Turkey: How did the term “Blue Homeland” come about and who is its “father”?

Developments in Turkey are rapid in recent hours, with the arrest of 10 retired admirals after the open letter signed by more than 100 ex-military critics of the Erdogan regime. Among them and the “father” of the “Blue Homeland”, Cem Gurdeniz.

Gürdeniz is considered the theorist of the “Blue Homeland” doctrine. In his book “Mavi Vatan” he analyzed his theory, presenting Turkey’s claims to the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, with the aim of becoming a naval superpower.

Who is Cem Gurdeniz?

Cem Gürdeniz was born in Istanbul on March 24, 1958 and graduated from Sarıyer Pertevniyal Primary School in 1969. He attended Haydarpaşa High School and in 1972 was admitted to the Naval High School. He graduated from the International Relations Department of the Naval Academy in 1979 and served as a Lieutenant.

He completed his postgraduate course in Human Resource Management in the United States from 1983-1985 and served in the Naval Command until 1987. He completed his training at the Naval War Academy from 1987 to 1989. In 1991 he took a position in NATO and while he was abroad completed his master’s degree in International Politics in Brussels, according to CNN Turk.

From March 24, 2013 to May 31, 2020 he wrote nautical articles in the weekly column of “Blue Homeland” in the newspaper Aydınlık. He continues to write in the online newspaper VeryansınTv.

According to the Washington Post, he was one of hundreds arrested in 2011 and convicted of plotting to overthrow Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party. He had said he supported his ideas about naval power in his trial and later, as he spent 3.5 years in prison, in a column he wrote every Sunday.

The doctrine of the “Blue Homeland” became widely known after the failed coup against Erdogan’s government in 2016, the American newspaper reports.

How did the term “Blue Homeland” come about?

Gurdeniz had spoken to Hurryiet in 2019 about the term “Blue Homeland” and how it came about: “It was 2006 when I, then director of the Planning and Policy Department at the headquarters of the Turkish Navy, decided to use this term to indicate the maritime areas of our jurisdiction, declared and undeclared. When I started writing for the daily Aydınlık in 2013, the title of my column was “Blue Homeland”. I wrote then that the “Blue Homeland” will be much more important for Turkey in the 21st century, as it includes not only areas of the Black Sea, where we have established demarcations, but also the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, where we have not done so. and this remains controversial.

“I predicted that the Eastern Mediterranean would be an area of ​​great controversy between Turkey and other countries.”

You may also like

What will be the next cryptosim
Top News
David

What will be the next cryptosim

Cryptosims are called periods of prolonged drop in prices in the digital asset market. Experienced participants in the crypto community