miltiades wrote:Simon wrote:Miltiades,
What DT and others are trying to say is that we are Greeks of Cyprus, not Greece. So our allegiance first and foremost is to Cyprus. But this does not stop us being Greek. Being ethnically "Greek" does not only belong to Greece, it belongs to Cyprus also and the diaspora around the world. Greece does not have the monopoly on this. In fact, Greek Cypriots are probably closer to the ancient Greeks than what mainland Greeks are. Your grandchildren aren't going to have a connection with the mainland because you don't. Your connection is to Cyprus and therefore so is hers. This doesn't stop her being Greek.
So our nationality is Cypriot and Cyprus is our home, and we are ethnically Greek. Now can we stop going over the same thing and start focusing on issues that may actually help reunification please!
Simon you have been on the forum for a long time now. You must know I have always referred to G/Cs and T/Cs , have never instigated that either the G/Cs or T/Cs should be referred to as some people do Greek or Turkish speaking Cypriots.
What binds us together is our motherland Cyprus. Denis , Kikapu Bir and so many other T/Cs feel predominantly as I do , Cypriot.That is what matters that the people of Cyprus give their allegiance to their true motherland.
I would never in a million years look at Deniz or any other of my Cypriot compatriots and think of them as part of a minority. I group them all as Cypriots , if they are a minority then so am I .
I fully comprehend the complex definitions of what constitutes ethnicity and nationality , frankly I dont give a damn , if you are a Cypriot then you are of the same ethnicity as I'm , a Cypriot.
Miltiades, I understand your views quite well, however, there is one thing that confuses me. You call yourself a Cypriot above all else, but when pressed specifically, you refer to yourself as a Greek Cypriot. This I understand well and believe it is a perfectly fair view. But then at the same time, you argue that you are an "ethnic Cypriot". This is where I become confused.
If this is the case, then why do you call yourself a Greek Cypriot at all? Where does the Greek come into it? If your nationality and ethnicity is Cypriot, where is the Greek? My point is, we are Greek Cypriots because our ethnicity, culture, religion etc is Greek; and our country is Cyprus, so we are Cypriots. Hence Greek Cypriot. But I'm not sure how your views are compatible.
It seems to me that you (and not just you but many others) seem to think that because we call ourselves Greek, we declare our allegiance to Greece and not Cyprus. That you are Greek OR Cypriot. This is nonsense. Like I said, Greeks are not just indigenious to Greece, but Cyprus as well. Being Greek does not make us any less Cypriot. They are not mutually exclusive but perfectly compatible. Cyprus' welfare will always come first for us, and being Greek at the same time is no contradiction. This is why we are Greek CYPRIOTS and not just Greeks.
Take this example. Say if Crete became independent from Greece, would Cretans suddenly not be ethnic Greeks? Of course not. But they would become Greek Cretans. Crete would be its citizens first priority, and being Greek would be no contradiction to this. This is how it is in Cyprus.
By the way, I would not class the TCs you mentioned as a minority either, because they are not claiming special minority rights like other TCs. They are happy with the 1 Cypriot 1 vote system. Therefore, they are Cypriot nationals like the rest of us.
(But not in the extreme sense).
