Cyprus-Forum.com

[Bananiot]

Askimwos, what you wrote about the mother countries is basically true. However, I have just read a letter sent by Inonu, Prime Minister of Turkey, to Kucuk, the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, in March 1964. Inonu was begging the Turkish Cypriots to return to the RoC! Kucuk, a moderate politician, replied that the Turkish Cypriots would rather emigrate to Turkey than return.

How do you explain this? How does anyone explain this?

[EPSILON]

Have you anything intelligent to say Mr Foreigner !! Greek Republic of Cyprus , you traitor to your nation.

Miltiade, chronia polla me ygeia kai meta ta evdominta mporei na pyxei kai to mialo soy

[Medman]

My grandfather was moved to Kophinou during this time from Lefkara. This Cetin man was a complete tosser and mad to boot. He threatened the elderly or anyone who opposed him and saw himself as a demi god. Some TC's blame him for this incident. I spoke to my father about this and he mentioned that rumours circled that he is still alive and living in Kyrenia.

I remember people leaving Lefkara in the 1958/59 years. Quite a few familes from Lefkara hd moved to Kophinou even then. Medman, did you go to school in Kophinou? What year?

Dear Denizaksulu

My grandparents left Lefkara in 1964 due to problems in the village between the Greeks and Turks. My grandparents never recovered and died through the depression of leaving everthing behind. I'm sure there is similar stories for both communities. Kophinou was no Lefkara I'm afraid and I have been fortunate enough to see both villages. My grandad is buried in a cemetry in Kophinou which has seen better days. My dad states that some Greek Cypriots in Lefkara stood up to the Greek officers who forced the TC's out. However they were threatened by the Greek officers in no uncertain terms and UN were next to useless and well we all know how the rest turned out. My Grandad's name was Lagho and he farmed the hills around Lefkara.

[Tim Drayton]

Askimwos, what you wrote about the mother countries is basically true. However, I have just read a letter sent by Inonu, Prime Minister of Turkey, to Kucuk, the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, in March 1964. Inonu was begging the Turkish Cypriots to return to the RoC! Kucuk, a moderate politician, replied that the Turkish Cypriots would rather emigrate to Turkey than return.

How do you explain this? How does anyone explain this?

I have just been reading Arif Hasan Tahsin's latest book about the recent history of Cyprus (actually a collection of a long series of newspaper articles). In it he stresses several times that, in his opinion, this letter from İnönü to Kutchuk, and Kutchuk's reply to this letter, constitute the two most important documents in Turkish Cypriot history since the republic was founded.

The complete texts of these documents are reproduced in this book. I think the following quote from İnönü's letter is very important [my translation]:

Pursuant to a resolution passed by the Security Council, an international peace-keeping force will shortly be sent to Cyprus. We hope and desire that by this means it will be possible to establish security on the Island in the shortest possible space of time. After security has been established by this means, if the Turks persist in declining to assume their duties and positions within the Cyprus state, objections and complaints made by our side concerning the Greek Cypriots’ single-handed pursuit of state affairs to the detriment of the Turks’ rights and interests will not be countenanced by world public opinion. In addition to this, the single-handed domination of state affairs by the Greek Cypriots until such time as a final solution is found to the Cyprus problem will undoubtedly give rise to various restrictions as far as the rights and interests of the Turks are concerned.

Therefore, the taking of the necessary measures to establish security on the Island and, once these have been taken, the swiftest possible gradual return, beginning with the Vice-President and the Turkish Ministers, of all Turks to their positions within the state mechanism and their firm and tenacious opposition to the Greek Cypriots’ adverse activities from within the state mechanism will assist greatly towards the success of our national cause.

I can't help thinking that, in hindsight, he was right.

[DT.]

Askimwos, what you wrote about the mother countries is basically true. However, I have just read a letter sent by Inonu, Prime Minister of Turkey, to Kucuk, the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, in March 1964. Inonu was begging the Turkish Cypriots to return to the RoC! Kucuk, a moderate politician, replied that the Turkish Cypriots would rather emigrate to Turkey than return.

How do you explain this? How does anyone explain this?

I read the same article Bananiot. Inonu was worried that the Tc's would be giving up all legitimacy in the future if they did not return to the govt. Makes you think that if Inonu requested this despite the Makarios amendments, perhaps the situation was still workable and not as dire as Kucuk and denktash made it out to be.

Reminds me of the letter found in the ministry of defense after the tc minister left in a hurry. Instructions from denktash and kucuk on non-cooperation with regards to the 1960 constitution in favour for the life long dream of Taksim, before any 13 amendments were even proposed.

[Nikitas]

Obviously Inonu as a politician relied on political means to promote what he calls his "national cause". There is no express statement regarding this "national cause" , at least on the Greek side we had an open admission at the highest level, openly and cleary stated: the policy was one of Union until the takeover by the Junta in 1967. Shortly after we had the Kofinou incident and the covert adoption of double union.

There is another aspect that I see- the unwillingness of either community to accept that it has been used by the motherland in a proxy war. Neither motherland has ever risked any part of itself to gain Cyprus. Every move they made in Cyprus was risk free for them.

The GCs realised the game played against them by Greece and changed course. The TCs are still hell bent on self imposed extinction.

[Bananiot]

Nikitas wrote

The GCs realised the game played against them by Greece and changed course. The TCs are still hell bent on self imposed extinction.

I think we need to be more careful here. It is easy to make wild claims. For the Turkish Cypriots the number one priority was their survival, thanks to the heroics of our patriots. Kucuk said they would rather immigrate to Turkey than return to the RoC. Please do not tell me that their fears were unfounded. Thus, you cannot spook someone with extinction if this person knows that in Turkey he will survive. Let all those that still dream that a unitary Cyprus is still possible take note too and perhaps come to terms with the reality, which is as much our making as the other side. We both helped towards this but we shoulder most of the responsibility because we and only we could contain the rampant nationalism of those critical years. We could have easily done this by protecting the ordinary Turkish Cypriots, showing affection to them and making them feel that this island belonged to all of us. They would have no motivation to turn to Denktash and the TMT for protection then. Instead, we played the game of the partitionists of the other side and in so doing we laid the grounds for the eventual destruction of Cyprus.

Because Cyprus is a small place, we can all see that many of those who oppose solution and have rejected every single plan for solution since 1959, are those that in the troubled years fed the appetite of Turkish nationalism, by murdering ordinary Turkish Cypriots and we the rest, saw heroes in them. Do you know anyone Nikitas (you are old enough) from our side, who shed tears for the murdered infants in Omorphita? Yes, we did show emotions, but only as to disprove that we were responsible for those murders. Have you, or anyone else, shed a tear for the tragic hospital patients who were dragged from their hospital beds and executed like stray dogs and thrown into wells?

I do not know anyone, who felt even a little bit for our murdered compatriots. They were expendable Nikitas and we were proud of what we were doing, as long as we were “winning”. Now, it will take more than the threat of extinction to convince the Turkish Cypriots to “come to their senses”.

[denizaksulu]

My grandfather was moved to Kophinou during this time from Lefkara. This Cetin man was a complete tosser and mad to boot. He threatened the elderly or anyone who opposed him and saw himself as a demi god. Some TC's blame him for this incident. I spoke to my father about this and he mentioned that rumours circled that he is still alive and living in Kyrenia.

I remember people leaving Lefkara in the 1958/59 years. Quite a few familes from Lefkara hd moved to Kophinou even then. Medman, did you go to school in Kophinou? What year?

Dear Denizaksulu

My grandparents left Lefkara in 1964 due to problems in the village between the Greeks and Turks. My grandparents never recovered and died through the depression of leaving everthing behind. I'm sure there is similar stories for both communities. Kophinou was no Lefkara I'm afraid and I have been fortunate enough to see both villages. My grandad is buried in a cemetry in Kophinou which has seen better days. My dad states that some Greek Cypriots in Lefkara stood up to the Greek officers who forced the TC's out. However they were threatened by the Greek officers in no uncertain terms and UN were next to useless and well we all know how the rest turned out. My Grandad's name was Lagho and he farmed the hills around Lefkara.

Hi Medman.

My grandparent too died within a year of leaving their homes in Anglissidhes. I ent to primary school in Kophinou in 1956 to 1958. We had relatives there. Do you remember the FINA petrol station? Nearly opposite the police station. The owner was my cousin.

I visited Kophinou after the 1967 events. The graveyard was badly damaged/broken up during the '67 incidents. Sad.

I agree that Lefkara must be more beautiful than dreary but much loved Kophinou. I have never been there but seen documentaries and the location of the village high above ours was always a source of envy.

My father would narrate the tales of his trips up there on his donkey. He would be trading farm produce to the villagers in exchage for the local delicacies. Those days Lefkara made the best Lokum in Cyprus. He would also trade in 'Lefkaridi', the local handicrat of 'Lace'.

[Bananiot]

My god Deniz, it tears my heart to hear these stories. What have we done to Cyprus?

[Oracle]

We let the Turks in .....