Memorandum of the people of the Karpas peninsula
Hat tip Hellenic Antidote:
In view of the current talks to resolve the Cyprus issue, being deeply concerned about the future of the Karpas peninsula (which is defined as the area starting from, at its western boundary, a line running from the villages of Akanthou and Trikomo and extending east to Cape St Andreas), we state here the position of the whole of the peninsula’s Greek Cypriot people, who overwhelmingly form the population of Karpasia.
1. We state that we fully support a federal system of government that will be in accord with the summit agreements and the resolutions of the United Nations, which will make provision for the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus; confirm human rights and the three basic freedoms (freedom of settlement, freedom of movement and the freedom to own and use property); and which will exclude any right of unilateral military or other intervention. Consequently, we support the bi-communal talks currently taking place between President Dimitris Christofias and Mr Mehmet Ali Talat, hoping that these will come to a conclusion with an agreed solution.
2. The Third Vienna Agreement
After the capture and occupation by the Turkish army of the Karpas peninsula on 14 August 1974, some 12,600 Greek Cypriots remained in their homes in Karpasia – this amounted to two-thirds of the total Greek population of the peninsula. On the 2 August 1975, the Third Vienna Agreement was signed by Glafkos Clerides and Rauf Denktash, under the aegis of the UN secretary general, Kurt Waldheim. This agreement stipulated, inter alia, that every assistance would be afforded to the Greek Cypriots who remained in the Turkish-occupied north to live a normal life, including rights to education, the exercise of religious beliefs, medical care by doctors of their choice, as well as freedom of movement. In addition, the agreement allowed for those who had previously been expelled to be reunited with their families inKarpasia. This agreement was never implemented. In fact, the Turkish army continued to expel Karpas Greek Cypriots from their homes, so that by September 1976 only a few hundred Greek Cypriots were left, where they remain until today enclaved.
The immediate adoption and application of the Third Vienna Agreement will indicate Turkey’s credibility and trustworthiness, prove that it has the potential to honour its signature in any future Cyprus agreement, and will afford the opportunity to the people of the Karpas peninsula to return to their homes, under Greek Cypriot administration.
3. The organisations, local authorities and the whole of the population of Karpasia unanimously state and demand that in any future settlement the Karpas peninsula forms part of the area to be administered by the proposed Greek Cypriot constituent state, for the following reasons:
a) This will result in natural justice, meet the expectations and justify the struggles and sacrifices, not only of the enclaved Karpas people, but all the Karpas people, who are overwhelmingly Greek Cypriot.
b) Cyprus is heavily dependent on tourism for its economic viability. With the Karpas peninsula as part of the proposed Greek Cypriot constituent state, this state will have access to a much greater portion of Cyprus’ coastline. Currently, the Republic of Cyprus is in control of just 37.5% of the total length of the coastline of Cyprus.
c) The St Andreas Monastery located at the easternmost tip of the Karpas peninsula is the most important religious and cultural centre of Cyprus’ Greek population. It must be liberated so that Greek Cypriots from all over the island can exercise their religious rights without hindrance or restrictions.
d) Such a settlement of the status of the Karpas peninsula is justified on historical and religious grounds, given that Karpasia has, down the ages, always been settled by Greek Christians.
4. We are convinced that the demands of the people of Karpasia are just and must be taken into account during the current talks. We will not accept a solution that will not make provision for the return of the Karpas peninsula. It must be realised by all concerned that for any solution to be viable, it must be just, otherwise, like the Annan plan, which was heavily biased against the Greek Cypriots, it will not be approved.
[Demosthenes says]
I have learned how to keep my hopes about Cyprus down. I have stopped counting the times we — the very few left, here in Greece, who do think about Cyprus — have been disappointed by our local “leadership” on the question of the Megalonisos [the Great Island].
Between the inept, criminal colonels and our “democratic” governments since 1974, Cyprus couldn’t have found better “friends” (read “criminal bunglers”) than the rocket scientists of mainland Greece. The Cyprus question, one of supreme strategic significance for Hellenism, has been treated by Athenian “Greeks” cavalierly, to put it very politely. Now, we have come again at yet another “solution” crossroads. I don’t keep my fingers crossed.
What was taken by force of arms rarely, if ever, can be reclaimed through half-assed “diplomacy,” “international mediation,” and puppet “leaders.” This is a fact of history those who mean to keep the ramparts never forget.
But the castle has already fallen.
Alki wrote,
The Cyprus struggle has entered another chapter. In the last chapter of this drama Cyprus was “lost” to Greece or went awry in the early 60’s culminating with the turkish invasion of 74. We are now entering another phase or chapter in which Hellenic dispossesion seems to have the upperhand. Cypriot politics is mired by inertia. Greece has insurmountable problems of her own to be capable of asserting herself. Not enough energy is generated from Hellas to change the course of events at this historic juncture. Her role is that of passive observer. In contrast ,the turks have definitive designs on what the island’s fate should be. The turkish occupied zone is a reality. Unification of the island is a pipe dream of mythical proportions. A de facto partition of the island is in place. Both sides have accepted this situation, Greeks and Cypriots out of their own impotence, the turks from a position of strength . The next chapter hinges on how much more turkish encroachment and ” expansion” over the Greek portion is allowed by the combatants. Many more chapters will be entered and written in years ahead . It will depend on the resolve and determination of the motherland as to how these chapters will read. One determinant must be unambiguously clear to Cypriots , that is the turk will only depart from the island in the same manner as she descended upon it , through sheer force of arms.
Link | December 16th, 2009 at 04:21
John Akritas wrote,
Alki
you are right that the issue for Cypriot Hellenism is not so much reunification, but how to hold on to that part of Cyprus we currently hold. As for Greece’s attitudes to Cyprus, it crossed my mind the other day that if there was another Turk invasion, Greece is so trapped by its own social and economic decline that it wouldn’t even notice. I also observe that one of the things the foreigners are demanding Greece does is slash even deeper its defence spending. I have to admit I’m very suspicious of all these ‘credit rating agencies’ and ‘markets’ cornering Greece, trying to bring Greece to its knees and telling Greece exactly what to do.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/6827320/SandP-downgrades-Greece-while-concerns-mount-over-secret-defence-budget.html
Link | December 17th, 2009 at 16:21
PeterD wrote,
Geece today is like the Μαρμαρωμένο Βασιλιά, ούτε φωνή ούτε λαλιά.
Link | December 18th, 2009 at 06:08
Thanassis wrote,
Whoa, John: you can’t blame outsiders for Greek fiscal problems. Both Pasok and ND mismanaged budgets, procrastinated from making necessary reforms, and bloated the civil sector simply to give people jobs that perform no useful function (easier than actually solving structural problems which would allow the economy to grow of its own accord).
The attitude of idiots like PAME, who want their entitlements no matter what (an attitude that is widespread in the mainstream, too), doesn’t help either.
Greece hasn’t always been free of foreign interference.
But this particular mess is the Greeks’ own doing.
Link | December 18th, 2009 at 21:59
PeterD wrote,
Whoa, John: you can’t blame outsiders for Greek fiscal problems.
Actually, Thanassi, you can: an innately dysfunctioanl European Monetary Union to begin with, coupled with ridiculously low interest rates (so the Krauts could hasten their economy recovery).
I
Link | December 19th, 2009 at 07:09
John Akritas wrote,
T. I accept that the nature of the crisis that has hit Greece is largely a result of the corrupt society and economy Greeks have built since 1974; but I think it’s worth pointing out that certain interests are trying to exploit Greece’s weakness and intensify the crisis, to subordinate Greece, attack its sovereignty, bring Greece to heel on the ‘national issues’. More generally, I don’t see why Greeks should be made to suffer economically or Hellenism should be forced to recoil, just because some shadowy US ‘credit ratings agency’ has it in for Greece.
Link | December 19th, 2009 at 14:48
PeterD wrote,
More generally, I don’t see why Greeks should be made to suffer economically or Hellenism should be forced to recoil. . .
Neither do I. The European Central Bank got the Irish to accept their neo-liberal mantra, now they’re trying to suck in the Greeks. If the Greeks accept, this will mean lower wages and pensions; reduced spending on healthcare, education, infrastructure, etc.—we’re talking economic depression.
I do agree with Thanassi that there is a lot of mismanagement and corruption in government, but accepting the austerity measures of the foreign bankers—who only care for themselves and damn the consequences—will only make matters worse. Much worse.
P.S. I’d like to see the return of the Drachma. Moreover, let’s nationalise the banks (welfare recipients), too.
Link | December 19th, 2009 at 18:43
John Akritas wrote,
Exactly Peter: why should Greece be forced to accept the Anglo-Saxon model and Anglo-Saxon solutions, as the Irish have done? Papandreou, correctly in my opinion, has identified Greece’s problems as far more deep-rooted and structural and he knows that cutting public sector pay and slashing public expenditure isn’t the answer. (These Anglo-Saxon Protestants are convinced that suffering is morally virtuous – but we are Mediterranean sensualists).
Papandreou’s problem is different: it is that having identified what needs to be done, is he capable of taking on the Pasok deep state and bringing in the necessary structural reforms? It is the Pasok deep state and not the PAME/KKE strikers and Syriza rioters who will defeat Papandreou. I understand that the KKE ‘general strike’ the other day was a flop. Remember, that one of the reasons Standard & Poor’s gave for downgrading Greece’s credit worthiness was their belief that strikers and rioters would thwart government reform – which shows how much these Americans know about Greece and its nuances.
Another interesting thing I heard the other week was a speech from new ND leader Antonis Samaras, in which he declared his preference for a more statist French economic model rather than the Anglo-Saxon liberal model.
Link | December 19th, 2009 at 21:59
Thanassis wrote,
Too many Greeks have a habit of projecting blame on others, w/o taking any responsibility for their own actions.
It’s a mindset that holds the country back, and it’s something that needs to change.
It was in that light that I read your initial remarks.
As for the EU & EMU, don’t forget that 10 years ago, most Greeks were dying to get in, thinking that becoming a member and embracing the Euro would lead to political and economic salvation.
So to the extent the EMU is too blame, Greeks have to realize the consequences of their action in joining.
Link | December 20th, 2009 at 18:12
Brekis wrote,
i don’t see how Greece will come out of this alive without slashing the public sector, as well as pensions. Understanding this in terms of following ‘anglo-saxon’ is thoroughly misguided. It’s something that needs to be done, even if temporarily.
THANASSIS: i agree with you but as long as Greeks consider themselves ‘exceptions’, and therefore special compared to the rest of the world, things will never change.
Breaking the ethnocentric mindset, which in itself is a by-product of the most extraodinarily effective nation state propaganda in the modern west, is going to be difficult.
Link | December 21st, 2009 at 11:12
Brekis wrote,
“I have to admit I’m very suspicious of all these ‘credit rating agencies’ and ‘markets’ cornering Greece, trying to bring Greece to its knees and telling Greece exactly what to do.”
it’s exactly this kind of ‘us and them’ mentality that is the problem with Greeks.
There is no conpiracy against Greeks. Nobody is jealous. nobody even cares. Greece is insignificant in the modern world. No great products or technology or management theory is associated with Greece. To most outsiders, Greece is a nice holiday destination, and nothing more.
Link | December 21st, 2009 at 11:17
PeterD wrote,
i don’t see how Greece will come out of this alive without slashing the public sector, as well as pensions.
Cutting an old pensioner’s income . . . that’s nasty. Cutting public services such as education and healthcare . . . ditto nasty. These actions will only result in a population that is hungry, stupid, and unhealthy.
Some revunue sources: 1) Add some balls to Greece’s tax collection agency—a la IRS. Anyone messes with the IRS in the states has his/her keester hauled to prison—pronto. Uncollected taxes from the “Sphakianakides” of Greece are annually in the billions of Euros. 2) Add a hefty—and I mean hefty—sales tax on all luxury items such as automobiles. A Greek wants a Mercedes-Benz? No problem—he can pay for it through the nose; otherwise, there’s always public transportation. 3) Due to the manufactured tensions that emanate from Turkey, a good portion of the national budget goes to defense spending; in other words, it goes into the pockets of foreigners. Enough of that. It’s time for Greece to create its own military industrial complex. Lots of benefits in this, boys: fiscal, employment, technological . . . you name it! “Made in Greece by Greeks.” How does that sound? 4) Rescind the bank bailouts. This move alone will add back 10s of billions of Euros to the Greek treasury. Btw, I had no problem in guaranteeing the bank deposits, but guaranteeing the bank loans was sheer welfare—welfare for the rich. Remember: These are the same banksters who are planning a Greek, Turkish stock exchange index—the GT-30. If doing business with the enemy is not an act of treason . . . .
Anyway, these are some alternatives to consider.
There is no conpiracy against Greeks. Nobody is jealous.
No one has suggested that there is a “conspiracy against Greeks.” I will add, though, that I do consider myself lucky to be born a Greek and not a barbarian. (When my brother’s first boy was born, his wife suggested that the child be circumcised. “You do that and I’ll throw you out the window,” my brother calmly replied.)
Link | December 22nd, 2009 at 23:48
PeterD wrote,
What was taken by force of arms rarely, if ever, can be reclaimed through half-assed “diplomacy,” “international mediation,” and puppet “leaders.” This is a fact of history those who mean to keep the ramparts never forget.
But the castle has already fallen.
Like Leonidas in the movie 300, I want to shout “battle stations,” but I know that the Greek politicians (and dare I say Greek people?) don’t have the courage for this. Still, without Greek cooperation the Turks and their puppeteers will not be able to slice up Cyprus so easily.
Link | December 23rd, 2009 at 07:43