Cyprus-Forum.com

[EUropean666]

THE TURkish side furious says for the "greek cyprus", but what about other cypriots? Maronites, armenians, pontians, latins.....those people are also cypriots, many were victims of the turkish invasion and they chose to live in the free side of the island. what about them?

[EUropean666]

i ve found a nice article

http://www.toplumpostasi.net/index.php/ ... /Ana_sayfa

While it is acceptable and quite normal for a community to exercise its right to self-identification, Greek and Turkish nationalists in Cyprus degenerate into an ideological corner, where xenophobia, racism and bigotry is the standard greeting to foreigners workers, while assimilation is the only way to deal with established minorities. According to these ethno-centric nationalists common rights such as citizenship is not enough, but common ethnicity or religion is required to live as a citizen. This mentality does not remain in the village Kahve or Kafenion but filters into officialdom and consequently legislation, endangering intra-community relations and leading to a process of ghettocisation or assimilation of both new and long established minorities.

Following recent xenophobic attacks on Turkish Cypriot school children and regular racist incidents involving guest workers, one wonders how an island that accommodates 1.5 million tourists a year and hopes to increase this to 4 million can call itself all embracing and hospitable. As a response to recent incidents, the Republic of Cyprus government has since looked into setting up a commission to deal with racism, but the problem is not spontaneous acts of racism targeted against a few, but rather a failure to embrace multi-culturalism on a nation-wide level and extend citizenship to our citizens.

Cypriot bigotry is not just confined to how we treat alien peoples but how we treat each other. A nation state of nearly a million people (including all of the population north and south), we accommodate over eighty thousand people from neighbouring Turkey, who are mostly Turks, Arabs, Kurds, and Lazis. In addition, there are sixty thousand Pontian Greeks in the south of Cyprus, with large communities of Sri Lankans, Thai, Filippinis and Indians. In both north and south there are also large numbers of Eastern Europeans working to send money home, but many of them also making the island their new adopted home. The multi-cultural character of the island today in the face of our political problems is undeniable, yet the governments of both sectors are either Greek or Turkish Cypriots in composition.

Driving from Dherinia to Larnaca you can see signs of Ouzounian Motors, evidence of an Armenian presence, and in Larnaca Mantovani Travel, the presence of Latins. Indeed Cyprus regardless of biased history lessons has never been an ethnically homogenous place. Even during times of antiquity, the Mycenaean settlers found themselves living along side the Phoenicians who came from Lebanon. Faced with a rich history of conquest, settlement and multi-culturalism, it would be inconceivable to see Cyprus anything other than multi-cultural today.

Sadly, rather than celebrate a rich past and multi-cultural present and reflect this in our laws and educational curriculum, on both sectors of the island there is a tendency to regard the island as a Greco-Turkish affair with selective history lessons. There is an unofficial competition to see who can make Nicosia resemble Athens or Ankara the most. We are constantly reminded that Cyprus is the homeland for Greek and Turkish Cypriots, but seldom do we choose to see the others amongst us. So advanced are we in this attitude that we continually ignore our new arrivals from Asia, Europe and Africa and traditional and long established minorities, the Armenians, Latins, Maronites and Roma Gypsies.

Rather than extending full citizenship to these minorities on both sides of the island, we force these groups to assimilate. A Maronite I spoke to in Northern Cyprus was quick to point out that he was not “Rum” (Greek Orthodox Christian) but Catholic despite speaking Greek. He was loading such goods into his truck, to sell at Güzelyurt market while telling me with a hint of pride in his eyes that with his grand parents he spoke Cypriot Arabic or at least tried to. He regrets that neither side allows him or his children to study in their village or learn Cypriot Arabic. Gabriel has never been to Lebanon, the origin of the Cypriot Maronites, nor did he express much of an interest when I asked him why not. He simply said that he could not understand why as Cypriots we enclose ourselves into our Greek or Turkish Cypriot groups, something that has resulted in the geographical separation of his family and consequent assimilation of his community.

The effects of this assimilation policy are not just the result of division however, since 1959 the religious minorities as they are called were forced by the British colonialists to decide what electoral register they wished to be listed on, a Greek or a Turkish Cypriot one? However, this question and the consequent decision of the communities has been misconstrued by ethno-centric Greek and Turkish nationalists keen to erase any evidence that Cyprus is a multi-cultural nation. Several Greek Cypriots I met all seemed to be under the impression that Maronites, Armenians and Latins ‘belonged’ to the Greek Cypriot community.

What murky beliefs lie behind such a choice of terminology I wonder? Treated as if they are objects in a Porcelain shop, these misconceptions are highly insensitive and offensive if you happen to be a Maronite, Latin or an Armenian. Why? Because effectively you are being treated like property, and asked to abandon your heritage and embrace a Greek or a Turkish Cypriot one in order to fit in. The situation is worse for Roma Gypsy Cypriots, as both of the larger communities appear to reject them leading to ghettocisation.

Similarly, Turkish settlers are made to feel excluded in the north, and seem to live separately beside Turkish Cypriots. The issue is constantly whipped up by Greek Cypriots eager to see this group repatriated. But how can any civilised state that adheres to human rights deport a family who has lived on the island for 32, 20, 10 years? Does Cyprus not have enough room to include these settlers too?

Equally, there’s a tendency to blame the political situation for not living up to our responsibilities of extending full citizenship to all our citizens and embracing the multi-cultural character of our common island. Certain Turkish Cypriot prominent politicians to whom I have spoken have attempted to justify the continued closure of Maronite schools and villages in the North, by arguing that: “They are Greek Cypriots” or “They are non-Citizens” or “Let’s wait until there’s a solution.” However, Maronites of Kormakitis / Korucam have lived there since the 9th century AD; does it matter if they have citizenship of your state that was set up 22 years ago? I remind them that even if North Cyprus continues as a separate state for the time being, in line with human rights and international law, the government of that state must extend citizenship to all people living within its boundaries.

Cyprus needs to abandon notions of ethno-centric nationalism and opt for a form of civic nationalism that is inclusive of all her citizens, regardless of creed, blood, ethnicity or religion. Far from being a Greco-Turkish affair, the Cyprus problem is in many respects a failure on the part of the larger and more powerful two communities to unselfishly put aside their differences and acknowledge the multi-cultural character of their common homeland, often at the expense of less vocal minorities and settlers. Cyprus needs to be all embracing towards its own people before a solution can be found; punishing one or more ethno-religious groups will only cause alienation, ghetticisation or assimilation.

[pitsilos]

Cyprus needs to abandon notions of ethno-centric nationalism and opt for a form of civic nationalism that is inclusive of all her citizens, regardless of creed, blood, ethnicity or religion. Far from being a Greco-Turkish affair, the Cyprus problem is in many respects a failure on the part of the larger and more powerful two communities to unselfishly put aside their differences and acknowledge the multi-cultural character of their common homeland, often at the expense of less vocal minorities and settlers. Cyprus needs to be all embracing towards its own people before a solution can be found; punishing one or more ethno-religious groups will only cause alienation, ghetticisation or assimilation.

coming from a multi cultural society i fully endorse this. the Cypriots need to embrace cyprus as their homeland and not other countries.

[Sotos]

THE TURkish side furious says for the "greek cyprus", but what about other cypriots?

They say this because they want partition. RoC is the the Cypriot Cyprus. If they want to say that the occupied areas are "Turkish" that is their problem but we all know that is a lie.

[Piratis]

What we should have in Cyprus is equal citizens like they exist in every other democratic country in the world.

Unfortunately some racists keep separating people based on their race and this is because those racists expect their own group to gain on the loss of the others and they do no accept to be equal citizens.

[Klik]

What do you mean equal? Those that want to stay in Cyprus have the same rights as every Cypriot citizen.

You mean why aren't there any Turkish speakers in power? Well, simply because they are Turkish speaking.
eg.In France, all people, despite ethnicity, speak French, therefore, the government operates in France.
eg. In the UK, all people there speak English, and therefore the government operates in English

In Cyprus, don't give me crap saying that only "GC's"(as you like to call us, I don't like being called a Greek when my own passport says I'm a Cypriot and when I feel Cypriot...) are in power.
How about Karoyian? Part of the Armenian minority, mingled throughout the years(ancestors...) with the Cypriots, and became a Cypriot himself, and a Minister! So, there goes any potential stories.

It's again the language "barrier"(turks nowadays refuse to learn Greek and claim that there were always two languages in Cyprus) . You people said it's not important, but it's one of the most important things in today's Cyprus. If we have to communicate with people that want to be our compatriots, we have to speak the same language, that most of the population speak. Majority is always the winner.

Cypriots have always been a "bastard" race. Consisting of various cultures, but sharing the Greek culture as their own. Even if some people don't like that idea, it's the only true fact. That was the case in Cyprus until the first Turkish settlers(the 1570's soldiers) came, and conquered Cyprus. That was the root of the problem. That's why people now differentiate Cypriots, where there are only Cypriots, that at least hold a Cypriot passport, and Turks, that want partition and claim that Turks have more rights than Latins, Maronites, Armenians, and heck even Cypriots....


P.S: Maronites and Armenians lived in Cyprus even before the Medieval. The island was still a "bastard" race back then. Most inhabitants that are the Cypriots of today("GCs" as you call them) are of Greek, Roman(Italian), Phoenician(Lebanese), Assyrian, Hebrew(Jewish), Persian, Egyptian, Spanish and even Nubian, etc. So, there goes the Greekness of the "GCs". But we do share most other stuff with the Greeks, which justify Greekness. DNA-wise, we are not that Greek

[EUropean666]

What do you mean equal? Those that want to stay in Cyprus have the same rights as every Cypriot citizen.

You mean why aren't there any Turkish speakers in power? Well, simply because they are Turkish speaking.
eg.In France, all people, despite ethnicity, speak French, therefore, the government operates in France.
eg. In the UK, all people there speak English, and therefore the government operates in English

In Cyprus, don't give me crap saying that only "GC's"(as you like to call us, I don't like being called a Greek when my own passport says I'm a Cypriot and when I feel Cypriot...) are in power.
How about Karoyian? Part of the Armenian minority, mingled throughout the years(ancestors...) with the Cypriots, and became a Cypriot himself, and a Minister! So, there goes any potential stories.

It's again the language "barrier"(turks nowadays refuse to learn Greek and claim that there were always two languages in Cyprus) . You people said it's not important, but it's one of the most important things in today's Cyprus. If we have to communicate with people that want to be our compatriots, we have to speak the same language, that most of the population speak. Majority is always the winner.

Cypriots have always been a "bastard" race. Consisting of various cultures, but sharing the Greek culture as their own. Even if some people don't like that idea, it's the only true fact. That was the case in Cyprus until the first Turkish settlers(the 1570's soldiers) came, and conquered Cyprus. That was the root of the problem. That's why people now differentiate Cypriots, where there are only Cypriots, that at least hold a Cypriot passport, and Turks, that want partition and claim that Turks have more rights than Latins, Maronites, Armenians, and heck even Cypriots....

You vent been in west wales....the government operates in english in england, not in wales or scotland

[Klik]

What do you mean equal? Those that want to stay in Cyprus have the same rights as every Cypriot citizen.

You mean why aren't there any Turkish speakers in power? Well, simply because they are Turkish speaking.
eg.In France, all people, despite ethnicity, speak French, therefore, the government operates in France.
eg. In the UK, all people there speak English, and therefore the government operates in English

In Cyprus, don't give me crap saying that only "GC's"(as you like to call us, I don't like being called a Greek when my own passport says I'm a Cypriot and when I feel Cypriot...) are in power.
How about Karoyian? Part of the Armenian minority, mingled throughout the years(ancestors...) with the Cypriots, and became a Cypriot himself, and a Minister! So, there goes any potential stories.

It's again the language "barrier"(turks nowadays refuse to learn Greek and claim that there were always two languages in Cyprus) . You people said it's not important, but it's one of the most important things in today's Cyprus. If we have to communicate with people that want to be our compatriots, we have to speak the same language, that most of the population speak. Majority is always the winner.

Cypriots have always been a "bastard" race. Consisting of various cultures, but sharing the Greek culture as their own. Even if some people don't like that idea, it's the only true fact. That was the case in Cyprus until the first Turkish settlers(the 1570's soldiers) came, and conquered Cyprus. That was the root of the problem. That's why people now differentiate Cypriots, where there are only Cypriots, that at least hold a Cypriot passport, and Turks, that want partition and claim that Turks have more rights than Latins, Maronites, Armenians, and heck even Cypriots....

You vent been in west wales....the government operates in english in england, not in wales or scotland

Wales even has a different language! Cymru(that's Wales in Welsh!)

But still, the UK is based on English. All N.Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England have seperate parliaments, but all obey the UK, which is basically under England... And the UK is English speaking

[EUropean666]

i know i lived 6 years in pontypridd. nevertheless why turkish cypriots want to be first among equals?

[Klik]

When you want to have 50% of the opinion of a state, when you are not even 20% of the population, then that gives some bad ideas.