Cyprus-Forum.com

[Bananiot]

My god, this regression to sheer racism is killing me. Sotos says in all earnesty that just because some names sound foreign then CM must be unsupportive of Cyprus. This xenophobic attitude is what we inherited from the politicians of the 60's and it appears is here to stay with us for a long time yet. Meanwhile, everybody else is moving forward.

[miltiades]

Bananiot , I think overall most contributors agree that not everyone shares the view that the CM is an American / British propaganda tool. We all detest racism , how about culturism ??
I was in Limassol recently , I have an appartment not far off Demosios kipos , was rather annoyed that on relaxing on my veranda enjoying the sun and the views had to put up with some sort of Sunday regular event where microphones are used to ensure that all around the area residents are subjected to some strange sounds and music totaly alien to Cyprus , I understand this takes place every Sunday.So Cyprus beware , lets not copy the UK mode of tolerance to alien cultures .

[Piratis]

My god, this regression to sheer racism is killing me. Sotos says in all earnesty that just because some names sound foreign then CM must be unsupportive of Cyprus. This xenophobic attitude is what we inherited from the politicians of the 60's and it appears is here to stay with us for a long time yet.

Bananiot, the supporter of racist discrimination among Cypriots, who repeatedly told us that Cypriots should not even ask for their human rights, is accusing others of racism!!! Bananiot, are you trying to prove to us that along with your racism, your hypocrisy has reached the heights of Everest as well?

I believe that Sotos observation is a logical one. Why should a foreigner necessarily care more about Cyprus and the interests of Cypriots than the interests of a third or even his own country? If for them going either way means the same thing, then there is a high probability that their newspaper (a for profit business) will go the way that is most profitable for them.

Of course there are many foreigners that live in Cyprus that care more about Cyprus than even their country of origin. The ones that work in CM just happen not to belong in this group.

How many times we've seen Cypriots that live in the US or UK not only to be indifferent to the interests of the country of their residence but even to go against them?

So you can disagree about the degree of loyalty of CM staff to Cyprus, but you can not claim that Sotos argument is illogical or racist.

Meanwhile, everybody else is moving forward.

If what you call "forward" are things like apartheid, racist discriminations and human rights violations which you support then your "everyone else" is a tiny percentage. Thankfully racist like you are not that many. Thats why EDI will not even get a seat in the parliament in this elections.

[Bananiot]

Piratis, you took hold of a rediculous notion (a foreigner cannot care for the interests of Cyprus) and you have typically expanded it to suit your personal psych, whatever this is. Let me play your game then and at the same time apologise to all our readers for the diversion.

You claim that I am a racist because I voted for the solution of the Cyprus problem. Others, have called all people that were positive to the solution to commit suicide at city squares. In this respect you are a moderate compared to others who proposed a more radical treatment. If voting in favour of the Annan Plan makes me a racist then I find myself in the same league with the UN, the Security Council of the UN, the European Union which approved the plan and Greece. On the other hand, people like you are in the same league with Denktash, Eroglu, Stylianos Pattakos, Koulias, Pittokopities and countles others of the same pedigree. Thus, permit me to question your ability to realise who is a racist and who is not.

In my book, anyone that generalises and says that someone is this and that because he has a foreign-sounding name, cannot be right and the term which suits best this behaviour is racism. I am surpised you disagree with the this but yet, perhaps I should't be surprised.

Of course, your problem is your sick notion that we should not criticise the democratically elected leaders. This is totally unacceptable to me and smacks of totalitarianism. These people, from the President down are accountable in a democratic society and they, along with their supporters must not only forbid criticism but invite criticism. This is the only way a society can move forward. Again, if you cannot see these simple things, which are the cornerstone of democracy, then I think you have a huge problem. I find myself stating the obvious and I do not like it.

Miltiades, how do you propose we deal with "alien" cultures? Do you consider our culture "alien" to the english society?

[reportfromcyprus]

Racism, it seems to me, is hard-wired into the human psyche.

Overcoming its prejudices is impossible for many people. In Cyprus I've heard criticism of many nations and races, Greece included, and most ironically, criticism of Cyprus and all Cypriots, whatever their origin.

If we hate ourselves this much, what courtesy or good relations will be accord other countries and peoples?

The last five pages of this thread illustrates that exactly.

Ahh shaddap and leave us alone to our infighting, I hear you say Okay, but bear in mind one small point; as we fight amongst ourselves, our position become truly vulnerable to being undermined. We are the ultimate victims of our racism.

[reportfromcyprus]

I meant "what courtesy or good relations will be accorded to other countries and peoples"

[cypezokyli]

If you look at the names of the staff of Cyprus mail you will see why they do not support Cyprus. Because most of them are foreigners. If a Cypriot was issuing a newspaper in the UK wouldn't he support Cyprus instead of UK?Of course a name like UK Mail of Cyprus would be more appropriate for them but anyways

piratis wrote :

I believe that Sotos observation is a logical one. Why should a foreigner necessarily care more about Cyprus and the interests of Cypriots than the interests of a third or even his own country? If for them going either way means the same thing, then there is a high probability that their newspaper (a for profit business) will go the way that is most profitable for them.

dear reportfromcyprus.
i am afraid that with a name like that : Sarah Fenwick , you are going to have problems in cyprus. why dont you consider changing into sth more greek ? its logical ...

[reportfromcyprus]

Actually, I'd love a name like Artemis or Aphrodite. The Greeks took the best names

Stuck with Sarah now, I've learned to live with it, lol.

[Piratis]

Bananiot, unfortunately for you, you do not have the ability to argue against my own position and therefore you choose to argue against your own imagination.

Piratis, you took hold of a rediculous notion (a foreigner cannot care for the interests of Cyprus)

I didn't say that. What I said is:

Why should a foreigner necessarily care more about Cyprus and the interests of Cypriots than the interests of a third or even his own country?

Bananiot:

You claim that I am a racist because I voted for the solution of the Cyprus problem.

What I said:

Bananiot, the supporter of racist discrimination among Cypriots, who repeatedly told us that Cypriots should not even ask for their human rights

Where did I say that you are racist because you voted for Annan plan? Many people voted for Annan plan. The 99.9% did so not because they accepted as fair its racist and undemocratic provisions but because they were convinced that it is the least bad from the bad things some foreigners were threatening us with if we dared to say no.

However you belong to the 0.01% of the people that voted "yes", that you find the provisions of Annan plan as being correct, right and just. So if you believe that racist discriminations between Cypriots is right, then you are obviously a racist.

In my book, anyone that generalises and says that someone is this and that because he has a foreign-sounding name, cannot be right and the term which suits best this behaviour is racism.

I didn't generalize. I clearly said: "Of course there are many foreigners that live in Cyprus that care more about Cyprus than even their country of origin."

According to Bananiot all foreigners in Cyprus care more about Cyprus than any other country in the world simply because they live here. A foreigner does not have many reasons to care more about Cyprus than his country of origin or any other third country, and in fact most don't.

A question: If the English national team plays a soccer game with Cyprus in EURO final which team would most British that live in Cyprus support?
Would it make me racist to assume that most of them would support England? NO
Would it make you stupid to assume that all of them will support Cyprus? YES.

[Mills Chapman]

Thank you for your comments, everyone, and for sharing links to other news sites. I know that the CM is critical of the current RoC administration, but as someone else mentioned, I wonder how the CM could be American-funded if it published those articles by Gwyne Dyer. I'm not a supporter of the Iraq War or of Bush, but as an American, even I cringe when read I her articles on CM, articles that are very well written. If CM is American-funded and publishes Dyer's articles in order to throw off the conspiracy theorists, then it's a very smart move, but I don't think that's the case.

Sarah, I wish you the best again with your Cyprus paper. It's tough trying to start something on your own, but stay the course!