Cyprus-Forum.com

[Piratis]

Again, this may be a stupid question...why are they called 'Greek Cypriots' - because they are from Greek descent? Why are they not just called Cypriots?
x

Greek Cypriots are Greek with their own unique characteristics like lets say Cretans of Crete island or Rhodians of Rhodos island etc.

The reasons that Greek Cypriots are not always called just Cypriots, in the same way that Cretans are called just Cretans and not Greek Cretans, is that in Cyprus we also have an 18% of Turkish Cypriot minority. Therefore not all Cypriots are Greek, and we use the "Greek" and "Turkish" to distinguish between them.

"Greek Cypriot" is used when there can be an ambiguity. If for example I go to Greece and I am asked (in Greek) what I am I will just say Kyprios (Cypriot), I will not say "Greek Cypriot". However if in the UK I say "Cypriot" then they might ask me if I am Greek or Turkish Cypriot, in which case I will say Greek Cypriot.

So basically "Greek Cypriots" and "Turkish Cypriots" are both subsets of Cypriots.

[zan]

On a serious note; For GCs to read that book it would be like watching while you were being operated on. .

on a serious note could you suggest similar writers from your side ?

I am afraid I cannot because I cannot read in Turkish that well. I have read every thing I know from the Greek authors and I have to say I still have an open mind.

[sal]

I think GC were called that because they were the Cypriots that spoke predominantly the Greek Language and the TC were called that because they spoke Turkish.

I get ya. Thankyou for the clarification! x

[Alexis]

I have no problem separating the GC community from that of Samson but I cannot separate the Government. We are talking of three different things here and I am sure it is not your intention to do so, but it does look as if you are trying to offset the blame factor. The acting Government of the time cannot simply wash its hands of the whole affair and blame it on smaller and smaller factions. This was a war against the Turks before it was a coup and it was a coup before it was an intervention and it was an intervention before it was an invasion.

You are right, it is not my intention to do so, I fully accept that we as Greek Cypriots must accept that we allowed a genocidal maniac to perform atrocities against innocent TCs. If you remember however, I was responding to bakala's assertion that the GC community was performing genocide against the TC population. As an analogy I believe he was comparing the use of a conventional bomb against a particular building in a city with the use of a full-scale Nuclear Weapon on that city, the city being the TC community and the nuclear device being the 'genocide' bakala claimed happened. Yes, the 'war' against the TC community did start in 1963 and that was with the blessing of the GC community but as usual you fail to point out that this war had more than just TC casualties. I myself had one close relative shot by TC snipers in his car driving through a TC neighbourhood of Northern Nicosia, another (more distant) family friend was killed fuelling up at a petrol station. These things happened in 1964 not 1974, both victims had absolutely nothing to do with EOKA. But yes, they did support Enosis, what they did not do was support the killing of innocent TC civilians or for that matter the extermination of the TC community. So were the TCs that killed those two innocent people really just 'responding' to teh threat of Enosis? On a different topic I see you still have not commented on the parallels between the attrocities commited against the TC community by GC militia being genocide as opposed to the actions of the Turkish Army in 1974 also being classed as genocide?
Believe me I do understand where you are coming from and in fact agree that in order to oust Samson, Turkey had every right to intervene so as far as that goes her intervention was legal, it was her implementation of the intervention and in particular the second intervention that was a blatent violation of the treaty of guarantee. Remember also that by the second intervention Samson had been ousted.

[zan]

I have no problem separating the GC community from that of Samson but I cannot separate the Government. We are talking of three different things here and I am sure it is not your intention to do so, but it does look as if you are trying to offset the blame factor. The acting Government of the time cannot simply wash its hands of the whole affair and blame it on smaller and smaller factions. This was a war against the Turks before it was a coup and it was a coup before it was an intervention and it was an intervention before it was an invasion.

You are right, it is not my intention to do so, I fully accept that we as Greek Cypriots must accept that we allowed a genocidal maniac to perform atrocities against innocent TCs. If you remember however, I was responding to bakala's assertion that the GC community was performing genocide against the TC population. As an analogy I believe he was comparing the use of a conventional bomb against a particular building in a city with the use of a full-scale Nuclear Weapon on that city, the city being the TC community and the nuclear device being the 'genocide' bakala claimed happened. Yes, the 'war' against the TC community did start in 1963 and that was with the blessing of the GC community but as usual you fail to point out that this war had more than just TC casualties. I myself had one close relative shot by TC snipers in his car driving through a TC neighbourhood of Northern Nicosia, another (more distant) family friend was killed fuelling up at a petrol station. These things happened in 1964 not 1974, both victims had absolutely nothing to do with EOKA. But yes, they did support Enosis, what they did not do was support the killing of innocent TC civilians or for that matter the extermination of the TC community. So were the TCs that killed those two innocent people really just 'responding' to teh threat of Enosis? On a different topic I see you still have not commented on the parallels between the attrocities commited against the TC community by GC militia being genocide as opposed to the actions of the Turkish Army in 1974 also being classed as genocide?
Believe me I do understand where you are coming from and in fact agree that in order to oust Samson, Turkey had every right to intervene so as far as that goes her intervention was legal, it was her implementation of the intervention and in particular the second intervention that was a blatent violation of the treaty of guarantee. Remember also that by the second intervention Samson had been ousted.

Alexis, I hope you don't mind me saying but that comment about me not mentioning in detail about GC deaths is uncalled for. If I am talking to someone here, or any other forum, that I think would have to have those obvious points made to them, then I would but as I appreciated that you personally would already have known those facts I left them out. I am not in the business of claiming numbers make a blind bit of difference to the situation we find our selves in today. All this could have happened yesterday with only a broken finger nail to show for it and it would not make a difference. The sticking point is where do we go from here. My thoughts differ from yours, it seems, only on this point.

As for genocide then yes if what the Greeks did is genocide then the same goes for the Turks and visa versa. If we agree that it was an act of war then ditto. These words are used as a defence against the accusation and I will be seen to use them as needed. Otherwise they mean nothing. The point is people were killed.

[Natty]

These things happened in 1964 not 1974, both victims had absolutely nothing to do with EOKA. But yes, they did support Enosis, what they did not do was support the killing of innocent TC civilians or for that matter the extermination of the TC community. So were the TCs that killed those two innocent people really just 'responding' to teh threat of Enosis? On a different topic I see you still have not commented on the parallels between the attrocities commited against the TC community by GC militia being genocide as opposed to the actions of the Turkish Army in 1974 also being classed as genocide?
Believe me I do understand where you are coming from and in fact agree that in order to oust Samson, Turkey had every right to intervene so as far as that goes her intervention was legal, it was her implementation of the intervention and in particular the second intervention that was a blatent violation of the treaty of guarantee. Remember also that by the second intervention Samson had been ousted.

I agree Alexis, most people that supported/fought for EOKA and Enosis, did not equate Enosis with 'the extermination of the TC's'. It was just a political aspiration. I also agree with what you say about the invasion/intervention.

I'm also very sorry to hear about your relatives...my heart goes out to all the family's of the people (Both GC and TC) who died during that period..

[Klik]

EDIT: was not full

[Klik]

Everything started in 1570, when Ammochostos got raided from Turks, and then the Venetians were sacked in the island from the Ottomans...

Funnily enough, people never ask why there's a Turkish minority in the island!

Answer is quite simple, and some may not like it or agree with it...

1572: 25.000 Turkish soldiers came by force to the island in order to settle in, multiply, and eventually create a majority of Turks in the island... Didn't work out though, we wiped out a lot of them in those 500 years!

The soldiers and their descendants are the Turk(ish) "Cypriots"... The term by itself is completely wrong.
I prefer the term used until 1965(some English media didn't bother to use it and prefered a shorter term, Turkish Cypriots)
The term, was Muslim habitats/settlers of Cyprus... That's the correct term.

How many "Turkish Cypriots" are there now? Almost 300.000 aren't they? Over 200.000 of them came in the last century, and the rest were here since 1570-2...

Cypriots my ass....

It's like calling the Albanians of Athens, Greek Albanians!!!!
Totally wrong, and total crap!

So, these Turks want rights in OUR island... Sounds like something I heard in the USA. There, over 10.000.000 illegal Mexicans migrate, and they shout for rights, and want libraries to translate books in their language!!!

In Cyprus, the illegal immigrants have apparently made it! They wanted to use their own language, they manage to. They wanted to "steal" some of our customs and history, they did it...


Why the island is Greek?

The first settlers of the island were original Cypriots, speaking their own language, which was not written, so there's no real evidence for it. Then came the Phoenicians, but simply passed away to the west of the Mediteranean. Phoenician identity was minimal, in the small island.
Then the Greeks came(Achaeans to be exact), settled in, mingled with the existing Cypriot population, influenced each other, and eventually, more Greeks came to the island, causing a majority, and sole Cypriot identity was sort of lost, and Greek identity overcame...

And very briefly:

Romans came to the island, left the people unharmed, Greek identity remains.
Arabs came, were defeated at first, then managed to conquer the island, but Arab identity didn't arrive. Only a few Arabs settled in(that's why we have some quite darker people)

Then Turks came, and are still here, but didn't manage to mix or eliminate the existing GREEK population. The rest are above, or are well-known

Point is, Cyprus is Greek, or Cyprus is for Cypriots, who are Greek.
Turks are only welcome if they apologise for all their crimes(and not just to us, add Armenians etc...)
Everyone should be welcome, as long as they behave under the laws. We have Democracy, and in Democracies, we all have equal rights.

[Sotos]

Klik, I disagree with you that Turkish Cypriots are not Cypriots. Most of Turkish Cypriots are Greek Cypriots that became Muslims during the Ottoman rule. Thats why our genes are so similar

[zan]

And then these Greeks took 37% of the island and called themselves Turks and they lived happilly ever after under the two flags of the TRNC and their mother land Turkey.