Last week deputy Zorlu Töre took the floor during the parliamentary debate on budgetary issues in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), making a patriotic speech as usual.
Following his performance deputy Doğuş Derya took the floor and said the following: “By reliance on a story of constant victimhood, we are always told that we were the only ones who suffered in war, as if there is a winning party. We were never told that others also suffered. Not only did we lose but other people who lived in this country also lost. They were forced to leave their homes and properties; they were raped. The [Cyprus Orthodox] Church permitted abortion in 1974 for the first time because there were so many Greek women that had been raped. For this reason, we need to remember that there are people we ignored because we objectified them as enemies. By looking through the lens of a federalist point of view, we could confront the reality and the truth of others. That would maybe mean remembering how to be ashamed; remembering that we have a consciousness. We need to consider the future, not just the past. We need to show determination to build a future. If we do this, then we would fulfill our responsibility.”
The statement attracted the ire of many, including other deputies, who repeated well-known formulaic statements and arguments. The Cultural Association of People from Hatay, the Cultural Association of People from the Black Sea and nationalists of all sorts -- mainly from mainland Turkey -- further launched a smear campaign.
There are some significant developments regarding the federalist argument referenced by Deputy Doğuş Derya. Although this is not the first time, a comprehensive and remarkable initiative toward a federal solution was presented by the grassroots organization, Federal Cyprus Initiative. The initiative, which was founded on Dec. 14 with the support of Cypriot Greeks, Cypriot Turks, Armenians and Maronites, states: “To create a unified Federal Cyprus, we need to address the longstanding clichés raised by official circles and the conventional perception of realities. We also need to confront the realities and truths of those we considered enemies.”
http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Federal-Cyp ... YzNDE4Ni81This is a very valuable initiative as a mainstream internal dynamic with no link to Britain, Greece, the EU, the UN, the US or Turkey. This is also a spontaneous initiative not based on political calculations and for this reason alone, disturbs nationalists on both ends of the island.
Let us also look at what deputy Derya referred to in another part of her speech: “Today, RIK TV, which is a state-run broadcasting body, talks about the suffering of Turkish Cypriots between 1963 and 1974. Greek Cypriots started a process of confrontation. Those who witness this from both sides feel uncomfortable because when a federal Cyprus becomes integrated with the world, a lot of things in the current illegal stage would change.”
Derya's speech can be accessed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr-Q-tzg_3sFormer president of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias, also recently said something along the same lines: “The Greek Cypriots should hail the brave attitude of Derya and show the same bravery. Is it not true that some Greek Cypriots raped women and children, executed unarmed prisoners and committed bloody attacks in Maratha, Aoli, Sandalaris and Tohni? The mutual trust and rapprochement between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots may not bring about the settlement of the Cyprus issue, but this is the precondition for a federal solution.”
Yet the smear campaign against Derya is not a coincidence.
Note: There is shocking and well-documented information provided by Professor Niyazi Kızılyürek in Yeni Düzen newspaper on the rapes that occurred during the 1974 military intervention.
http://www.yeniduzen.com/Yazarlar/niyazi-kizil ... ardir/5422
The whole matter is not about American, Greek, Serbian or Turkish armies' discipline during wars, it is about the character of men with a weapon in their hands in an environment of total chaos that we call war.
Merry Christmas to Christian readers.
CENGİZ AKTAR (Cihan/Today's Zaman)
http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Federal-Cyp ... YzNDE4Ni81
Federal Cyprus and its enemies
