Cyprus-Forum.com

[repulsewarrior]

...indeed, we can at least thank the British for a Rule of Law, even if as Greeks the vast majority (by culture and population) or as Human beings, they erred by dividing us to leave Cyprus, as a power, impotent.

...Turkey, the new Turkey, and what is Erdogan's "New Turkey", have not been willing to change themselves since the Treaty of Lausanne; i'm just saying. Their fight is with England i suppose, (and the Human race, at least that is to say not like "them"), but publicly not so, in any case it is why Turkey does not recognise the existence of Cyprus, it is "property" so to speak since "it" was Leased, and as for the people they do not count, because as a People they do not exist.

...if Turkey is to leave a Legacy in Cyprus, it must come to realise that you do not have to be Turkic to be a Turk, or Turkish, you must love Turkey, and as an Individual stand for the Universal Principals that make the greatness of a country, a measure of their Freedom. Cyprus is a template, and Bicommunal (and Bizonal), you see, are not dirty words, that among the flags of Nations, as Persons, that are many in Cyprus, as in Turkey, one flag flies highest.

[Lordo]

i am afraid terkey did recognise cyprus originally even up to the point of 1974 where tcs suffered great hardship in the hands of the roc. it is only later that tekrey reversed their recognition. and she is right. roc does not exist, groc does. long may she live.

[Nikitas]

The ROC is alive and well in the EU, the UN, Council of Europe, and a host of other international organisations.

[Lordo]

yep and so are the three card trickers like the charluis. it does not exist. roc has tc representation, fact is it has stopped being roc since december 1963. it is groc all but in name and may you be happy with your state.

[repulsewarrior]

...sadly Lordo, it must be you/"you" that are happy in your state, i/I am not happy with my state.

[Mustiejodu]

And what is so credible about the un and eu ? eu has become a double standard joke .the un is a bigger joke.there is no confidence in either of these 2 organisations . what has eu done to stop the fighting in ukrain at the doorsteps of Europe. The day there is a referendum to opt out of eu in the uk I will be voting out. All we do is look after the sick man of Europe who are Greece,Spain ,cyprus which is not even in Europe but part of the Christian elite group. Look at the people running the eu who are not even elected by the public . Is this what you call progress and you want to slag Ottoman Empire hundreds of years ago. Nikita you have got your facts wrong about the Ottoman Empire as you probably choose to only see what feels good for you. The ottomans made no effort in cyprus as I already said what the purpose of conquering cyprus was. I suggest you educate yourself about kanuni sultan suleyman who was not around when cyprus was taken as it was taken by his son who was a drunk . Do you see the relevance when I say that a great leader did not feel the necessity to take cyprus untill a drunk became the sultan . Anyway I doubt you will want to educate yourself as it's best for your convenience that the ottomans or Turks are the big bad wolf and the greeks are angels and they will all be at the gates of heaven lol

[halil]

Christians and Muslims in Ottoman Cyprus and the Mediterranean World, 1571-1640

book to read..............

http://books.google.com.cy/books?id=dsl ... &q&f=false

[Nikitas]

Musti,

You honestly believe that an empire like the Ottomans wasted tens of thousands of soldiers for wine? The Cyprus campaign came a short time after the failed attempt to take Malta. Cyprus was an obvious conquest in the attempt to weaken the other Mediterranean power of the time, Venice.

The book you posted Halil corroborates what I wrote above, regarding the Ottomans using the local populations as tax mules and little else. Most of its fact base is tax derived. The non tax sources are from non Turkish travelers and consuls visiting the island.

Yes, the Venetians treated the population as serfs, which is how they treated their own people in the Venice region, and it matches the feudal practices of Europe as a whole. No one said life under the Venetians was a picnic. However, the Venetians fostered Greek learning, in Cyprus and other places they held. El Greco the painter, Cornaro the poet, almost all the texts and the first Greek printing runs, happened under the Venetians and mostly in Venice.

By contrast there is close to nil Greek culture in Cyprus or other places during the Ottoman era.

Interesting note about malaria, which the book dwells on quite a bit. None of the conquerors did much to rid the island of malaria, not even the British. Malaria was finally eradicated with UN help in 1948. The eucalyptus trees you see in Cyprus today were planted then to soak up surface stagnating water. The ancient city of Salamis, situated on the marshes of Pedieos estuary was densely planted with them. So were the banks of Pedieos in Nicosia. My paternal grandmother died of malaria in the late 40s. The disease is proof that foreign occupiers did not give a shit about local populations then or now.

[Jimski999]

Nikitas
I recall reading that the British Army were involved in draining the Swamps in Nicosia and brought over Indians from the sub-continent who were imune to the disease. I've attached a link to the news article from the fifties that explains how it was done. I remember as a kid in the fifties DDT was the insecticide of choice which was found in every household; we know better now


http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/63473734

[Nikitas]

My primary schooling occured during British rule, that is when we were taught about malaria prevention and water management. These were British inspired and directed lessons. It was in these lessons we were told that the UN had initiated the malaria programme in Cyprus. Understandably the British colonial authorities managed the scheme and the locals manned it. My grandfather had a DDT pump he had used when employed in the spraying programme.

Somewhere in my files there is a summary of a Rockefeller Foundation report from the 1930s regarding Cyprus malaria and a UN WHO report from the 1940s. Where exactly, now that is a question!