Turkey’s Bahceli unleashes fresh rant against Greece

Greece has no right to claim sovereignty over the islands of the southeastern or northern Aegean, Devlet Bahceli, the head of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement party and government coalition partner, said on Tuesday.

Challenging the provisions of international laws and agreements like the 1923 Lausanne Treaty in his latest nationalist rant, Bahceli said that Greece’s “claims of sovereignty over the Dodecanese are completely unjust and illegal.”

“All the islands of the northern Aegean, which were granted to Greece for use without soldiers and weapons have been filled with soldiers and weapons,” he added in a rant to a meeting of his party’s parliamentary group.

“Sovereignty of the islands of the northern Aegean, therefore, belongs to Turkey, without doubt and legally. The same is the case with the Dodecanese,” Bahecli said, referring to the southeastern Aegean island cluster. 

“I am telling the world that we will not allow our rights to be trampled on. We will take out the eyes of anyone eyeing our rights,” the nationalist politician said.