I just received this press release, from the Cyprus Embassy: September 3 2008 Date Set For Start of Full-Fledged Negotiations!
They are going to start negotiations for the reunification of the tiny Island of Cyprus. It has only been divided for 34 years. 30% of the island has been illegally occupied by another country, Turkey. The UN passed several resolutions pertaining to the return of the illegally occupied land to the Greek Cypriots who live on the Southern side, but Turkey ignored them and decided to name their part of the Island, The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Only Turkey recognizes this entity.
The Republic of Cyprus, a small, but independent country, has been admitted to the European Union. Now Turkey would like to join the European Union. Of course, the European Union does not allow any of its members to occupy land in any of the other countries within the Union. So now you understand why it is so important to start Negotiating. There must be a resolution. Outsiders want to reunify the Island as one Republic with 2 separate "States."
I still can't understand why the UN doesn't try to enforce it's resolutions and just have one government and one country on the island.
By the way, Cyprus is an island which boasts that it has been civilized for 10,000 years. The oldest wine containers have been found on Cyprus. Greek myths say that Aphrodite was born on the sea just off of Paphos, so Cyprus was her first home. Also, one of the oldest churches on the Island is the Church of St. Lazarus. He is the Lazarus who Jesus commanded to come out of the tomb. He later traveled to Cyprus and lived out the remainder of his life there.
Waiting
8 years ago
8 comments:
Not exactly a correct or impartial summary of the situation. Turkey intervened in 1974, as it was entitled to under the terms of the countries constitution. That constitution had been violated by Greek Cypriots, who, not content with mudering Britash sevicemen duing the 1960's set out on a campaign of genocide against both Turkish Cypriots, and their fellow countrymen who held different political opinions. The situation came to a head after a mainland Greek led coup that sought to unite Cyprus with Greece in 1974. Since the Turkish intervention there has been peace on the island. Yes Greek Cypriots had to abandon property in the northen part of the island, but an almost identical amount of property was abandoned by Turkish Cypriots in the south, property that has been abused, redeveloped and sold on to others. A commonsense solution would be to effect a land swap and continue as a bizonal country with everyone living in peace. However GC propaganda largely funded by the orthodox church which has a large vested interest in Cyprus continues to press for a solution that ignores Turkish Cypriot rights, they want it all.
For an accurate account of the events that occurred in Cyprus on July 20, 1974, please see www.cyprusembassy.net/home.
On a recent visit to Cyprus, I met several Greek Cypriots who are refugees in their own country. Thirty -four years ago they were driven from their homes at gunpoint by Turkish soldiers and have not been able to return. They lost everything they had. Family members and neighbors were murdered. Today they can cross into the northern part of the island if they have the right documents in order, but they will Turks who have been brought from other areas living in their homes. It is their well supported opinion that the Turkish government is deliberately manipulating the demographics of the island by resettling their lower socioeconomic groups from Turkey in stolen lands in Cyprus and then arguing that they have a majority of the population. Shame on them! Shame on the UN for letting this happen!
Readers should beware of trusting information published by the Cyprus Embassy, as this is the forum for Greek Cypriot propagada. The Greek Cypriots disenfranchised Turkish Cypriots shortly after the establishment of Independent Cyprus, and as a consequence the Cyprus Embassy represents only Greek Cyprus and, in terms of the nations constuitution, is in effect an illegal regime. Albeit one that is mistakenly recognised by most countries of the world as representing the entire population of Cyprus. This is the outcome of a situation that suited the US (where there is a strong Greek lobby)followed by a weak British government. Successful Greek Cypriot propaganda has turned world opinion on its head since the 1960s when the civilised world was appalled by Greek Cypriot attempts to achieve ethnic cleansing of the Turkish Cypriot population (shades of the Balkans of recent years). The tone of the response to my piece of yesterday confirms my initial opinion that the original seemingly innocent question posted on the blog is in actual fact another piece of officially sponsored Greek Cypriot propaganda. As is generally known, Talat the Turkish Cypriot Leader is currently engaged in talks with his Greek Cypriot opposite number in order to try to resolve the impasse on the Island. Since these talks started, a renewed and concerted Greek Cypriot propaganda campaign has been orchestrated in order to create the impression that only Greek Cypriots have lost out as a result of the inability of the two communities to live together in harmony. The intention of this prpaganda campaign is to ensure that the 'world' will support Greek Cypriot wishes and to paint the Turkish people of the island as the wrong doers, when in fact they were the victims. Turkish Cypriots simply want to live in peace, and history has illustrated that the only way this can possibly work is for the island to be divided on a bizonal basis, with each community responsible for its own affairs. Greek Cyprots do not want this, they want to return to a solution that is much more closely related to the original constitution, where power was supposed to be shared by the two communities on a collective basis. if you read the Greek ypriot Embassy web site, you will see that even they agree that this will not work, they say 'The 1960 Constitution of the Cyprus Republic proved unworkable in many of its provisions and this made impossible its smooth implementation'. This was their excuse to disenfrachise Turkish Cypriots - shades of apartheid! Leopards do not change their spots.
Whatever solution is proposed by the two presidents, it must be placed before the people as a referendum. The last referendum, that was supposedly negotiated by the Greek President of the time (Papadopoulos) was immediately put before the Greek Cypriot people as an unacceptable document by the very same Papadopoulos, and they not surprisingly, voted against it - The Turkish Cypriots voted for union on the basis of the Annan Plan, and yet it was the Greek Cypriots who were allowed into Europe without the Turksih half. This was a major coupe for Greek Cypriot propaganda. My fear is that Talat will be keen to find a solution - one that helps Turkey's ambitions to join Europe,- and as a result will place a proposal before the Turkish Cypriot people that too closely resembles the 1960's constitution, thereby raising genuine fears of more ethnic violence, so that the Turkish Cypriots will be obliged to vote against it, thus handing yet another victory to Greek Cypriot propaganda.
My message is dont be fooled by tales of Greek Cypriot losses or supposedly official Cypriot information. Look deeper into any stories about desecration of churches and ask the Greek Cypriots how many mosques they have destroyed - or whose land their airport stands on. There are two sides to every story but the Greeks are better story tellers than the Turks.
I agree with the last paragraph of this lengthy comment. I would like to reproduce it here with just a few significant changes:
My message is don't be fooled by tales of Turkish Cypriot losses or supposedly official Cypriot information. Look deeper into any stories about desecration of mosques and ask the Turkish Cypriots how many churches they have destroyed - or whose land their airport stands on. There are two sides to every story but the Greeks are better story tellers than the Turks.
I just want to add one observation. I have been to Cyprus, both sides. I have seen the way the GREEK Cypriots care for the mosque in Larnaca. I have also seen the minarets on what was formerly St. Catherine's Church on the Northern side and several churches and monasteries in ruins, also on the Northern side.
Make it 2 things, also be aware that the Turkish Cypriots were never denied access to the mosques on the Southern side, while the Greek Cypriots were not allowed to cross the Green Line and step foot on the Northern side for almost 30 years. It has only been opened recently in this direction.
Oops, I made a mistake. St. Catherines is on the southern side (and is now Kebir Mosque), it is St. Sophia's I am thinking of on the Northern side.
From my fairly safe place in the USA (where my tax dollars go to fund all kinds of injustice overseas away from the eyes of most preoccupied Americans, but that's another tangent) , I have the luxury of acting like a good sociologist. While in Cyprus, this is what I saw:
1. A huge Turkish flag on the hillside above Nicosia, obviously intended as a declaration of dominance and to inflame the emotions.
2. Hotels and homes that had been destroyed thirty years ago.
3. A tourist street recently reopened with the thinly veiled intention of making the north look legitimate and grabbing some tourist dollars.
4. Well preserved and protected Mosques.
5. Turkish families passing from one side to another freely. They live in the south undisturbed.
6. The village of Athienou where there is a brave and hard working and educated community living in the shadow of the occupation. People there have to drive an extra 60 miles or so to get to their own capital because Turks have closed the roads and occupy the land.
When I went to Youtube and searched, this is what I saw:
1. Profanity and misogynistic slurs against Greek women.
2. Blatant claims that most Greek men are gay and that- even if it were true - immoral.
3. Rude counterattacks claiming that Turkish women are unattractive.
4. Videos devoid of ANY NARRATIVE containing only emotionally inflammatory pictures.
Are we humans nothing more than territorial animals manipulated by corrupt and oppressive governments?
Well, Anonymous(Why won't you tell us who you are?), you say that the Greeks are better story tellers. Maybe they have a better story. BTW, what story do you have to tell about the Armenians? Oppression is a time honored tradition in some places. So is democracy. Do you know who started that?
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