Cyprus-Forum.com

[Kifeas]

Let us all become serious, for the sake of this country’s children.

Last Tuesday’s ECJ ruling in the Apostolides v. Orams case came as a shock to many Cypriots north of the divide, and as a thing to celebrate for many of us (including myself) south of the divide.
As things are cooling down, 3 days now after the announcement of the court’s verdict, I believe it is time for all of us -north and south of the divide- to reflect on the situation and try to put things into the right perspective.

After the events of 1955-59, an unfettered independence was granted to Cyprus, in which the Turkish Cypriot community attained globally unprecedented for its size political leverage and power –in the grief and dissatisfaction of the larger Greek Cypriot community. The TC leadership, unwisely enough, demanded and /or attempted to make full use of those rights, an act which enhanced those GC feelings of grief and dissatisfaction, and elevated them to those of wrath and anger. Inevitably but still unwisely enough, the GC side was led to seek ways to unilaterally contain and diminish those rights, an effort that inevitably brought the 1963 /64 events, whose aftermath was rightfully seen as a GC political victory and an all out TC political defeat. There is no usefulness or a need to get into the details or into a now meaningless debate, as to what happened and what did not happen during that period. What is important here is for all of us to recognize that in the same way and manner that the TC side behaved arrogantly during the first post independence period (1960-63,) in the same or even worst way or manner the GC side behaved towards the TCs during the second such period, essentially seeking the complete political capitulation of the TC community.

This approach, not only did not produce the “desired” results, but it in fact backfired to a large extent, until we came to the events of 1974, whose aftermath amounted to a complete reversal of the situation. Now the TC side gained the political upper hand, and started behaving in exactly the same or even worst way to that in which the GC side behaved after the 1963 /64 events. Again this policy, on the part of the TC side this time, did not produce the “desire” results, and it gradually begun backfiring with small but steady legal and political victories from the part of the GC side. Thirty years down the road -since 1974, Cyprus made it into the EU as a full member, allowing in this way the GC side to begin balancing out the 1974 defeat. Three days ago, we have another (legitimate) fait accompli through the ECJ ruling, which can rightfully be seen as a final balancing out act between the two sides.

We now have a situation in which the TC side de facto occupies and posses –through the use of Turkey’s military might, a substantially larger part of Cyprus amounting to 36% of its territory; and the GC side de jure occupying and possessing the whole (100%) of Cyprus – through the use the internationally recognized and established, EU member RoC. We must both (sides) now admit that such a balance has rarely -if ever- existed in the past, a situation that does not allow any of the two sides to feel or claim that it maintains the upper hand against the other. Any of the two sides that will now do the next mistake of thinking or acting arrogantly and greedy, will be the one that will be the loser and will alone and by itself shift the balance in favor of the other!

We (both sides) have to become serious, reflect on the situation and put our priorities down, with one common denominator in place, ours and our children’s common future in this country. The mistakes, the arrogance, the greediness and the opportunisms of the past (equally by both sides,) should not be repeated.

The Cyprus problem will easily become solved if we both decide that we have to trust each other and provided that each one of us acknowledges and consolidates some fundamental factual elements that a solution will have to entail.

The Greek Cypriot side should acknowledge and consolidate the fact that even though it is the majority whose historical and cultural heritage stem equally from all parts of Cyprus, the historical circumstances and realities cannot possibly renter the Turkish Cypriots into the position or the status of just another ethnic minority, like the so many others that exist within all the nations across the globe. There will have to be a form of political equality in the overall running of the country, as well as a degree of local autonomy in the form of a zonal arrangement (federative state) in which the TCs will retain the numerical majority of residents.

The Turkish Cypriot side in its turn should acknowledge and consolidate the fact that even though the historical circumstances and realities allow it to demand, retain and enjoy the status of not just another ethnic minority within a larger state, but instead the status of a politically equal community; it still remains a numerical minority of only the 18% of the people of a country in which the GC majority’s historical and cultural heritage stem equally from all parts of Cyprus, and that any form of solution will also have to take this reality into consideration.

Unless the above two parallel facts and realities are correspondingly well acknowledged and consolidated by each one of the two sides (communities,) I do not see how a mutually agreed solution will ever become feasible. I have the conviction that the majority of people and political leadership in the Greek Cypriot society have already acknowledged and to a large extent consolidated our own part of the above equation. I am afraid the majority of the Turkish Cypriot community’s society and political leadership have yet to acknowledge and consolidate their own corresponding part of the equation, and there is plenty of evidence to prove this fact.

[YFred]

Kifeas, do you know what percentage Christofias has offered in the talks?

[boomerang]

knucklehead stop being a stalker ffs...

[Kifeas]

Kifeas, do you know what percentage Christofias has offered in the talks?

Percentage of what?

[YFred]

Kifeas, do you know what percentage Christofias has offered in the talks?

Percentage of what?

Percentage of land, what else?

[boomerang]

Kifeas, do you know what percentage Christofias has offered in the talks?

Percentage of what?

Kifeas meet knucklehead, knucklehead meet Kifeas...

[YFred]

Kifeas, do you know what percentage Christofias has offered in the talks?

Percentage of what?

Kifeas meet knucklehead, knucklehead meet Kifeas...

%?

[Kifeas]

Kifeas, do you know what percentage Christofias has offered in the talks?

Percentage of what?

Percentage of land, what else?

Anything below 25%, together with a reduction of the coastline zone (as it appeared in the A-plan map,) so as to have a better balance of resources for each of the two states -based on their expected populations; and also to allow the majority of GC refugees to return under GC State's administration, so as not to threaten the TC community's majority under its own the (TC) State's administration. Don't you think it is only fair?

[Nikitas]

The GC side has never made territory a priority. Not in the current talks nor any past talks.

In my opinion this was a HUGE mistake which seems to be repeated now.

Territory is the most VITAL of all aspects of the issue. It is more important than the guarantees, or the legal personality and all such legalities of the issue. Territory in all its aspects- percentages of land, of coastline and the residual status of the SBAs is the cornerstone of a settlement. The GC side will live to regret this skewed prioritisation of issues.

[YFred]

Kifeas, do you know what percentage Christofias has offered in the talks?

Percentage of what?

Percentage of land, what else?

Anything below 25%, together with a reduction of the coastline zone (as it appeared in the A-plan map,) so as to have a better balance of resources for each of the two states -based on their expected population; and also to allow the majority of GC refugees to return under GC State's administration, so as not to threaten the the TC community's majority under its own the (TC) State's administration. Don't you think is only fair?

Kifeas, I am not asking an opinion on what should be offered, I am asking if you know what he actually offered to Talat as a percenteage and if any other conditions like the coast line etc, do you have any idea?