Cyprus-Forum.com

[CBBB]

by Orhan Kemal Cengiz

If you consider the whole history of humankind on our planet, then the period of nationalism looks like a drop in the ocean. About 200-300 years out of hundreds of thousands years is just nothing.


I think nationalism is a parenthesis in human history that will inevitably be closed one day. Before it closes, however, it will, of course, cause problems like so many other disasters for humanity. Once it leaves, I think, it will be seen as a kind of mental disease by future generations. They will try to understand nationalism and its effects on the human mind by using some analogies, like intoxication by drugs, for example. In all the vastness of our universe, in our tiny little world, in this handful of countries people drowned in blood and hatred for what?

And if you take away this drug of nationalism, some conflicts would be extremely difficult to understand. What on earth is it that Greeks and Turks cannot share on this island of Cyprus? Why can they not solve it? Who will solve this problem? Now, two men, from the Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities, called on the prime ministers in their regions to come together and talk about the future of the island. But it is like a childish game; no one actually believes that their meetings will produce anything. Each and every party to this conflict tries to pretend that they are the ones who want peace and a solution for Cyprus, but, ah, it is that nasty other party that caused and created all these problems and is still insisting on not solving it.

If you ask the parties, the Cyprus question is so complex, so sophisticated, it is so difficult to understand. Is it really? I don’t think so. One simple fact is that the people of Cyprus, Turks and Greeks, could not create a common identity which we could call Cypriotism, that would transcend ethnic and religious affiliations and place an emphasis on a common history, multiculturalism and so on. I cannot say this is true for all Cypriots, but the destiny of the island has always been determined by nationalists and their respective deep states that they have always been in cooperation with. The National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA) on the Greek side and Turkish Resistance Organization on the Turkish side paved the way that led the island to its current situation.

I do not deny that there are serious problems that need to be solved. Properties, missing people, minority-majority relations and all these old wounds that still hurt people on both sides are just a few of them. But today everything still boils down to one simple fact: The Turkish and Greek nationalisms are the biggest obstacles to the solution of the Cyprus question. Simply put aside all these fancy words -- geostrategic, national interests, etc. -- and just below the surface you will see nationalism lurking.

Greek Cypriots say if this problem cannot be solved, Turkey cannot get into the EU. Turkey says if it is forced to make a choice between Cyprus and the EU, it will opt for the former. This is the most dangerous part of the game. Turkey has not fully recovered from its military-state structure. Thanks to the Ergenekon case and many other developments in Turkey that inch by inch are forcing the military to return to the barracks, leaving the political sphere to politicians, things are improving, but I think this is not yet an irreversible process. If the EU doors are slammed in Turkey’s face, the military genie will easily come out of the bottle. This may seem highly unlikely as dictatorships collapse in the Middle East, but it is not difficult to foresee that power balances can easily change in this part of the world. When certain conditions and power balances are changed, a militarized Turkey can once again pose an attractive option for different stake holders in the region.

A militarized Turkey would be a disaster for everyone in the region -- the democrats in Turkey, the current government, all Cypriots and Greece. And an unsolved Cyprus question is like an open wound through which this disease can penetrate into the body at any time when other, necessary conditions are present. Militarism also means extreme nationalism and they all mean that we have all fallen prey to the same well-known traps again and again.

I wish we could see democratic people from both parts of the island speaking up louder than nationalists. I wish a real solution would emerge to solve this gangrenous problem and that all relevant parties (the Cypriots, Turkey, Greece, the EU and the UN) can come together for real progress. If the two parts can be united, they should be; if they cannot, there must be two “real” states that could be united in the future, at least. Whatever the solution, the parties should put aside their current hysterical stances and reach an agreement. The most dangerous option is to leave things as they are in Cyprus.

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-236332- ... engiz.html

[Bananiot]

Yasasin Orhan Kardash!

Orhan is a great HUMAN person (despite being a Turk). He has been intimidated and threatened by the Grey Wolves mainly because of his legal work on behalf of three men killed at Christian publishing house. He has been granted a bodyguard but the threats against him have not been investigated.

Clarification: "Despite being a Turk", is intended for the Blue Wolves in the Greek world who maintain that all Turks are the same. Grey Wolves, Blue Wolves - all animals with a taste for young human blood. As Orhan says, their days are numbered.

[insan]

I wish we could see democratic people from both parts of the island speaking up louder than nationalists. I wish a real solution would emerge to solve this gangrenous problem and that all relevant parties (the Cypriots, Turkey, Greece, the EU and the UN) can come together for real progress. If the two parts can be united, they should be; if they cannot, there must be two “real” states that could be united in the future, at least. Whatever the solution, the parties should put aside their current hysterical stances and reach an agreement. The most dangerous option is to leave things as they are in Cyprus.

Excellent analysis!

[Kikapu]

It all comes down to 2 things regarding whether there can be peace on the island in a Unified Cyprus.

1. That there cannot be any Enosis with Greece

2. That there cannot be any Taksim by the "Turks"

So far, the problem 1. with Enosis has been settled, however, the problem 2. has not been settled. It is once problem 2. has been put to rest, is when we can see better days as a Unified Cyprus.

The 1960 constitution and the 2004 Annan Plan were a good examples for how NOT to have a Unified Cyprus, since they fed the idealism of Enosis and Taksim. 1960 constitution fed idealism of Enosis and Taksim and the 2004 Annan Plan fed the idealism of Taksim. Unless the Taksim idealism is also extinguished, as Enosis idealism has been, the status quo can only continue to be, since the alternative would mean permanent legal partition of Cyprus with Taksim from today's illegal partition with Taksim, with a settlement based on the Annan Plan proposals. The above article by the author, Orhan Kemal Cengiz stating that "If the two parts can be united, they should be; if they cannot, there must be two “real” states that could be united in the future, at least." only helps to keep the Taksim idealism alive, which really sends the wrong message altogether. Why have Unified Cyprus now when we MAY have one in the future as 2 separate "real" states is the message I'm getting. There cannot be a Unified Cyprus in the future once the north state becomes a legal separate state with the millions of settlers that will be sent to the north. It will only cement Taksim and the legal partition of Cyprus for good.!

[denizaksulu]

Good article. The difficulty we have now is the reversing of the demography and the return of property rights to their original owners.

There are many more Orhan Kemal Cengiz's. Please stand up and be counted.

[humanist]

Deniz, I think with a little compromise on the GC side the property issue can be resolved. And that is the RoC offering voluntary but market value packages for those Cypriots who wish to sell a home for example because they either live overseas and do not plan to return or they have moved to the free areas and will not return because they have started new lives. I am only referring to a house and the three metre land surrounding it. Any orchards for example should be returned unless the original owner wants to sell for same reasons. Hopefully more Cypriots will decide for the sake of settlement that they will allow current owners to keep the houses if they do not intend on returning. Those who wish to have possession then they should be given. However the RoC needs to also provide education and support for people whom we are suggesting of letting go of houses.

In places like Xeros I don't think it is unreasonable for all those people to remain in the houses. And "The Eliniki" will be doing a good thing for humanity.

[denizaksulu]

Lets see what these politicians will come up with. It takes two to tango. Will Turkey allow any kind of 'peace'.

Be ing serious on the orchards for on minute, this morning I had a look on google earth and it seems that orchards too, north and the RoC have also suffered 'ethnic cleansing'; More so in the north. Greed knows no bounds. Bastards.

[All4114All]

Many orchards have suffered around the Lefke area because of the Cyprus Mines Corporation (CMC) and who knows how many would have to be cut down under EU laws until a clean up is required and who knows how many billions of dollars that will be.

As in most mines, the tailings, waste left over from processing ore, are a problem, and as of 2006, there are no plans to clean up the tailings. The people of Cyprus are left with neither the income from the mines nor the use of the now polluted land surrounding those mines because they have no way to pay for the cleanup. Local farmers claim that citrus crop yields have been lowered by contaminated dust blowing in. Studies of local fruit have found high heavy metal levels and decreased fruit size and quality.[3] The effect of the mine is a growing issue for Cypriot environmentalists and NGOs.

In 1970, a Turkish agricultural engineer from Lefke brought a lawsuit against CMC, after carrying out some experiments himself. His assertion was about the negative effects of the ore dust on the productivity and the crop quality of citrus trees.

A special committee was appointed by the court to study the effects of the ore dust on crop production in the Lefke Area. The Report of this Committee stated that ‘Dust, presumable ore dust, was observed on the leaves of trees at all sites but it was more pronounced in orchards nearer the ponds and the open cast mines.’

This was proving the existence of air pollution. The collection and analysis of these dust samples, then, showed that 30% of its contents were iron pyrites and 0.5-1.2% were copper. Furthermore, the results of the analysis of the water drained into the Marathassa riverbed was described to be ‘unsuitable for irrigation purposes’ and ‘contamination resulting from the operations of the Cyprus Mining Corporation’. This was a proof for water pollution and at the same time a potential cause for land pollution. Reduced productivity of the citrus orchards was defined in this report as follows: ‘With regard to production it has been visually estimated that the number of fruit per tree of both Valencia and Jaffa was less than half the number produced by trees of similar and undersized fruit of Valencia oranges was higher than that on normal trees in other areas.’

This special event was really the formal registration of the pollution problem of the Lefke Area and at the same time the announcement of the polluter.

[denizaksulu]

Many orchards have suffered around the Lefke area because of the Cyprus Mines Corporation (CMC) and who knows how many would have to be cut down under EU laws until a clean up is required and who knows how many billions of dollars that will be.

As in most mines, the tailings, waste left over from processing ore, are a problem, and as of 2006, there are no plans to clean up the tailings. The people of Cyprus are left with neither the income from the mines nor the use of the now polluted land surrounding those mines because they have no way to pay for the cleanup. Local farmers claim that citrus crop yields have been lowered by contaminated dust blowing in. Studies of local fruit have found high heavy metal levels and decreased fruit size and quality.[3] The effect of the mine is a growing issue for Cypriot environmentalists and NGOs.

In 1970, a Turkish agricultural engineer from Lefke brought a lawsuit against CMC, after carrying out some experiments himself. His assertion was about the negative effects of the ore dust on the productivity and the crop quality of citrus trees.

A special committee was appointed by the court to study the effects of the ore dust on crop production in the Lefke Area. The Report of this Committee stated that ‘Dust, presumable ore dust, was observed on the leaves of trees at all sites but it was more pronounced in orchards nearer the ponds and the open cast mines.’

This was proving the existence of air pollution. The collection and analysis of these dust samples, then, showed that 30% of its contents were iron pyrites and 0.5-1.2% were copper. Furthermore, the results of the analysis of the water drained into the Marathassa riverbed was described to be ‘unsuitable for irrigation purposes’ and ‘contamination resulting from the operations of the Cyprus Mining Corporation’. This was a proof for water pollution and at the same time a potential cause for land pollution. Reduced productivity of the citrus orchards was defined in this report as follows: ‘With regard to production it has been visually estimated that the number of fruit per tree of both Valencia and Jaffa was less than half the number produced by trees of similar and undersized fruit of Valencia oranges was higher than that on normal trees in other areas.’

This special event was really the formal registration of the pollution problem of the Lefke Area and at the same time the announcement of the polluter.

I am also aware of the problems around the Lefke /Omorfo region with sea-water ingression as well.

I was on about the northern slopes of the Beshparmak/Pentadaktylos and our Almond orchards in our village which were uprooted. We were taught to plant rather than up-root trees. Where have these teachers gone.

[Piratis]

The problem in Cyprus is the Turkish expansionism.

Cypriots are not more nationalistic than the people of any other country, especially under the same circumstances. For example go back to UK or France during WWII, when the sovereignty and freedom of those countries was threatened by foreign invaders, and you will see that the people of UK and France back then were even more nationalistic than Cypriots are today. Are we going to blame the British and the French for defending their nation and their freedom, or the Nazis for invading them? I think the answer is obvious.

The problem in Cyprus is not a conflict between "communities". The Turkish minority on the island is merely used as an excuse by Turkey to illegally occupy our lands and Turikfy the north part of our island by ethnically cleansing the vast majority of the native population.

If it wasn't for the Turkish expansionism, the Turkish minority on the island would be like all other ethnic minorities in Cyprus, and all ethnic minorities in any normal democratic country, living in peace with the majority of the population without any major problems.