Cyprus-Forum.com

[Hermes]

It's not often I agree with the Cyprus Mail...

Our View: Rallies actually against Ankara’s refusal to keep picking up tab

SOME 25,000 Turkish Cypriots turned up in Inonu Square in north Nicosia yesterday for the much-hyped rally against Ankara’s spending cuts in the north.

There was a better turn-out than for the previous rally which provoked the ire of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and sparked angry exchanges between the two sides. Furious by what he saw as the ingratitude of the Turkish Cypriots, Erdogan branded them ‘freeloaders’.

Wednesday’s rally was an act of defiance by the 30 unions and opposition parties which had refused to be intimidated by Erdogan’s bullying and vowed not to give up the fight against the spending cuts. Demonstrators again held flags of the Cyprus Republic in an act calculated to infuriate Erdogan who had taken great offence at the appearance of the flags at the previous rally.

Placards declared: ‘This is our country, let’s run it ourselves’ and warned ‘Take your hands off Turkish Cypriots’.

Other slogans highlighted Turkish Cypriots’ fears that the north was being overrun by Turks, declaring: ‘No, to our extinction’. Some demonstrators even showed nostalgia for the Cyprus Republic and demanded the immediate re-unification of the island.

It would be a big mistake to interpret this as an upheaval against Turkish presence as some left-wing commentators in the Republic have done.

The truth is that the protests are aimed at the Turkish government’s spending cuts and its warning that it would not carry on funding the over-staffed and over-paid public sector in the north. Had Ankara carried on picking up the tab, nobody would be on the streets protesting against Turkey’s interference and expressing a yearning for re-unification.

Nobody would be complaining about the threat of extinction of the Turkish Cypriot community if the pay-rises kept coming. This is not to say there is no threat - the arrival of Turkish nationals in the north has risen significantly and the general belief is that Turkish Cypriots are heavily out-numbered. It is only a question of time before the north becomes a province of Turkey and Turkish Cypriots lose their political say. Erdogan hinted at this when disparaging the ingratitude of the demonstrators.

We suspect the Turkish Cypriots are beginning to realise that the comfortable lifestyle at the expense of the Turkish taxpayer is coming to an end. Erdogan has made this clear and he does not look like a man who would be forced into changing his mind by a few thousand people demonstrating in the streets. There may be more futile acts of defiance like yesterday’s rally, but the truth is that the party is over, in every sense, for the Turkish Cypriots.

http://www.cyprus-mail.com/opinions/our ... b/20110303

[CBBB]

Now what we need is for our public parasites to be given the same message!

[Get Real!]

Now what we need is for our public parasites to be given the same message!

Let’s not confuse the two… in our case its Cypriot money going to Cypriot people, but in their case its Turkish money going to lost and confused people!

[CBBB]

Now what we need is for our public parasites to be given the same message!

Let’s not confuse the two… in our case its Cypriot money going to Cypriot people, but in their case its Turkish money going to lost and confused people!

So with our lot it is more critical, it is our money!

[BirKibrisli]

The party might be over for the Tcs,but it is not beginning for you ,you miserable lot...Get ready to lose 10% off your family jewels when the Neo Ottomans run you over and turn you into good Muslims...

[boomerang]

The party might be over for the Tcs,but it is not beginning for you ,you miserable lot...Get ready to lose 10% off your family jewels when the Neo Ottomans run you over and turn you into good Muslims...

the party has long gone, and the few you overun are beggining to have second thoughts...

[Hermes]

The party might be over for the Tcs,but it is not beginning for you ,you miserable lot...

We weren't the ones dancing in the streets when Denktash and his criminal associates declared "independence". We'll save our celebrations for the right time.

[SpartanGamer]

if turkey is getting tough with the Tcs then so should the RoC. probably the GCs have forked out more per head for TC upkeep without even considering how much was actually stolen by them.

[Jerry]

This is one of the more informed responses to the CM opinion: -

"Erhan from Lefkosa comments:
I am afraid the analysis offered by the CM is largely true. Without a threat to their incomes, most TCs would not be demonstrating. That, of course, does not mean that they do not have serious grievances against Turkey and against their own so-called government. I believe, like most people, TCs are not entirely consistent or coherent in their wishes. They wish to rule themselves, receive good wages, continue with political favoritism in employment if their party is in power, take money from Turkey, have Turkish soldiers remain on the island, and if possible reach a solution to the Cyprus problem. In my view, short of a solution, there is no way to achieve a majority of these goals. Turkey, being what it is, will never allow TCs to govern themselves and simply provide money and security. Turks think they own Cyprus (or at least the North) because they won it by fighting! Yes, this sounds primitive, but so is the thinking of a vast majority of Turks. The only way for Turkey to respect TCs is through necessity, love not being an option! And that is only possible, if TCs make it known in no uncertain terms that Turkey's provision of funds and military to the North is an interim measure while a solution is sought and does not give Turkey the right to control the North the way it does now. TCs are not at present united enough to take this kind of stance. I do not think they will be anytime soon. In the meanwhile, time is literally running out for a meaningful solution, rather than an effective permanent partition. The population in the North is now at least 80% Turkish, all the big investments are Turkish, through marriage and long exclusive exposure to Turkish 'culture' most TCs are resembling more and more Turks (though the differences are so big in some ways that it will take much longer for serious convergence). One should not underestimate the conservative streak in human nature; a settled order by necessity produces many people who simply wishes its continuance rather than take risks in pursuit of its betterment. Do I sound bleak? I mean to. Unfortunately, neither the Turkish side nor the Greek side, is ready to take the necessary bold steps to reach a solution to the Cyprus problem. TCs are predominantly the ones that will pay the cost of this situation, at least in the short run. THe cost for the GCs will come later, when they realize that accross the border from them no longer lives anyone that they can even call Cypriot, or in whom they can even see a faint resemblance to themselves. They will all be hungry, poor, ignorant Turks!"

So where do we go from here? The TCs have only two options, north towards the mainland or south with the ROC. From the demonstration they don't appear to want either, they just want to keep "their country" and run it themselves. The unions in the north remind me of the trade unions of the 60s and 70s that destroyed the British motor manufacturing industry, they can't see that they are destroying themselves.

If we don't have a solution soon Turkey will keep squeezing the "trnc"until there are no TCs left. Turkey cares as much about the illegality of what they are doing as the Israelis do about the West Bank - they know that they will get away with it. One day, perhaps in another 36 years time, will Turkey offer to return some (half?) of its conquered territory in exchange for recognised partition and EU membership. With the recent ECHR ruling in mind will the GCs really want to share the island with the "new TCs?" Having "colluded" in the loss of part of the island to Turkey would returning genuine TCs be welcome in the ROC?

[ZoC]

This is one of the more informed responses to the CM opinion: -

Erhan from Lefkosa comments:
I am afraid the analysis offered by the CM is largely true. Without a threat to their incomes, most TCs would not be demonstrating. That, of course, does not mean that they do not have serious grievances against Turkey and against their own so-called government. I believe, like most people, TCs are not entirely consistent or coherent in their wishes. They wish to rule themselves, receive good wages, continue with political favoritism in employment if their party is in power, take money from Turkey, have Turkish soldiers remain on the island, and if possible reach a solution to the Cyprus problem. In my view, short of a solution, there is no way to achieve a majority of these goals. Turkey, being what it is, will never allow TCs to govern themselves and simply provide money and security. Turks think they own Cyprus (or at least the North) because they won it by fighting! Yes, this sounds primitive, but so is the thinking of a vast majority of Turks. The only way for Turkey to respect TCs is through necessity, love not being an option! And that is only possible, if TCs make it known in no uncertain terms that Turkey's provision of funds and military to the North is an interim measure while a solution is sought and does not give Turkey the right to control the North the way it does now. TCs are not at present united enough to take this kind of stance. I do not think they will be anytime soon. In the meanwhile, time is literally running out for a meaningful solution, rather than an effective permanent partition. The population in the North is now at least 80% Turkish, all the big investments are Turkish, through marriage and long exclusive exposure to Turkish 'culture' most TCs are resembling more and more Turks (though the differences are so big in some ways that it will take much longer for serious convergence). One should not underestimate the conservative streak in human nature; a settled order by necessity produces many people who simply wishes its continuance rather than take risks in pursuit of its betterment. Do I sound bleak? I mean to. Unfortunately, neither the Turkish side nor the Greek side, is ready to take the necessary bold steps to reach a solution to the Cyprus problem. TCs are predominantly the ones that will pay the cost of this situation, at least in the short run. THe cost for the GCs will come later, when they realize that accross the border from them no longer lives anyone that they can even call Cypriot, or in whom they can even see a faint resemblance to themselves. They will all be hungry, poor, ignorant Turks!

So where do we go from here? The TCs have only two options, north towards the mainland or south with the ROC. From the demonstration they don't appear to want either, they just want to keep "their country" and run it themselves. The unions in the north remind me of the trade unions of the 60s and 70s that destroyed the British motor manufacturing industry, they can't see that they are destroying themselves.

If we don't have a solution soon Turkey will keep squeezing the "trnc"until there are no TCs left. Turkey cares as much about the illegality of what they are doing as the Israelis do about the West Bank - they know that they will get away with it. One day, perhaps in another 36 years time, will Turkey offer to return some (half?) of its conquered territory in exchange for recognised partition and EU membership. With the recent ECHR ruling in mind will the GCs really want to share the island with the "new TCs?" Having "colluded" in the loss of part of the island to Turkey would returning genuine TCs be welcome in the ROC?

thanx for sharing, jerry. at last a tc (i assume they're tc, although i could be wrong) with an analytical brain.