Im Turkish Cypriot and very passionate about Cyprus.
I have many Turkish and Greek friends and we always sit around the table on weekends have a chat, and end up talking about Cyprus. We have constructive chats. We don't see eye to eye on everything, but we chat..and that is the main thing.
One criticism I like to point out about Greek Cypriots, and I truely believe that this must be overcome before both parties in the Cyprus issue proceed, is the fact that Greek Cypriots do not really understand Turkish Cypriots.
Whenever I meet Greek Cypriots they assume I'm Greek and speak to me in Greek, despite the fact I tell them I am a Turkish Cypriot.
I attended several bi-communal meetings between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and older Greek Cypriots on the day boasted about how Greek and Turkish Cypriots lived together in peace prior 1974. I find that odd when a whole ENOSIS movement took place by EOKA between 1963 & 1974, sending an invitation for the Turkish army to come to Cyprus.
My father was captured by mainland Greek soldiers in Cyprus in 1968 on his way back from the cinema. He was taken hostage along with his friends for no apparent reason and was luckily set free. So if Turkey's presence in Cyprus was an invasion in 1974, wasn't the presence of mainland Greek troops in Cyprus back in 1968 an invasion?
Our Greek Cypriot friends also say that we are like brothers and most of the time Turkish Cypriots were given Greek names back in the days in the playground. Why would we (Turkish Cypriots) wan't Greek names? We have our own names, and we preferred to as that.
Look guys I can sit here and complain all day..but these are just some of the barriers we (Turkish Cypriots) come across. We are left out and do not want to be dominated by Greek Cypriots, and we certainly do not wan't any type of conflict.
I propose that Greek Cypriots get to know more about the Turkish Cypriots more.
It's all too easy to jump up and down and say 'I want my house in the North back.' We all lost. Let's not forget that the Turkish Cypriots also lost land in the south. But that was by choice. We chose to leave and head to the north to be safe.
I invite people from this forum to visit www.atcanews.org and obtain the story from the other side of the wall. Hopefully it helps.
Cheers.
