Cyprus-Forum.com

[BirKibrisli]

Azeroglu,you are certainly an enigma...
If I am correct you admitted not being a TC,but you are passionately involved with the Cyprus problem,and you fly out of the Larnaca airport,hmmmm.So are u a settler or settlers son?You think Cyprus is your homeland and u will not be moved.But what about all those Gcs who feel the same about the North.People who were forcibly removed from their homes and made refugees.And what about people like me who feel they belong to the South of Cyprus who were made to feel insecure (nobody forced us to leave,but we had little choice as nobody could guarantee our safety) enough to leave our villages?Can't you see we are at least as passionate as u are about our homeland? Do you really think you can build a happy life in Cyprus standing on the heads of hundreds of thousands of refugees,both TC and GCs?I would give you more credibility if you showed some empathy towards the Gcs who want to go back to their homes. If you admitted there was a problem and try to find a solution that will come closest to satisfying most people's wishes.

To be honest I am not very proud of our ancestry whose only claim to fame is as fighters and conquerers.Call me a traitor if you like.I would rather be proud of things my ancestors made to improve the lot of humanity,to make the world a more civilised place to live in.When I look back in history I do not see very many examples of that. Sure there were the odd architecture of Sinan,and some of the administrative practises of the Ottoman's were more humane that would be expected in their time,and the likes of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi and Haci Bektash Veli
were shinning examples of humble but dignified humanity,bur we go a long way back to find those examples. Apart from Nazim Hikmet and possibly Aziz Nesin,can you name one modern Turkish writer who left his mark on the world stage?Are you proud to belong to a culture who killed Sabahattin Ali,and who is now trying to silence one Orhan pamuk for simply speaking their minds?
People in this forum are trying to find ways to improve the trust and respect between Cypriots primarily and Turks and Greeks in general.Some of us are very encouraged by scientific research that has proven that there is a Cypriot gene pool,and TCs and GCs are almost identical biologically.We think our manmade differences (language,religion) should not stand in the way of peaceful coexistence in one country under one government respecting human rights.Blind nationalism you exibit does not help this process.So,please,if you can't say something positive refrain from saying it.To put it more bluntly "it is better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you have nothing to say,than open it and remove all doubt".

[Kifeas]

Turkish Cypriots accuse the Greek Cypriots that they do not want a solution because they do not want to share power and political equality with them. I ask everyone in this forum, which GC would ever have had a problem not only with a 50:50 sharing of power with a TC that bears the ideas and thoughts of Birkibrisli, but to even elect and /or accept him as the single one and all powerful president of Cyprus?

[sadik]

Sorry, no one can convince me Greek-Turkish co-existence is possible in Cyprus. One does not have to be a Cypriot to see that.

Unfortunately, we, Turkish Cypriots, think differently. Turkish Cypriots have spoken many times and made it very clear. We can live and coexist with Greek Cypriots and other Cypriots. We can share and love the same country. We can work towards common goals. Cyprus is our house and we are sharing it with others. Our primaly goal should be to make the house peaceful and happy.

Our Turkishness is not mutually exclusive with our Cypriotness. I strongly believe that both the TCs and the GCs will be stronger, richer, much safer and much more free in a united Cyprus. We will be in a much better shape to develop both our ethnic and Cypriot identities.

I'm glad to see that the Turks in Turkey, after 80-90 years of nationalism, are also starting to remember the basic principle of coexistence and colloboration that made the Ottomans so strong in the past. Turkish PM is telling to Turks in Germany to put the country they live in first, Germany. He is telling to the Turks in Bulgaria and Greece to take part in all aspects of life and serve their countries. Turkey is looking for ways for recounciliation between Turks, Kurds, Armenians, and other ethinc groups in Turkey.

This is a win win strategy for all. This is what what Turkey and other Turkic nations should do. And after that we can sit and talk how we can improve our ties, common language and commonalities in our cultures. Trying to achieve homogenoity will bring more disasters on us, not a better future.

[sadik]

Turkish Cypriots accuse the Greek Cypriots that they do not want a solution because they do not want to share power and political equality with them. I ask everyone in this forum, which GC would ever have had a problem not only with a 50:50 sharing of power with a TC that bears the ideas and thoughts of Birkibrisli, but to even elect and /or accept him as the single one and all powerful president of Cyprus?

Come on Kifeas, you know that in the near future, no TC can be elected as the president of RoC or come to an important position for a long time no matter what his views are. I'm not even sure that we can even come to an important position in a GC company. Of course, I believe that this will change in time if we manage to solve the political problem and set up a good system.

[Viewpoint]

Dont hold your breath Sadik, the way things are developing we are getting further and further away from any solution.

Hey guys no response to my rather long post, very disappointing, did anyone read it???

[Piratis]

I ask everyone in this forum, which GC would ever have had a problem not only with a 50:50 sharing of power with a TC that bears the ideas and thoughts of Birkibrisli

If all TCs were like Birkibrisli then we would obviously feel more comfortable for a 50:50 share. However for me this 50:50 is wrong as a matter of principle. In democratic countries, while geographic separation is ok, racist separation and different voting power based on race is very wrong in my opinion. All Cypriots should have equal power. The ones we agree with should have 1 vote each, and the ones we disagree with should also have 1 vote each.

to even elect and /or accept him as the single one and all powerful president of Cyprus?

For this I would have absolutely no problem. He would definitely be much better than most of our current leaders and it is obvious that he wants the good of Cyprus as a whole.

[Kifeas]

Turkish Cypriots accuse the Greek Cypriots that they do not want a solution because they do not want to share power and political equality with them. I ask everyone in this forum, which GC would ever have had a problem not only with a 50:50 sharing of power with a TC that bears the ideas and thoughts of Birkibrisli, but to even elect and /or accept him as the single one and all powerful president of Cyprus?

Come on Kifeas, you know that in the near future, no TC can be elected as the president of RoC or come to an important position for a long time no matter what his views are. I'm not even sure that we can even come to an important position in a GC company. Of course, I believe that this will change in time if we manage to solve the political problem and set up a good system.

It is not possible constitutionally because that thing says that the president has to be a GC and be elected only by GCs. As for private companies this is up to the owners. Why would you think a Turkish Cypriots who worked for a company for some years and is known and trusted and who also has the necessary qualifications could not rise up in the hierarchy? The owner of any private company cares only about his interests. If he considers that his company’s interests are better served by appointing a TC due to his abilities, why wouldn't he do it? The other day I met the chief engineer of a big hotel in Pafos who was Egyptian and who was not even married with a Cypriot.

[sadik]

It is not possible constitutionally because that thing says that the president has to be a GC and be elected only by GCs. As for private companies this is up to the owners. Why would you think a Turkish Cypriots who worked for a company for some years and is known and trusted and who also has the necessary qualifications could not rise up in the hierarchy?

I'm not talking about constitutional obstacles and I'm not making these things up. I know someone who was not promoted because "his co-workers would not work under a Turk". I've heard from people several times that they were told that they could not be placed in visible and important positions because their GC customers could stop working with the company. In places where the country is polarized so much, we need a system that will make it possible where everyone will have the right to be elected not only in theory but in practice as well, and everyone will have equal opportunities in practice.

[Piratis]

sadik, this problem is magnified now due to the de facto partition. I believe if we follow the correct way and we base everything on the equality of all citizens rather than 2 conflicting communities that this problem would become much less after some years.
We can also have affirmative action and quotas. These can be permanent for the public sector and temporary in the private sector.

[Kifeas]

It is not possible constitutionally because that thing says that the president has to be a GC and be elected only by GCs. As for private companies this is up to the owners. Why would you think a Turkish Cypriots who worked for a company for some years and is known and trusted and who also has the necessary qualifications could not rise up in the hierarchy?

I'm not talking about constitutional obstacles and I'm not making these things up. I know someone who was not promoted because "his co-workers would not work under a Turk". I've heard from people several times that they were told that they could not be placed in visible and important positions because their GC customers could stop working with the company. In places where the country is polarized so much, we need a system that will make it possible where everyone will have the right to be elected not only in theory but in practice as well, and everyone will have equal opportunities in practice.

I see your point Sadik and I am aware of the obstacles. What I have in mind and what I am talking about is how the situation could /should be under normal circumstances of adequately established harmonization of political and social relationships. It is theoretical, but not unrealistic in my opinion, projection of how things can be.