Cyprus-Forum.com

[EPSILON]

On 15 July 1974 i was just 15 years old.
Therefore i could not be a member of EOKA B, neither member of "Efedriko"
Family political history: Brother member of EOKA B.
Sister member of AKEL.
Father -Makariakos-no further political details available.
Personal political status (that time-LETS SAY 1973-1974): In my village (as in all other villages of Cyprus) we had the Right wing Union building and the left Wing Union buliding.
In all National celebrations i was taking part in the Right's but in all theatre, games, happenings,-particularly in sweets consuption i was always in the lefts building.
My best frind's father was also a member of AKEL.We were always fighting (very strong figthings) -I was insisting that we are Greeks. He was insisting that we are simple Cypriots.

15 July incurred- Turks invated Cyprus.

My first comment was to my father-saying to him that all old Greeks of Cyprus are stupid.I was asking him why Makarios and Grivas had not cooperated and we had this invation?- I was just 15- i could not understand.

By the years new questions appeared in my stupid head.
Whenever i was discussing with a G/C about our Ethnicity and i was insisting that we are Greeks- in several cases i heard the comment that i am a "fasist"

34 years now i am looking for an explanation -WHY TO BE GREEK YOU MUST BE A FASIST?)

If we analyze this theory then Greeks in mainland Greece, Spanish, Purtugish,Turks,Colombians,almoast all Latin America citizens should changed their Nationalirty/Ethnicity -because they had the bad luck to have a Dictatorship in their country.

MY BIG QUESTION-CAN ANY G/C BE GREEK IN ETHNICITY/SAY THIS IN PUBLIC AND NOT BE CRITICIZED AS FASIST?

What i feel is that the only part of G/Cs population who are real fasist are these who deny our right to call ourselfs as GREEKS.

Thanks for your attention

[EPSILON]

On 15 July 1974 i was just 15 years old.
Therefore i could not be a member of EOKA B, neither member of "Efedriko"
Family political history: Brother member of EOKA B.
Sister member of AKEL.
Father -Makariakos-no further political details available.
Personal political status (that time-LETS SAY 1973-1974): In my village (as in all other villages of Cyprus) we had the Right wing Union building and the left Wing Union buliding.
In all National celebrations i was taking part in the Right's but in all theatre, games, happenings,-particularly in sweets consuption i was always in the lefts building.
My best frind's father was also a member of AKEL.We were always fighting (very strong figthings) -I was insisting that we are Greeks. He was insisting that we are simple Cypriots.

15 July incurred- Turks invated Cyprus.

My first comment was to my father-saying to him that all old Greeks of Cyprus are stupid.I was asking him why Makarios and Grivas had not cooperated and we had this invation?- I was just 15- i could not understand.

By the years new questions appeared in my stupid head.
Whenever i was discussing with a G/C about our Ethnicity and i was insisting that we are Greeks- in several cases i heard the comment that i am a "fasist"

34 years now i am looking for an explanation -WHY TO BE GREEK YOU MUST BE A FASIST?)

If we analyze this theory then Greeks in mainland Greece, Spanish, Purtugish,Turks,Colombians,almoast all Latin America citizens should changed their Nationalirty/Ethnicity -because they had the bad luck to have a Dictatorship in their country.

MY BIG QUESTION-CAN ANY G/C BE GREEK IN ETHNICITY/SAY THIS IN PUBLIC AND NOT BE CRITICIZED AS FASIST?

What i feel is that the only part of G/Cs population who are real fasist are these who deny our right to call ourselfs as GREEKS.

Thanks for your attention

I have the feeling that some,at least G/Cs facing problem to respond on this, isnt'it?

[Get Real!]

Are you confusing "fascist" with "nationalist" by any chance?

I know Bananiot uses fascist a lot but ever so loosely… it seems to have lost its real meaning.

[Nikitas]

Epsilon,

I am half Cypriot and half Greek. Family roots hail from Macedonia, the Dedecanese and Cyprus. I always call myself Cypriot first, because that is Greek plus. When looking at customs etc of both countries I am always struck by how much more Greek customs and ways the Cypriots have than mainlanders. Perhaps by being cut off from the mainland Cypriots have retained more customs, as did those who left Greece in the early 20th century.

The problem with the politicising of the word "Greek" comes from the experiences that the last three generations of Cypriots had from mainlanders. The people they met were teachers sent to Hellenise them, army officers who told them that communists rape their own sisters, and patronising politicians who come here only to gain air time back in Greece. Pretty much the same happens with other communities outside Greece. It is only lately that we are having a genuine equal to equal discourse with mainlanders.

The same goes for TCs, they are more Turkish than the mainlanders and they face the same difficulties but more intensely than us.

[Filitsa]

Nikitas and Epsilon, in my opinion, the problem lies with politicizing the word "Greek," period.

[Big Al]

you are called a fascist when you call yourself greek because there is a GC political agenda to create a non existant "cypriot" culture, with the aim of trying to draw TC away from turkey and there turkish culture and getting them to accept they they are a part of a fabricated cypriot culture.
Basically if they can create a smokescreen of "cypriotness" they can take TC's under their control.

[Tim Drayton]

[...]
The same goes for TCs, they are more Turkish than the mainlanders...
[...]

I would dispute that claim. It all depends on how you define "Turkish" and "Turkishness" of course, but I would argue that the Turkish Cypriot community has over the centuries developed a unique culture which is quite different from that of mainland Turkey, and I don't think this is mainly a question of preserving some kind of proto-culture that has been lost on the mainland.

The first Turkish-speaking people to settle on the island were sent here by the Ottoman authorities following the 1570 conquest, and there is evidence that the Ottoman rulers used Cyprus as a place to send various groups that were felt to be a nuisance into exile here, such as members of the Alevi religious order, considered to be heretic by mainstream Islam, and nomadic Turkmen bandits inhabiting the Toros mountains. Their numbers were swelled by native Linobambakis. So, from the very early years, the Turkish-speaking community here was quite atypical by mainland standards. This community, living in relative isolation and under the influence of Greek culture, then developed on a tangent of its own, also coming under a British influence after 1878.

I think I know both Turkish and Turkish Cypriot society quite well, and I would say that anybody coming from mainland Turkey to the north of Cyprus immediately feels that they are in a very different kind of place.

[Oracle]

The ethnic identification of "Greek" has only been politicised in Cyprus. It is not apparent in Greece nor the UK (where it merely conjures up images of Antiquity in learned folk, and sun-soaked holidays for the rest).

The root of this politicisation can be traced back to the 50's as the Cypriots fought for Freedom from colonialists, but saw nothing wrong with pursuing the familiar ... their Hellenic anastasis.

The enemies to this fight for freedom expediently isolated the Cypriots from their outside connections with Greece by embarking on a devastating PR exercise to brainwash Cypriots into thinking such an aspiration was tantamount to betrayal of Cyprus.

The enemies to this fight for freedom were equally, both the British and the Turks. Once we had gained our semi-freedom from the Brits, the Turks of course continued this convenient ploy into the '60s, and the remnants are still with us.

Sadly too many Cypriots of today continue to feel guilty if they have to admit to kinship with the Greeks ... so powerful was/is the PR propaganda of Turkey.

[Nikitas]

But Oracle, if the Cypriot consciousness is a Turkish ploy, then they did not do a very good job of it, Cypriots today have more reason to hate Turkey than mainland Greeks do. The PR machinery of Turkey fouled up big time in Cyprus after being so devilishly clever for decades?

[Nikitas]

Tim,

Interesting observations. Which in turn raise questions about the much closer embrace between TCs and their "motherland" than is the case with GCs and Greece.