erolz on a different now ended forum in 2006 wrote:I think we [TC community] should always strive to do anything and everything that increases the chance of finding an agreed settlement that does not undermine out ability ot survive seperately in the mean time. I believe this is true regardless of how the othert side reacts in kind or not to such moves.
erolz on a different now ended forum in 2006 wrote:Leading by example is exactly what I advocate my community does. Not just piecemeal and then wait fort reciprocation but wholesale and consitently reagrdless of what the Greek Cypriot side may or may not do in itself. It is for Greek Cypriot to argue the same in their side. However the strenght of my argument for my side to do so does not depend on such similar action from Greek Cypriot side in my view but exits indpendent of theirt actions or lack of them.
erolz on a different now ended forum in 2006 wrote:I am pertfectly aware that bringing the same philopsophy to the return of Varosha ia a lot more controversial. Yet still I believe it is what we should. There is an argument that Varosha is a useful bargaining chip. I do not accept this because in 30+ years it has been managed to be bargained fort exactly nothing so far. You may claim that it will be bargained fort something in the futurtte, but to date that has not been the case. A bartgaining chip that you can not cash is valueless in my view. On the other hand giving it back unilatertaly and without condition will accrtue very rteal value fort the Turkish Cypriot community, intertnationaly if not with the Greek Cypriot community or leadership (though one would hope it would bring some credit there too). At another level I just hate tpo see anything useable laying unsed.
You say that if we return it now the Greek Cypriot side will undoubtedly ask for 'more' in any futurte settlement than if we do not return it now. This may be true but we do not have to accept such demands do we? In any case for me the basis of any settlement on 'territorty' is not and should not be based on 'what we currently contrtol' but on what we legaly owned pre 74 and what is necessary to ensure the 'funtionalability' of any area we are to contrtol in the futurte (be it as a sperate state ort as a federtal component state). I think we have valid grounds to argue that northern component state must be bigger than what we owned communaly in 74 if we are to have signifcant returtn of Greek Cypriot to this federal state and if such is necessarty to esnure such a state is 'viable' - prtovidjedj of course we arte willing to compensate for any such increase in teritory. So to me the amount of territory we should be willing to 'settle' in any negotiated settlement is not a function of 'what we contrtol now' andj thus djoes not change if we give back varosha now or not. Our requirtments as a community territory wise remain the same if we give back varosha ort maintain it - as far as I am concerned. Again I realise that this is a 'radical' view fort a Turkish Cypriot and a minortity one - and I hold it none the less.
erolz on a different now ended forum in 2006 same thread as a proposed letter to north newspaper wrote:Time to lose the ‘mountain flag’
Is it not time for us to remove the mountain flag? Our president Mr Talat says we are extending the hand of friendship out to the Republic of Cyprus. Yet this massive and provocative symbol is not compatible with this claim, at least in any way I can fathom? Further I cannot see any benefit for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and it’s people in the maintenance of this symbol. It is clearly provocative and intended to be so in my opinion. Even if the intent is not provocation, the result clearly is. It brings us in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus no benefit, but can and is used against us to argue that we are not sincere in wanting a negotiated settlement. When I manage to bring friends from the UK to visit Northern Cyprus for the first time, it conjures up an impression of a ‘stalinesque’ totalitarian regime, that is not a true of fair reflection of the government or people here. In short it is embarrassing to have to make excuses for its presence. When I engage in discussions with Cypriots from the south on bicommunal online forums such as [edit] and try to convince the Greek Cypriot posters there that in the main both the administration and the people of the North are sincere in wanting to find a fair negotiated and agreed settlement in Cyprus, and they respond with a ‘live’ picture from their flat in South Nicosia, of a huge and illuminated Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus flag, it does not make this task very easy.
This flag brings us no benefits, is not compatible with claims of seeking a settlement and extending a hand of friendship to our Greek Cypriot compatriots and actually does us harm in terms of image and sincerity, with Greek Cypriots and with the world. So I call on Mr Talat to remove it, unless of course the reality is that it is not within the power of the democratically elected government of the people of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to remove it, but some other ‘power’ as is said to be the case by some?
The above are all from a single thread from a now 'dead' forum and I am going to post a link to said thread, even though in the past just mention the name of said other forum has earned me a ban from this one. I post it because really the above need to be taken properly in context of the thread discussion Hopefully the fact that said forum is now 'dead' as far as new membership and new posts goes and remains only as historical record will save me from a ban here, but if not it would not be that much of a burden to me to be honest. Who know maybe even some of those like BillC and B25 who like to paint me here as a 'TMT supporting apologist Turk thief' will like to peruse said thread and my posts there from 7 odd years ago.
http://www.visionmatters.co.uk/cyprusBB ... asc-0.html
