TurkAegean, the Turkish government’s tourism marketing campaign, has sparked outrage in Greece, which has accused its NATO partner of cultural stealing. The term ‘TurkAegean,’ as employed by Türkiye, is at the heart of this commercial effort. It is connected to Athens’ and Ankara’s jurisdictional authority over a series of islands in the Aegean Sea, which has been a source of contention between the two countries.
During the summer season, the area receives a large influx of tourists from all around Europe. The pristine beaches and clear seas of the Aegean have long drawn tourists. Turkey, whose western beaches straddle the Aegean, wants the region to be linked with more than just Greece. It even applied to the EU’s intellectual property office to trademark the word TurkAegean in December.
After receiving permission from the intellectual property office, the application was made public, resulting in a reaction from senior Greek lawmakers. ‘Some people… just did not execute their jobs well,’ claimed Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. According to Greek media sources, Greece’s European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas addressed a sharply worded letter to Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, asking for a reconsideration of the decision.
Even while it fought Greece over maritime boundaries and continental shelf, Turkey has always considered the Aegean area to be part of its territory. According to Politico, in an interview in November, Turkish Deputy Tourism Minister Nadir Alpaslan stated that Greece ‘had helped the world consider the Aegean as its own territory. We will do this even more strongly next year and show that the Aegean is not a region of Greece, but also a region of Turkey, a tourism brand’.
However, the dispute over Aegean Sea rights is tied to security concerns. According to The Guardian, Ankara has accused Athens of purposely militarising islands near the Turkish shore in violation of international treaties. Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlüt avu?olu, warned last month that if soldiers were not evacuated, Turkey would contest the status of Greece’s eastern isles, raising fresh fears among EU diplomats stationed in Athens.
Athens claims the right to defend itself on its own soil, citing frequent air intrusions by Turkish fighter planes and Ankara’s historic threat of war if territorial seas are extended. Erdogan has regularly cited the Greek-Turkish war of 1919-22, which resulted in military defeat for Athens, arguing that 100 years later, Greece should not be bracing for a confrontation that it will ‘regret’. Greek legislators said Ankara’s TurkAegean campaign should be viewed in the context of the Turkish president’s plan in the run-up to the 2023 elections.
Post Your Comments