Cyprus-Forum.com

[Expatkiwi]

“We’re going to burn a flag that’s big and red,” and “the only good Turk is a dead Turk,” were just some of the chants shouted out by the demonstrators, some of whom wore intifada-style scarves.

Not exactly in the spirit of reconciliation and brotherly love, is it?

Can’t possibly be as bad as celebrating an internationally condemned puppet regime with aerial shows and military parade...

Your sense of judgment SUCKS!

SUCKS stands for "Super Uber-Cool Kiwi Stud". Nice to know I'm adored...

[Tim Drayton]

Şener Levent devoted his column in Afrika to these events on 19 November 2009.

http://www.afrikagazetesi.net/modules.p ... artid=5471

My translation:

The Greek Cypriot youths protesting at the Ledra crossing with their Greek flags against the occupation and who, upon seeing a Turkish car, immediately proceeded to smash its windows, are representatives of a generation which has never experienced bloody conflict on this island. They witnessed neither 1963 nor 1974. They did not clash on the front line. They were not taken prisoner. They did not become refugees. The sound of bombs and guns has not disturbed their sleep. They grew up with their computer games. They watched Harry Potter. They had a wild time in discos. They were shaped by positivism, meditation, yoga and the new world order. Just like their elder brothers and sisters who, until the age of thirty, had never seen Kyrenia, Morphou, Karpasia or the other half of Nicosia, they are also the children of only ‘one side’. They just kept on hearing stories about what went on here from the mouths of their fathers and mothers. They also read about it in books, saw photographs and watched documentaries about it. They had probably never seen a Turk in their lives until the crossings opened. Now they come. They come, not with Republic of Cyprus flags, but with Greek flags. In the spirit of EOKA. Like heroes ready to die for their homeland! They are not heroes. They are actually like kids who think that war is an adventure and voluntarily go to the front. Nobody told them that it is not like in the movies. Clearly the image of an American soldier lighting his cigar with relish while bullets whizz over his helmet has served as a bad example for these kids. Don’t get angry, though. I can see ourselves in them; our own youth. The first shots had begun to be fired in 1963. We were only 14-15 year olds. We acted as though we were going to the front; we almost set out for the hills. We had even made preparations in the night. We had put garlic in our bags as a precaution against snakes. The organisation people sent us back half way. They sent us back to barracks with the words, “You are still kids, come on run back home.” Our adventure was thus cut off midway. However it was not long before those who sent us back to barracks now called us up. They gave us our uniforms. They entrusted us with guns from which we had yet to fire a single bullet…and they sent us to the very front. It was only then that we realised that war was not a fun game.

Do not lose your temper with those Greek Cypriot youths who protested at the Ledra crossing with Greek flags and in the spirit of EOKA. Try to understand them. And explain to them … that nobody becomes a hero by smashing the windows of a Turkish car. They did not explain to Solomou at the time that by removing the Turkish flag from that pole the occupation would not end, or that this had nothing to do with heroism. There is no point in dying for any flag in this world. Is this not why the Cyprus flag is the most fortunate flag in the world? Thankfully nobody is prepared to die for it! Great isn’t it?

The craving for heroism in the spirit of youth is a serious craving. Be sure not to belittle it. It exerts a grip even on youth in affluent societies where political restrictions have been reduced to the minimum. I have witnessed this in the Swedish capital of Stockholm. Youth, deprived [!] of the opportunity of struggling, pressurising, political activism and being arrested for their thoughts, resorted to other means to prove itself. Particularly after getting drunk on Saturday nights, they smashed shop windows for no reason but did not really steal anything from behind these windows. They smashed them just for the sake of it. Or else they rode motorbikes at breakneck speed as if they were heading for their deaths. The punctured the tyres of parked cars and bent their aerials.

Those Greek Cypriot youths who had never seen war in the face shouted and yelled at the crossing. They have no idea what they are doing. What is the point of protesting against the Turkish occupation with Greek flags?

[T_C]

I get his point, but I find this man so insincere sometimes.

Had these people been TCs with Turkish flags "in the spirit" of TMT, he would have ripped them to shreds!

[Expatkiwi]

I get his point, but I find this man so insincere sometimes.

Had these people been TCs with Turkish flags "in the spirit" of TMT, he would have ripped them to shreds!

Good point: With Greek Flags, they are "misunderstood youths", but with Turkish Flags, they are"vandals and hooligans"...

[Acikgoz]

“The youth of Cyprus give the message that they will continue courageously the effort for … the reunification of our homeland,”

What reunification effort, you mean take the whole lot for ourselves and get rid of the Turks!

Don't even have to read between the lines, it's actually in the lines.

Youth of Cyprus - HAHA should be called the neo-facists of Cyprus - you'd think the Church should teach them better.

[Tim Drayton]

I get his point, but I find this man so insincere sometimes.

Had these people been TCs with Turkish flags "in the spirit" of TMT, he would have ripped them to shreds!

Good point: With Greek Flags, they are "misunderstood youths", but with Turkish Flags, they are"vandals and hooligans"...

Not in the eyes of your pen pal, I imagine.

[paliometoxo]

“The youth of Cyprus give the message that they will continue courageously the effort for … the reunification of our homeland,”

What reunification effort, you mean take the whole lot for ourselves and get rid of the Turks!

Don't even have to read between the lines, it's actually in the lines.

Youth of Cyprus - HAHA should be called the neo-facists of Cyprus - you'd think the Church should teach them better.

as apose t the barbarian turks they they keep bringing from turkey to even the numbers the gambling thats illigal yet they only stop the turks form gambling. or try to

which country will allow a illigal state run by turkish mafia and turkey over run with mainland turks to have a state in cyprus?

only people like you that accept killing and raping of little 13 year old girls and celebrate it every year and throwing people out of their homes for their own gains so their mumma turkey can have a militar precance and excuse to be here and ignoring laws and human right violations.. only when it suits them they listen.

well done.. exactly only the red flag is barbarians the flag of death and flood

[Acikgoz]

The only good Turk is a Dead Turk.... when was the last time you saw Turks chanting in the streets such atrocities!

Same crap, both sides have had people thrown out of their homes, disappeared, raped, murdered. You have no exclusivity on that.

However GCs still can't help but keep the racist torch alive. How embarassing, by keeping your silence should I assume you condone such chants?

[Malapapa]

Thanks for translating the article Tim.

This line was sublime...

There is no point in dying for any flag in this world. Is this not why the Cyprus flag is the most fortunate flag in the world? Thankfully nobody is prepared to die for it! Great isn’t it?

[paliometoxo]

The only good Turk is a Dead Turk.... when was the last time you saw Turks chanting in the streets such atrocities!

Same crap, both sides have had people thrown out of their homes, disappeared, raped, murdered. You have no exclusivity on that.

However GCs still can't help but keep the racist torch alive. How embarassing, by keeping your silence should I assume you condone such chants?

of coruse not i think its stupid espesially when we want to live with tcs what happens when we re unify and fight again because of those people that we are stuck in this situation..

but turks of cyprus also where throwing stones at tassos when he was alive and president.. turks of cyprus i saw shouting at us from the green line in nicosia where the flags are and you can go to the top near ledra palace so they both sides have their people who are just as bad as eachother..

The only good Turk is a Dead Turk.... when was the last time you saw Turks chanting in the streets such atrocities!

actually last time i was in the north part of cyprus my tc friends where chanting worse about mainland turks