Cyprus-Forum.com

[realcypriot]

We all talk about the 'Cyprus Problem' but I'm not sure that we even agree on what it is. If you ask a GC, they will tell you that the Cyprus Problem is that 140,000 people are not allowed to go back to their homes and Turkey is occupying soverign RoC territory. If you ask a TC, they will tell you that the Cyprus Problem is that the Turkish Cypriots are under economic embargoes and travel restrictions, they are entitled to full recognition of the TRNC, and that they need need military protection from the GC. Can both of these be right? Or wrong?

Maybe we are looking at the effect, and not the cause

If we are going to discuss something to resolve it, then we need to agree on what the problem actually is. What does anyone else think? Are there elements to the 'Problem' that we can agree on, and why do we disagree so much?

[labwolf]

Maybe we are looking at the effect, and not the cause

The main problem for me is that Turkish Cypriot can't forget what happened until 1974, and Greek Cypriot can't remember! Furthermore, Greek Cypriots haven't yet realised that in April 2004 they probably made a big mistake, while Turkish Cypriots are still afraid that Greek Cypriots want to possess the whole island.

When passing Ledra Palace checkpoint you can still see the accusations and hatresses. As a real European I would have expected from both sides a deep apologize for ALL things that had happened before, on both sides. This would have been a real sign of willigness to create a positive climate. Both sides can't even agree on that

As long as you see Greek flags and Turkish flags wherever you are in the south or in the north, you know what the problem is und you can be sure it will nevver be settled.

[michalis5354]

As long as you see Greek flags and Turkish flags wherever you are in the south or in the north, you know what the problem is und you can be sure it will nevver be settled.

Of course this is one of the things I CANT understand! And this is the foreign flags . What purpose do they serve other than dividing the people and the country? Why it is so hard to be independent?

[Piratis]

The Cyprus problem is that Turkey along with the AngloAmericans used the minority of Turkish Cypriots in order to serve their own interests.

[Filitsa]

Why it is so hard to be independent?

Cyprus cannot be independent when she is continually oppressed. Today Cyprus is politically oppressed by greater political powers.

[JustAnAmerican]

Why it is so hard to be independent?

Cyprus cannot be independent when she is continually oppressed. Today Cyprus is politically oppressed by greater political powers.

Could you expand on the oppression? Did the Oppression put on you by the USG cause everyone to hoist TRNC and Greek flags in the air?

To the original person with the post, the Cyprus problem is any evil act or mean thing that could have happened to any TC and GC over the last 100 years. To include the conspiracy to turn Cyprus in to a US base. The GCs have their sensitivities and the TC have theirs.

The USG does not have a morning meeting in which we sit around and say, hey how can we f**k with Cyprus today. I hate so say it, but the RoC was not very important player in 1974 and you still are not a big player today.

The USG element here is one of the smallest in the world.

After April 04 and the recent evidence, seperation maybe more of a future than unification.

[andytandreou]

The Cyprus problem is simple at its heart but the solution to it, is not!

The Cyprus problem started when the Republic of Cyprus wasn't even formed yet. There was a community in Cyprus which was mainly Greek Cypriot but there was also a Turkish Cypriot minority too. These two people living happily and getting along fine.

Cyprus has a very strategic location which is why the British decided to colonise it, which is what led to the creation of EOKA fighters, which led to the war of 1955-59 and that subsequently let to the creation of the Republic of Cyprus free from British rule in 1960.

The British are not stupid however! With their policy of divide and conquer they sought to please the Turks the USA and themselves by establishing bases in Cyprus. The only way this could have been achieved is clearly evident in the 1960 constitution, which was the main tool of "divide and conquer”, used by the British.

Cypriots in general where peaceful up until the British decided to give minority veto rights to the Turkish Cypriots. For the first time a distinction was made between the people of Cyprus and a rift formed over-night.

Turkish extremists where busy painting Anti-Turkish slogans on walls with blue paint (how sad) to make the T/C's believe that the G/C's didn't want them and Greek Cypriots Terrorists of EOKA-B (who sided with the Military sponsored Junta in Greece) where busy creating tensions between the two communities even though there was only 100 of them to start with.

I really don't know how things played out but Britain sold Cyprus to Turkey. After 1960 it was unthinkable that an island with such an important location in the centre of the world could be left to decide it's own future. Everyone was asking Makarios for bases before the Turkish invasion and some people believe that his "NO" is what triggered the invasion by Turkey.

Basically, the invasion had nothing to do with the acts of Greek Cypriots against Turkish Cypriots. It had more to do with the backroom talks of Britain (Cyprus' colonizers), Turkey (Cyprus' neighbours) and the USA (Turkeys' best friend and ally). This is why they all have bases in Cyprus today and would rather give up their homeland than give up the bases in Cyprus.

The Turkish Cypriots like to think that the Greek Cypriots where violent and needed someone to put them in their place but they should consider that Cyprus belongs to the majority of people who inhabit it (the USA no longer belongs to native Americans does it?).

If (after the Greek Cypriots where freed from British rule) the constitution was made to suit the needs of the people then we would NOT have the problems we do today. But, as I said before, Cyprus is too important and the British are too clever to let Cyprus be governed by a bunch of farmers back in 1960. Also consider that G/C's live with many minorities today and fights between them NEVER break out. NEVER, let me repeat that... N-E-V-E-R!!! Ask yourselves why we didn't fight each other pre-1960? Or why we lived happily pre-1960?

It would take years to document the story of Cyprus politics but at each corner you will find dirty Britain in the works. The British promised the Greeks that they would give them Cyprus as long as they fought against Germany in World War II. The Greeks DID fight against Germany and the British never gave Cyprus to Greece. They did however sell Cyprus to the Turks who believed that they owned it anyway, but the tragic irony here is that Turkey fought WITH THE GERMANS AND NOT AGAINST THEM!!! What a backstabbing that was. Greece fought the Germans with pride but the empty promises by the British where never kept. Could this be the reason why Greece tried "enosis" with EOKA-B terrorists?

So we come to today. With Greek Cypriots believing that there’s only one type of Cypriot and we all belong on the same island. Yet the Turkish Cypriots are lost in limbo, believing that the solution to the Cyprus problem can only be solved through the creation of another state, namely the TRNC.

Had the 100 or so EOKA-B terrorists not had the support of Greece and created so much chaos then the Turkish Cypriots would not have any basis to their arguments of "not feeling safe" and Turkey wouldn't have any basis to its argument of "protecting the Turkish Cypriots". However, these 100 or so people where the catalyst to the invasion of Turkey and must have been paid dearly (EXTREMELY, IMMENSELY DEARLY FOR THAT MATTER). Just remember that if Cyprus was somewhere else with no strategic interests would Turkey pay billions of pounds to support a regime it created over 31 years ago?

Two things stand out:

The Cyprus constitution could star in a show called "World dumbest constitutions caught on tape"...

And

Turkey could star in a show called "World dumbest reasons to invade another country"...

But

Cyprus could star in a show called "The biggest and baldest economic and political comeback EVER!"

That's my theory anyway...


Andy

[garbitsch]

The biggest problem was handin the newly born Republic of Cyprus to the hands of Enosists (Makarios and his gang) and of Taksimists (Kuchuk and his gang). The other stuff you are telling are the side effects of this. We should stop blaming foreigners. We created the fuss and we should clean our closet.

Piratis:

The Cyprus problem is that Turkey along with the AngloAmericans used the minority of Turkish Cypriots in order to serve their own interests.

So the Junta and the Greek Cypriots did never pursue the goal of Enosis. Or it was their right to do so... That's why you do not include this to your explanation of the Cyprus Problem. And you ask for justice. How dare you?

[andytandreou]

The biggest problem was handin the newly born Republic of Cyprus to the hands of Enosists

You just dont see that the newly born Cyprus republic was designed to crash and burn!

Please tell me a country on this planet out of the 212 that exist which give a minority Veto rights in government?

Please tell me a country on this planet that give other nations intervention rights?

Please garbitsch... Just think of what might have happened if Turkish Cypriots didn't have Veto rights and foreign powers didn't have intervention rights? Can you imagine that? There would never have been a distinction between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. We would have become like the Switzerland, Canada or New-Orleans which have huge minorities but don't consider themselves French or American or Swiss or Spanish! No Labels what-so-ever, just people.

I hope the solution of the Cyprus issue goes a little something like this:

-Turkey agrees to fully withdraw and dismantle the TRNC if Cyprus agrees to implement certain conditions. Like:

-Cyprus makes no distinction between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots in any official document or procedure

-Cyprus completely reforms its education system to accommodate the Turkish language and religion.

-Turkish becomes an official language of Europe and continues to be an official language of the Republic

-All minorities get representation in Parliament according the previous senses. So if Turkish Cypriots grow to 22% of the population then they get 22 seats in parliament (if there are 100 seats to start with). Armenians get seats according to their size and growth just like T/C's etc.

-All this gets re-written in a new constitution which is guaranteed by Europe ONLY!!! If a Turkish Cypriot gets rejected for a job as a High-school principle (for example) but a Greek Cypriot with less qualifications gets accepted then the European court of justice will start a trial and fine Cyprus millions according to the merits of each case.



I WILL NEVER ACCEPT THAT NICOSIA REMAINS A DIVIDED CITY FOR EVER JUST BECAUSE TURKISH CYPRIOTS FEEL THREATENED!!!

[Viewpoint]

andytandreou

I WILL NEVER ACCEPT THAT NICOSIA REMAINS A DIVIDED CITY FOR EVER JUST BECAUSE TURKISH CYPRIOTS FEEL THREATENED!!!

Your priviledge to think that way, but reality and our past trak record dictates that we as Cypriots are unable and inept at resolving our own issues so until a time when we come to our senses and realize that we are both wrong and take that major step forward for a common goal we will be divided for a very long time to come.