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The Pogrom

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On 7 September, the Menderes government closed the Cyprus is Turkish Association (CTA) and arrested its executives. A CTA detainee, and spy, named Kamil Önal had one of his CTA associates burn an intelligence report originating from the National Security Service (NSS) that was at the CTA office. In addition, a member from the Kızıltoprak branch, Serafim Sağlamel, was found to be carrying an address list of non-Muslim citizens. 34 trade unions were dissolved. The Minister of Internal Affairs resigned on September 10.[13] On September 12, the government blamed Turkish Communists for the pogrom, arresting 45 "card-carrying communists" (including Aziz Nesin, Kemal Tahir, and İlhan Berktay).[7][12] This type of "false flag" anti-Communist propaganda was a staple of the Counter-Guerrilla. When opposition leader İsmet İnönü delivered a speech criticizing the government for rounding up innocent people instead of the actual perpetrators, the communists were released in December 1955. An angry Menderes said that İnönü would not be forgiven for his speech, pardoning the communists.[11]

Oktay Engin and consulate employee Hasan Uçar were arrested on 18 September. Engin was first charged with executing the attack, but he presented an alibi so the charge was dropped to incitement.[17] He was detained for nine months. Three months later, the NSS exfiltrated him before the Greek courts sentenced him to 3.5 years. In addition, Turkey refused Greece's extradition request.[30]

87 CTA leaders were released in December 1955, while 17 were taken to court on 12 February 1956. The indictment initially blamed the CTA only for inciting some students to burn Greek newspapers in Taksim Square. In response to police chief Kemal Aygün's question about the Cominform's role in the affair, Şevki Mutlugil of the NSS cooked a report, which concluded that the Comintern and Cominform had conspired to sabotage NATO. As proof, the prosecution submitted some brochures from the Communist Party of Turkey and a pair of letters from Nâzım Hikmet which called on the workers of Cyprus to stand against imperialism. To bolster the claims, the indictment claimed that NSS agent Kamil Önal had contacted the Comintern while on duty in Lebanon and defected, effectively exonerating the NSS.[13]

The remaining prisoners were released on 12 January 1957 for lack of evidence, by order of the Istanbul First Penal Court (Turkish: İstanbul 1. Ceza Mahkemesi).[13]

The chargé d’affaires at the British Embassy in Ankara, Michael Stewart, directly implicated Menderes’ Demokrat Parti in the execution of the attack. “There is fairly reliable evidence that local Demokrat Parti representatives were among the leaders of the rioting in various parts of Istanbul, notably in the Marmara islands, and it has been argued that only the Demokrat Parti had the political organisation in the country capable of demonstrations on the scale that occurred,” he reported, refusing to assign blame to the party as a whole or Menderes personally, however.[citation needed] The Foreign Office pointedly underscored the fact that British citizens were also victims of the attack.[11]

Although British ambassador to Ankara, Bowker, advised British Foreign Secretary Harold Macmillan that the United Kingdom should “court a sharp rebuff by admonishing Turkey”, only a note of distinctly mild disapproval was dispatched to Menderes.[8] The context of the Cold War led Britain and the U.S. to absolve the Menderes government of the direct political blame that it was due. The efforts of Greece to internationalize the human rights violations through international organizations such as the UN and NATO found little sympathy. British NATO representative Cheetham deemed it “undesirable” to probe the pogrom. U.S. representative Edwin Martin thought the effect on the alliance was exaggerated, and the French, Belgians and Norwegians urged the Greeks to “let bygones be bygones”. Indeed, the North Atlantic Council issued a statement that the Turkish government had done everything that could be expected.[citation needed]

By popular vote, the Cyprus issue was dropped from the U.N. agenda on 23 September 1955. Britain had successfully avoided a potential diplomatic embarrassment

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The Pogrom

Aftermath
The DP paid 60 million in compensation to those who could document their loss.[2]

Tensions continued and in 1958–1959, Turkish nationalist students embarked on a campaign encouraging the boycott of all Greek businesses. The task was completed eight years later in 1964 when the Ankara government reneged on the 1930 Greco-Turkish Ankara Convention, which established the right of Greek etablis (Greeks who were born and lived in Istanbul but held Greek citizenship) to live and work in Turkey. Around 12,000[31] ethnic Greeks without Turkish citizenship were deported from Turkey with two day's notice, and the Greek community of Istanbul shrunk from 80,000 (or 100,000 by some accounts) persons in 1955 to only 48,000 in 1965. Today, the Greek community numbers about 5,000, mostly older, Greeks.[32]

After the military coup of 1960, Menderes and Zorlu were charged at the Yassiada Trial in 1960–61 with violating the constitution. The trial also made reference to the pogrom, for which they were blamed. While the accused were denied fundamental rights regarding their defence, they were found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.

The military prosecutor at the time, vice admiral Fahri Çoker,[33] kept documents and photographs of the event in order to educate posterity. He entrusted them to the Turkish Historical Society, stipulating that they be exhibited 25 years after his death. When the date passed and the documents were exhibited in 2005, a group of ultranationalist Ülküculer raided and defaced the exhibit[6][26] by hurling eggs at the photographs and trampling over them.[34]

The editor of the Istanbul Ekspres, Gökşin Sipahioğlu, went on to found Sipa Press; an international photo agency based in France. The owner, Mithat Perin, became a parliamentarian; he was already in the DP.[14]

Oktay Engin continued his studies at Istanbul University's Faculty of Law. His school in Salonica refused to share his transcript, so with only a certificate of showing she had completed the first year, the university senate allowed Engin to continue from the second. After graduation, he started an internship in Cyprus. However, he was summoned by Orhan Öztırak, the minister of internal affairs, to monitor Greek radio stations. Next he placed first in a government exam that led to his to becoming the governor (kaymakam) of the most important district, Çankaya. One year later, the chief of the police force, Hayrettin Nakipoğlu, invited him to be the chair of the Political Affairs Branch (Turkish: Siyasi İşler Şube Müdürü). Under normal conditions, reaching such a position would require 15-20 years of work starting from his position as a district governor. He remained in the police force thereafter, working his way up to the chief of the security department, and the deputy chief of the entire police force. Finally, in 1991 he was promoted to the governor of Nevşehir Province.[18] Engin rejects all allegations of culpability[17]—indeed, of even being a spy or any acquaintance of General Yirmibeşoğlu.[35]

In August 1995, the US Senate passed a special resolution marking the September 1955 pogrom, calling on the President of the United States Bill Clinton to proclaim 6 September as a Day of Memory for the victims of the pogrom

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul_Pogrom#cite_note-9

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Turkish Daily News

07.09.2005
The shame of Sept. 6-7 is always with us

I am one of the living witnesses of what happened in Istanbul 50 years ago. I was 14 years old. I did not know what it was all about. However, the passage of time made me understand the seriousness of the incidents and I always carry the shame.


Mehmet Ali BIRAND



I am one of the living witnesses of what happened in Istanbul 50 years ago. I was 14 years old. I did not know what it was all about. However, the passage of time made me understand the seriousness of the incidents, and I always carry the shame. Even though it was the only such incident in which the Turkish state officially admitted its culpability and tried to compensate its victims, it still continues to weigh on our conscience.

I can never forget.

I can still remember what I saw in Beyoğlu on the morning of Sept. 7, 1955.

I had to go to Galatasaray High School to register for their preliminary class. I reached Beyoğlu with great difficulty. When I went to Tunel from Karaköy, I just was flabbergasted.

The scene was shocking.

The huge street seemed like a war zone, with windows of the shops on both sides of the street shattered and all their goods strewn all over the street. Bunches of clothes, books, notebooks, chandeliers and much more. People were taking home whatever they could find. The scene was like judgment day.

I was a child, and I had no idea what had happened.

What I noticed immediately was that while some shops were plundered, others were not even touched. I had a look and saw that there was a Turkish flag hanging on the windows of the shops that were not looted. Those that were had Greek names.

People with long beards and those who were dressed very shabbily were walking around. I saw that some people who were dressed normally were hiding in the shops, looking outside.

The police and the soldiers seemed like they were saying: "Enough is enough. You did what you did, but now just leave." They were both intervening and not intervening at the same time.

That scene has always remained with me.

Even though half a century has passed, I still shiver when I remember it.

When I read the newspapers a day later, I realized the extent of the matter.

Similar incidents had occurred also in Taksim and Şişli, where most of the citizens of Greek origin lived. Not only the shops, but also churches, even cemeteries were damaged and plundered. Jewish citizens also got their share of trouble, but the main targets were Greeks.

Newspapers were writing about people waving Turkish flags, pleading with the looters: "Please don't do it. I'm a Turk. I am a Turkish citizen."

It was a disgusting, belittling and tragic affair.

My mother and other adults were criticizing what had happened, while officials were talking about "the placing of a bomb at the house in Thessaloniki where Atatürk was born, which had been turned into a museum, and the anger felt against what was happening in Cyprus," explaining that the people had become enraged.

We were living on Ethem Efendi Street at the time. Our neighbors were mostly Greek. They were my best friends. All of a sudden, they shut themselves in their homes. They talked to no one. I can never forget Madam Eleni when she asked, "Can we seek refuge in your home if they attack us?" The barbershop she managed with her husband was in ruins. They were in shock. My mother sent them food for a week. We let them live in one of our rooms.

I was too young to make sense of what had happened. Why should they attack Madam Eleni? What could they ask from them? Why were they different from me?

As I was seeking answers to these questions, the Greek families in our neighborhood started to move to other places or go to Greece. After 1963 none of them were left. They left Istanbul.

They took with them an important culture, a color and a different lifestyle.

They left us alone in Istanbul to live our colorless lives.

Later on we were full of regret, but by then it was too late.


Turkey admitted all culpability, accepted responsibility:

Much later, we learned the Sept. 6-7 incidents were the doing of the infamous "deep state." It was planned with government approval in order to let diplomats say "The people are reacting" during the U.N. discussions on Cyprus. However, it later got out of control and turned into a shameful plunder. It became a crime that the deep state could not handle, and it shamed the Turkish nation.

What's interesting is that apart from a few injuries, no one was killed. It wasn't a massacre. It was a disgusting plunder aimed at frightening people.

What's even more interesting is the way Sept. 6-7 shamed us and hurt us and tainted us as a nation.

This was also recorded as the only such incident when the Republic of Turkey officially admitted its responsibility, apologized and compensated the victims.

At the Yassıada trials, after the May 21, 1960 military coup, the Sept. 6-7 incidents were investigated down to the smallest detail, and those held responsible were tried and punished.

As always, there was no mention as the deep state. It emerged entirely unscathed by the affair. A few thieves, civilians with no links to the planning or to the politicians, were punished.

In the later years, whenever the Sept. 6-7 incidents were mentioned, I felt an overwhelming shame and I always apologized to the victims I saw at international meetings.

During the Sept. 6-7 incidents our Turkishness was trampled underfoot. It was then I realized that if we don't criticize such incidents and apologize to the victims, we can never feel proud of ourselves.

Apologizing is enriching. It shows self-confidence.

Discriminating due to religion, language or culture or using force on the weak is belittling one's self.

I don't know you, but I apologize to our neighbor Madam Eleni from Erenköy.

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Destroying a minority: Turkey's attack on the Greeks
Speros Vryonis' new book on the 1955 Istanbul pogrom documents theorganised state-sponsored violence that crushed an illustrious minority
GEORGE GILSON






Demolished shops and smashed merchandise in Yuksek Kaldirim street

THE FIFTIETH anniversary of the September 6-7 pogrom that destroyed Istanbul's illustrious Greek minority could scarcely have had a more monumental commemoration than Professor Speros Vryonis' exhaustive new study - The Mechanism of Catastrophe: The Turkish Pogrom of September 6-7, 1955, and the Destruction of the Greek Community of Istanbul (Greekworks. com, 2005). The eminent Harvard-trained Byzantinist, who after UCLA completed a long stint as director of the Onassis Centre in New York, first followed the 1955 events analysed in his book's 650 pages, from the foreign press, while at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington DC. He noted that reports, which praised Turkish state intervention to restore order only after disaster had been wreaked, reflected the official government reaction. In the following decades Vryonis collected a plethora of primary and secondary sources that documented the highly organised state violence aimed at the ethnic cleansing of the Greek community.

The book includes a plethora of invaluable photos of the destruction by Ecumenical Patriarchate photographer Demetrios Kaloumenos, who documented the horrendous results of the pogrom attacks



Head uncovered, Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras prays before the overturned altar table of the destroyed Panagia church in Belgratkapi

Vryonis takes pains to thrash out the complex political and economic context of the pogrom both domestically and internationally, from the Cold War setting that led allies Britain and the US to absolve Turkey's Menderes government of the direct political blame that it was due, to the complex way that the Cyprus problem was used by Ankara as a propaganda tool to fan the flames of chauvinist nationalism and religious intolerance against the Greeks. Vryonis documents how, against a backdrop of severe economic woes, Menderes and his hardline foreign minister, Fatin Zorlu, mobilised the formidable machinery of the ruling Demokrat Parti (DP) with the crucial collaboration of the party-controlled trade unions of Istanbul, to destroy within a period of nine hours - and under the supervision of interior minister Namik Gedik - over 4,000 Greek businesses and over 3,000 Greek homes. British diplomatic sources put the damages at 100 million pounds. The task was completed eight years later, when thousands of Greek nationals or "etablis" (most born in Turkey and a high percentage married to Greek Turkish citizens) were deported when Ankara denounced a 1930 Greek-Turkish convention establishing their right to live and work in Turkey. Today, the Greek community appears destined for extinction, since there remain in Istanbul fewer than 2,000 mostly older Greeks, the remnants of the once 150,000-strong minority.



A looted house-store (residential building with a store on the ground floor) with a Turkish soldier, who took part in the looting, standing guard

Vryonis offers an in-depth analysis of how the Greek push for self-determination in Cyprus, where Greek-Cypriots constituted 83 percent of the population, provided a convenient basis for a state-supported propaganda campaign that - with the involvement of the Turkish press - galvanised public opinion against the Greek minority. That included rumours spouted even by Menderes himself that the Greek-Cypriots planned to massacre Turkish-Cypriots on August 28, barely two weeks before the Istanbul pogrom. The Turkish conspiracy to detonate an explosive on September 5-6 at the Turkish consulate in Greece's northern port city of Thessaloniki, reputed to be the birthplace of Kemal Ataturk, was the propaganda spark that lit the fire on the day of the pogrom. At the 1960-61 Yassiada trial that convicted Menderes and Zorlu to death by hanging for violating the constitution (the pogrom was a secondary factor for which they were blamed at the trial), it emerged that the consulate bomb fuse was sent from Turkey to Thessaloniki on September 3, three days before the pogrom. The evidence, however, shows that highly orchestrated attacks by a mob of 300,000 (the figure cited by Zorlu's lawyer at the Yassiada trial) in a radius of 40 miles was planned considerably earlier and marshalled the formidable apparatus of the ruling party.

Vryonis places the pogrom in the context of the Young Turks' traditional programme, that of removing all minorities in order to achieve the Turcification of the entire country. The forced conscription of Greeks and Jews (males aged 18-45) who were placed in forced heavy-labour battalions in 1941 and the punitive varlik vergisi capital tax in 1942 that sent thousands of Greeks, Jews and Armenians who could not pay to the harsh snow-bound labour camps of Ashkale ( a Turkish Siberia) were two prime examples. Earlier, in 1932, a parliamentary law barred Greek citizens living in Turkey from a series of 30 trades and professions (from tailor and carpenter to medicine, law and real estate). "A series of some 31 laws during the period between the two world wars severely crippled and, finally, paralysed the community as a result of these efforts to reduce its political, legal, economic and cultural presence," Vryonis notes.

British charge d'affaires Michael Stewart directly implicates Menderes' Demokrat Parti (DP) in the execution of the attack. "There is fairly reliable evidence that local Demokrat Parti representatives were among the leaders of the rioting in various parts of Istanbul, notably in the Marmara islands, and it has been argued that only the Demokrat Parti had the political organisation in the country capable of demonstrations on the scale that occurred," said Stewart, but he refused to assign blame to the party as a whole or Menderes personally.

The book documents the direct role of the DP chapters in amassing the army of rioters that swept Istanbul, with the case study of Eskishehir among the most telling examples. There the party recruited 400-500 workers from local factories, who were carted by train with third class-tickets to Istanbul. They were accompanied by Eskishehir police, who were charged with coordinating the destruction and looting once the contingent was broken up into sub-groups of 40-50 men, and the leaders of the party chapters. The numbers would suggest that thousands were recruited from western Asia Minor. The evidence shows that the workers were promised the equivalent of $6, which was never paid.

The crucial role of the government-controlled trade unions of Istanbul and surrounding areas in executing the pogrom is thoroughly documented in the book, which reveals how Menderes denied access to the minutes of meetings of the unions and of the local DP chapters.


Tools of destruction and nationalist recruits


Bishop Gerasimos of Pamphilos, abbot of the Zoodochos Pege monastery, lies in hospital of Balikli after being beaten during the pogrom. He died from his wounds soon afterwards

Municipal and government trucks were placed in strategic points all around the city to distribute the tools of destruction - shovels, pick axes, crowbars ramming rods and gasoline - while 4,000 private taxis were requisitioned to transport the pogromists.

The ruling party also recruited student and irredentist organisations that played a role in the vitriolic attacks against the Greek minority. The National Federation of Turkish Students and the National Union of Turkish Students were used since 1954 to attack the minority and the Ecumenical Patriarchate through demonstrations and demands. The Cyprus is Turkish Organisation, with 18 chapters in Istanbul (10 run by DP officials), had direct links to Menderes and played a crucial role in whipping up anti-Greek hatred.

Whereas the pogrom started around 5pm on September 6, with the many Greek shops on Istanbul's main shopping street, Istiklal, ransacked by the mob by 7pm, the army only intervened after midnight. Eyewitnesses reported that earlier army officers and policemen participated in the rampages and in many cases urged them on.

Greek dentist Anestes Chatzeandreou's eyewitness account is characteristic. "I saw a raging mob of Turks, about 25-30 of them, holding iron crowbars, shafts, clubs, and they were smashing the stores and doors of the houses right and left, smashing the glass panes and display windows while shouting 'Death to the Gavurs' [infidels] and 'Massacre the Greek traitors'. At 10.10pm, we cautiously went out and the first thing we saw was a vast brightness to the east, exactly over Istanbul's Greek area of Pera, a sign of arson used by the Turks to cover the orgy of stealing and looting."

Housewife Gedikouliane Ioannidou-Moysidou recounted how Greek Christian houses were marked for destruction in advance. "They had marked all the Greek houses with the letter 'X', which meant here lives a Christian. They had no difficulty finding us for everything had been planned ahead of time... They brought from Anatolia all the barbarians, whom they instructed on how to smash, destroy and steal," she said.

The pogromists were instructed not to kill, but about 13 Greeks, including a bishop, died from the severe beatings. Dozens of Greek women and some young men were raped. A number of men, mainly priests, were subjected to circumcision by frenzied members of the mob, according to the account of Turkish writer Aziz Nesin. An Armenian priest died after the procedure.

On many commercial streets the mounds from the smashed and torn merchandise dragged into the streets from Greek stores rose to nearly a metre.

Eyes shut on pogrom

Vryonis describes the disappointing results of Greece's efforts to internationalise the tremendous human rights violations through international organisations such as the UN and Nato. In Izmir Greek officers and their families were attacked and their homes pillaged. But the Greeks found little sympathy. British Nato representative Cheetham deemed it "undesirable" to probe the pogrom. US representative Edwin Martin thought the effect on the alliance was exaggerated, and the French, Belgians and Norwegians urged the Greeks to "let bygones be bygones". Indeed, the Nato Council issued a statement that the Turkish government had done everything that could be expected.

As for compensation, the Greeks ended up receiving about 20 percent of claims that had already been vastly reduced from the actual cost of the devastating damages.

The interest of international religious groups such as the World Council of Churches was much more substantial, as 90 percent of Istanbul's Greek Orthodox churches were attacked, many destroyed entirely by arson and rampant vandalism. The author stresses the religious fanaticism evident in the attacks, a phenomenon which Menderes had fuelled with his un-Kemalist support of and reliance on Islamist forces, as evidenced by the building of 1,000 mosques during his tenure. Menderes' lack of religious observance of the Kemalist tenets was a sin for which he paid with his life.

Half a century after the pogrom, Vryonis concludes that the Turkish military establishment's continuing stranglehold on power has prevented the respect for human rights that might have been the lesson of the pogrom. "The 'success' of the Turkish military behemoth during the last fifty years, has in fact made the Turkish state a persistent violator, not only of the human and civil rights of its minorities, but also of those of its vast ethnic Turkish majority," Vryonis concludes.


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Excerpts from the 'Mechanism of Catastrophe'


World Council of Churches representatives examine the desecrated tombs of the ecumenical patriarchs at Zoodochos Pege church in Balikli

Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras' letter to Turkish PM Adnan Menderes. November 15, 1955

The very foundation of a civilisation which is the heritage of centuries, the property of all mankind, has been gravely attacked. The sacred things of our religion have been defiled, seventy of our churches and houses of worship destroyed and most of them set on fire. Our sacred objects of religion were desecrated, floundered and plundered. The graves of our dead, including those of the Patriarchs were broken open. Newly buried corpses were torn to pieces, the bones of the dead removed from their resting places, scattered around and set on fire.

Our clergy men were everywhere persecuted. When found they were manhandled, threatened with killing, and one of them was actually put to death. The immunity of private dwellings was violated, virgins were ravished, and even the sick, old and children were maltreated. All of us, without any defence, spent moments of agony, and in vain sought and waited for protection from those responsible for order and tranquillity.

'Daily Mail' report of September 14,1955, by Noel Barber

The church of Yedikule was utterly smashed, and one priest was dragged from bed, the hair torn from his head and the beard literally torn from his chin. Another old Greek priest in a house belonging to the church and who was too ill to be moved was left in bed, and the house was set on fire and he was burned alive. At the church of Yenikoy, a lovely spot on the edge of the Bosphorus, a priest of 75 was taken out into the street, stripped of every stitch of clothing, tied behind a car and dragged through the streets. They tried to tear the hair of another priest, but failing that, they scalped him, as they did many others.

Turkish author Azis Nesin

A man who was fearful of being beaten, lynched or cut into pieces would imply and try to prove that he was both a Turk and a Muslim. "Pull it out and let us see," they would reply. The poor man would peel off his trousers and show his "Muslimness" and "Turkishness: And what was the proof? That he had been circumcised. If the man was circumcised, he was saved. If not, he was "burned". Indeed, having lied, he could not be saved from a beating. For one of those aggressive young men would draw his knife and circumcise him in the middle of the street and amid the chaos. A difference of two or three centimetres does not justify such a commotion. That night, many men shouting and screaming were Islamized forcefully by the cruel knife. Among those circumcised there was also a priest.

Damage survey report by Demetrios Chronopoulos for Greek Defence Minister Panagiotes Kanellopoulos

Taking into account the dreadful economic crisis that troubled Turkey prior to the pogrom in Constantinople, one can only describe as ironic the announcement of Turkish President Bayar that "the victims of the destruction shall be compensated". According to the more cautious evaluations, the amount of damages is close to $500,000,000. And it is impossible for the Turkish government to pay out even a portion of this. I am informed that private insurance does not exist in Turkey, as a result of which insurance is provided by the State. Under such circumstances, there is no possibility that the victims will be compensated.

All photos copyright Demetrios Kaloumenos, from Speros Vryonis book

[insan]

So.. Boomerang... We did, u did... No? U didn't do? So... Conclusion? Greeks and Turks never will reconcile? Untill? Until Megali Idea achieved? Until u staisfy urself with revenge taking?

[boomerang]

So.. Boomerang... We did, u did... No? U didn't do? So... Conclusion? Greeks and Turks never will reconcile? Untill? Until Megali Idea achieved? Until u staisfy urself with revenge taking?

If I was a simpleton, I could easily see your point of view...

[shahmaran]

I thought this was meant to be an "Interesting Read"?

Cant expect anything new from Poomerengue

How you doing old buddy? Good? Long time...

[Ierini-Baris]

Nice thread I knew all about this but at least get bits of new info from the posts. Thanks boomerang.

My conclusion would be This things are just of shame of Turkey and humanity but to be honest not the Turkish people. Since it is clear in the thread they were brainwashed by media which was under control !!! I am sure most of people being involved in all these are shamed. At least Turkey is getting a little more democratic these days and making movies about these issues. One movie " Guz Sancisi " mentions this issues and focuses on how people being involved in this was brainwashed....

By the way This weekend there was Cypriot Movie Festival in London and the movie was "A touch of spice " which focuses on Greeks in Istanbul-Constantinopole...

This movies should help us understand how nonsense the situation was and make us take a side against the ones trying to brainwash us. This is valid for both Turkish 'Greek' and Cypriot friends . The pain in Cyprus was everyones pain. I feel the same pain for both Nigoli and Mustafa. Lets try to get over with .I never mean lets just forget. No viceversa lets remember and see what nonsense results they did create in order not to fall for the same lies in the future and respect and harres both communities !!!!

[Get Real!]

By the way This weekend there was Cypriot Movie Festival in London and the movie was "A touch of spice " which focuses on Greeks in Istanbul-Constantinopole...

And how are Greeks in Istanbul relevant to Cyprus?