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Kalolimnos Island Lat. 37° 3'29.68"N Long. 27° 5'22.79"E Imia islands (Not shown in GE...too small to see even if you are actually there!!!!!) Lat. 37° 2'0.78"N Long. 27° 9'3.34"E The big one is called "Megali Imia" - which means "Big Imia" and the small one is called "Mikri Imia" - which means ... guess... "Small Imia". In earlier times they were also known as "Limnia Islands". The Imia have been under Greek sovereignty since the signing of the Paris Peace Treaty with Italy in 1947. The dispute over Imia arose on the occasion of a naval accident on 25 December, 1995, when a Turkish cargo ship ran ashore the islets and had to be salvaged. A month later, the Greek periodical GRAMMA ran a story on 20 January, 1996. The article brought severe reaction from the Greek press, which was followed by the mayor of Kalymnos and a priest hoisting up a Greek flag on the rocks on 26 January. As opposed to this action, some Turkish journalists and TV anchors flew to the islet with a helicopter and raised a Turkish flag, bringing down the Greek one, the whole events being broadcast live on Turkish television stations. In 24 hours, by 30 January, the Greek navy changed the flag, which resulted in exchange of fierce statements lead by the Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller and the Greek Prime Minister Simitis. Turkish and Greek naval forces were alerted and warships of both countries, both NATO members, sailed to the islets. During the crisis Turkish special forces landed on the west islet escalating the tensions, and a Greek helicopter crashed while conducting a reconnaissance mission over the islets (some speculating due to Turkish fire), but this was concealed by both states to prevent further escalation. The names of the crew of the helicopter are: X. Carathanasis, P. Blaxakos, E. Gialopsos. The immediate military threat was defused with the US envoy Richard Holbrooke and NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana intermediating, and the navy patrols of both countries withdrawing from around the region. I would like a little bit of help here to post those 2 islands as a placemark...Thank you.. |