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FILE PHOTO: Annual NATO's Submarine Warfare Exercise DYNAMIC MANTA held with the naval forces of Turkey, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom and USA in Palermo, Italy on February 25, 2019 © Getty Images / Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency
When two countries who are supposed to be military allies fall out and almost get themselves into a shooting match, you know there’s going to be trouble ahead. The problem for NATO is, this time, it may prove terminal.
For a story that involves high seas skullduggery, clandestine gun-running, a punch up between people who are supposed to be friends, and an incident that could be fatal for the world’s biggest military alliance, this one started mundanely enough.
Mnamo Tarehe 7 Mwezi June 2020 Meli ya Inayopeperusha Bendera ya Tanzania inayoitwa Cirkin Iliopakia Shehena iliyodhaniwa ni Makapeti, lakini cha Kushangaza ilisindikizwa na Meri tatu za Kivita za Uturuki kwa Siku tatu umbali zaidi wa Maili 1,000 baharini hadi Bandari ya Libya, Uchunguzi ulibaini msafara huo hakika ulikuwa umebeba Silaha nzito za kivita kwa kundi la GNA ambalo limewekewa vikwazo vya Silaha na umoja wa Mataifa.
Mambo yalianza kuwaharibikia Watanzania baada ya Helikopta ya Nchi ya Ugiriki kuitilia Shaka na Kuomba watue helikopta yao ndani ya Meli ya kitanzania ili kuikagua... Nchi ya Ugiriki inaruhusa kufanya ukaguzi ili kuzuia magendo yeyote ya Silaha zinazoelekea kwa nchi zilizowekewa Vikwazo... Meri za Kusindikiza za Uturuki zilikataa ukaguzi kwa ndani ya Meli ya Tanzania yaani waliikingia kifua kiundava.. Wagiriki wakaacha kutua na kuanza kuifuatilia kwa umbali furani Watanzania hapa kazi tu Wakazima mitambo yote ya Mawasiliano ili Meri yao Isionekane wala Kufuatiliwa yaani mwendo ukawa kimya kimya analogue kama Jahazi.
Wagiriki walipoona mbinyo wakawatonya Jeshi la NATO kuwa Watanzania wanajifanya Wajanja na inawezekana wanaleta za Kibongo na watakuwa wamebeba Silaha kuelekea Libya. Jeshi la Nato upande wa Ufaransa Likaingilia Kati na Kuwafuata Watanzania na kuwaambia waseme wapi wanaenda na wajitambulishe Masikini Watanzania hawaelewi lugha ya Kifaransa wakauchubua tu kimya...! Bonju "G" baadae Gamutu puramalaka Rasta Dialo msosi Please.'' Wafaransa wakataka kuikamata Meli ya Tanzania basi kasheshe likaanza Meli za Uturuki za kivita zikaanza kuwasha mitambo ya Makombora basi Wafaransa wakaoana Tanzania is no Alone wakaawaacha ila wakawafuatilia na siku iliyofuata Cirkin Tanzania ikaelekea Libya ikatia Nanga Bandari ya Misrata ikashusha na Mzigo wote.
Ufaransa imekasilishwa sana na Tabia ya Uturuki na imeishitaki Uturuki kwa Tabia walioionesha ya kuikingia Meli Iliyosheheni Silaha ambazo zimepigwa Marufuku na Umoja wa Mataifa ili kuzuia Mauaji ya watu wasio na Hatia nchini Libya.
Nayo Uturuki imeitaka Ufaransa kuomba radhi kwani ingesababisha kichapo cha huku na kule wakati wote ni wanachama wa NATO. Ufaransa imeona ijitoe baadhi ya sehemu inazolinda kuzuia Silaha zisiende nchi ya Vita ya Libya.
Je Watanzania wanasimamia upande Gani? Masikini Libya... Erdogan sio Rafiki atatutia MATATIZONI nashauri hiyo Meli inyang'anywe Bendera yetu ya Nchi ya amani.
Back on June 7, 2020, a Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship, the Cirkin, quietly departed a Turkish port and set sail toward the Libyan port of Misurata.
No one is absolutely certain what its 5,800 tons of cargo was, but it’s safe to say it probably wasn’t carpets.
No, that wouldn’t require the three Turkish warships who escorted the Cirkin on its four-day, 1,000 nautical mile journey. It was almost certainly carrying military equipment for the Libyan army under the command of the Government of National Accord (GNA), in contravention of the UN-imposed arms embargo.
Things started to go wrong three days later, when a Greek helicopter, operating from a Greek frigate, the Spetsai, approached the ship and requested permission to land a boarding party for the purpose of inspecting it. The Spetsai and its helicopter were operating as part of
Operation Irini, an effort in the Mediterranean undertaken by the European Council to enforce a UN arms embargo on Libya. Cirkin’s Turkish escorts rejected the request.
Turkey demands apology from France for warship incident amid heated dispute over Libya embargo violations
The Spetsai withdrew and monitored the Cirkin from a distance. Shortly afterwards, the cargo ship turned off its transponder.
A French frigate, the Courbet, operating as part of
Operation Sea Guardian, a NATO maritime security operation, was then informed by NATO that the Cirkin was possibly carrying arms in violation of the UN embargo.
After the Cirkin failed to identify itself to the Courbet, and refused to divulge its final destination, the Courbet sought to board the
vessel. At this point, one of the Turkish frigates illuminated the Courbet three separate times with its fire control radar, an indication it was intending to engage its weapons systems.
The Courbet withdrew, and the next day the Cirkin arrived in Misrata, where it discharged its cargo.
J’accuse
France has condemned the Turkish actions and filed an official complaint with NATO; a subsequent investigation by NATO was deemed to be
“inconclusive,” although the details remain classified. For its part, Turkey has demanded an apology from France. In response, France has withdrawn its forces from Operation Sea Guardian, and demanded that NATO take seriously the task of enforcing the UN arms embargo on Libya, an act that would put it at conflict with Turkey, a NATO member.
This is where the incident becomes murky – it appears that Operation Sea Guardian lacked any NATO mandate to operate in support of Operation Irini, and that the decision to interdict the Cirkin was taken unilaterally by France, void of any NATO authority.
In the days following the June 10 incident, the European Union appealed to
NATO to authorize ships assigned to Operation Sea Guardian to operate in direct support of Operation Irini’s Libyan embargo enforcement mission. However, such authorization would require the unanimous consent of all of NATO’s members, making any such authorization impossible given Turkey’s inevitable veto.