Covid-19 'out of control' but Erdogan wants to create a 'Greater Turkey'

In a fresh travel advisory issued Wednesday, the United States has urged its citizens to reconsider travel to Turkey due to Covid-19 and "exercise increased caution when traveling to Turkey due to terrorism and arbitrary detentions".

As per the US Department of State, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 3 Travel Health Notice for Turkey due to Covid-19. The south-eastern provinces of the country, Sırnak and Hakkari, as well as any area within six miles (10 km) of the Syrian border, fall under level 4 (do not travel category), the US State Department said.

"Security forces have detained tens of thousands of individuals, including US citizens, for alleged affiliations with terrorist organizations based on scant or secret evidence and grounds that appear to be politically motivated. US citizens have also been subject to travel bans that prevent them from departing Turkey. Participation in demonstrations not explicitly approved by the Government of Turkey, as well as criticism of the government (including on social media) can result in arrest," the advisory mentioned further.

While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is busy focusing on playing expansionist games against Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean, the country is fast losing the battle against Covid-19.

"The Covid-19 pandemic is out of control in Turkey, given the number of patients that complete treatment daily compared to those who are diagnosed," Mehmet Ceyhan, a professor of infectious diseases at the Hacettepe University, told Haberturk channel Wednesday.

Turkish health minister Fahrettin Koca had revealed that around 6200 people have died of coronavirus in the country till Wednesday.

<img class="wp-image-10906 size-large" src="https://indianarrative.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/b85eb6220842d01b110a1ced675405eb-1024×718.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="718" /> Police officers and municipal workers inspect a shopping mall in Istanbul, Turkey, on August 19. The substantial increase in the number of daily new Covid-19 cases in Turkey for the last couple of weeks has prompted authorities to consider adopting new measures and restrictions to curb the further spread of the pandemic (Osman Orsal/Xinhua/IANS)

As the situation continues to turn grim on land, things aren't any different in the waters surrounding Turkey.

Warnings of 'catastrophic' disaster have gone unheard as Turkey today issued a new navigational telex (Navtex) saying that it will carry out live-fire gunnery exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean, next week.

Navtex is an automated system used to transmit navigational alerts, weather warnings and urgent safety and rescue information.

Turkey had announced a few days ago that its research and survey vessel Oruç Reis, which is being escorted by Turkish warships, will continue to survey for oil and gas in a disputed area of the eastern Mediterranean.

<img class="wp-image-10904 size-full" src="https://indianarrative.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/turkey.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="498" /> Navtex issued by Turkish Naval Forces Office for Navigation, Hydrography and Oceanography

After the United States condemned the Turkish president Tuesday for meeting senior figures from Palestinian militant group Hamas – a group designated as a terrorist organization in the US, Europe and several other countries – President Donald Trump dialled both Nato allies urging them "to commit to a dialogue".

However, be it the US or the EU leaders, everyone seems to have failed in convincing Turkey to back off and deescalate the situation.

A dialogue between the High Representative of the EU on Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell and German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer at the sidelines of a meeting between the European Union Ministers of Defence in Berlin has gone viral in the last 24 hours.

The off-record conversation went as follows:

-Borrell: How was it?
-Karrenbauer: Difficult. A little smoother with the Greek side, but very difficult with the Turkish side.
-Borrell: The Turks are very upset with the Greece-Egypt agreement.
-Karrenbauer: Yes, yes.
-Borrell: They believe that the Greeks are not reliable.
-Karrenbauer: I believe that there will be a telephone conversation between Angela Merkel and Erdogan on Friday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">ICYMI: Open mic exchange between EU High Rep Borrell and German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. Cleaned up audio and subtitled. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Greece?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Greece</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Turkey?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Turkey</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HotMic?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HotMic</a> <a href="https://t.co/fG5U0229Bg">pic.twitter.com/fG5U0229Bg</a></p>
— Derek Gatopoulos (@dgatopoulos) <a href="https://twitter.com/dgatopoulos/status/1298952215311331329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Dealing with Turkey is indeed turning out to be "very difficult" for the world leaders.

Erdogan is uncontrollable and so are his ideologues like Metin Kulunk, a Member of Parliament from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Yesterday, he tweeted about creating a Greater Turkey, including Greece.

"Turkey has entered the 21st century with big moves with the spirit of 1071, it is progressing by taking big steps. Today, the reason why the western world comes to us again is the reawakening of a nation that was put to sleep after 1938 on July 15 and opening up to Syria, the Mediterranean and Africa with its spirit of 1071," tweeted Kulunk.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="tr">8. Türkiye 1071 ruhu ile girdiği 21.Yüzyıla büyük hamleler, büyük adımlar atarak ilerlemektedir. Bugün, batı dünyasının yeniden üzerimize gelme nedeni, 1938 sonrası uyutulan bir milletin 15 Temmuz'da yeniden uyanması ve 1071 ruhu ile Suriye'ye, Akdeniz'e, Afrika'ya açılmasıdır. <a href="https://t.co/SPZrhbkaPS">pic.twitter.com/SPZrhbkaPS</a></p>
— Metin KÜLÜNK (@mkulunk) <a href="https://twitter.com/mkulunk/status/1298538847475847169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
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His another tweet, which was accompanied with a map of Greater Turkey including northern Greece and eastern Aegean islands, said: "The grandchildren of those who think that they will take us out of Anatolia are trying to get us out of the Mediterranean today. You have no doubt that they will get defeat in the Mediterranean. The spirit of the Manzikert Victory is alive. Turkey's government and the need to fulfill the spirit of the nation in every field."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="tr">9. Bizi Anadolu'dan çıkaracaklarını zannedenlerin torunları bugün bizi Akdeniz'den çıkarmaya çalışıyorlar. Bir yenilgi de Akdeniz de alacaklarına hiç şüpheniz olmasın. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MalazgirtZaferi?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MalazgirtZaferi</a> ruhu diridir. Türkiye devleti ve milleti ile bu ruhun gereğini her alanda yerine getirmektedir. <a href="https://t.co/zzyPSeuD3B">pic.twitter.com/zzyPSeuD3B</a></p>
— Metin KÜLÜNK (@mkulunk) <a href="https://twitter.com/mkulunk/status/1298539087499087873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Perhaps, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will have a lot of talking to do with Erdogan Friday. Most of it has proven to be futile, so far. As Panos Kammenos, a former Greek defense minister, famously said about the Turkish president in 2018, "You cannot answer to a madman"..