Yilmaz comments bring forth compensation issue, on behalf of Ankara

“Is this ‘dirty business’ still going on?”

 

Multiple reactions in the Greek political scene is what the statements of former Turkish premier, Mesut Yilmaz have caused, regarding the arsons by Turks, on Greek soil in the period between 1995 and 1997, during Tansu Ciller’s premiership.

Greek parties are asking for an enquiry and redemption for what the country has been through.

ND External Policy man,  Panos Panayiotopoulos commenting on the matter, said, “the revelation by Mesut Yilmaz have given birth to heavy shadows above Greek-Turkish relations…Erdogan government has to provide Greece all information needed so as to unfold every facet of the issue in question and then compensate Greece for the great damage it caused to it”.


Moreover, Panayiotopoulos said the political side now visible is very important and expects even the EU to act accordingly.

LAOS party issued a statement, reading, “when the then ND MP, present LAOS head, Yiorgos Karatzaferis had mentioned the acts of Turkish agents-arsonists, the then political figures had responded with the usual force, speaking of extremities and similar…silly words”.

Democratic Alliance president Dora Bakoyannnis also commented on Yilmaz statements, saying, “his comments reveal that during the Ciller time there had been a budget solely and exclusively for the arsons of Greek forests on the Eastern Aegean islands, thus showing in the most creepy of ways, Turkey’s practices”.

Bakoyannis asked the Greek government officials:

-to pledge themselves to the cause of denouncing, through the Greek FM, Turkey’s wrong doings, to the EU and all international fora.

-to ask for indemnity.

-and last but not least asked proposed to the Environment, Energy and Climate Change ministry to complete the relevant work so as to move forward with the reforestation of the affected islands.

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Turkish agents behind the fires in Greek forests!

“Fire” in Greek-Turkish relations due to Yilmaz statements!

MIT agents have not managed to put such great fires in Greek forests as did the statements of former Turkey premier, Mesut Yilmaz. Speaking to the newspaper Birgun, Yilmaz said that during the premiership of Tansu Ciller, between 1995 and 1997, Turkish agents had been starting Greek forest fires!

Speaking of secret budgets of the time, Yilmaz said that, “all premiers, when their tenure is over and their successor comes along, they have to inform him of how the secret budget was used. This is what I and my predecessors have done. Erbakan, Ecevit and Demirel all followed the same path but Ciller did not. A certain, state report, speaks of the Greek arsons and the attempt for a coup in Azerbaijan, nevertheless it mentions nothing relevant to Kurds assassinations”, said Yilmaz.

During the time Yilmaz spoke about, a period in which most Eastern Aegean islands and Macedonian forests were in the eye of the firestorms, the Greek Secret Service also had information about possible arsons from the Turkish side, but premiers Papandreou and Simitis had not managed to gather the necessary evidence.

What remains to be seen, from now on, is whether or to which degree these revelations will affect the bilateral relations. Together with the FYROM name issue, it looks like the present or future Greek government will have a lot of “homework” to do, both on a local and international levels.