DT. wrote:iceman wrote:DT. wrote:henpecked! Not at all...she just doesn't do dishes.
who does the dishes then???? You???
had to hire help. The next biggest community in Cyprus after the Greeks, Turks, Armenians, Maronites and Latins...the Phillipinos.
U asked me what is my view .u were complaing that i talked too much.İt is true but we did’nt talk this much.did we ? it will be better may be other forum members will know as well.
We demonstrated to the World that we were actually in favour of a solution, and that we wanted to live in our own zone with our own equal rights and our own federal state under the main roof of a united Cyprus. Meanwhile, the Greek Cypriot side, which had always appeared to be on the side of peace, made clear that, when it came to the crunch, they were against uniting the island.
we are seeking is not a part in the existing Greek Cypriot state called “Republic of Cyprus”. Rather, we want the rights which were taken from us in 1963, when we were thrown out of the real Republic of Cyprus. At that time, we had an international communal identity and the right to be partners in the administration of the state. These were our rights as the Turkish Cypriot people. We had members of parliament, ministers, a deputy president, public servants and undersecretaries. We were not secessionists; we were excluded.
In regaining our rights, we are in favour of a bizonal, bicommunal, united Cyprus, which takes account of the bizonal geographical situation that has existed since 1974. However, the Greek Cypriots do not want to give us these rights back. In 1963, aim was to join Greek Cyprus with Greece. Today the situation is rather different. While they are not saying so openly they are aiming to give the Turks individual citizenship rights under their own state, making them a mere minority and so doing away with their rights as a community.
The attitude of the World is very important here. If the UN and the EU really want a settlement, they should put pressure on the Greek Cypriots. Instead, they recognise only the “Republic of Cyprus”, and do not accord any international identity to the Turkish Cypriot community. For as long as this remains the case, the Greeks will never agree to a settlement. They are the state; they are the EU member with veto rights. So why should they give the Turkish Cypriot community its rights back?
The Greek Cypriots argue that since we accepted the Annan Plan and they refused it, the Plan must have favoured the Turks. In fact, the opposite is true. The implementation of the plan would have displaced many Turkish Cypriots, and we would have had many difficulties. Nevertheless, we demonstrated that we were ready to adapt ourselves to a new structure; the Greek Cypriots did not.
The Annan Plan was the culmination of years of UN talks. The Turkish Cypriots saw their future in this Plan. It took account of the rights of the three guarantor powers, Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom. It also took account of the EU acquis and of the decisions of the UN Security Council. It is not a document which can easily be altered. On the other hand, any new process of talks could last for many years, and the Greek Cypriots would have nothing to lose during that period. The uncertainty could go on for ever. In such circumstances, the Turkish Cypriots could start to think again about where their future lies.
In 1963 and 1964, we were dispersed in small cantons comprising just 3% of the land area of the island. We all had Republic of Cyprus passports, Republic of Cyprus ID cards and Republic of Cyprus birth certificates. They had no economy of their own. By day we worked for the Greek Cypriots as workers and by night we kept guard over over homes. Even in those circumstances, the we did not submit, but fought against Greek Cypriot domination.
Today, we are in a much better position. We live together in the North, with our own parliament, our own laws, our own courts, our own state, our own administration, our own economy. Incidentally, we also have a model democracy which even some developed countries can only envy. This was quite clear during the referendum when everybody voted freely without any pressure. We are capable of running our own affairs. The fact that we approved the Annan Plan in the referendum does not mean that we are going to dismantle the structure which we have built with our own hands.
Some of our people are obtaining passports in order to benefit from certain rights, such as cheaper education in the EU. This is not what Papadopoulos has in mind by osmosis. If there is any irregularity here, then the EU must bear the responsibility. The Turkish Cypriots have more right than anyone to benefit from the EU, since they said Yes to the Annan Plan whereas the Greek Cypriots said No. In spite of this, the Greek Cypriots were admitted to the EU. Apart from this, there are Turkish Cypriot workers who come and go. None of this means that the Turkish Cypriots have accepted the authority of the Greek Cypriot administration.
Such day-to-day details should not distract us from the central issue. The Greek Cypriots are wasting time by even thinking about osmosis. They must understand that they need to restore our rights within the existing geographical context. They cannot achieve the settlement which they desire simply by putting pressure on Turkey via the EU.
More talks and discussion we will do when we meet next time.