Cyprus-Forum.com

[Kikapu]

Man there you go again you really need an ego check, you play judge and jury then believe your own version as if its the gospel, well mate sorry to burst your bubble it aint always right.

One can never get enough stroking, whether it is their ego or something else.

So VP, which part of my last post did you find not to be the "Gospel Truth".??

All of it, you probably still think you created the big mountains.

All of it

Now look who is now trying to deny the "Gospel Truth". :lol:

you probably still think you created the big mountains

There has been so many, so be more specific. Which mountains are you talking about.??

[Viewpoint]

See you are not a Turkish Cypriot or else you would have understood what I was saying.

[Kikapu]

See you are not a Turkish Cypriot or else you would have understood what I was saying.

Oh, Is that it.?

Maybe that's why I don't understand on most of what you write and your ideology.

Then again, maybe because I'm a True Turkish Cypriot from birth and you just showed up after 30 years of your life claiming to be one, but got re-directed in becoming a Turk instead, since the settlers by then had already set the conditions for you to lose your TC identity, what little you had to begin with when you showed up on the shores of Cyprus.!!

[Viewpoint]

See you are not a Turkish Cypriot or else you would have understood what I was saying.

Oh, Is that it.?

Maybe that's why I don't understand on most of what you write and your ideology.

Then again, maybe because I'm a True Turkish Cypriot from birth and you just showed up after 30 years of your life claiming to be one, but got re-directed in becoming a Turk instead, since the settlers by then had already set the conditions for you to lose your TC identity, what little you had to begin with when you showed up on the shores of Cyprus.!!

It was not my choice to be born abroad but my parents were on the receiving end of Makarios's policy to get rid of the TCs off the island one way or another, that would probably be classed as a form of genocide.
But I am glad to have had the opportunity to be raised and educated away from the island so as not to have exposed to the horrors of the past, I didn't really have any interest in Cyprus only has a hot holiday destination where my extended family lived and where there was always a lot of eating kissing going on. Its only when I decided to come live here that I found the animosity between the GCs and TCs very interesting and started to look deeper into why the chasm is so wide between the 2 people. You and I are a prime examples of that chasm we both have opinions which may be right but they just do not coincide, you want one think and I want another, simple really. We all pay a price for what we want our is non recognition and yours is loss of 37% of this island, does it make our lives worse? depends how you view things, if living on one of the most beautiful places in the med with all the luxuries one could wish for then the answer is surely no for both of us. Could things be better of course they could but so is the case all over the world.

I love the TRNC with all it faults because its home and where I feel I belong, if this is going to change or be put in jeopardy then there has to be a bloody good reason to do so and if whats being offered is any worse than what we have today then you can forget it....viva la TRNC, thanks to the GCs for making it possible.

[Kikapu]

The Associated PressPublished: June 24, 2008

European court rules on 2 Greek Cypriots killed in U.N. buffer zone

STRASBOURG, France: The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday awarded more than €300,000 (US$466,000) to the relatives of two Greek Cypriots killed during skirmishes with Turkish Cypriots along the U.N. buffer zone dividing the island.

The court ruled the two were killed by Turkish forces in two separate incidents in 1996, backing a version of events presented by their respective families against Turkish claims that state agents played no role in their deaths.

Anastasios Isaak died Aug. 11, 1996 after being attacked by a group of people, kicked and beaten with metal and wooden batons during a Greek Cypriot rally protesting the Turkish rule in the northern part of the island.

Solomos Solomou was shot and killed three days later after climbing a flag pole close to where Isaak had died.

Turkey has three months to appeal the verdict.

Cyprus has been divided into a Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkey invaded after a failed coup aimed to unite the island with Greece.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/ ... Cyprus.php

[Kikapu]

The Associated PressPublished: July 1, 2008

Greek, Turkish Cypriot leaders meet to prepare direct peace negotiations



NICOSIA, Cyprus: Cyprus' rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders met in Nicosia Tuesday to lay the groundwork for historic negotiations on reunifying the ethnically divided island.

A senior U.N. official said Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat agreed in principle that any settlement should involve a single state, with common citizenship for all Cypriots.

"The two leaders met today in a positive and cooperative atmosphere," said Taye-Brook Zerihoun, the United Nations secretary-general's special envoy for Cyprus.

"They discussed the issues of single sovereignty and citizenship, (on) which they agreed in principle."

Zerihoun hosted a four-and-a-half hour meeting at his official residence inside the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone that has separated the communities for more than three decades.

He said Christofias and Talat reviewed the work of expert committees from both sides, who have been meeting since April to prepare for full direct negotiations between the two leaders.

Zerihoun said Christofias, who heads the island's internationally recognized government, and Talat agreed to hold another preparatory meeting on July 25.

Initially set for the end of June, the direct talks have been delayed by at least a month because of disagreements on some of the more contentious issues.

Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after an Athens-backed coup aimed at union with Greece. The breakaway Turkish Cypriot north is only recognized by Turkey.

Reunification talks have been deadlocked since 2004, when Greek Cypriots rejected a U.N. reunification blueprint in a referendum. Turkish Cypriots accepted it.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/ ... cation.php

[Kikapu]

Published: July 2 2008

Cyprus leaders to start peace talks

By Andreas Hadjipapas in Nicosia, Vincent Boland in Ankara and Kerin Hope in Athens

Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders on Tuesday agreed to start direct talks on a peace settlement, reviving hopes of ending the island’s 34-year division.

Demetris Christofias, the Greek Cypriot president, and Mehmet Ali Talat, the Turkish Cypriot leader, appeared to have resolved a deadlock over questions of sovereignty and citizenship after more than four hours of discussions held under United Nations auspices.

A UN statement said the leaders “agreed in principle” but would discuss “details of implementation during full-fledged negotiations”. They are due to meet this month to review preparations over the past three months and set a starting date for the talks.

Analysts said Tuesday’s agreement that Cyprus would have a single sovereignty and citizenship, rather than becoming a confederation of separate Greek and Turkish states, was a significant step forward.

“The momentum for reaching a settlement is there. Once the direct talks start, there’s no way back,” said Philip Savvides, an Athens-based analyst.

But contentious issues remain – such as the withdrawal of Turkish troops from the Turkish Cypriot north of the island, and the return of property to Greek Cypriots who fled to the south following a Turkish military intervention in 1974.

Mr Christofias, leader of the Communist party, re-opened contacts with the Turkish Cypriot community after winning the Greek Cypriot presidency in February’s election.

Relations between the two groups had been frozen since 2004, when the Greek Cypriots rejected a UN peace plan at a referendum. It was accepted by Turkish Cypriots in a separate vote.

Alexander Downer, the Australian former foreign minister, confirmed on Tuesday that he will become the UN’s special envoy for the Cyprus peace process, quitting domestic politics. He will lead a UN team facilitating talks between the Greek and Turkish leaders.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c1ef3dee-47a1 ... 07658.html

[Kikapu]

The Associated PressPublished: July 8, 2008

Cyprus president says "no alternative" to full-fledged talks to reunify divided island


NICOSIA, Cyprus: Cyprus' Greek Cypriot president said Tuesday there is "no alternative" to full-fledged negotiations to reunify the ethnically divided island.

Dimitris Christofias said he has no Plan B other than starting face-to-face reunification talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.

Cyprus has been split into a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north and an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south since 1974, when Turkey invaded after an abortive coup that aimed to unite the island with Greece.

"The goal is that negotiations finally take place," Christofias told a news conference. "There is no alternative proposal from us at least, and I want to believe, as Mr. Talat has assured me, there is no alternative proposal on his part."

Reunification talks had been deadlocked since 2004, when Greek Cypriots rejected and Turkish Cypriots approved a U.N. reunification blueprint.

But Christofias said he would not accept deadlines to be imposed on the negotiations. Any attempt to restrict the talks to a timeframe would be "a tragic mistake," he said.

"There is no deadline for us," Christofias said. "I've made it clear to Mr. Talat ... that we cannot accept tight timetables for the start or the end of negotiations to solve the Cyprus problem."

Christofias and Talat will meet July 25 to assess progress in preparatory negotiations and decide when to restart direct peace talks.

The two broke a four-year stalemate in March when they agreed to launch a renewed peace process.

Since then, working groups of experts from the two sides have met regularly in an attempt to bridge the divide on day-to-day as well as more substantial issues, ahead of direct top-level negotiations.

Christofias and Talat were to launch these talks by early July. But lack of progress by the working groups on certain key subjects, including property and security issues, has delayed the starting date by at least a month.

Christofias said it was up to Cypriots to find a settlement that suits them and that doesn't serve the interests of others. He said Turkey continues to "hold the key" to reaching a deal.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/ ... cation.php

[Kikapu]

The Associated PressPublished: July 11, 2008

Britain hopes for September start to full-fledged Cyprus reunification talks


NICOSIA, Cyprus: Britain is "very hopeful" that full-fledged talks to reunify ethnically divided Cyprus will be launched in September, a senior Foreign Office official said Friday.

European Political Affairs Department Director Anthony Smith said Britain wants to help the leaders of the island's rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities move the United Nations-mediated peace process forward.

"We very much hope that negotiations under U.N. auspices will be launched in September and look forward to helping as much as we can," Smith said after talks with Cyprus' Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias.

Smith said a reunification settlement must be "by Cypriots, for Cypriots" and that Britain "does not have a plan of its own."

Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat will meet July 25 to assess progress in preparatory negotiations and decide when to restart direct peace talks. The last such negotiations were held four years ago.

Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after an Athens-backed coup aimed at union with Greece. The breakaway Turkish Cypriot north is only recognized by Turkey.

Reunification talks have been deadlocked since 2004, when Greek Cypriots rejected a U.N. reunification blueprint in a referendum. Turkish Cypriots accepted it.

Christofias and Talat broke the deadlock in March when they agreed to launch a renewed peace drive. Expert committees from both sides have been meeting since April to prepare for full direct negotiations between the two leaders.

Initially set for the end of June, the direct talks have been delayed by at least a month because of disagreements within the committees on some of the more contentious issues including property and security arrangements.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/ ... cation.php

"Smith said a reunification settlement must be "by Cypriots, for Cypriots"

[Jerry]

"Smith said a reunification settlement must be "by Cypriots, for Cypriots"
Really?

Does that mean that Britain is going to ask Turkey to keep its nose out - somehow I don't think so. Blair couldn't even persuade Turkey to withdraw 1000 troops, I can't see Brown doing any better.