Cyprus-Forum.com

[Oracle]

"Before 1974 it was no good. In the village we had two ­quarters, one for them, one for us. There was one church and one mosque. There were two separate schools. There was no co-operation, no visiting. There were terrible feuds. It's better now.

"The Greeks don't like us and we don't like them. We need to have separate states, though of course it would be good to have a better atmosphere," he said.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/ja ... -greece-un


What thoughtless reportage.

So, everything was "separate" before 1974 and everything is "separate" now.

And, what makes this "separation" better now?

[boomerang]

interesting comment from the civil servant O...

[Piratis]

Everything was separate since the time they first came to our island during Ottoman rule, since most Turks never really assimilated with the native Cypriot population.

The Ottomans kept their own settlers separate from the native population, giving to their settlers more rights, while treating the rest of the Cypriots as second category people with no rights.

We have made every attempt to assimilate this minority in a country without Ottoman style racist discriminations and human rights violations. Unfortunately most Turks want to maintain Ottoman style privileges on the expense of the majority of the population and they refuse to accept democracy and human rights.

If it is so difficult for them to assimilate and live in peace with the rest of the Cypriot population, and since they have absolutely no right to steal our lands, the only way for them to be separate from us is to be repatriated to Turkey, something which will solve all the problems they created since they came to our island.

[Pyrpolizer]

Hmmm it seems ethnic cleansing always works like magic

[Get Real!]

"The Greeks don't like us and we don't like them. We need to have separate states, though of course it would be good to have a better atmosphere,"

Well shit happens when you come to Cyprus uninvited! High time for you to climb into those Ottoman dinghies and head for Anatolia but this time use a compass…

[Expatkiwi]

And, what makes this "separation" better now?

Because it's seperation without fear of being killed by the other side. It works in Northern Ireland....

[paliometoxo]

i think after 36 years there really is no fear of that just a one for show the turks put

[Khan]

Everything was separate since the time they first came to our island during Ottoman rule, since most Turks never really assimilated with the native Cypriot population.

The Ottomans kept their own settlers separate from the native population, giving to their settlers more rights, while treating the rest of the Cypriots as second category people with no rights.

We have made every attempt to assimilate this minority in a country without Ottoman style racist discriminations and human rights violations. Unfortunately most Turks want to maintain Ottoman style privileges on the expense of the majority of the population and they refuse to accept democracy and human rights.

If it is so difficult for them to assimilate and live in peace with the rest of the Cypriot population, and since they have absolutely no right to steal our lands, the only way for them to be separate from us is to be repatriated to Turkey, something which will solve all the problems they created since they came to our island.

One should acknowledge, at the very least, that they gave you more rights than the Venetians ever did (your previous overlords).

[Viewpoint]

i think after 36 years there really is no fear of that just a one for show the turks put

Could that no reason be because of the division? force us back together and the risk sores sky high, are you willing to take that risk and put peoples lives at risk?

[Get Real!]

One should acknowledge, at the very least, that they gave you more rights than the Venetians ever did (your previous overlords).

How stupid can one possibly get... since when is genocide a granting of rights?

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. Word of the massacre spread, and a few days later Mustafa took Kyrenia without having to fire a shot. Famagusta, however, resisted and put up a heroic defense that lasted from September 1570 until August 1571.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?f ... CID+cy0017)