If I were a T/C nationalist my immediate counter-argument to you would be the same as a Kurd, Fleming, African American or French Canadian (both of whom are numerically "minorities") that 'we' have been part of, worked in, contributed to Cyprus over the centuries but are not seeing the benefits of this state as citizens so we have a right to take a part of Cyprus and go our own way.
The Kurds, Flemish, and French Canadians all have territories in their respective countries where they have always (for very long) been the majority. So if they want to go their own way then they could.
Now tell me how African Americans would go their own way. They are not the majority of any territory in the USA. Should they ethnically cleanse everybody else from some part of the USA so they can forcefully become the majority in that part so they can "go their own way"?
I'm NOT going to endorse that even though many T/Cs think it. I am a Cypriot first, I am a unionist who believes in a power sharing, bilingual, multicultural Cyprus where all Cypriot citizens are equal before the law and live together as nature intended. I am sensitive to the right of people to return to their homes, live where they want, move to where they want etc.... to me a mono-ethnically controlled state is irrelevant and a recipe for disaster.
We agree then. I fully support a multi-cultural Cyprus. What you should understand however is that a bi-ethnically controlled state is not any better than a mono-ethnically controlled state, as in both cases people who belong in other ethnicities are excluded.
So it is about time to abandon the anachronistic practices of the Ottoman times were Cypriots were divided into Muslims and Christians. You don't need to be Muslim or Christian to be a Cypriot citizen. You don't need to be Greek or Turkish to be Cypriot citizen.
What we need are equal Cypriot citizens without any kind of discrimination based on ethnicity or religion were they democratically take decisions for their own island. This is what happens in all successful modern multi-ethnic countries.
You must let go of this superiority or majority ethnic group 'right' to do as they please. It doesn't work in a multicultural setting like ours and often those who already control a state who go on about majority rule have different ideas, which is what really worries me.
I never talked about any "superiority or majority ethnic group 'right' to do as they please". I talk about democracy where all Cypriots, as equal citizens, take democratic choices for their own island always with respect to the human rights of every single citizen.
Isn't this what the African Americans fought for in the USA? Maybe the Kurds or the Flemish can "go their own way" because they have their own territory. But in the case of Cypriots, like the case of Americans, we are all mixed on this island and therefore there we can not go our separate ways, and we have to learn to live as equal citizens in a democratic Cyprus.
