Cyprus-Forum.com

[Paphitis]

A few days before the crucial stage in the talks, the Greentree meeting, the UN Mediator Mr Downer has seen fit to publish an open letter defending Turkey's move away from secularism and towards Islam under the AKP and condemning what he sees as anti-Turkey feelings in the West as some kind of Islamophobia.

The letter is entitled Letter from Cyprus: Turkey not anti–west and is dated January, 2012. The original is reported to have appeared in the Adelaide Preview.

The whole of the letter is posted at CNR at ... http://www.cyprusnewsreport.com/?q=node/5191

Hi BillC,

I seriously doubt that AD would strongly praise non secularism in the Middle East or Turkey. This is a man that would no doubt be on Al Qaeda's hit list, not to mention Indonesia's Jamar Islamiyah. He took Australia to 3 wars, but mostly he is noted for the excellant text book political and military maneuvering that freed East Timor.

Probably one of the most hated individuals amongst Islamists, and that would include Turkey I suppose.

You need to do some more research because AD has a weekly column in the Adelaide Review, which have praised the RoC and Christofias himself. I remember one where he expresses his how much he likes Cyprus, and the tenacity of the people for having a vibrant economy and society even when divided. He has also expressed his admiration of Christofias.

But having said that, he is a diplomat, and a very good one at that.

If Downer would support anything in Turkey, then it would probably be the Generals.

I think you need to research more and there would be no doubt in mind that he would not mention certain key words which would greatly hinder the negotiations which he is in charge of. Perhaps certain sectors in Cyprus would like him to do so, but remember, he is a diplomat and a very smart one.

He did not learn politics and diplomacy in the Greek Gymnasium!

[Paphitis]

And one more thing. When he visited Turkey and met Erdogan he did say many things which attracted the disdain of Turkey. He stated straight to the wolf's face, that the "trnc" will never be recognized now or ever and that it was in Turkey's interest to resolve the dispute immediately.

That went down like led balloon.

[bill cobbett]

A few days before the crucial stage in the talks, the Greentree meeting, the UN Mediator Mr Downer has seen fit to publish an open letter defending Turkey's move away from secularism and towards Islam under the AKP and condemning what he sees as anti-Turkey feelings in the West as some kind of Islamophobia.

The letter is entitled Letter from Cyprus: Turkey not anti–west and is dated January, 2012. The original is reported to have appeared in the Adelaide Preview.

The whole of the letter is posted at CNR at ... http://www.cyprusnewsreport.com/?q=node/5191

Hi BillC,

I seriously doubt that AD would strongly praise non secularism in the Middle East or Turkey. This is a man that would no doubt be on Al Qaeda's hit list, not to mention Indonesia's Jamar Islamiyah. He took Australia to 3 wars, but mostly he is noted for the excellant text book political and military maneuvering that freed East Timor.

Probably one of the most hated individuals amongst Islamists, and that would include Turkey I suppose.

You need to do some more research because AD has a weekly column in the Adelaide Review, which have praised the RoC and Christofias himself. I remember one where he expresses his how much he likes Cyprus, and the tenacity of the people for having a vibrant economy and society even when divided. He has also expressed his admiration of Christofias.

But having said that, he is a diplomat, and a very good one at that.

If Downer would support anything in Turkey, then it would probably be the Generals.

I think you need to research more and there would be no doubt in mind that he would not mention certain key words which would greatly hinder the negotiations which he is in charge of. Perhaps certain sectors in Cyprus would like him to do so, but remember, he is a diplomat and a very smart one.

He did not learn politics and diplomacy in the Greek Gymnasium!

Hate Re Paphitis, the man has made a serious and indefensible error of judgement in mentioning Turkey in such terms 2-3 days before Greentree, what might be the culmination of his work over the past 2-3 years, particularly when he remained silent, to the disgust of many, when he would have heard those outrageous remarks by Erdogan/Eroglu over the past year regarding No Morphou, No Varosi, No Territorial Adjustment and going way in to CONfederal territory.

So he is rightly condemned when he turns his deaf ear to CY issues time and time again, in matters that should concern him, where people look and quite rightly expect a reaction from him to bring the talks back on track within the Agreements, Resolutions and HLAs.

What on Earth possessed him to send such a letter???

As to his work outside CY, readily confess ignorance. CY will judge him on matters CY.

[Paphitis]

A few days before the crucial stage in the talks, the Greentree meeting, the UN Mediator Mr Downer has seen fit to publish an open letter defending Turkey's move away from secularism and towards Islam under the AKP and condemning what he sees as anti-Turkey feelings in the West as some kind of Islamophobia.

The letter is entitled Letter from Cyprus: Turkey not anti–west and is dated January, 2012. The original is reported to have appeared in the Adelaide Preview.

The whole of the letter is posted at CNR at ... http://www.cyprusnewsreport.com/?q=node/5191

Hi BillC,

I seriously doubt that AD would strongly praise non secularism in the Middle East or Turkey. This is a man that would no doubt be on Al Qaeda's hit list, not to mention Indonesia's Jamar Islamiyah. He took Australia to 3 wars, but mostly he is noted for the excellant text book political and military maneuvering that freed East Timor.

Probably one of the most hated individuals amongst Islamists, and that would include Turkey I suppose.

You need to do some more research because AD has a weekly column in the Adelaide Review, which have praised the RoC and Christofias himself. I remember one where he expresses his how much he likes Cyprus, and the tenacity of the people for having a vibrant economy and society even when divided. He has also expressed his admiration of Christofias.

But having said that, he is a diplomat, and a very good one at that.

If Downer would support anything in Turkey, then it would probably be the Generals.

I think you need to research more and there would be no doubt in mind that he would not mention certain key words which would greatly hinder the negotiations which he is in charge of. Perhaps certain sectors in Cyprus would like him to do so, but remember, he is a diplomat and a very smart one.

He did not learn politics and diplomacy in the Greek Gymnasium!

Hate Re Paphitis, the man has made a serious and indefensible error of judgement in mentioning Turkey in such terms 2-3 days before Greentree, what might be the culmination of his work over the past 2-3 years, particularly when he remained silent, to the disgust of many, when he would have heard those outrageous remarks by Erdogan/Eroglu over the past year regarding No Morphou, No Varosi, No Territorial Adjustment and going way in to CONfederal territory.

So he is rightly condemned when he turns his deaf ear to CY issues time and time again, in matters that should concern him, where people look and quite rightly expect a reaction from him to bring the talks back on track within the Agreements, Resolutions and HLAs.

What on Earth possessed him to send such a letter???

As to his work outside CY, readily confess ignorance. CY will judge him on matters CY.

Yes ok but I am not sure whether it is such a big deal. Maybe he had his agenda in mentioning this now. Maybe he is just buttering the Turks up a bit.

Personally, I think his agenda is to bring about a good sentiment and encourage Turkey's cooperation. It was not long ago, in fact only a couple of weeks when he last praised Cyprus and even Christofias. Such articles of his are all over the net but you don't see many people posting theses articles especially those that are against the negotiations.

[bill cobbett]

A few days before the crucial stage in the talks, the Greentree meeting, the UN Mediator Mr Downer has seen fit to publish an open letter defending Turkey's move away from secularism and towards Islam under the AKP and condemning what he sees as anti-Turkey feelings in the West as some kind of Islamophobia.

The letter is entitled Letter from Cyprus: Turkey not anti–west and is dated January, 2012. The original is reported to have appeared in the Adelaide Preview.

The whole of the letter is posted at CNR at ... http://www.cyprusnewsreport.com/?q=node/5191

Hi BillC,

I seriously doubt that AD would strongly praise non secularism in the Middle East or Turkey. This is a man that would no doubt be on Al Qaeda's hit list, not to mention Indonesia's Jamar Islamiyah. He took Australia to 3 wars, but mostly he is noted for the excellant text book political and military maneuvering that freed East Timor.

Probably one of the most hated individuals amongst Islamists, and that would include Turkey I suppose.

You need to do some more research because AD has a weekly column in the Adelaide Review, which have praised the RoC and Christofias himself. I remember one where he expresses his how much he likes Cyprus, and the tenacity of the people for having a vibrant economy and society even when divided. He has also expressed his admiration of Christofias.

But having said that, he is a diplomat, and a very good one at that.

If Downer would support anything in Turkey, then it would probably be the Generals.

I think you need to research more and there would be no doubt in mind that he would not mention certain key words which would greatly hinder the negotiations which he is in charge of. Perhaps certain sectors in Cyprus would like him to do so, but remember, he is a diplomat and a very smart one.

He did not learn politics and diplomacy in the Greek Gymnasium!

Hate Re Paphitis, the man has made a serious and indefensible error of judgement in mentioning Turkey in such terms 2-3 days before Greentree, what might be the culmination of his work over the past 2-3 years, particularly when he remained silent, to the disgust of many, when he would have heard those outrageous remarks by Erdogan/Eroglu over the past year regarding No Morphou, No Varosi, No Territorial Adjustment and going way in to CONfederal territory.

So he is rightly condemned when he turns his deaf ear to CY issues time and time again, in matters that should concern him, where people look and quite rightly expect a reaction from him to bring the talks back on track within the Agreements, Resolutions and HLAs.

What on Earth possessed him to send such a letter???

As to his work outside CY, readily confess ignorance. CY will judge him on matters CY.

Yes ok but I am not sure whether it is such a big deal. Maybe he had his agenda in mentioning this now. Maybe he is just buttering the Turks up a bit.

Personally, I think his agenda is to bring about a good sentiment and encourage Turkey's cooperation. It was not long ago, in fact only a couple of weeks when he last praised Cyprus and even Christofias. Such articles of his are all over the net but you don't see many people posting theses articles especially those that are against the negotiations.

Well, the same thought would have crossed other minds.. maybe he had an agenda that he thought the talks would be helped???... but how??? Dunno.

If had seen any article where he praised Pres X... would have posted it, didn't see them.

[Paphitis]

Well Bill, I am trying to find the article I did read not long ago where he did mention Christofias and his admiration for him in trying to solve the division in Cyprus. He did not make such claims about Eroglu or Turkey which is probably a diplomatic way of saying that Turkey is being uncooperative without spelling it out and bringing some negativity to the process which I am sure he is trying to avoid.

He has written dozens of articles. If you want you can filter through them. In many articles he makes mention of many positive things that the island and people have to offer. I also recall another where he was criticizing an unreasonable and irresponsible media on both sides. That is a negative article I do recall.

Here is a list of his articles if you wish to research more:
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opin ... der-downer

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opin ... der-downer

[repulsewarrior]

...in my opinion, its main flaw as an arguement is that it assumes Arabs trust Turkey, and indentify with this as their Leadership in a Unified drive forward toward their betterment amongst the other Global Players.

...whether consiously or not we can expect no better than what Europe is mired in from the Turks. confidence in this sense is a game, and the corruption at its root comes from denial. when the crash comes for Turkey, (nothing stays the same on this earth forever), it will be a matter of timing; war is always a good distraction in a Republican government when you go to polls. (and now it is Erdogan making the choices because the Generals are his), even if Turkey is a great Ally, Downer seems to forget that.

...he seems to imply that Turkey was the first Islamist elected government (like heralding it as a model) that is preceding the Arab Spring, he draws our sense of Hope for a peaceful evolution, like the success in money terms that Turkey now boasts, masking the stagnation in Turkey's politics as a State, unable to overcome their transition from Ataturk to Kemal.

...but he may be a great Diplomat, Turkey as a psyche is complex, and as the "Turks" have been saying, to coax the goodness out of her, you cannot be doing it by pointing out the flaws.

[Bananiot]

Since 1974 we have condemned to hell every UN envoy or representative who was appointed to mediate as the representative of the UN Secretary offering his good offices in the endeavour to find a solution to the Cyprus issue. We have done it in the clumsiest of ways too, like the recent barbaric mob Downer had to endure in Larnaca.We managed to alienate and turn against us those that started their stint as "friends". Even if one is a cold blooded, impartial diplomat, one does not cease to be a human being too.

If praising Turkey is a cardinal sin, we should have knocked about Papadopoulos a million times more, when he put his signature under an official UN document (in 2005) which explicitly called upon Turkey to continue her good work in getting the two sides (of Cyprus) to work together for solution. But, Downer is an easy target, Papadopoulos was a bash patriot.

[repulsewarrior]

...as much as Downer gets bashed by the brash, we can believe he has met ordinary Persons, who as Individuals represent the best of what Cyprus has to offer. easy to generalise, which community has "Greeks" or "Turks" that are better, but as i have hope that there is thinking that is committed to their foundations in the Rule of Law, and Basic Human Rights, i will not condem.

[Paphitis]

One thing is for sure, he is a cold blooded, impartial, dry and emotionless character who is well guarded and cautious. This can be very off putting to many people.

His job is to try and maintain "a good and positive atmosphere", if possible. He is not going to do that if he gets involved in any tit for tat childish and emotive political slinging match with either Turkey or the RoC. And it is not his style either.

But yes, he believes in HR and also believes that they should be universally applied and also in Cyprus. He doesn't need to state the obvious and he is no longer a politician trying to score cheap political points for a few votes.

His main aim is for a breakthrough. But if there is no breakthrough no one is going to judge him.