Greece's pro-Green plan triggers Turkish anxiety

By MASSIMO CALABRESI /ATHENS

n ancient legend, the Greek army used a wooden horse to conquer Troy and secure a claim on the eastern Aegean Sea. Modern Greek politicians are finding birds may do the job just as well. Eager to reinforce its hold on islands off Turkey's coast, last December Greece won approval from the European Commission to establish nature sanctuaries on several disputed islands and rocks in the region. "It strikes two birds with one stone," crows Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas. "The Commission's decision confirms Greek sovereignty over islands Turkey may contest."

Such contests have long been an Aegean specialty. Even before the rise of the Ottomans in the early 14th century, there were fights over the islands, from Samothrace in the north to Rhodes in the south. A string of treaties from 1923 to 1947 gave Greece title to many of the islands, some as close as 2 km to the Turkish shore, but Turkey says the treaties' wording--which sometimes refers to "adjacent" islands without naming them--leaves some claims unresolved. In 1996, the two NATO allies came close to war over two rocks in the chain. "Greece is trying to seize islands, islets and rocks," insists a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman. "Any plan to make these lands Greek is invalid."

Greece has tried to lure settlers to the sparsely settled islands by offering cheap land and subsidies. But isolation and instability made the program a hard sell, and after the 1996 crisis it collapsed. The ecological project appears to be yielding better results. "We can literally see [the Turks], and they us, and it's frightening," says Nikos Tsikis, the Greek mayor of Symi, 4 km from the Turkish coast. An adjacent rock cluster, Nimos, is now designated to be a nature preserve, and, says Tsikis, "Projects like these can help put a stop to Turkey's roving eye. If Greece does not develop these islets, it is like inviting the Turks to claim them."

Environmentalists, too, welcome the $1.3 million program, which will establish observatories, paths, huts and access facilities for researchers. At least one bird species, Audouin's Gull, has its primary breeding ground in the eastern Aegean and is in danger of extinction there. Other birds, including Bonelli's Eagle and Eleanora's Falcon, are considered vulnerable in the region, as are 10 species of wildflower.

But some question whether the government's commitment to endangered species is as great as its political interests. "The region is [a] jewel of biodiversity," says Dimitris Karavelas, director of the World Wildlife Fund's Athens office. "It remains to be seen whether this plan will propel Greece to provide effective management of these areas." Others are ready to take the good with the bad. "The state didn't seem to care much about birds until after the 1996 crisis," says one Greek environmentalist. "But if the project serves both environmental and political purposes, we don't have a problem with that."

Turkey, however, does, which means increased tension in the region and an ever-growing list of unresolved disputes. So far, the two nations cannot even agree where to take their battle, with Greece angling for the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and Turkey for face-to-face negotiations. While the new Aegean dispute may not be the phase that launches a thousand warships, for Turkey the message is clear--beware of Greeks bearing binoculars.

--With Reporting by Anthee Carassava /Athens and James Wilde /Istanbul