Incendiary Turk raises Greek fire
A statement by the principal of Istanbul University last week, in which he urged Turkish negotiators not to make concessions on Cyprus, continued to make waves on this side of the Aegean. Although there was no official reaction to Kemal Alemdaroglu’s incendiary speech, government sources commented that the Turkish academic was unable to comprehend the new reality of Turkey’s efforts to join Europe. Athens University dean Prof. Giorgos Babiniotis said, «I find these war-mongering declarations unacceptable, especially given the fact that a Turkish army occupies part of Cyprus.» Composer Mikis Theodorakis asked: «When the Turkish army occupies Greece and Cyprus, what kind of regime will it enforce? That of the Sultans, in which it will take the women and girls for the pashas’ harems and make the boys janissaries? Or that of Hitler, with terror, hunger, torture and executions in concentration camps?» Alemdaroglu, speaking on the Cyprus issue during the projection of a WWI film, said: «If necessary, albeit with 135,000 deaths, we can occupy Cyprus and Greece.»
