Greece – Those who played the PKK card

Greece first tried to shelter PKK terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan in Athens. When it became apparent that Ocalan was "too hot" the Greeks tried to get rid of him by sending him and his small entourage to the Greek Embassy compound in Kenya.
Ocalan was caught as he left the embassy in Kenya by Turkish security forces and flown back to Turkey in a secret operation.

The issue created a political storm in Greece not because people felt their leaders did the wrong thing by harboring a terrorist but because they could not do all this in secrecy and in the end could not secure his safety and were responsible for his capture by the Turks.

Now there is a trial in progress in Athens that started very recently where the Greeks are openly spilling the beans and unfortunately their deep animosity against Turkey. The trial is supposed to be against 13 prominent Greeks accused of bringing Ocalan to Greece in 1999 and thus endangering national security. But it is clear the Greek establishment that helped the PKK and its leader is also on trial.

What is emerging from the trial is very clear. Ocalan was whisked away from Athens not because some people there felt they were doing something extremely wrong of providing shelter to a man who had the blood of more than 35,000 people on his hands but because they feared Turkey could have gone to war against Greece if Athens had granted asylum to Ocalan. Theodoros Pangolos who was the Greek foreign minister at the time told a court that he had to get rid of Ocalan to avoid such an "unpleasant" situation.

The more we hear what is being talked at this trial the more we shudder. Former generals, admirals, security officials and politicians have rallied to support the accused Greeks led by retired Admiral Andonis Naksakis who hid Ocalan at his home. Retired General Rihardos Kapellos told the court Admiral Naksakis and many senior military officials had deep sympathy for the Kurdish separatist terrorists of the PKK who they felt were like a second Greek army against Turkey.

Former defense minister Gerasimos Arsenis told the court that the Greek people displayed solidarity with the Kurdish terrorists who they felt would split from Turkey if they were successful. Others said the government and Greek Intelligence was fully aware of the help being given to Ocalan.

Can you see the depth of the enmity and the ill intentions directed against Turkey? Can this be accepted? Now is the time for Turkey to open the file on how Greece has given support to a major terrorist organization simply to destabilize its neighbor Turkey. Has Greece abandoned this policy of enmity towards Turkey or have they been playing around with us all this time and are now showing their true face with these allegations that our jets are violating their airspace?

Doesn’t the EU have something to say to all this? Would they let neighboring countries plot with ETA against Spain?