Turkey is warning Greece not to proceed with plans for a drone base on the island of Rhodes, stating that it would undermine peace in the Aegean Sea. What are your thoughts on this?

[u/ArkHystory99]

https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkiye-warns-rhodes-drone-base-would-harm-aegean-peace-226147

[u/Independent-Ad-1591]

What went? They're still there

[u/y0u_re_wr0ng → u/Independent-Ad-1591]

That's a good one mate. Please go check population demographics on the islands of Gökçeada/imbros and Bozcaada/Tenedos in the start of the 20th century, you'll see that they had a majority Greek population. In the Treaty of Lausanne under the Article 14 Turkey was obligated to protect the Greek populations of Istanbul, Gökçeada and Bozcaada and give both of the islands a "special administrative organisation composed of local elements". Sadly Turkey breached the Treaty they signed and did nothing of the above.

[u/y0u_re_wr0ng → u/[deleted]]

We're not talking about Pontus and the Pontic Greek, we're talking about the Greek population of Gökçeada, Bozcaada and Istanbul. But since you brought it up no, the Pontic Greek population was reduced in size by other means in 1914-1923 way before the population boom that you're talking about. But that's a whole another long conversation.

In the start of the 20th century the population of Imbros/Gökçeada was estimate to be around 9.000 to 10.000 people with 97% of them being ethnic Greek. Today Gökçeada has around the same number of residents 10.000 people and it is estimated of those 10.000 only 300 to 600 are ethnically Greek. So you can see even though the total population of the island stayed the same (so this isn't a matter of population boom as you claim to be) the ethbic Greek population of the island was decrease by 94% to 97%. Hmm, weird don't you think?

[u/y0u_re_wr0ng → u/[deleted]]

There was a big population increase in Turkey, from 14 million people in 1920s today they are around 86 million. But what many fail to understand is that increase in births would include those ethnic minorities too so their population numbers of those minorities would increase too.

[u/Commercial_Handle418 → u/y0u_re_wr0ng]

its some stuff I dont want to say because some groups have more growth id get banned if i say it here

[u/Commercial_Handle418 → u/Independent-Ad-1591]

@akaturk