Erdogan’s tidal wave of violations cause rough seas in Mediterranean

Shaimaa Yahya

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s dreams of reviving the Ottoman Empire based upon the terrorist pillars of the Brotherhood have not been limited to controlling land, as it has done by invading Syria and Iraq. Rather, his flimsy ambitions have also sailed to the open waters, as he seeks to exert more control in the Mediterranean to ensure safe exploration and seizure of neighboring countries’ oil, as well as to harass countries in the region.

International violations

In flagrant violation of international law and covenants, Erdogan and Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, signed an agreement demarcating maritime borders in the Mediterranean Sea in November 2019, which provoked angry international reactions, as the agreement clearly encroaches upon the sovereignty of Eastern Mediterranean countries.

Libyan national institutions have rejected the controversial agreement, threatening not to allow Ankara or others pillage Libya’s wealth and resources under any cover, while European Union leaders consider the agreement between Turkey and the GNA to be in violation of international law, especially following Erdogan’s logistical support for terrorists in Libya by sending weapons and mercenaries to help the GNA.

Weeks after Ankara and the GNA concluded two maritime and security agreements to demarcate the borders in the Mediterranean, Greece, Cyprus and Israel completed the EastMed agreement in January 2020, which eliminates Turkey’s ambitions to control energy supplies in the region.

Despite European sanctions already imposed on Turkey, Ankara has insisted on exploring for gas in the Eastern Mediterranean region, claiming that its discoveries would provide for a degree of stability and political independence.

Turkish extortion

The Turkish president has frequently used the refugee issue as a political card to pressure the European Union and achieve financial gains and aid. A “readmission” agreement was struck in 2016, ending illegal immigration flows from Turkey to European countries and ensuring better conditions for receiving refugees in Turkey, where there are 3.6 million Syrian refugees, in exchange for support of $6.7 billion.

Under this agreement, Turkey obtained financial payments and aid from European countries, led by England, France and Germany, in an attempt to revive Turkey’s exhausted economy, which has already received $6.2 billion in aid from the EU.

Turkey also threatened to return ISIS prisoners to their European countries of origin, causing a headache for these countries and putting them in a very dangerous predicament before their people, especially after many of these countries have witnessed several terrorist attacks. So these countries have no choice but to try to satisfy Turkey financially in order to prevent it from sending foreign ISIS fighters to Europe.

Syrian safe zone

The Turkish incursion into Syria joins the list of Erdogan’s crimes, as he wanted to establish a safe zone on the Syrian-Turkish border in the region of Kobani and Afrin, passing through Jarabulus in the countryside of Aleppo, and penetrating 30 kilometers into Syrian territory along 68 miles of border. The safe zone came as a security and military agreement between Washington and Ankara to withdraw heavy weapons for a distance of 20 km, in addition to freeing the region of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

Dr. Tarek Fahmy, professor of political science at Cairo University, stated that Erdogan seeks to send a message to regional parties in the Eastern Mediterranean and call for the possibility of dialogue with Mediterranean countries, except for Cyprus, which Ankara does not recognize. At the same time, the Turkish president challenges the international community and tends to adopt unilateral options in support of the GNA.