Following Turkey’s maritime deal with Libya over maritime borders, the balances have shifted in the Mediterranean.
Years of ongoing covert anti-Turkey cooperation between the region’s states have finally come to the surface.
They were forced to rethink the agreements that they had covertly struck with each other. Israel, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt's attempts to confine Turkey to Antalya’s open waters have largely failed. With this sword hanging over their heads, Greek Foreign Minister Nios Dendias quickly met with east Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, whom the UN doesn’t even recognize. Then he met with Sisi, who is also infamous himself. International relations aside, the irony that Greece, which is considered the birthland of democracy, is cooperating with two of the most notorious dictators in the region has not escaped anyone’s notice.
However, this approach is nothing new. Centuries after Greek Turks came under Ottoman rule, they continued to recite tales of victimization and enimity toward Anatolia long after founding Greece under the protection of Russia and the West. Now, they’re after the same designs in North Africa.
For centuries, Tripoli was one of the three Maghreb heartlands that lived in peace under the Ottomans in North Africa. Thanks to this hearth, Anatolia was able to unite with the people of Libya (Tripoli-Benghazi). Relations were established. Political and social life were based on these new ties of kinship. The fact that the locals and the newcomers became Muslims allowed them to easily mingle. Young Turkish sailors who were sent to the region from Western Anatolia established a new hybrid race by establishing kinship with the natives. We should not forget that; today this blood bond represents one of Turkey's biggest weapons.
Since the 18th century, the province of Tripoli, far from being Ottoman alone, not only represented a blood bond as it was in the hands of the Karahanlı family, but also functioned as the state's line of retreat. Indeed, here today is the most important strategic and military outpost for the Ottoman Empire as well as for Turkey. After the loss of Tripoli, the disasters that befell the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean and the Balkans once again demonstrated the importance of the region.
The strategic importance of Tripoli can actually be better understood upon recalling the events of 1897.
On February 14 of 1897, a Greek unit under the command of Colonel Timalen Vasos occupied the island of Crete, in the aftermath of which it was declared that the island was annexed by Greece. After protesting the situation, the Ottoman empire launched the Turk-Greek war with its eyes set on Crete.
Fearing that the tides of war had shifted against Greece, Europeans interfered under the pretext of mediation and stopped the war by applying pressure on Ottomans.
The Istanbul agreement, brokered with that goal in mind, while not providing a solution to this problem, it furthermore guaranteed autonomy for Crete and laid the foundation for the future crises that Turkey would face with regards to its Ottoman legacy.
Our ties to Tripoli and Benghazi and the escalating events of today long predate the present day. Under pressure, Crete Muslims were supressed, their wealth plundered, and their lives hang in the balance. For this reason, a tale of forced migration starts to unfold. The large part of this exodus heads towards Izmir and Aydın. Turk Muslims, who fear for their lives and honor seek refuge in Anatolia, while those with the opportunity to do so head to Tripoli.
Painful memories that to this day are still very much alive are not just mere anecdotes of migration and fleeing, they recall the strategic importance of Tripoli, and Libya as a whole. We have never been a party to aggression in this region ever, however, we’re at the point where we have to make a decision about what type of region, and Turkey, we’re leaving to future generations by taking the lessons of the past to heart.
Long story short, Libya is important. Just like it was yesterday, and today every decision Turkey makes regarding this issue will also impact its future just like it did then.
