BirKibrisli wrote:Kifeas wrote:Bir, as Kikapu said, no one can offer you a definite answer to the question of what would have happened had Junta or Sampson been allowed to stay in power any longer than they did. However, are you suggesting that every time there is a coup in each country around the globe, and a government is overthrown, another country should attack or invade with 100 fighter jets and 50 battle ships, start bombing around and then lands its troops and tanks, and start capturing territory from the invaded country and forcing its population out of their homes and lands in order to seal it off and use its own political or other reasons or interests? Are you suggesting that every time there was a military coup in Turkey and the elected governments were overthrown, that the US or Russia should have invaded Turkey on the premise or assumption that the human and constitutional rights of the Turkish people were violated, and /or that the military coupists will possibly or likely turn against the Kurds of Turkey in order to annihilate them? In that case, how many times Turkey should have been invaded so far?
It is true that no one can tell you for sure what would have been the situation, had Sampson been allowed to stay. My high prediction is that he would not have been allowed to stay, without the need of Turkey actually invading. In view of the fact that the UN SC council convened upon Makarios request and was about to issue a strong resolution denouncing the coup, calling upon the junta to step out of Cyprus and allow Makarios to return, and this combined with a mere threat by Turkey and /or the UK to obey its (UN resolution’s) content, that the junta would have run away, like they did in 1967 after the Kofinou events. Even in the (unlikely) case they did not obey, the last thing they would have wanted was to risk a war with Turkey by declaring the Union of Cyprus with Greece or by starting attacks against the TCs. I do not think they were that stupid!
The truth of the matter, Bir, is that Turkey had made its mind to invade and partition Cyprus, long before the coup, and they were merely waiting for the pre-text to be found. Turkey was preparing very fervently during the previous 4-5 years by conducting simulating landing exercises in the Hattay area. The fact that within 5 days they managed to bring together the forces needed and land them in Cyprus, is more than a proof. There is credible classified information that had the coup not materialized, in order provide the needed pre-text (and they knew well from the CIA that Junta was plotting a coup to overthrow Makarios,) that they would have manufactured it by provoking an inter-communal incidence in the area of Lefka /Limnitis later in October 1974. October was chosen because it was a more suitable month (not a heavy summer period like July /August) for a military operation. The scenario of the incidence was that TCs of Lefka /Limnitis area would have shown to be attempting the transfer of undisclosed supplies to the area of kokkina enclave, in order to provoke the reaction of the GC national Guard to stop and search the supplies, in which case the TCs would have refused, fighting would have erupted and escalated very quickly. Either this or any other such event or incident was very easy to be orchestrated in Cyprus, should one or the other side had wanted it to occur for their own reasons.
It is easy for us now,to sit safely behind our computers and talk about what might or might not have happened back then,dear Kifeas...
The bitter truth is that given then events of the 50s and the period 63-74 most TCs had a pathological mistrust of the GCs and especially someone like Sampson...The reasons are immaterial..You can argue that it was imaginary or self-induced..It will not change anything...Please do not make the mistake of trying to minimise the 63-74 period and what it meant for the TCs...They were made to feel as second class citizens in their own country,and they felt that their basic human right,right to life was under continuous threat...If you fail to grasp this point,and insist that they were just sulking in their corners because they wanted special threatment,and their main aim was to give Turkey a trigger to invade,then you will have no empathy or compassion for what they are going through now...And that would make them go even further into Turkey's arms and away from true unification...As far as I am concerned,the shear psychological torture they(the TCs)were living under at the time made Turkey's intervension justifed ...That they then abused their rights and turned the intervension into occupation is another matter,and as you know I have strong opinions on that too...
But please don't talk to me about UN resolution and whether they would've been successful in ending the Sampson Coup or bringing Makarios back...That would have been the lesser of the two evils for the TCs...But given the 63-74 period you would have to forgive them for not putting too much trust in the UN and in Makarios' rule...
Bir, I am not in this forum to blame and /or victimize the TCs, nor there is an issue of non-forgiveness. I am here to help throw light to the truth, and in this respect I neither accept that the GC side was the innocent party (or the sole victim,) nor the TC /Turkish one. What I am disgusted with, is the attitude of some TC members in the forum and that of the Turkish /TC propaganda in general, to paint the entire period from 1963-1974 with the same brush and as if it was a period from hell for the TC community -more so due to a purely GC responsibility. I do not wish to play down the fear factor that was influencing the lives and thoughts of the TCs during that period, or a substantial part of that period to be more accurate. However, a good deal of the difficulties the TCs faced during that period was the result of their leadership's makings, and this is evident from the UN representatives' 6-month reports on Cyprus, especially after 1967-68. I will later provide the links to these reports, for those interested to open and read them. Furthermore, at the same time the TCs were living under fear for their fait due to the 4 times bigger size of the GC community, they completely hide and ignore the fact that the GC community was living under a very similar fear from threats and non-stop preparations of a country 100 times larger than themselves (Turkey,) throughout the same period, to invade and occupy /partition a large part of Cyprus.
They ignore this fact, and they also ignore the role that their leadership -and through it themselves, were seen by the GCs to be playing in preparing the ground for such an invasion. They ignore the fact (and this is what I mean by saying that they try to paint the entire 1964-1974 period with the same brush) that from 1968 and onwards they had an almost complete freedom of movement throughout Cyprus, to work, conduct trade, re-settle in most of their previously abandoned areas, etc, without anybody been harmed by any GC; while it was their side that restricted freedom of movement in what they regarded as TC areas or enclaves. If those enclaves, between 1964-1967, had a reason to be set up due to the inter-communal clashes and yes due to security concern arising from the fact that a number of atrocities occurred (from both sides but with a higher proportion on the part of the GCs;) from 1968 and onwards, their continued existence (enclaves) was of a purely TC leadership making, in order to better facilitate the longing of a Turkish invasion. What makes me be seen sometimes to play down their suffering (although this is not my intention,) is purely due all the hypocrisy and the lack of a genuine attempt to investigate this period they make all these claims, with a critical eye, and instead they exaggerate and distort it in such a way so as to be able to justify and vindicate Turkey’s actions in 1974 and afterwards, and to justify and legitimize their unreasonable demands nowadays, towards a solution.
