By ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ (GREEK) TÜRKÇE (TURKISH)
Our company commander had asked us to clean up the place…
With a bunch of other soldiers, we did our best, but it really wasn’t an easy task…
We couldn’t really brighten up the place and there was a strange smell and humidity.
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Sorry, I didn’t mention what I was talking about did I?
Oh, shoot!
Well, I am talking about a cave in Erenköy (Kokkina) that dated back to the communal struggle years…
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Entry into this cave or caves was restricted during the period I did my military service and inside them, they contained ammunition; I’m sure they must have been removed by now…
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In the period before and after the two communities in Cyprus were pitted against each other, when intercommunal tensions ran high or fighting broke out, a good part of the weapons and munitions from Turkey were brought to the Island through Erenköy (Kokkina)…
It was the villagers of Erenköy (Kokkina) who started doing this with their very small fishing boats…
They were called the “Bereketçiler”… [Translators note: ‘Bereketçiler’ derives from the word ‘Bereket’ in Turkish which means blessing or divine gift. ]
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Anyway, I’m not going to be giving a history lesson; just wanted to mention an issue…
As we were trying to clean up the caves that were being used as a weapons depot, I came across some files I found in a box that was probably placed there by accident. One of the documents was the “cyphered” or “coded” “execution orders” or “shooting orders” of Derviş Ali Kavazoğlu sent by the “Bayraktarlık” to the “Sancaktarlık” [Translator’s note: ‘Bayraktarlık’ or ‘Flag Bearer’ was the name of the Turkish Cypriot central command during the intercommunal fighting. ‘Sancaktarlık’ or ‘standard bearer’ was the name given to regional command centres] …
The only thing I remember was that “the shooter would be rewarded” and for some reason, I don’t know why, the claim that “the shooter would be resettled in the US”.
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Another one of the documents I read included “orders for a retreat” which had been initially planned before the Greek Cypriot attacks in the Erenköy (Kokkina) area but was only implemented after the attacks had begun…
What was this about?
It was a plan which included the retreat from the Turkish villages such as Sellaintapi, Aytotoro, Mansura and Alevga…
Why was this deemed necessary?
I think because the natural landscape would allow for a “stronger and smarter defence”.
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I told the commander “these are important documents”…
He told us to “burn them” …
I was able to take the one about Kavazoğlu…
I gave it to a senior colleague, I’m sure it is still in his possession…
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Anyway!
What else did the retreat mean?
It meant sacrificing the area or villages retreated from…
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Why did this issue come to my mind?
The retreat during the Erenköy (Kokkina) struggle came to mind, as I read the news and comments of observations about how NATO was lately redetermining the Eastern Mediterranean or its Eastern flanks and retreating from Turkey towards Greece.
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Of course, there aren’t that many similarities between the two.
But in the end, there is an act of “abandonment” …
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The decision of our commanders to withdraw in 1964 was out of military strategy and logic…
And now commanders of NATO or administrators of NATO member states are abandoning Turkey…
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A very important move…
It’s obvious, NATO is disturbed lately with Turkey’s “veto” games…
Turkey’s initial “no” to Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership and then the softening of its stance, disturbed NATO…
Those who had foreseen the veto threats by Turkey due to her relations with Russia might have shifted NATO’s line of defence to Greece…
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Is this something to write about during Bayram [Translator’s note: Eid holiday]?
Of course not…
But I found it to be very important…
Because it is possible to develop different interpretations from this “alleged” development!
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Yes, this is an “assertion” …
A claim…
But Turkey’s relations with NATO and Greece; her closeness to Russia; will undoubtedly impact the grounds for its presence in Cyprus in the short term ahead…
Having good relations with NATO might limit its chances of making any moves on Cyprus…
Having bad relations with NATO could make it easier for Turkey to shift its “role” regarding its position in Cyprus…
We could come up with different interpretations and debate this issue until the morning…
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Turkey is in a serious election process…
And Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is once again a candidate…
He can do, anything, anything not to lose…
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The political tendency of doing anything includes “all kinds” of plans regarding the northern half of Cyprus…
The decision to retreat in Erenköy (Kokkina) was also a plan; its results I think were very successful…
The defence [of the enclave] had been strengthened…
When it comes to Turkey distancing itself not only from NATO but also the EU, and NATO moving away from Turkey, I have to say that I cannot be as “optimistic”!
Not from any perspective!
I would like to wish everyone a happy Bayram holiday…
Those who have money should celebrate…
My dears… you shouldn’t get upset when they say pseudo-state!
They’ve stopped launching legal and proper tenders…
They preferred to procure the fuel directly…
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However, they had no choice but to wait until all the fuel in the storage tanks ran out, in order to create “legal” grounds for this purchase…
And that is what they did!
As a result, they were only able to procure the fuel they found, dirty or clean, for the price it was offered…
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The country plunged into darkness; patients came face to face with death…
The state incurred a loss of ₺80m in just a few months.
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We did not have the opportunity to analyse whether the fuel was clean or not; or how much it was going to impact the public’s health!
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The harm caused to the environment, to the public and naturally to the budget peaked.
And just then, they were forced to borrow ₺70m due to a shortage of funds.
And the claims that “they definitely pocketed the money” are rife!
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Well then, if not the government’s resignation, do these developments at least not call for the resignation of the responsible minister or ministers, that is Erhan Arıklı or Sunat Atun?
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What if they make Sunat Atun Prime Minister on his return from Haj [pilgrimage]?
And then they get angry when someone uses the word “Pseudo-state”!
You shouldn’t get upset because the truth is obvious!
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(We did wish everyone a happy Bayram, but we forgot to tell everyone we will be on holiday for the next three days and won’t be able to write…)
(Photo of Şinasi Başaran, a veteran journalist who passed away this week)
We lost Şinasi Başaran…I found out on social media yesterday afternoon…We had worked together for a period at Kıbrıs Media Group during my early years in the profession. He also served as our Editor-in-chief… He was someone who loved this profession, and who worked with enthusiasm… I remember many of his jokes… And then he cut off his ties, and vanished… We didn’t see him for a very long time, according to what we heard, he dedicated his time to his family and chose to remain in isolation… I hope he took notes of his memoirs because during the short time we worked together, or in the period before and after, he witnessed numerous developments… May he rest in peace. My deepest condolences to his family and his loved ones…
Kaynak: WHAT DOES THE DEFENCE OF ERENKÖY (KOKKINA) HAVE TO DO WITH NATO-TURKEY RELATIONS?
