Oracle wrote:Talisker wrote:Although not strictly the subject of this thread, the struggle to ascertain a cultural and national identity is crucial to determining 'who should stay and who should go'. This article discusses the problems in defining a Turkish Cypriot identity.
http://www.yenikibris.org/kitap/a_an/identity.htm
Talisker ... I understand your deep held regard to remain liberal ... but this presentation is very confusing
In order for progress to be felt .. people may need to drop to one or other side of the fence..
Are you suggesting that the Turks have a cultural identity in Cyprus equal to that of the thousands of years of Greek Cypriot identity ...
No, you know very well I am suggesting nothing of the sort.
If you read the article you will see one of the opening lines in the abstract is
'The following article examines the activities among the Turkish Cypriots for the establishment of a written history of the Turkish Cypriot Culture, through which their identity can be reflected'.
The author then compares the GC and TC situation regarding recorded evidence and legacy providing a basis for a cultural identity.
'The Greek Cypriots recorded their cultural history in various works and prepared them for the usage of the coming generations. On the other hand, the Turkish Cypriots have not even thought of this subject! They also neglected every period of the history of Cyprus. Where is a history of literature? Where is a history of administration? Even their general history was written in a simple text book'.
If you care to read on you will find the following passage '
..........in order to find the answer to the question “Who are we?”. Especially after 1974, when the Turkish Cypriots concentrated themselves on the 37% northern territory of the island as Turkey partitioned Cyprus by the use of force, the Turkish Cypriots formed a new structure, which is economically, militarily and politically dependent on the Republic of Turkey, who strictly controls this region and the established order and balances of the Turkish Cypriot community have changed in a great scale. The problem of protecting our original Cypriot identity against the cultural assimilation, which gained importance from our subject’s point of view, has forced the Turkish Cypriot intellectuals to think of this situation constantly and to do various actions against it. During the ongoing conflict between the mainland Turkish and Turkish Cypriot identity, some crisis and searches for identity have emerged'.......which I think you will agree is pertinant to the topic within this thread.
Regarding the establishment of a Cypriot national identity
'It is a fact that the Greek Cypriots or the Turkish Cypriots are culturally under the influence of Greece and Turkey respectively. But the crystallization of the Cypriot identity and the formation of our political togetherness can only be possible by conscious resistance to the assimilating influences of these both external cultures and by disseminating and developing our local cultural characteristics of Cyprus'.
IMHO this is an interesting critical analysis from a Turkish or TC author about the difficulties and confusion of understanding a TC identity. Need I copy and paste further?
