Guardians of official myths and lies By Loucas Charalambous

Aussie


Joined: 17/06/2007
Posts: 657

Message Posted:
30/11/2008 20:48

MUCH FUSS has been made of late about the modern history of Cyprus. On news that the Education Ministry was re-examining the content of text books about the recent history of Cyprus, there was a hostile reaction and the country was suddenly awash with self-appointed defenders of the existing history books.



In a country in which you could count on your fingers the people who read about and research historical events, everyone has become a history expert with strong views about what should be taught. Naive journalists, who are clueless about the events of the last 60 years on the island, have suddenly become specialist historical analysts; they know everything, and are on a mission to vilify all those who allegedly want to distort the historical truth.



The funny thing is that nobody knows what or how many changes to the books would be proposed, making the protests rather premature. The real issue here is that the people shouting are not remotely concerned about our history. What th

Aussie


Joined: 17/06/2007
Posts: 657

Message Posted:
30/11/2008 20:49

are really after is the preservation of the official myths, which the political leadership has been using for 45 years, in order to keep people in the dark about its own culpability for all the ills that we have suffered.



Younger politicians who had no involvement in the past events are also part of this ongoing misinformation campaign. It would appear that they have inherited the culture of blamelessness from the older generation. They have bought into the idea that if we ever admitted to a truth that did not portray our side in a positive light they would disappoint voters.



It was against this background that President Christofias clearly stated that the Greek Cypriots also had a share of the responsibility for the events that led to the collapse of the partnership state. He is the only Cyprus President who had publicly dared to make this admission and he deserves our congratulations for it.



Interestingly, the only reaction provoked by his daring admission was by Philelefthe

Aussie


Joined: 17/06/2007
Posts: 657

Message Posted:
30/11/2008 20:50

Phileleftheros, the newspaper which for 50 years has been the political establishment’s most trusted ally in its attempt to cover up the huge responsibilities of the late Archbishop Makarios for the destruction of the Cyprus Republic in 1963 and promote the myth of the “Turkish revolt”.



If Phileleftheros and the other self-appointed guardians of the historical truth are genuinely interested in safeguarding it, why have they never commented on the testimonies given in relation to the events of 1963? Why have they not written a word about the placing of a bomb at the Marcos Drakos statue in Nicosia on December 3, 1963, which was an act of provocation by the Greek Cypriots? The testimony was given by the Cyprus Army officer Chrysafis Chrysafi, who had been involved in the incident. This, together with the arson of Ayios Kassianos School, were used in order to blame the Turkish side for the bloodshed of Christmas 1963.

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
30/11/2008 21:06

Of course, the TC bombing of the Turkish Press Bureau which sparked intercommunal fighting in the 1950s (Denktas links) shows both sides have been equally capable of troublemaking.