Stop treating North Cyprus like North Korea
North Cyprus deserves recognition from the rest of the world
The recent history of this part of the Eastern Med is well documented, but basically, the Turkish army, back in 1974, arrived in force on the island to stop the attempted genecide that the Greeks, and Greek Cypriots, had been carrying out at various times during the 50s, 60s and early 70s. The Greeks wanted to get rid of all Turkish Cypriots, so that they could have the island to themselves, contrary to what had been agreed in 1960 when the Brits ran away from their responsibilities.
Yes, the Brits in London could not have cared less about the attempted genecide, in fact they have never acknowledged it, and the rest of the world seemed even less interested.
The Island was then divided, with a UN-run “green line” dividing the north side, inhabited by the Turkish Cypriots, and the south side, which was predominantly Greek Cypriot. Naturally, there were justifiable complaints from both sides of the community about land and property which effectively had to be given up because of the divide.
Since the divide, however, there has been very little violence, and the last death as a result of the conflict was decades ago. The border is now crossable at seven different locations, since 2004, and therefore you would think all is ok.
And yes, there have been efforts to bring the two sides together, to create a one-nation Cyprus again – in 2004 the then UN top guy Kofi Annan negotiated a settlement, which the Turkish side accepted, but the Greek side did not. Then, just this past month in 2017, a huge effort to obtain conciliation between the sides failed miserably, as it was always bound to.
You see, the Greek side insist that there can be no negotiation until the Turkish troops are removed. Now, as soon as the troops are gone, what is to stop the genecide from starting again? Why wouldn’t it start again?Some Greeks already bring up their children to hate the Turks, so if it happened in the fifties and sixties, why not again now?
Also, don’t think that the streets of North Cyprus are patrolled by Kalashnikov-yielding soldiers. You never see them.
This part of the Island is the most peaceful place on God’s earth. The people here are the most gentle, loving, peaceful citizens you could ever wish to meet. There is little crime, no drinking or drugs “culture” that plagues most of the rest of Europe (maybe except for some of us ex-pats..) and the pace of life is slow, friendly, and old fashioned enough to be an extremely attractive place to retire or to holiday.
But while the Greek Cypriots can enjoy relations with the rest of the world, and be accepted into the European Union, and all the benefits that free trade can bring, and remember, they started all this shit, the North, the Turkish side, are treated like some pariah state.
They cannot deal with any other country apart from Turkey, cannot have direct flights from any other country except Turkey, and even their sportsmen and women are banned from taking part in international competition, because, you see, they don’t exist. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, as it has become, is simply not recognised.
For us ex-pats, maybe that’s no bad thing. Many of you will be dissuaded from coming here, because the Greeks will tell you what a terrible place it is, and how unsafe it is, and you will probably be shot………and most travel agents are so ignorant, they go with that flow. So we expats don’t have to share our piece of heaven with many of you!
But it’s the local people, the ones who don’t in fact point nuclear weapons at anybody, who don’t indulge in murderous activities, who are not training terrorists, they are the ones who are suffering this great injustice.
The UN clearly could change things. They are not interested.
The rest of the world cannot be bothered, and quite frankly, the likes of Britain and the USA can’t even run their own countries, let alone worry about little old North Cyprus.
We have a Cyprus solution already – almost….. We still have the borders, that can still be crossed, as long as you are not a criminal or terrorist. All we need is recognition that we are a country that deserves the same treatment as the south side.
Is that really too much to ask?
