SYRIZA parliament member dismissed following controversial comments on Imia

Ahead of the anniversary of the Imia (Kardak) crisis in which three Greek navy officers died in 1996, the Greek Radical Left (SYRIZA) Party has removed one of its Parliament member, namely, Nassos Theodoridis, for saying that Greek islands of Imia (Kardak) belongs to Turkey and that Greece should cede its territorial rights within the international 12-mile limit. In a message posted on his personal website, Theodoridis questioned Greece's sovereignty over the islands, which he referred to with their Turkish name "Kardak." Theodoridis noted that it would make more sense, if Imia was defined as Kardak, because it is closer to Turkish coasts and away from the Aegean islands which belonged to Italy and then passed to Greece. Theodoridis also indicated that the Greek military should stop chasing away Turkish fighter jets over the Aegean Sea and Athens should give up claims of extending Greek territorial waters to 12 miles.