Cyprus Mail Article Admits Greek responsibilty for the division

Aussie


Joined: 17/06/2007
Posts: 657

Message Posted:
03/02/2008 21:03

When you cast your vote, remember the dove whose feathers we have clipped



By Nicos A. Rolandis



CYPRUS HAS been the classic case of a country whose leadership in recent years, with some exceptions, was not characterised by political acumen.



Our big “feat” in the past six decades was to break up Cyprus into two parts. I recall what Constantinos Karamanlis, then Prime Minister of Greece told us in 1978 with a lot of bitterness, at his plain apartment at Herodes Atticus street, Athens.



“The Greek Cypriots started a struggle in 1955 for the union of Cyprus with Greece, while the Turks were fighting at the same time for partition. It appears that at the end of the day the Turks will achieve their objective”. Wise words thrown into the vacuum of the irresponsibility which surrounds us.



The dove and the branch of olive tree have been our emblem since 1960. Still, even prior to the elevation of the dove to the pinnacle of our statehood, we started clipping its feathers.



The mere recording of the proposals we had over the years for the solution of our problem and the negative outcome (we rejected all of them) causes sheer awe. I set out the various instances with no comment:



1) 1948 Consultative Assembly: We rejected it

2) 1955-56: Harding proposals: We rejected them

3) 1956: Ratcliffe Constitution: We rejected it

4) 1958: Macmillan Plan: We rejected it

5) 1959-60: Zurich-London Agreements: We rejected them in 1963 (through the efforts to amend the Constitution) although we initially accepted them

6) 1964: Acheson Plan: We rejected it

7) 1972: Agreement of Clerides-Denktash: We rejected it

8) 1975: Bicommunal Arrangement: We rejected it

9) 1978: Anglo-American Canadian Plan: We rejected it

10) 1981: Evaluation of Waldheim: We rejected it

11) 1983: Indicators of Cuelliar: We rejected them

12) 1985-86: Consolidated Documents of Cuelliar: We rejected them

13) 1992: Set of Ideas, Ghali: We rejected them in 1993

14) 1997: Annan’s Proposals at Troutbeck-Glion: They could not go through

15) 2002-2004: Annan Plan: We rejected it



I do not record the stance of the Turkish side. What matters is our position, because we have been the weak link in this game. We have been the party in need to recover lost territories, lost dreams, lost hopes. We should therefore possess more acumen and more courage in order to avoid partition.



I do not allege that the above initiatives were good. In the circumstances prevailing in Cyprus the “good” and the “very good” are utopian. Cyprus and Hellenism never had the way to fight off the various interests which are sprawling in the area. To this weakness of ours we have added our blunders, our omissions and our sins and we created a chaotic imbroglio.



Even Greece has opted to stay away. She simply gradually builds her relations with Turkey in all sectors. For those who can read between the lines Greece’s message to us is: “Once you are not interested in a solution, why should we bother?”.



All the above initiatives were rejected by Tassos Papadopoulos with the exception of the Consultative Assembly, which he could not “slaughter” because at that time he was a young student at the Gymnasium.

Tassos was one of those who had rejected in 1960 the Zurich-London Agreements as well, according to his own confession. He also admitted that 45 years later, in the year 2005, he realised that those Agreements constituted a good solution!



But in 1963, together with others, he dealt a coup de grace on the Agreements. The feathers of the dove were clipped at that time. The branch of the olive tree fell to the ground. Peace evaporated and Cyprus went down on her knees. And I have no doubt that if humans had an unusual longevity, Tassos, in the slow way in which he apparently reacts, would have realised in the year 2050 that the Annan Plan might be, after all, an acceptable solution.

dodger



Joined: 29/07/2007
Posts: 1895

Message Posted:
03/02/2008 22:13

Aussie,

What an excellent post thanks for taking the time to put it together.Just goes to show which side of the divide have been dragging their hels for all those years,

Paul.

Aussie


Joined: 17/06/2007
Posts: 657

Message Posted:
04/02/2008 20:11

Thanks Dodger



I can't claim much credit it is just a staight cut and paste from the Cyprus Mail site.



For a paper written in the south it is often quite critical of their government and its role in preventing progress towards settlement of the Cyprus problem.



Its often interesting to read and is updated daily and for those that don't know I attach a link below



http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/



Aussie

dodger



Joined: 29/07/2007
Posts: 1895

Message Posted:
04/02/2008 23:56

Aussie,

I realised you had pasted it just appreciated the time you took to do it,its unusual for a greek paper to print the truth.

ilovecyprus


Joined: 08/05/2007
Posts: 2880

Message Posted:
05/02/2008 13:27

Again, there is reference to Greece building a relationship with Turkey. I can see the prudence in this, but I wonder if Greece is under EU pressure to distance itself slightly from the ROC, in order to force the GC's to agree a settlement.

dodger



Joined: 29/07/2007
Posts: 1895

Message Posted:
06/02/2008 00:04

Hello Mark,

I have also noticed these references and they seem to becoming more common do you think if there is no solution this year it will be seperation,



Regards,

Paul.

ilovecyprus


Joined: 08/05/2007
Posts: 2880

Message Posted:
06/02/2008 13:39

No idea really Paul. The situation is in such flex and is so dynamic that anything could emerge.



It seems to me that the pressure to settle during 2008 is coming from the International community, rather than being driven internally by the Cypriots themselves.

At the end of the day do the Cypriots really want to reunite? Nobody seems to know the answer to this. I think it is clear that some do and are passionate about this, but many don't. I think this is an important question because change on the scale that is being proposed (bi zonal, federal etc) has to be wanted and owned by the Cypriots, for it to really work.

Of course the Tc's voted yes to the Annan plan, but would they do so now? Economically and politically they are probably stronger now than in 2004.



If Papadopoulous wins the election again, I can't see reunification happening. I think both him and Talat are enjoying the power that their individual perspective governments offer. The status quo probably works for them. They just have to do enough to show the International community that they are at least trying for renification.



If they don't settle in 2008, then I think the International Community has to recognise the TRNC. Things can't stay the way they are. It's too disconcerting. Something definitive has to be proposed. If permanant partition was rumoured in the corridoors of power, then that might force the GC's out to negotiate.



What do you reckon Paul?

Biker



Joined: 11/01/2008
Posts: 396

Message Posted:
07/02/2008 13:09

It is rather sad to try and unite to communities that have different language and religion who does not seem to be able to live next to each other, let alone within each other.

What is there in common with two communities apart from the sort of food we like? (even that is not entirely true as most of Turkish people do not eat some stuff that the Greeks do)

Also Greeks are trying to oppose the seperation Bosnia by not turning up to vote, as to them seems like a similar scenario to Cyprus.

It is time for the whole world to see the truth and realise that one cannot rule over another by force.

dodger



Joined: 29/07/2007
Posts: 1895

Message Posted:
07/02/2008 20:55

Mark,

I cant honestly call it mate,.I believe the turks actually voted for the annan plan but the greeks voted against it.Seems that over the years the turks have always drawn the short straw but been portrayed by the media as the aggressors.And i am sorry to say this but if you had asked me six months ago,i myself would have seem them as the bad guys.Little undercurrents seem to be happening in favour of the north(reading between the lines) but then a big wave comes along which makes you think that things will never change.the juries out for me mate sorry,

Paul.