Greek soldiers chanted ‘Cyprus is Greece’ and started insulting Turkey – Kerob Ekizyan

During the military parade marking Greece’s Independence Day, Greek soldiers held a rally, chanting, “Cyprus is Greece” and insulting Turkey. Alpha News talked about this with Kerob Ekizyan, editor-in-chief of the Greek newspaper, Azat Or.

“Not all the units were chanting, it was only one unit—the marine troops. This is not the first time this has happened. It’s just that the problem is how to view what happened. If we consider the incident from a state or political standpoint, there is no justification for this. Although a statement has already been issued calling for the punishment of the soldiers and their commanding officers since such behavior is unacceptable and unbecoming for the army, public opinion has reacted quite positively to the soldiers’ actions. However, such behavior on the part of the army is unacceptable, since there are serious problems in relations between Greece and Turkey,” Ekizyan said.

Speaking about the current relations between the two countries, Ekizyan said that both are currently striving to maintain peace in the region.

“The far-right commented on the incident, noting that the soldiers did the right thing, demonstrated their fighting abilities, and clearly indicated who their enemy was. And the center-left reacted very sharply and strongly condemned these actions. As for whether this incident was planned by the leadership, I would say no. It was an action planned by the soldiers themselves. Currently, both Greece and Turkey are striving to maintain peace in this region,” Ekizyan concluded.