(Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded and won his parliament's approval on Saturday to invade Ukraine, where the new government warned of war, put its troops on high alert and appealed to NATO for help.

Putin's open assertion of the right to send troops to a country of 46 million people on the ramparts of central Europe creates the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cold War.

Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, leading a government that took power after Moscow's ally Viktor Yanukovich fled a week ago, said Russian military action "would be the beginning of war and the end of any relations between Ukraine and Russia".

Acting President Oleksander Turchinov ordered troops to be placed on high combat alert. Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya said he had met European and U.S. officials and sent a request to NATO to "examine all possibilities to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine".

Putin's move was a direct rebuff to Western leaders who had repeatedly urged Russia not to intervene, including U.S. President Barack Obama, who just a day before had held a televised address to warn Moscow of "costs" if it acted.

Troops with no insignia on their uniforms but clearly Russian - some in vehicles with Russian number plates - have already seized Crimea, an isolated peninsula in the Black Sea where Moscow has a large military presence in the headquarters of its Black Sea Fleet. Kiev's new authorities have been powerless to stop them.

The Russian forces solidified their control of Crimea and unrest spread to other parts of Ukraine on Saturday. Pro-Russian demonstrators clashed, sometimes violently, with supporters of Ukraine's new authorities and raised the Russian flag over government buildings in several cities.

"This is probably the most dangerous situation in Europe since the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968," said a Western official on condition of anonymity. "Realistically, we have to assume the Crimea is in Russian hands. The challenge now is to deter Russia from taking over the Russian-speaking east of Ukraine."

Putin asked parliament to approve force "in connection with the extraordinary situation in Ukraine, the threat to the lives of citizens of the Russian Federation, our compatriots" and to protect the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea.

The upper house swiftly delivered a unanimous "yes" vote, shown live on television.

Western capitals scrambled for a response, but it was limited to words. A U.S. official said Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel had spoken to his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu. The official said there had been no change in U.S. military posture.

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton urged Moscow not to send troops. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said this would be "clearly against international law". Czech President Milos Zeman likened the crisis to the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia.

"Urgent need for de-escalation in Crimea," tweeted NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. "NATO allies continue to coordinate closely."

Putin said his request for authorisation to use force in Ukraine would last "until the normalisation of the socio-political situation in that country". His justification - the need to protect Russian citizens - was the same as he used to launch a 2008 invasion of Georgia, where Russian forces seized two breakaway regions and recognised them as independent.

FLAGS TORN DOWN

So far there has been no sign of Russian military action in Ukraine outside Crimea, the only part of the country with a Russian ethnic majority, which has often voiced separatist aims.

A potentially bigger risk would be conflict spreading to the rest of Ukraine, where the sides could not be easily kept apart.

As tension built on Saturday, demonstrations occasionally turned violent in eastern cities, where most people, though ethnically Ukrainian, are Russian speakers and many support Moscow and Yanukovich.

Demonstrators flew Russian flags on government buildings in the cities of Kharkiv, Donetsk, Odessa and Dnipropetrovsk.

In Kharkiv, scores of people were wounded in clashes when thousands of pro-Russian activists stormed the regional government headquarters, and fought pitched battles with a smaller number of supporters of Ukraine's new authorities.

Pro-Russian demonstrators wielded axe handles and chains against those defending the building with plastic shields.

In Donetsk, Yanukovich's home region, lawmakers declared they were seeking a referendum on the region's status.

"We do not recognise the authorities in Kiev, they are not legitimate," protest leader Pavel Guberev thundered from a podium in Donetsk.

Thousands of followers, holding a giant Russian flag and chanting "Russia, Russia" marched to the government headquarters and replaced the Ukrainian flag with Russia's.

Coal miner Gennady Pavlov said he backed Putin's declaration of the right to intervene. "It is time to put an end to this lawlessness. Russians are our brothers. I support the forces."

"WAR HAS ARRIVED"

On Kiev's central Independence Square, where protesters camped out for months against Yanukovich, a World War Two film about Crimea was being shown on a giant screen, when Yuri Lutsenko, a former interior minister, interrupted it to announce Putin's decree. "War has arrived," Lutsenko said.

Hundreds of Ukrainians descended on the square chanting "Glory to the heroes. Death to the occupiers."

Although there was little doubt that the troops without insignia that have already seized Crimea are Russian, the Kremlin has not yet openly confirmed it. It described Saturday's authorisation as a threat for future action rather than confirmation that its soldiers are already involved.

A Kremlin spokesman said Putin had not yet decided to use force, and still hoped to avoid further escalation.

In Crimea itself, the arrival of troops was cheered by the Russian majority. In the coastal town of Balaclava, where Russian-speaking troops in armoured vehicles with black Russian number plates had encircled a small garrison of Ukrainian border guards, families posed for pictures with the soldiers. A wedding party honked its car horns.

"I want to live with Russia. I want to join Russia," said Alla Batura, a petite 71-year-old pensioner who has lived in Sevastopol for 50 years. "They are good lads...They are protecting us, so we feel safe."

But not everyone was reassured. Inna, 21, a clerk in a nearby shop who came out to stare at the APCs, said: "I am in shock. I don't understand what the hell this is... People say they came here to protect us. Who knows? ... All of our (Ukrainian) military are probably out at sea by now."

The rapid pace of events has rattled the new leaders of Ukraine, who took power in a nation on the verge of bankruptcy when Yanukovich fled Kiev last week after his police killed scores of anti-Russian protesters in Kiev. Ukraine's crisis began in November when Yanukovich, at Moscow's behest, abandoned a free trade pact with the EU for closer ties with Russia.

For many in Ukraine, the prospect of a military conflict chilled the blood.

"When a Slav fights another Slav, the result is devastating," said Natalia Kuharchuk, a Kiev accountant.

"God save us."

Ukrainian Pravda report that Ukrainian football clubs could be banned from international competitions after the Ukrainian Football Union was taken over by a militia, believed to be connected to Dynamo Kiev.

Political organisations are banned from interfering with the affairs of football according to Fifa and Uefa regulations.

Ukraine’s Navy flagship, the Hetman Sahaidachny frigate, has reportedly refused to follow orders from Kiev, and come over to Russia’s side and is returning home after taking part in NATO operation in the Gulf of Aden flying the Russian naval flag.

There has been conflicting information on where exactly the vessel is, but a Russian senator has confirmed to Izvestia daily that the frigate defected to the Russian side.

“Ukraine’s Navy flagship the Hetman Sahaidachny has come over to our side today. It has hung out the St Andrew’s flag,” Senator Igor Morozov, a member of the committee on the international affairs, told Izvestia daily.

Wow;



-PB

Hardly a full scale invasion, yet. What a lot of people don't realise is that roughly half of Ukraine, the western half, is populated by Russian speakers who may see themselves just as much Russian as they do Ukrainian.

That doesn't give a them a right to invade another sovereign nation does it. The western half of Ukraine belongs to as much to Ukraine as does the eastern half , and none of it belongs to Russia.

One of the most depressing places in the whole world, Ukraine

Its population is actually shrinking and its also the country where Chernobyl is

Stay away from such a place

That doesn't give a them a right to invade another sovereign nation does it. The western half of Ukraine belongs to as much to Ukraine as does the eastern half , and none of it belongs to Russia.

It's a beautiful country

Where's the "no blood for oil" rentacrowd?

Re welcoming civilians - nazi troops were welcomed with flowers in Sudetenland. And Austria.

This is disgusting and criminal from the Russians. Had it been the US invading Grenada or whoever half this forum would have an apoplectic fit.

were you ok with the US, Qatar and Saudi Arabia funding insurgents to overthrow Assad in Syria?
were you ok with them doing the same thing in Libya, and earlier invading Iraq and Afghanistan?

if not then fine, you're not a hypocrite in any way

Equating action against a desiccated quasi-fascist regime, a regime run by a deranged geriatric calling for 'rivers of blood', and a regime of 6th century peasant warlords, with an intrusion against an, albeit imperfect, democratic country.

](*,) ](*,) ](*,)

please tell us more, you seem abundantly informed on this topic

Invading non-democratic regimes - =d>
Invading a democratic country because they removed the president you support (legally according to parliamentary protocol) - :x

Can you tell the difference between the two?

so its ok to invade any country where its head of state was not democratically elected is your position?

There are, of course, other considerations, but in the main, yes. I consider all non-democratic regimes illegitimate. Do you not?

so the Chinese regime is illegitimate? when do you think we should invade?

When Russia invaded Georgia a few years ago, it caused Ned Zelic to retire. These terrible dressers must be stopped before they commit another atrocity akin to Ned's retirement.

I still don't understand how anyone can view this correctly, how the fuck are you allowed to breach borders in the name of defending "Russian citizens"?

If they don't like it, fuck them off back to Russia ffs.

-PB

They were the same country for decades as the USSR, there was no need to tell the difference between Russian and Ukrainian citizens then obviously. Go further back towards that to the Russian Empire and the medieval states of the Kievan Rus, etc and they were still intertwined to say the least. Now, very many people in the western half of Russia are not just ethnically Russian and Russian language speakers but also Russian passport holders, like the Prime Minister of Crimea who called for Russian military support.

I'm not advocating one "side" over the other, but simply saying that it's a much more rich tapestry than Country A invading Country B, and certainly much more to it than a case of telling people to "fuck off back to their own country". They're already in their own country. Fuckers on both sides have to learn to get along.

Its Not high on my list of destinations I'd like to visit, bro

I actually did a pisstake at the bookshop this afternoon showing the lonely planet cover of Ukraine, "The Happiest Place on Earth" :lol:

Although it did bring us the magic of Andrei Shevchenko

Really? How so? :-k

Been doing a bit of research on this, as I'm seeing many Russians on the E net saying Ukrainians(along with Belarus) have historically been called Russians and part of Russia. Seems similar to Serbia/Montenegro Austria/Germany.

They were the same country for decades as the USSR, there was no need to tell the difference between Russian and Ukrainian citizens then obviously. Go further back towards that to the Russian Empire and the medieval states of the Kievan Rus, etc and they were still intertwined to say the least. Now, very many people in the western half of Russia are not just ethnically Russian and Russian language speakers but also Russian passport holders, like the Prime Minister of Crimea who called for Russian military support.

I'm not advocating one "side" over the other, but simply saying that it's a much more rich tapestry than Country A invading Country B, and certainly much more to it than a case of telling people to "fuck off back to their own country". They're already in their own country. Fuckers on both sides have to learn to get along.

I understand that, I was referring to the aspect of one country invading another with regards to current international borders and sovereignty in the name of "defense of ethnic Russians".

Defense from what?

I don't see Ukrainians going out and mob bashing the Russians (or are they now?).

All I see, is the previous President they just ousted was pro-Russian and they're worried the new one won't be and that they'd lose their grip on things like the Black Sea base etc.

That was the reason for my comments mainly, not so much about the citizens, but Russians bullshit excuse.

-PB

Yes, the communist regime is illegitimate. On the question of invasion, read my other post - "other considerations"

so the Australian government and many if not most Australian large companies are doing business with an illegitimate regime. no doubt some of your favourite brands are among them.

russia, belarus and ukraine all trace their ancestry to kievan rus, they're kinfolk, if there's any trouble you can be sure it's instigated and funded by outside parties

I understand that, I was referring to the aspect of one country invading another with regards to current international borders and sovereignty in the name of "defense of ethnic Russians".

Defense from what?

I don't see Ukrainians going out and mob bashing the Russians (or are they now?).

All I see, is the previous President they just ousted was pro-Russian and they're worried the new one won't be and that they'd lose their grip on things like the Black Sea base etc.

That was the reason for my comments mainly, not so much about the citizens, but Russians bullshit excuse.

-PB

so the Australian government and many if not most Australian large companies are doing business with an illegitimate regime. no doubt some of your favourite brands are among them.

what are these "other considerations" you vaguely speak of?

Undoubtedly. I can only speak for myself, but have had an active policy of boycotting Syrian products (especially jams) for some time now.

Other considerations - 'legality' - whether such an action is legal according to international law, irrespective of its morality, 'capability' - whether a successful invasion and transition to democratic governance is possible (in terms of troops, numbers, money etc), 'consequences' - simple enough (e.g. the DPRK is by far, the most sinister regime on Earth and yet a war with them would be prohibitively expensive. They have nuclear weapons, a deluded and starving population, and can obliterate Seoul in one night.

Certain things are helpful in making a decision. A democratic movement in the said country, access and support of democratic nations, etc.

you're boycotting Syrian jam? R U Syria's?
why wont you boycott Chinese products then?

No I am not Syrian. But I happen to enjoy Middle-Eastern jam. As for boycotting Chinese products, well, that is impossible. The Reds have taken over.

At least I can make a basic moral distinction between democracies and non-democracies. I stake out a position for myself instead of indulging in juvenile ten cent whataboutism.

Yes, I am very Syria's.

so arming and funding islamic militants to conduct violence including mass rapes and killings of local Christians in Syria, Libya and Egypt is ok with your morals in the name of democracy?

Fuck off you clown. If at any point I expressed support for jihadist scum, I apologise, it certainly wasn't my intention. The Jihadists are there in Syria precisely because the Syrian opposition found no ready support from the West.

who would you suggest?

Im going to give you some information which you probably never considered and has been effectively hidden from the populace in general, so prepare your mind. All governments and major international organisations such as banks and religions have been infiltrated by an invisible world government of shape shifting reptilians whose ultimate goal is a one world government destroying all national sovreignty. Do some more research and once you're aware of the Agenda and the methods used to implement it it's much easier to make sense of global events. You're welcome.

Im going to give you some information which you probably never considered and has been effectively hidden from the populace in general, so prepare your mind. All governments and major international organisations such as banks and religions have been infiltrated by an invisible world government of shape shifting reptilians whose ultimate goal is a one world government destroying all national sovreignty. Do some more research and once you're aware of the Agenda and the methods used to implement it it's much easier to make sense of global events. You're welcome.

so let me get this straight,
the jihadists just appeared out of nowhere to support the Syrian opposition to Assad because the west wouldnt intervene with ground troops?

furthermore, you've ignored my point on Libya specifically. you do realise the rebels were armed, trained and funded by western interests and since Gaddafi was overthrown (violently raped and hacked to death without trial) the previously secular country is now under Sharia law?

how does that reconcile with your democratic morals?

Beautiful to see the holy Christian flag of Saint Andrew flying over the fleet!

Shame on the West for supporting the militant/terrorists that shot their way into office ignoring the legitimate elections that recently took place. Research this further as this is what your Western media doesn't want you to know - they want your attention to be on cold war fears that no longer exist!

God bless the Holy Christian Russians in their efforts to restore peace and order to this nation currently being destroyed by the new world order dogs of the west.

You clearly know nothing and have read even less on the issue. The vast majority of the Syrian opposition in its initial stages were defectors from the Baath army, local self-defence militias, and the feeble remnants of the Muslim brotherhood which was annihilated in the 80's. The vast majority of which were committed to a civil state, and loosely secular in nature. The opposition's diaspora leadership is almost exclusively secular. Now, given that they got no tangible support from the West for 2 or so years, the only mechanism by which they could attain access to weapons was through certain Arab nations which have no scruples about supporting (and even insist on) Islamism.

Given such a reality, why are we surprised that the Islamists have the ascendancy? The moderates have no response to the taunt;

"Where is the West now? Your people are being killed, and they don't care. The West hate Muslims. Only we look after the interests of the Muslims. etc etc."

Logic 101.

As to Libya, I'm tempted to say that you've discredited yourself by referring to Gaddafi's Libya as 'secular'; a ridiculous claim if only one had the eyes to see Gaddafi's support for Jihadists, and international gangsterism. Gaddafi's Libya was a gangster mafia state; wholly owned by the Gaddafi family. I make no apologies for applauding the scumbags removal.

As to the nature of the Libyan opposition, well, that is another issue altogether. In the next struggle, I support Libyan democrats against Libyan theocrats, and make no apologies for doing so.

question, did the western interests tied directly to the United States provide support to the Syrian opposition in the forms of arms shipments or not?

The US provided very little support to the Syrian opposition until recently.

Am i right in saying the eastern part of the country has less Ethnic Ukrainians due to the Ukrainian famine and later Russian immigration?

No I think the ethnic balance was roughly the same before Hodomor, and even before the formation of the USSR.

Yeah. Biggest demographic change has been the expulsion of the Tatar.

In the 1930s under Stalin I believe, but will stand corrected. Russians have definitely put down roots in the place but the area's ethnic mix isn't up for discussion as no one is threatening the Russians of the area. Any attempt by Putin to paint the invasion as being the protection of the ethnic Russians is nothing more than a smokescreen. It's a land grab, pure and simple.

Why have you said nothing about the regular arms shipments Russia and Iran have transferred to Syria? In point of fact; Iran has sent troops to Syria with little or no protest on your part.

Recently as in al- Qusayr, and Ghouta. No word of protest at the use of gas against civilians either.

Russia is allied with Syria in the same way the USA is allied with Australia
Russia has a navel port in Syria at Tartus, as they also have at Sevastopol in Crimea, Ukraine
why wouldnt they want to protect their military interests?

how is this any different from Australia hosting numerous bases and troops of the USA?

:oops: :oops: :oops: You've done it again.

exposed the hypocrisy of your position again, yes

furthermore, Russia is also a trading partner with Syria. they had long standing pre-existing contracts to sell them arms.
As for the gas attacks in Syria, there is no evidence to support this was perpetrated by the government. its merely speculation from sources connected with the militant terrorist rebels.

Defense from what?

I don't see Ukrainians going out and mob bashing the Russians (or are they now?).

Exactly right. Necessary pretense for an action planned in advance.

You should probably both read up a bit more on the joint history of both countries, I think. They've barely ever been part of separate nation states from the middle ages until the 1990's, of course they're demographically intertwined.

1 - Is there any conceivable difference between Syria and Australia?
2 - Have you read the findings of the UN Commission charged with investigating Ghouta?

1. relevance?
2. yes, it was entirely based on the content of the residue rather than the origin of the attack

they proved a gas attack, they didnt prove who did it

the wrong questions were asked
or if you are the taskforce, ask only the questions relevant to the outcome you want to receive

When Russia had issues with/invaded Georgia in 2008, Ned decided it was too unstable and unsafe for him (and maybe his family as well, from memory), so he left his club in Georgia and returned to Australia.

1 - In one breath you equate a military relationship with Australia (a democratic country I need not say), with a military relationship with Syria, a deranged fascist-family fiefdom. And you have the gall to wail, hypocrisy.
2 - You clearly haven't read the report, or other readings on the matter. The trajectory of the chemicals have been conclusively shown to have come from Baath controlled territory. Judge them by their fruits; only the Syrian government has the logistical capability to inflict such an attack. The only victims of the attack were Sunni civilians and opposition forces. There was no corresponding chemical attack on majority Allawite sectors.

Keep spouting shit, you clown.

http://www.un.org/disarmament/content/slideshow/Secretary_General_Report_of_CW_Investigation.pdf
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/09/syria-un-report-ghouta-sarin-rocket-attack
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/16/sarin-attack-crimes-syria-justice
http://www.hrw.org/print/reports/2013/09/10/attacks-ghouta
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/human-rights-watch/mapping-the-sarin-flight_b_3941671.html

How The IMF Plan To Loot Ukraine

NOW THAT VICTORIA NULAND (born Nudelman, married to Jewish neocon Kagan), got "Yatz The Yid" to head Kiev’s illegitimate regime, the IMF can easily loot Ukraine.

The IMF, as an organized arm of Jewish banking, has two jackboots. Alternately they trample on the people. They work in a coordinated cadence.

First the left jackboot reels out the credit and hooks the impoverished and desperate borrower on the credit bait.

This is the loan phase. It’s a soft kick with honey-coated poison as its bait.

When the debtors, like Ukraine, abandoning help from Christian Putin, can’t service the debt, they reel them in with the right jackboot of austerity, cutting pensions and social services, devaluation of currency, higher taxes and utilities, foreclosure and privatization.

This is the looting phase. Inflation and recession don’t cause loss. They cause transfer to Jews.

Yatz The Yid (Arseniy Yatsenyuk) is Jewry’s perfect proxy. He’s begging for money.

“Yatz” vows that Kiev will meet all the demands that the Washington-based IMF wants to enslave Ukraine with.

That’s how the looting begins, with a head of State begging for money who is soon handed a restructuring agreement, pre-drafted for ‘voluntary’ signature.

“Don’t panic!” IMF’s Gentile window dressing LaGarde assured Yatz the Yid. “We’re going to come and help you!”

Yatsenyuk has already initiated IMF’s “help,” that is, “looting,” by imposing limits on cash withdrawals to $1400 a day on checking accounts and $335 a day on ATM withdrawals. A sneak-preview of “bail ins” HAS begun.

With enslavement guaranteed, one asks, “What will the IMF target for looting?”

The industries, linked with Russia since Soviet days, located in Russian-leaning Eastern/Southern Ukraine of which Western Ukraine is dependent for domestic goods and tax revenue, that’s what.

It’s not for “looks” and “provocation” that pro-Russian militias and barricades are popping up throughout entry points into Eastern Ukraine.

Russian interests abound in Eastern/Southern Ukraine of which Putin will act according to Russia’s 2010 Military Doctrine.

“If there is a direct threat to our national interests we will defend ourselves,” said the National Security Council upon issuance of the Doctrine.

Indeed, there IS a threat to Russia’s national interests in Ukraine. Nuland’s JewSA wants to weaken Russia’s regional and global influence via a three-pronged attack:

1) Bring Ukraine’s Eastern industries—economically tied to Russia—into IMF’s clutches; 2) Cancel Russia’s lease of its Black Sea Fleet in Crimea’s Sevastopol warm water port, cutting off Russia’s access to the Mediterranean; 3) Install a NATO base in its place.

First of all, Eastern Ukraine’s industries are inextricably linked to Russia’s Military Industrial Complex supporting their military bases.

Second, Yats The Yid’s deputy prime minister just called for the cancellation of Russia’s lease, known as the Kharkiv Agreements.

Putin will not allow this to happen. His warm water access to Iran, Syria, and Egypt depends on it. He’s acting fast, catching the JewSA with its pants down as he did in South Ossetia in 2008.

Both houses of Russia’s parliament, The Federation Council, has unanimously (even his political enemies) granted Putin the authority to deploy Russian troops into Crimea where the majority are loyal Russian Orthodox Christians.

The Council is apparently enraged with Obama’s veiled threats to further destabilize Ukraine and that if Russia uses military force it would “pay the costs.”

Before the vote took place, Russian senators said that Obama had threatened Russia and insulted the Russian people. They demanded that Putin recall the Russian ambassador to the USA.

Not only are Putin’s political enemies rallying behind him to protect Russia’s economic, military, and social interests in Crimea, but even Ukraine’s Navy Flag Ship is siding with Russia. The ship has hoisted the Flag of St Andrew, the ensign of the Russian Navy.

NULAND’S little yid…”Yatz”…is wetting his pants. His request to Turkey to stop the ship en route to Sevastopol, went unheeded. To add insult to the Yid’s injury, the entire Ukraine Navy Command resigned.

Kiev’s illegitimate ‘acting president’ made a BIG mistake in sacking Admiral Yuri Ilyin as Chief of Staff. The Navy struck back.

Apparently, they don’t want JEWS ruling and looting their country…and Putin WILL protect Russia’s interests against the designs of the Jew-ruled West.

Bravo Vladimir Putin! Protector of Christians worldwide!

http://www.realjewnews.com/?p=908

^ Invalid and inappropriate

Im going to give you some information which you probably never considered and has been effectively hidden from the populace in general, so prepare your mind. All governments and major international organisations such as banks and religions have been infiltrated by an invisible world government of shape shifting reptilians whose ultimate goal is a one world government destroying all national sovreignty. Do some more research and once you're aware of the Agenda and the methods used to implement it it's much easier to make sense of global events. You're welcome.

The real "Ukraine" - Turkey's illegal occupation of Cyprus

Since its invasion of Cyprus in 1974, Turkey has claimed that it was acting as a protector and guarantor of the island’s security. But a closer examination of its actions on Cyprus indicates motivations of a very different character. Turkey’s invasion resulted in hundreds of thousands of Greek Cypriot refugees, who have been unable to return to their homes for almost 40 years. The international community has repeatedly condemned the illegal military occupation of Cyprus by Turkish troops. The United Nations Security Council has passed 75 resolutions calling for Turkey to allow Greek Cypriots to return to their homes and to withdraw its troops from Cyprus. Yet Turkey continues its occupation.

More than 40,000 heavily armed Turkish soldiers are occupying the northern part of the country, with one Turkish soldier for every two Turkish-Cypriots. The presence of this overwhelming force cannot be justified by the claims that they are needed to prevent any renewal of violence. In fact, since the 2003 opening of the border between the two communities, more than 17 million intercommunal visits have occurred without conflict.

The result of this occupation by foreign troops is that many Cypriot neighborhoods in the occupied areas remain vacant or in a state of disrepair. One of the most tragic examples is the Varosha region of Famagusta. Once an important commercial and tourism center for the island, Varosha was fenced off following the invasion, and access has been prohibited for all except Turkish military forces. Over the years, this area has become a virtual ghost town.

The desolation of Cypriot properties and cultural sites is not restricted to Varosha but is a reality in all the areas under Turkish military occupation. In fact, an estimated 520 Greek Orthodox churches and chapels, and 17 monasteries in the occupied areas have been pillaged, vandalized or destroyed. Often these religious sites have been converted into stables, bars, nightclubs, casinos or hotels, leaving more than 15,000 religious artifacts unaccounted for. This widespread destruction of Cypriot historic, religious and cultural identity certainly does not seem like the behavior of a “protective guardian.”

Turkey also continues to interfere in the domestic affairs of Cyprus, especially the negotiations on reunification. The goal of these talks is a Cypriot-developed, mutually agreeable settlement based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, including a single sovereignty, single citizenship and single international presence. But instead of allowing the representatives from the Turkish-Cypriot community to engage freely in the talks, the Turkish government has imposed its own criteria, which has made an agreement all but impossible.

Turkey also has tried to limit Cyprus‘ sovereign rights to develop its energy resources. Despite the island’s critical energy needs, Turkey declared last year that it had “nullified” the exploration agreement between Cyprus and Israel even though it has no right to do so. Turkey escalated the conflict by sending its own ships to the region and even threatened military action if Cyprus continued in its project with Israel. Although from the beginning, Republic of Cyprus President Demetris Christofias guaranteed that any energy resources discovered would be used for the benefit of all Cypriots, Turkish officials claimed their actions were to protect the rights of the Turkish-Cypriots.

Reports by the Turkish-Cypriot media indicate that the Turkish government continues to promote illegal immigration by Turks to the northern occupied areas of Cyprus with the goal of changing the demographic composition of the island. According to people administering the occupied area, there are an estimated 160,000 settlers from Turkey, many of whom occupy the homes of the evicted Greek-Cypriots. However, reports in the Turkish-Cypriot press from Turkish-Cypriots who live among the Turkish settlers put this number between 500,000 and 800,000. A recent “census” in the north indicated that the total population in the north had increased to nearly 300,000 people. Just 88,900 of them were native Turkish-Cypriots, who are outnumbered by illegal Turkish immigrants by a ratio of almost 2-1.

Ankara’s support for these illegal immigrants is not welcomed by the native Turkish-Cypriot community. In fact, Stella Altziman, who resides in that region of Cyprus, wrote in 2010: “Due to constant migration from Turkey, [the northern occupied area] is like a Turkish province” and the native Turkish-Cypriots have become a minority in their own land. Last year, many Turkish-Cypriots protested Turkey’s policies toward Cyprus, with some carrying banners that read, “Ankara, get your hands off our shores.” Yet Turkey continues to flood its areas of occupation with illegal Turkish immigrants. In his visit to Cyprus last year, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan mocked the Turkish-Cypriots, stating, “If you don’t want us to send people, you need to have more babies.”

By its occupation, Turkey is “guaranteeing” nothing but a creeping annexation. It is time for Turkey to withdraw its military troops, end all support for illegal immigration to Cyprus and let the true inhabitants of the island determine their own future. Only then will the long-suffering Cypriot people finally enjoy the peace and security they have been trying so desperately to achieve for decades.

Comments
Eastvillagemichael
I visited Cyprus last summer and I can say that this article is absolutely true and correct. The native-born Turkish Cypriots have mostly fled to England. The people who live in the occupied zone are Turks, not Cypriots, and do not seem to care about Cyprus. Everything is run-down and in disrepair. The people who work in the tourist bureaus do not speak English OR Greek and are grumpy and bored, as opposed to those of Free Cyprus who are enthusiastic and multilingual. The occupied zone has an ugly military monument every few feet and Turkish flags are draped over everything. It reminded me very much of what East Europe was like under the Communists. I would also add that Free Cyprus has thousands of Palestinian refugees who are generously supported by the government. They live in clean hotels and their children all have laptop computers.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jun/15/time-for-turkey-to-leave-cyprus-in-peace/

12 hour Ultimatum handed down.

Awww shit.

-PB