Cyprus-Forum.com

[Nicole22]

Can someone please tell me if Jack Straw actually said that the Greeks would be punished for their NO vote............or was this implied?

[souroul]

after jack straw gives a third of the UK to the turks, i may just take his BS seriously

[Nicole22]

I am not sure if Straw actually said, the Greeks would be punished for their NO vote or if this was the way it was interpreted. Does anyone remember this?

[reportfromcyprus]

This quote from http://experts.about.com/e/c/cy/Cyprus_ ... ,_2004.htm

The British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said, "We will respect the choice which Greek Cypriots have expressed today. But I hope that they will continue to reflect on whether this choice is the right one for them." The general international reaction to the result was similar to that of Britain: one of deep disappointment, particularly among those bodies that had worked on the Annan Plan and on EU accession arrangments.

[Nicole22]

Thanks 4 your answer............ I guess the interpretation was that we'd be punished and so immediately the reconstruction of Northern Cyprus took place...........you see, buried deep in the sub-conscious of the Brits, the Greeks are not to be trusted.......they cannot forget, they cannot forgive. To quote just one example of what I am talking about, look no further than Matthew Parris, Political correspondent of the Times, he came from an army family at the time of EOKA......

[reportfromcyprus]

How do you define punishment?

[Nicole22]

Losing my cultural heritage/ identity which was once filled with Greek and Turks working side by side.

[Natty]

Hey, I guess sub-consciously both the GC's and the British don't trust each other on the 'political' level, I mean, for example the British first of all 'flirted' with the Idea of Enosis, like when Winston Churchill said in 1907, when he visted the Island as Colonial Secretary,

I think it is only natural that the Cypriot people, who are of Greek descent, should regard their incorporation with what may be called their mother country as an ideal to be earnestly, devoutly and fervently cherished. Such a feeling is an example of the patriotic devotion which so nobly characterizes the Greek nation...I say that the views which have been put forward (Enosis) are views which His Majesty's Govrement do not refuse to regard with respect

And then 30 years later, when they found out how stragetically important Cyprus was, they refused to consider it.

Peace!

[Nicole22]

I think that this is how Brits divided and ruled.......Cyprus position has always been known as the key to the Middle East.

Btw, my Mother came to England as a young girl in 1936 and her one abiding memory was of her Turkish Cypriot neighbours crying the most at her departure.

[cypezokyli]

i posted these question in another thread, bc i consider that we tend to overemphasize the role of the british.
i repost it here :

did the british created the conflict between the two communities , or simply took advantage of sth already existing ?

was there ever a cypriot identity , or anyone who ever spoke about cypriots before 1960s (gc or tc) ? in short do we expect from an imperial power to construct such an ideology , that would obviously be against its interests ?

did the british created a two-gear system of did they simply follow the existing ottoman millet system (albeit not discriminating when it came to taxes) ?

what would you say, if i told you that the tcs spoke to the british empire, against the prospect of enosis in 1880-81 , 1902, 1911 etc etc ? (i posted the exact paper the tcs gave to the british already from 1881) or that in the mid-40s thousand of tcs protested against enosis ? were those also british creations ?

as to the tcs policemen. first , why do you think that british would need to put any effort to convince the tcs to join the police force against an organisation which was obviously working against their interests ? besides , after grivas started attacking policemen , what incentives did the gcs have to join the police force ? Moreover why would the british trust the gcs in allowing them to join the the policeforce ?

i am not saying the british did not used the situation for their interests. but now tell me, is there any party , that didnot work for its interest at that point in time (gcs , tcs or the british) ? unless you are in a position to convince even one tc that EOKA was fighting for their benefit as well Wink

if you manage to do that, you will have my etternal respect..
...
the same things can be argued for england bringing turkey in the game. thats also ambivalent , and for sure not the whole truth. but i ll write later for that.


in short , what i am trying to say, is that using (or even recycling) some quotes from british diplomats, we end up overemphasizing the role of the british . no doubt there was a role, but its way exagurated imo.
the simple proof of that is :
in the past we were illiterate and the british could take advantage of that and use divide and conquer tactics for their own interests. now that we KNOW their tactics, and we know that fighting is not in our interests , why dont we strike an agreement ?