Kikapu wrote:BirKibrisli wrote:Hi,Kikapu...I already said my goodbyes to this thread but i cannot let your post go unanswered...You have put a lot of effort into writing it,and I have no doubt you sincerely believe in what you say...
Let me say this from the start...I am the same person who for years came here and advocated a Unitary state solution based entirely on one vote one value system,and without any ethnic considerations or affirmative actions...I am also the same person who believes that the best way out of this situation is to assert our Cypriotness and push our ethnicity in the background...It makes sense to me to focus on our similarities than our diffrences...Any solution that will highlight our ethnicities will only work to cement the old bittreness and resentment...That is still my belief....However...It takes 2 to tango...I have realised that neither side are ready and able to dance to my or your tunes...I will tell you why...The TCs are not ready and able (and I am talking about those in the dispora as well) for the same reason that a trauma patient would not be able to return to the scene of his/her pain and suffering or be able to face his/her abuser without an intensive therapy and rehabilitation process...Now sometimes this therapy might include taking the patient back to the scene or make her confront her abuser,but that would have to be done under strict guidelines and precautions...In Cyprus this has not taken place...We have wasted precious time in denials and acusations and counter accusations,only to make healing almost impossible...On the other hand the GCs are not ready and able because they have been brainwashed from the beginning by their education and their Church...Enosis was their legitimate right,they believed,and when that was frustrated the TCs became the butt of their bitterness and resentment ..In GC eyes we became a despised minority who always reminded them of the Ottoman times,towards whom they could target their feelings or anger,vengence and hatred...I do not have any doubts that this Forum reflects the reality in the streets of Cyprus...Now,I am NOT saying that the TCs have not been equally brainwashed...I am not saying they are not harbouring similar feelings towards the GCs...I believe they do...So when you have 2 sides with so much physical and emotional baggage,who have no trust,respect or understanding for each other,you cannot expect them to get together and live in harmony,no matter how noble and desirable you or I think that might be...
Just look at the treatment we get here in this Forum...There are notable exceptions I know,and I am sorry I cannot say much to comfort our dear,decent GC compatriots... Unfortunately they find themselves as good apples in a basket of rotten ones and they cannot help the situation any more than you and I can...Day in day out we are told we are Ottoman remnants,unwelcomed guests,neo-imperialists,neo-colonialists,thieves,rapists and murderers...Not to mention more mild insults like liars,idiots,degenerates,and as one famously calls us "Turks" as if that is the biggest insult you could bestow on anyone...
Our pain and suffering is minimised,excused,justified,and most often totally denied...And when we talk about our personal trauma we are ridiculed,and accused of bringing everything upon ourselves as we are tools for Turkey's territorial ambitions...We are not really Cypriots but Turks who are somehow less patriotic or disloyal to our country,because we refused to let them present our motherland to Greece on a plate...
The best solution I can advocate now is a BBF with a "mild" Federal system,as an interim solution...Lets have as much democracy and EU principles as we can accomodate,and lets make sure neither Constituent State can unilaterally cecede from the Federated entity,and make sure as much land as possible changes hands to satisfy the right of return of as many refugees as possible,but let us also have some guarantees which will make the TCs sleep better at night in their own homes... A formula can be found perhaps where all the Turkish soldiers leave the island but the protection and the guarantees remain for some time,till we have the opportunity to build mutual understanding and trust...
I did not move lightly to this position,dear Kikapu,and I know it is very difficult to argue logically or intellectually with your democracy and human rights push...I know my arguments are mostly emotional,but they make sense to me...And they obviously make a lot of sense to the TCs...I am also aware that we have alternative lives now,and we do not live in Cyprus and need never return...We can be as ideological as the sky,and the solution need not affect us in the least...But when I come here and witness the denials,the insults and the abuse,and listen to those members of my family who still live in Cyprus tell me they couldn't possibly return to the bad old days when it was almost a crime to be a TC,I have no other choice but to sympathise...
Hello Bir,
Listen my friend, I can't argue with most of what you wrote above and Cypriots have been wasting time for the last 45+ years to find a solution, but unfortunately, some did not want a solution, so here we are. In order to get the parties together to begin a new start is to agree on a Fair & Just solution as well as guaranteeing everyone’s safety concerns. It's really not that difficult once the players agree to it if they had the TCs and GCs best interests in mind. Unfortunately, that has not been the case for a very long time and until they do, we will remain as we are.
I told you that for the GCs, the 74 war still goes on, because that was the last major event in chain of events that has burdened the island and it's people. As a result, they will see the north in a very negative light and all those living there or supporting the north. It is the nature of the beast, and until the war ends, it will continue as such, much to the dislikes of those who do not support the ongoing war and it’s sufferings, but want peace instead.
Bir, I know who you were then and who you are now. It is the same person, but a person who has a very heavy load on his mind and I think I know what it is. Let me just tell you my friend, I understand your situation.!
Thanks,mate..If there is one person here who really understands my dilemma,it is you...followed closely by Pyro...I wish nothing more than a just and lasting solution to our little problem,and I don't really care how we get there...We can put the horse before the cart,the cart before the horse,he horse and the cart on our shoulders,whatever...We need a solution and we need it fast before partition becomes irreversible...I had one hope,one consolation prize if you like : If the worse came to the worse I could go and live in the South,and preserve and enjoy my Cypriotness...The bitterness and hatred exibited on this forum towards all things Turkish and TC have crushed those hopes...I don't think it will be possible for any TC to live in the RoC without being confronted by the ghosts of the past on a daily basis...As long as the average GC believes Cyprus problem started in 1974 by Turkey waking up one morning and deciding it was a nice day to invade little Cyprus across the waters just for the fun of it,we cannot have peace and harmony living together...I just think too much time have been wasted,or ,rather, too many brains have been washed for too long,on both sides,for this to be possible...I hope I am wrong,but I feel nothing will come out of these talks,and Talat will be defeated in April by Eroglu,and we will be back to "No solution Is a Solution" policy of Denktas,and so it will go on forever...
