Aegean Sea Dispute in Context: Delimitation of the Continental Shelf

by Vasilis Giavris - Lawyer & Political Scientist

It is generally accepted that the delimitation of the continental shelf boundary in the Aegean Sea first became an issue of contention between Greece and Turkey on November 1, 1973 when the Turkish government decided to unilaterally grant permits to the Turkish State Petroleum Company for the exploration and exploitation of the seabed of the Aegean Sea surrounding the Greek islands of Samothrace, Limnos, Agios Eustratios, Lesbos, Chios, Psara and Antipsara. Turkey followed this decision by publishing in the Turkish Government Gazette a map which effectively drew the line of delimitation between Greece and Turkey in the middle of the Aegean Sea and failed to account for the existence of the Greek islands. 

Turkey’s actions drew an immediate protest from the Greek Government which on 7 February 1974 addressed a Note Verbale to the government of Turkey in which it disputed the validity of Turkey’s actions and reserved Greece’s sovereign rights over the continental shelf of the above named islands (Greek Note Verbale No.6243-29/AS 103, 7 February 1974). Whilst both states initially agreed to enter into some form of negotiations to deal with the issue in dispute this agreement was quickly abandoned as a result of the illegal invasion of Cyprus by Turkey in 1974 and by the Turkish decision in 1976 to authorize further Turkish ships to undertake explorations in the disputed areas. 

Nature of dispute 

There is a divergence of opinion as to the exact limit of the dispute in question. Greece perceives the dispute to be limited to the continental shelf adjacent to the Greek islands of Samothrace, Limnos, Agios Eustratios, Lesbos, Chios, Psara, Antipsara, Samos, Ikaria, and the islands comprising the Dodecanese group. On the contrary, Turkey maintains the view that the dispute applies to the whole of the Aegean Sea and as such is not limited to particular islands.

Both states revert to legal arguments to support their respective claims. Greece correctly articulates the view that islands are entitled to their own continental shelf and in this regard points to Article 1(b) of the Convention on the Continental Shelf 1958 which states that the term “continental shelf” also applies to the seabed and subsoil of submarine areas adjacent to the coasts of islands. Greece further relies on Article 121(2) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS III) which states that “the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of an island are determined in accordance with the provisions of this Convention applicable to other land territory” and as such, according to Greece, reinforces the argument that islands do have their own economic zone and continental shelf. 

Finally, Greece quite rightly points to Article 6(1) of the Convention on the Continental Shelf 1958 which states that in circumstances where an agreement cannot be reached between states, and unless there are special circumstances that justify another determination, the boundary is to be determined by a median line, every point of which is equidistant from the nearest point of the baseline of each state (Greek Note Verbale No.6243-29/AS 103, 7 February 1974). According to Greece, this point can only be the median line between the Greek islands of the eastern Aegean and the Turkish coast..

Turkey, which is not a signatory of UNCLOS III, refuses to be bound by its provisions. It denies that Greek islands possess continental shelves of their own but rather ironically perceives them as “protuberances” of the Turkish continental shelf and a “prolongation of the Anatolian landmass”. Turkey further claims that “special” circumstances apply to the Aegean Sea. In particular, Turkey claims that failing to achieve agreement on the delimitation line then both states need to define their respective continental shelf areas by taking into consideration factors such as the “geomorphologic and geological structure of the shelf” and special circumstances including the “general configuration of the respective coasts, the existence of islands, islets or rocks of one State on the continental shelf of the other”. 

Greece does not accept the special circumstances claimed by Turkey. On the contrary, it claims that if special circumstances are deemed to exist they must favour Greece since the “Archipelagic unity” of the Greek islands should not be interrupted by the imposition of Turkey’s continental shelf.     

It is imperative that Greece continues to make it clear to all and sundry that resolution to long standing disputes can only be achieved by insisting on the implementation of United Nations Resolutions, International Conventions, European Acquis and International Law.

                                                                                 

Επιτακτική Ανάγκη για την Ελληνική Οικονομία η Διαρκή Ανανέωση της Γνώσης

by Vasilis Giavris (Lawyer & Political Scientist)

Είναι επιτακτική ανάγκη η Ελλάδα να κατανοήσει ότι η ανάπτυξη πρέπει να στηρίζεται στην διαρκή ανανέωση της γνώσης και την δημιουργική αποσχόληση. Η θα κατορθώσουμε να μετατοπίσουμε τα σύνορα της γνώσης και θα αποκτήσουμε την οικονομική δυναμική που συνεπάγεται με την παραγωγή, διαχείριση και εκμετάλλευση της γνώσης ή θα πρέπει να κινηθούμε το γρηγορότερο και να εκμεταλλευτούμε τα σύνορα της γνώσης που δημιουργούνται από άλλους. Τα να παραμένουμε θεατές και ουραγοί δεν επιτρέπεται. Για αυτό χρειαζόμαστε πολιτικές που θα υποστηρίζουν το παραγωγικό σύστημα της χώρας και την έξυπνη οικονομία. Ας επιμείνουμε σε αυτό..

The Insatiable Greed for Money..

by Vasilis Giavris (Lawyer & Political Scientist)

An eight story building collapsed in Bangladesh recently. The building contained a bank, shops and offices. It was also the venue of a sweatshop factory part of the multi billion dollar a year garment industry. The building was in a dilapidated condition. According to government officials it had been constructed on unstable land and lacked appropriate permits.

The day before the collapse severe cracks appeared and all the occupants of the building refused to return to work. All but the sweatshop workers. Whilst the bank and office employees were allowed to leave the sweatshop workers were ordered by their boss to immediately return to work. If they refused they risked loosing their jobs and have their pay docked. In desperation they obliged. A few hours later the building collapsed resulting in the death of 1,127 people and 2,438 injured.

It has been reported that the victims were predominantly female sweatshop employees between the age of 13 and 30. However, no one really knows how many people were located in the building at the time of the collapse. No one really knows the true number of people that died. It has been reported that close to 200 dead bodies remained unclaimed and buried in a civic cemetery. Unknown and unclaimed – it seems they were children of a lesser god.

Bangladesh is said to be the world's second biggest supplier of clothes. More than 80% are exported to Europe or the US. The garment industry is said to employ 3.6 million workers.

Most of these workers are abused and mistreated. They work in appalling conditions earning on average 38 Euros a month and are forced to work 14 to 16 hours per day. 

So who is turning a blind eye and profiting from these victims? 

1. The Western clothing industry who pay extremely low wages, ignore working conditions and gain a huge profit for themselves and their shareholders; 
2. The people in Australia, Europe and the US who enjoy cheap clothes and reap the product of the Bangladeshi workers labor;
3. The Bangladeshi sweatshop owners who cut costs and ignore health risks in order to offer cheap products and maximize profits for themselves;

Companies like ZARA, Gap, Benetton, Walmart, H&M, K-Mart and Target have a substantial amount of their clothes manufactured in Bangladesh. Are these companies not aware of the labor conditions in Bangladesh? Do they not care? Do we care?

It is necessary for us to consider the enactment of strict legislation in Australia, US and Europe that will prohibit Australian, US and European companies manufacturing and importing products that are made in breach of Article 23 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 7 the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. After all these countries are signatories to these declarations and covenants and should uphold them.

Human dignity is a common entitlement applicable to all humans, irrespective of social status, gender, religion or country of origin. Breach of human rights cannot be tolerated in exchange of material wealth and profit. The lives, health and working conditions of humans cannot be subservient to balance sheets, production costs and economic “growth”. 

It is a shame that despite Senegal’s “Door of no Return” having shut its gates over a century ago many in the Western world still rely on slave labor to enjoy “comfort” and realize “profit”.

“Post Truth” Politics: The Need For New Political Leadership in Greece

by Vasilis Giavris (Lawyer & Political Scientist)

The end of “metapolitfsi” marks a turning point from one epoch to the next. With it, the landscape of power in Greece has changed. Increasingly, voices stemming from the far right & left, in conjunction with those from the various political charlatans who claim “parthenogenesis”, are dominating the political agenda gaining a ‘legitimacy’ previously denied to them.

Offering an over-simplistic analysis full of vitriol, prejudice and fear mongering their polemical rhetoric promotes a policy of distraction and a misplaced rage that marginalizes rational discourse. Such voices serve as a smokescreen designed to achieve their sole objective – polarize the Hellenic people and maintain or obtain political power.  What they express is a brutalism motivated by misanthropy, obsession and compulsion.

Welcome to the “post truth” era. Language is used to deceive, entrap and polarize. When a large amount of people peddle fantasy as fact our society loses it’s grounding to reality. But the burden of today should not be used as an excuse to trample democratic principles, human rights and the rule of law. Tyranny can take many forms. We must not replace one form for another.

Today the “language of truths” remains to be spoken. This is the language that we must seek. As Hellenes we must protect, respect and honor our cultural and historical past. However, it is imperative that we do not become or remain victims of such past.

The word “παράδοση” inherently involves an acceptance, respect and understanding of previous knowledge, customs and heritage developed and adopted by our forefathers. However it does not end there. It is not enough to understand and respect our past. We must build on it for the future. Hellenism is a living organism. We need to “δόση” which entails to hand over. What we need to hand over is an amalgamation of the sum of our past, our struggles of today and our vision of the future.

So where are the voices of truth? Where can we turn? Why aren’t ordinary concerned citizens forming new political parties in Greece? Reform will not be brought by the existing parties who hold seats in parliament. They are part of the dysfunctional system. Reform can only be achieved bottom up – from each and every one of us.

Now is the time for new hope and possibility. The Hellenic people need to replace the politics of fear with post-partisan reform. We must incorporate a new sense of direction where human needs are placed at the forefront of government policy. Where a balance between individualism and collectivism is sought and achieved and individual rights co-exist with communal expectations.

Now is the time to learn from Isocrates and understand that a democracy destroys itself when its citizens abuse their right to freedom and equality, when its citizens are encouraged to consider insolence as a right, illegality as freedom, offensive speech as equality and anarchy as bliss.

Now is the time for a new political leadership that will stand up for all Hellenes and offer a rational vision of rebuilding Greece. A broad based alliance that will oppose the new grammar of power that seeks to distinguish between creditor and debtor states. That will oppose neo-colonialism in the form of German Euro-nationalism.

Greece needs to come of age, to show independence of mind and spirit, to forge its own destiny. We cannot continue to be a “quasi democracy” where decisions about Greek citizens are made by foreign governments. The German “Bundestag” must no longer decide the fate of Greece. The fate of Greece must rest with the Hellenic people for it is the Hellenic people that are the custodians of sovereign power.

We must not loose faith. On the contrary, let’s get active!

Vasilios Giavris

President
Hellenic Democratic Initiative

Ο Ρατσισμός Δεν Αποτελεί Λύση στην Κρίση

by Vasilis Giavris (Lawyer & Political Scientist) 

Το αυξημένα φαινόμενα ρατσισμού και η ανάδειξη της Χρυσής Αυγής ως πολιτικού παράγοντα εγκυμονεί περαιτέρω σοβαρούς κινδύνους για την Ελλάδα και την Ελληνική κοινωνία. 

Η ύπαρξη πολιτικών που στάθηκαν ανίκανοι να προασπίσουν τα συμφέροντα των πολιτών και οδήγησαν με τις πράξεις και παραλείψεις τους την χώρα και τους πολίτες της στην απαξίωση και στην ανεπάρκεια δεν δικαιολογεί σε καμιά περίπτωση τον ρατσισμό και την βία. 

Το παιχνίδι καλλιέργειας και εκμετάλλευσης του φόβου και της δυστυχίας των Ελλήνων πολιτών πρέπει να τελειώσει. Η βία και ο ρατσισμός δεν προσφέρουν λύση στην σημερινή κρίση. Τουναντίον, επιβάλουν πνευματική ανελευθερία και προσβάλλουν την ίδια μας την ανθρώπινη υπόσταση. Το υπαρκτό πολιτικό σύστημα διακυβέρνησης είναι παρακμασμένο, έχει χρεοκοπήσει και χρειάζεται θεμελιακή ανασυγκρότηση. Όμως η ανασυγκρότηση δεν θα προέρθει από τους υμνητές δικτατορικών καθεστώτων. Δεν είναι δυνατόν αυτοί που αποκαλούν «Μεγάλο Αρχηγό» τον Χίτλερ, που διατυμπανίζουν ότι «μένουν πιστή στα λόγια του Χίτλερ» και επιμένουν για ανωτερότητα της «Άριας φυλής» να είναι οι ίδιοι που θα υπερασπιστούν τα δικαιώματα του δοκιμαζόμενου Ελληνικού λαού. 

Η ανασυγκρότηση της Ελλάδος θα προέρθει μέσα από την αναζήτηση και εφαρμογή ιδεών που θα οδηγήσουν την Ελλάδα σε κοινωνική και επιχειρηματική άνθηση. Η ανασυγκρότηση της Ελλάδας προϋποθέτει κοινωνική συνοχή και την ύπαρξη μιας νέας δημοκρατικής αντίληψης που θα στοχεύει πρώτα στον άνθρωπο και τις ανάγκες του κοινωνικού συνόλου. 

Μίας αντίληψης που θα συμβαδίζει με τις διαχρονικές ανθρώπινες και Ελληνικές αξίες και θα έχει ως στόχο το κράτος δικαίου, την ευημερία του πολίτη, την κοινωνική δικαιοσύνη και το σεβασμό στα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα και τις βασικές ελευθερίες όλων τον ανθρώπων. 

Ο ρατσισμός εγκυμονεί απρόβλεπτους κινδύνους. Ας μην αναβιώνουμε φαντάσματα του παρελθόντος. 

The Need For a Diaspora Movement for Change in Greece

A broad grassroots Diaspora movement for change is now more then ever essential. Diaspora Greeks must help produce a new vision of Greece, a vision that subscribes upon the average Greek citizen value and meaning. Diaspora Greeks need to accept this historic mission and help instill renewed confidence in the abilities of the Greek people. 

Greek citizens are not helpless, weak, flawed and incompetent. The causes of the Greek crisis are intertwined and none can bee seen in isolation. Away from party politics, racist conspiracy theories and dogmatic beliefs but rather through reflection and honesty we must seek to understand the common denominators which underlie and dictate the forces behind the current Greek crisis and actively seek to defeat these. As Diaspora Greeks we need to step back, objectify and reach a detached and individuated intellectual vantage point, where reason can be given free reign. 

Reason, compassion, patriotism and social justice must be advocated as the primary sources and basis of authority. Progress, freedom, true democracy and the adoption of the rule of law in Greece must be our aim. These are the principles that need to guide us. These are the ideas that need to inspire us. 

Now is the time for the millions of Hellenes that comprise the Hellenic Diaspora to become signatories to a new declaration of Hellenic Independence. Indepedence from the existing slumber, racial hatred, corruption, nepotism, prejudice and dogmatic beliefs that have condemned and continue to condemn Greece and its citizens. 

The transformation of Greece requires active and dynamic Hellenic citizens of the world, free from introspection, dogmatism, partisanship and corruption. 

We ask each and every one of you to stand up and contribute to our mission.

Vasilis Giavris

President 

Hellenic Democratic Initiative

for Hellenism, Transparency and Social Justice

The Truth is Victim in Greece

by Vasilis Giavris - Lawyer & Political Scientist

The use of sensationalist comments and extremist rhetoric, seem to be a deliberate strategy adopted by political parties in Greece (both to the left and the right of the political spectrum) to induce fear, galvanize public sympathy and maximize electoral results.

Unfortunately, despite the rhetoric and claims to “just causes”, the “truth” and “patriotism”, all political parties share a common victim: Greek people and the truth. 

It will be unfortunate and a grave mistake if the failings experienced in the Greek political system set the stage for the permanent absence of justice, democratic principles and human rights.

Whilst many Greek people today are desperate, vulnerable and poor they cannot afford to be naïve. The aim should not be to replace the current political landscape with a totalitarian regime that serves to further compromise the future of the Greek people. 

The aim should be to establish a political system that embraces transparency, the rule of law, human rights, patriotism and social justice as the cornerstone of the Greek State.