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Discussion on current events
An announcement that the Cypriot communist party AKEL made today has made me feel really disgusted. They came out and said that they condemn the Government for buying a air defence system from Russia (S300 missiles) because in this way we provoke our 'neighbours' the Turks. The same Turks that in 1974 invaded our country and killed our brothers, fathers, etc. They find provocative the fact that we are trying to defend ourselves from such neighbours! When you buy a gun to protect your home does that qualify as provoking your neighbour? I do not think so!
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14/2/97 - 1974 COUP - I have been asked why I have not talked more about the 1974 coup, and its consequences. I have mentioned it and its consequences in the second paragraph of the historical review. As I have stated, its consequence was to give Turkey an excuse to invade. But let me start from further back.
The source of the Cyprus problem, as I have stated above, is the 1960 constitution, which was unacceptable to the Greek Cypriot community, and therefore could not survive. The fact that it was approved was the mistake that caused the tragedies to follow. It was approved because of the fear by some (eg. AKEL) that otherwise we would have Union with Greece, and by others because of their lust for power (that is, their greed). It was obvious that this constitution would not survive and yet they approved it. Some claim that they didn't have a choice, but they did since Britain could no longer cope with EOKA's resistance. If the offer was not accepted, Britain would of had to change the offer to an acceptable one.
Therefore I find that the acceptance of this constitution was TREASON, since the people that accepted it condemned their own country to a slow death then and there. In 1974 some people tried to fix this wrong by doing another wrong - the coup. This is also unacceptable. There is no excuse for what they did, since mending a evil by doing another evil is not right. But at least they were trying to mend a evil, not create one out of fear and greed. If the first mistake had not been made there would of been no need for the second one! Therefore I find the ones that made the first mistake as at least equal traitors as the ones that made the second.
These are my opinions on the matter, and do not neccesarily represent the opinions of other Cypriots. You may disagree with me, but respect my opinion, as far as I know we do have freedom of speech (on the net at least)!
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18/4/97 - Not much going on at the moment. By May DHSY (the largest party in Cyprus) will have a new party leader.
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May 20, '97 - Concert - A United Nations sponsored peace concert in the no-man's land dividing the capital took place last night.
Opposition by Greek Cypriot groups to the free concert -- for both Turkish and Greek Cypriots -- was underlined by a protest concert in the Greek Cypriot populated half of the capital. The Greek Cypriot groups saw the concert as an attempt to peddle Turkish propaganda while disregarding the fact that Turkish forces still occupy the northern third of the island.
On the Turkish side, witnesses reported far-right Turkish 'Grey Wolf' nationalists threw stones at a bus carrying a Turkish singer to join a Greek pop star at the peace concert. Windows were broken but there were no injuries, they said.
In stark contrast to these violent scenes, pop stars Burak Kut of Turkey and Sakis Rouvas of Greece sang for the crowd of young people in the U.N.-controlled no-man's land beside the Venetian walls that had once protected the city. Singing a mixture of Greek and Turkish songs, and several in English, the two singers drew cheers from the crowd as they hugged one another and shook hands at the end of the concert, which lasted about 90 minutes.
"It went extremely well. What was striking was the total mixing. It was quite clear they all had a great time and got on very well,'' said Feissel. "The important message was the message which came from inside. That is the message that is relevant. The one that was going on outside - that's not going to get us to a settlement, thats for sure.''
COMMENTS - Well, it is
certain that in any solution we will have to live peacefully with the turkish
Cypriots, therefore the concert idea was not a bad one. The fact that it
was held on the 19nth of MAY (why the 19nth (monday)? why not on a weekend?)
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Aug 13 GLION, Switzerland, (Reuter) - Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash on Wednesday rejected new U.N. proposals aimed at fostering compromise in Cyprus inter-communal peace talks but both sides vowed to stay at the negotiating table.
The future of the talks hung in the balance, however, as the Turkish Cypriot side reiterated that the gathering in this Swiss village near Montreux could be the last round if the European Union went ahead with entry talks for Cyprus planned for early next year.
Aug 22 BRUSSELS, (Reuter) - The European Commission criticised Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash on Friday for setting preconditions in talks on Cyprus's future.
In a statement, External Affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek said it was 'unacceptable' that Denktash had implied that the European Union should freeze its plans to open membership negotiations with Cyprus before progress could be made.
COMMENTS - Well at least for ONCE someone has dared to condemn the Turkish Cypriot side for their unacceptable demands and positions...
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UNITED NATIONS, Sept 11 (Reuter) -
Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus said on Thursday his Mediterranean island was too small to become a federation -- the aim of years of U.N.-sponsored negotiations -- and that Turkish Cypriots were originally Greeks.
Since each government would have to have its own police, civil servants and ministers, and each parliament its own secretaries and other staff, "there will be no people to be governed. All of us will be related to a government. Who is going to work to pay us ? It's not possible,'' he added.
COMMENTS - He has a point, but is there another way?....
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16 Oct '97 - 'Nikiforos'&'Toxotis' - Greece & Cyprus military cooperation & Turkish reactions -
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is concerned by reports of increased tension between Greek and Turkish forces in connection with military exercises in and around Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey's attitude will not change Greece's policy, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said today, adding that "no one can deny our country's right to safeguard its rights or Cyprus' right to defend itself".
He added that the Cypriot national guard exercise "Nikiforos" and Greek aeronautical exercise "Toxotis" were being conducted "within the framework of legitimate proceedings and are of a defensive nature". Consequently, he added, "it is not rational that Turkey should be disturbed by them".
Ankara's stance, Mr. Reppas continued, was making its relations with Greece and its course towards the international community more difficult.
Ten pairs of Turkish F-16 and F-4 fighter planes infringed Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) regulations Monday morning south-southeast of the island of Rhodes and were all intercepted by Hellenic Air Force jets, National Defence Ministry sources said.
On Sunday, 60 Turkish fighters infringed the Athens FIR in the same area and violated Greek and Cyprus airspace.
In the meantime, a Cyprus national guard exercise code-named "Nikiforos" -- in which Greek units are also participating -- and a Greek airforce manoeuvre code-named "Toxotis", being carried out concurrently in the sea region between Crete and Cyprus, continued on schedule.
Greek National Defence Minister said the Greek military exercise "Toxotis" and the Cypriot exercise "Nikiforos", currently under way concurrently in the southeastern Aegean, confirmed the two countries' joint defence doctrine.
Four Turkish F-16 fighters buzzed the Greek National Defence Minister's plane, carrying him and his entourage to Crete after a four-day visit to Cyprus on the occasion of National Guard military exercise "Nikiforos '97".
According to a report by Athens News Agency, Tsohatzopoulos said on arrival in Crete Turkey adopts "cold-war tactics" and called on the Turkish government to understand that such type of behaviour is contrary to its European aspirations.
COMMENTS - Just like every year ... Its almost a tradition! Unfortunately the UN and the US fail to place blame the tention on Turkey, but say that both sides are to blame. Its Turkey that invaded Cyprus!!!
29 Jan '98 - Elections in Cyprus -
Present President - Mr Glafkos Klerides, supported in the last elections by DHSY (right - center) and DHKO (center - right).
Two main candidates -
COMMENTS - How can a communist party and a center right party, that disagree on several important matters, have a common candidate?
- for people not knowing the facts, what has happened is that for personal reasons, the president of DHKO has turned to AKEL. DHKO has now split, with an ex-vice president running also - with the support of the current vice president amongst others.
It is therefore going to be a close result in the second election, when the two finalists - Mr Klerides & Mr Iakovou - battle it out.
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15 Feb '98 - Elections in Cyprus -
Mr Clerides is president for the next term (5 years).
COMMENTS: NOTE - read previous article on elections to know who supported each candidate -
I must admit that I was surprised by AKEL's irresponsibility - they have blamed EVERYBODY for the fact that their candidate lost, but have failed to see their own faults and mistakes - I expected them to be more responsible and self-critical. Instead they have taken an attitude of "we were right and everybody else was/is wrong", by accusing some smaller parties for not supporting their candidate in the second round of elections - very disappointing....
I would like to remind AKEL that it is the people that voted for the president, not the party leaders - if the people did not agree with their leadership they would of not of voted the candidate their party supported - Which is exactly what happened to DHKO!!! - less than half of DHKO voted for the AKEL - DHKO candidate - that should of given them a message!!!!
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Mr Karamanlis, one of the most important Greek politicians of this century, died today.
Although he is much loved in Greece, GreekCypriots will not remember him with much fondness. In the period 1958 to 1960, and while the strugle for unity with Greece was taking place in Cyprus, Mr Karamanlis, then priminister of Greece, was convinced by Britain and Turkey not to support Cyprus's strugle, and to encourage the Cypriot leadership to accept independence, with powers given to the Turkish minority.
An unfortunate mistake, which lead to the 1974 tragety....
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27/Dec/98 Political parties - S300 defence missile system
Nicosia, Dec 27 (CNA) -- President Glafcos Clerides will fly to Athens tomorrow to discuss with Greek Premier Costas Simitis whether or not to go ahead with the deployment of a defence missile system ordered by the Cyprus government in 1997 in a bid to boost its air defence.
The two leaders will meet on Tuesday and examine the issue taking into consideration the positions of the island's political parties and in the light of two resolutions on Cyprus approved by the UN Security Council last week.
In statements political party leaders appeared with differing views on whether the S300 should be deployed on the island or not, but most underlined that any decision should be taken together with Greece as it affects both countries.
Ruling conservative Democratic Rally Party and Left-wing AKEL seem to agree that the missiles should not be deployed on the island! - isn't it amazing, the two 'enemies' of Cypriot politics are actually taking the same position!!
In a joint defence pact agreed between Nicosia and Athens in 1993, binds Greece to protect Cyprus in the event of a new Turkish offensive against the island, which has been divided since Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37 per cent of its territory in the summer of 1974.
...decision not to deploy missiles
UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, welcomed President Clerides' decision not to deploy the S-300 missiles on the island and reiterated his full commitment to on-going "shuttle talks" on the island undertaken by his Resident Representative.
COMMENTS - This is a sad ending to a matter of national pride for the people of this island...
A sad day... I bet the bones of our ancestors are twisting in their graves...
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Reuters ANALYSIS-Tough Turkish tactics triumph again (Tue 16 Feb 17:58 EST)... OCALAN, Greece, The Kurds & Turkey.
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11 Nov 2002 - UN plan for Cyprus solution-
You may be wondering about the new solution presented by the UN General Secretary. It is quite long, (149 pages including the cover pages and all) and quite complicated. There have been many conflicting views on it. I will not make any comments although i do have my own view in the subject. What i will do is post a link to the complete text as soon as it is available on the net.
23 Nov 2002 - UN plan for Cyprus -
Click here to see the foundation agreement as proposed by the UN plan. This outlines the solution and is the first part of the solution pack given by the UN. I note that this document seems genuine but can not be verified as it has been taken as provided/distributed on online chat rooms.
- Full text with commentary (introduction & commentary in Greek; Anan Solution text in English); after you click on the link above, click on the 'index' button on the top right hand corner for access to each section Please note that by clicking on the link above you are moving to another page that is not under my control. I can not verify the facts and the views expressed are not mine. |
-16/2/04 - New round of talks based on the 3rd version of the Anan plan
A new round of talks. Only this plan does not look very fair, and it is not in line with the numerous UN resolutions regarding Cyprus. Our politicians are being pressured to accept it, but the 'word in the street' is that we are being cheated. People are not happy because they feel that the powerful are trying, once more, to take advantage of the Cypriots. Lets see how it turns out. For a more detailed update see the article by the Economist
-16/2/04 - Referendum on Anan plan
Apr 2nd 2004 - From Economist.com
'Cyprus will join the European Union (EU) when that club next expands in May 2004, but its division is a stumbling block. The south, ethnically Greek, is run by the internationally recognised government of the Republic of Cyprus. The ethnically Turkish north, created after a Turkish invasion in 1974, is recognised as a state only by Turkey. The capital, Nicosia, is similarly partitioned.
UN-sponsored proximity talks on reuniting the island have long struggled. Promising proposals to create a loose Swiss-style confederation stalled after Rauf Denktash, the Turkish-Cypriots' truculent leader, rejected a deal in March 2003. Yet a wildly popular opening of the border soon after put pressure on Mr Denktash to soften his line. In a subsequent Turkish-Cypriot election moderates did well, leading to a power-sharing government between them and Mr Denktash's son.
International pressure brought the two sides back to the negotiating table in February 2004, but they failed to reach an agreement. The UN will now put its proposed settlement directly to Greek- and Turkish-Cypriots in simultaneous referendums on April 24th. The former are assured entry into the EU even if they reject the peace deal. But the Turkish-Cypriots are likely to be frozen out, thus making it much harder for the EU to smile on Turkey's own application to join.'
Apr 2nd 2004 - From Economist.com
'Cyprus will join the European Union (EU) when that club next expands in May 2004, but its division is a stumbling block. The south, ethnically Greek, is run by the internationally recognised government of the Republic of Cyprus. The ethnically Turkish north, created after a Turkish invasion in 1974, is recognised as a state only by Turkey. The capital, Nicosia, is similarly partitioned.
UN-sponsored proximity talks on reuniting the island have long struggled. Promising proposals to create a loose Swiss-style confederation stalled after Rauf Denktash, the Turkish-Cypriots' truculent leader, rejected a deal in March 2003. Yet a wildly popular opening of the border soon after put pressure on Mr Denktash to soften his line. In a subsequent Turkish-Cypriot election moderates did well, leading to a power-sharing government between them and Mr Denktash's son.
International pressure brought the two sides back to the negotiating table in February 2004, but they failed to reach an agreement. The UN will now put its proposed settlement directly to Greek- and Turkish-Cypriots in simultaneous referendums on April 24th. The former are assured entry into the EU even if they reject the peace deal. But the Turkish-Cypriots are likely to be frozen out, thus making it much harder for the EU to smile on Turkey's own application to join.'
-25/4/04 - Referendum on Anan plan
and it is a NO.... if only the UN listened. All we needed was a reassurance that Turkey could not later go back on its word. And it has done so many times, so our fear was not unreasonable...
lets hope that things will work out for the best.
18/04/2010
Elections in Occupied areas – Mr Talal loses election
When Mr Talat was elected in the occupied areas in the previous elections those of us that hoped for a solution (GreekCypriots, TurkishCypriots and those of the other minorities) saw a glimpse of hope, as Mr Talat portrayed himself as pro solution along the lines of a federation. When Mr Christofias was elected as president of the Republic of Cyprus many believed that a solution would be agreed as both Mr Christofias and Mr Talat were from left wing parties with long ties between each other, and both had in the past expressed the same or similar opinions on a solution. Unfortunately this did not happen. Those that sympathise with Mr Talat say that he was not able to do so because Turkey, which controls the occupied areas, did not let him. Those who do not sympathise with him accuse him of not daring to ignore Turkey and negotiate a solution to the benefit of all Cypriots. If Mr Talat had dared to do so he would have been the father of the new Cypriot state, and a hero not only to TurkishCypriots but to many GreekCypriots also. To our loss and his, he did not dare, or was not able, to negotiate a solution. A great opportunity has been lost...