand as Greek propaganda and that international maps showing the rocks to be under Turkish sovereignty and with their Turkish name also exist.

Also see

• Foreign relations of Turkey
• Foreign relations of Greece
• Greco-Turkish relations

External links

• The Role of the Media in Greek-Turkish Relations – Co-production of a TV programme window by Greek and Turkish Journalists by Katharina Hadjidimos (http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/pdf/Greek-Turkish-Media.PDF) (PDF file)
• Greece, Turkey pull back warships, CNN.com article, January 31, 1996 (http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9601/turkey_greece_dispute/6pm/)
• Aegean issue based on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, website of the Australian-Turkish Media Group (http://www.atmg.org/AegeanIssue.html)
• Turkish-Greek Relations website (http://www.turk-yunan.gen.tr/english/aegean/kardakrocks.html)
• Kardak dispute, Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (http://www.mfa.gov.tr/grupa/ad/ade/aded/)
• Documents from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Greece and Turkey about the Imia Issue, Hellenic Resources Network (http://www.hri.org/docs/aegean.html)
• Greek-Turkish Tensions, Princeton Journal of Foreign Affairs (http://www.princeton.edu/~foreigna/winter1998/turkey.html)el:Κρίση των Ιμίων