Those of us who feel that our true identity is that of Cypriots are in line with the UN interpretation of the dwellers of the island of Cyprus .
The UN does not define the ethnicity of people.
That we are Greek Cypriots but not Greeks is a universaly accepted description.
Your statement is an oxymoron. Since we are Greek Cypriots we are therefore Greek. It is like telling me that a White Bear can not be white because it is a bear. If it was not white, it wouldn't be called "White Bear". Similarly, if Greek Cypriots were not Greek, they wouldn't be called "Greek Cypriots".
When you infer that this island is Greek you are denying the right of the other communities amongst us , to call this country theirs too.
And why is that? When you say that Athens is Greek, do you deny the right to any ethnic minority to call Athens their own city?
By the same reasoning the Australians and New Zealanders are English .
Most of them are. They even have the British flag as part of their own flag and they have the Queen of England as their own Queen. They simply
choose to be separate from the UK because that would serve their own interests better. Did you see any non-English Australians staring a war demanding that the British flag being taken off the Australian flag, and the official language of Australia to stop being English? They all accept these facts, and all feel Australia as their own country with no problem.
You suggest that those of us who proclaim our Cypriotness above all else do so in order to appease the Turks
I never suggested such thing. What I said is that most of those who deny their Greek identity do so to appease the Turks. I can very easily put my Cypriotness above all else without denying my Greekness. for example when a local team from Cyprus would play with another Greek team then I would support the Cypriot team. But if a team from Greece plays with another foreign team, then I would support the team from Greece.
How many of us , including T/Cs such as Bir and Kikapu , have rushed to recognise the "trnc" and how many of us , including many T/Cs have recognised the legality of the Turkish troops in North Cyprus , recent graffiti in North Nicosia shows that a sizable minority of T/Cs see the troops as an occupying force.
We are not making the right noises by telling our compatriots that this island is Greek with the undertones of Enosis aspirations evident.
There are no "enosis aspirations". Real Cypriots recognize the right of Cypriot self-determination, freedom from foreign rule, and democracy without racist discriminations.
Everybody should accept that what should happen in Cyprus is what Cypriots democratically choose to do, and not what some foreigners want to force, even if their opinion or interests on some issue happens to be the same with the interests of those foreigners. Siding with foreigners to oppress the democratically expressed will of the Cypriot people amounts to treason.
We prefer that we accept realities that there are two major communities in Cyprus , the G/C and the T/C , combined together form the nation of Cyprus , not Greek nor Turkish Cyprus.
All the communities of Cyprus are combined to form the Cypriot nation, not just TCs and GCs. If we are going to make that distiction, then the only major community in Cyprus is the GC community, which is more than 5 times larger than the TC community.
No one has suggested that the T/Cs or the G/Cs forego their attachment to either Greece or Turkey but it would be prudent and realistic for both sections to embrace their Cypriot background .
It is not a matter of attachment to Greece (or Turkey). If you modified your statement to: "No one has suggested that the T/Cs or the G/Cs forego their
ethnicity but it would be prudent and realistic for both sections to embrace their Cypriot background ." then I would agree with you 100%.
I am just stating the facts as I always do. Unlike some others I never denied how Greek this island and its people are, just to appease the invaders and enemies of our island.
