Cyprus-Forum.com

[Piratis]

The inter-communal conflict was started by the TCs in 1958. But the problems in Cyprus between the native Cypriot people and the invading Turks started much earlier than that.

Had there been no Turkish expansionism, there would be no Turks in Cyprus, and no Cyprus problem.

This is where you are so wrong. If we didn't come to Cyprus, you would have remaind bunch of Pirates. We came saved you from the dreaded Catholics and is that all the thanks we get!

I now wish we never came to Cyprus and civilised you.

YFred, it is a fact that the Ottoman era was one of the worst for Cyprus. There was no progress whatsoever for those 300+ years, the population instead of increasing it was decreasing, and in general it has been some of the darkest years of the history of Cyprus.

The Catholics were also bad (but not as bad), but at least they didn't try to colonize the island with 10s of thousands of their own and create a permanent problem to Cyprus.

[YFred]

Another quote from the same Cyprus Mail article:

Is he rich after being the leader of north Cyprus for more than 30 years? Does he have a very high pension? What does he do with it?

“I have a pension but it is not very high and I live on it,” he says. “And I am not rich. I don’t have luxurious cars or a luxurious life style. I never worked for money. But you know what?” he laughs suddenly. “Had there been no Cyprus problem, I would have been the richest lawyer in Cyprus. (When I first practiced) both Greeks and Turks used to come to me.”

Is this claim true?

It is true that he was not wealthy before 1974. However, since than he benefitted most from the allocation of GC land in the north. So no, it is not, he is very wealthy. About 5 families are extremely rich, he is one of them, Boyaci is another. They are all crooks.

This is what I thought. Thanks for confirming that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxYiOI-fgmU&NR=1

Tim its this one, it does not have to be word for word. Just the gist of it will do.

Regards

[Piratis]

Had there been no Turkish expansionism, there would be no Turks in Cyprus, and no Cyprus problem.

The so-called GCs would have extincted as poor serfs, under the brutal oppression of Venetians. Had Turks haven't conquered Cyprus, there would have been another world power taken control of Cyprus. Currently, the South of Cyprus is under full control of "imperialist"/"expansionist" EU countries and the Northern Cyprus is under control of TCs and Turkey.

We have been under many rulers before and we were never extinct. Our population kept increasing under all other rulers, except the time of the Ottomans that the native population was actually decreasing while 10s of thousands of Turkish Settlers (later to be called TCs) were imported to our island. It is like what you do today. You occupy our lands and you import Turkish settlers to Cyprus.

Cyprus is in the EU because Cyprus wants to be in the EU. On the other hand the north part of our country is under the illegal occupation of Turkey, against the wishes of the native Cypriot people, who the Turks have ethnically cleansed and replaced them with yet more Turkish Settlers.

[YFred]

The inter-communal conflict was started by the TCs in 1958. But the problems in Cyprus between the native Cypriot people and the invading Turks started much earlier than that.

Had there been no Turkish expansionism, there would be no Turks in Cyprus, and no Cyprus problem.

This is where you are so wrong. If we didn't come to Cyprus, you would have remaind bunch of Pirates. We came saved you from the dreaded Catholics and is that all the thanks we get!

I now wish we never came to Cyprus and civilised you.

YFred, it is a fact that the Ottoman era was one of the worst for Cyprus. There was no progress whatsoever for those 300+ years, the population instead of increasing it was decreasing, and in general it has been some of the darkest years of the history of Cyprus.

The Catholics were also bad (but not as bad), but at least they didn't try to colonize the island with 10s of thousands of their own and create a permanent problem to Cyprus.

Your argument does not hold water. The same is said about the ottomans. Their population did not increase in that time period. Are you disputing the fact that when the ottomans came to Cyprus, they were welcomed. Look at your statistics and see how many Greek Cypriots were killed at the time. I wouldn't mind betting that it was none. It was all my ancesters, the Catholics that were killed. But infact Ottomons only killed those who resisted. They were not cold blodded killers. This principle goes right back to Cengiz Han. They never killed people that did not resist. It is an accepted historical fact, by all historians I have hear talk abouth this subject.
As far as Culture is concerened they allowed everyone their culture and religion. With the exception of a few churches they converted to mosques and all that.

[insan]

Had there been no Turkish expansionism, there would be no Turks in Cyprus, and no Cyprus problem.

The so-called GCs would have extincted as poor serfs, under the brutal oppression of Venetians. Had Turks haven't conquered Cyprus, there would have been another world power taken control of Cyprus. Currently, the South of Cyprus is under full control of "imperialist"/"expansionist" EU countries and the Northern Cyprus is under control of TCs and Turkey.

We have been under many rulers before and we were never extinct. Our population kept increasing under all other rulers, except the time of the Ottomans that the native population was actually decreasing while 10s of thousands of Turkish Settlers (later to be called TCs) were imported to our island. It is like what you do today. You occupy our lands and you import Turkish settlers to Cyprus.

Cyprus is in the EU because Cyprus wants to be in the EU. On the other hand the north part of our country is under the illegal occupation of Turkey, against the wishes of the native Cypriot people, who the Turks have ethnically cleansed and replaced them with yet more Turkish Settlers.

It is said that there had been 1 or 2 major earthquakes and diseases that totally destroyed some cities and villages during the Ottoman rule in Cyprus. On the other hand, it is highly probable that after the independence of Greece, in 1821, many GCs migrated to Greece.

[YFred]

Did the ottomans destroy Salamis too?

[Piratis]

Of course the Ottomans were not welcomed. Stop repeating the ridiculous things that you were taught in your elementary school.

Throughout the period of Venetian rule, Ottoman Turks raided and attacked at will. In 1489, the first year of Venetian control, Turks attacked the Karpas Peninsula, pillaging and taking captives to be sold into slavery. In 1539 the Turkish fleet attacked and destroyed Limassol. Fearing the ever-expanding Ottoman Empire, the Venetians had fortified Famagusta, Nicosia, and Kyrenia, but most other cities were easy prey.

In the summer of 1570, the Turks struck again, but this time with a full-scale invasion rather than a raid. About 60,000 troops, including cavalry and artillery, under the command of Lala Mustafa Pasha landed unopposed near Limassol on July 2, 1570, and laid siege to Nicosia. In an orgy of victory on the day that the city fell--September 9, 1570--20,000 Nicosians were put to death, and every church, public building, and palace was looted.

Here we are talking about destroying whole cities and killing people by the 10s of thousands!!

[insan]

Of course the Ottomans were not welcomed. Stop repeating the ridiculous things that you were taught in your elementary school.

Throughout the period of Venetian rule, Ottoman Turks raided and attacked at will. In 1489, the first year of Venetian control, Turks attacked the Karpas Peninsula, pillaging and taking captives to be sold into slavery. In 1539 the Turkish fleet attacked and destroyed Limassol. Fearing the ever-expanding Ottoman Empire, the Venetians had fortified Famagusta, Nicosia, and Kyrenia, but most other cities were easy prey.

In the summer of 1570, the Turks struck again, but this time with a full-scale invasion rather than a raid. About 60,000 troops, including cavalry and artillery, under the command of Lala Mustafa Pasha landed unopposed near Limassol on July 2, 1570, and laid siege to Nicosia. In an orgy of victory on the day that the city fell--September 9, 1570--20,000 Nicosians were put to death, and every church, public building, and palace was looted.

Here we are talking about destroying whole cities and killing people by the 10s of thousands!!

Why did Ottomans free GCs from serfdom and grant u lands? Ottomans hadn't have to free serfdom of GCs, abolish the feudal system and give u a degree of autonomy. So, why?

The Orthodox Christians, i.e., the Greek Cypriots who survived, had new foreign overlords. Some early decisions of these new rulers were welcome innovations. The feudal system was abolished, and the freed serfs were enabled to acquire land and work their own farms. Although the small landholdings of the peasants were heavily taxed, the ending of serfdom changed the lives of the island's ordinary people. Another action of far-reaching importance was the granting of land to Turkish soldiers and peasants who became the nucleus of the island's Turkish community.

Although their homeland had been dominated by foreigners for many centuries, it was only after the imposition of Ottoman rule that Orthodox Christians began to develop a really strong sense of cohesiveness. This change was prompted by the Ottoman practice of ruling the empire through millets, or religious communities. Rather than suppressing the empire's many religious communities, the Turks allowed them a degree of automony as long as they complied with the demands of the sultan. The vast size and the ethnic variety of the empire made such a policy imperative. The system of governing through millets reestablished the authority of the Church of Cyprus and made its head the Greek Cypriot leader, or ethnarch. It became the responsibility of the ethnarch to administer the territories where his flock lived and to collect taxes. The religious convictions and functions of the ethnarch were of no concern to the empire as long as its needs were met.

In 1575 the Turks granted permission for the return of the archbishop and the three bishops of the Church of Cyprus to their respective sees. They also abolished the feudal system for they saw it as an extraneous power structure, unnecessary and dangerous. The autocephalous Church of Cyprus could function in its place for the political and fiscal administration of the island's Christian inhabitants. Its structured hierarchy put even remote villages within easy reach of the central authority. Both parties benefited. Greek Cypriots gained a measure of autonomy, and the empire received revenues without the bother of administration.

[Piratis]

Why did Ottomans free GCs from serfdom and grant u lands? Ottomans hadn't have to free serfdom of GCs, abolish the feudal system and give u a degree of autonomy. So, why?

Because that was the way the Ottomans managed their empire. They gave to people fields, and then they taxed them to death. The church was used as their tax collectors.

There was no autonomy. The native Cypriot people were still slaves, since they were not allowed to take any decision for their own island.

[Bananiot]

Insan, for a person who reads the Kuran, your picture is a little out of character, please change it. My children are arounf when I am on this forum.

I thought Denktash reads the koran