The essence
of the Cyprus problem, we have said it many times, is the refusal of the Greek
Cypriot leadership and by extension the majority of the g/c community, to
accept the Turkish Cypriot community as a Cypriot political entity with which
to co-exist equitably and to co-decide the future of the country. This was the
cause of the Cyprus problem in 1950, this led to the conflict in 1963, this was
the backdrop behind the 1974 tragedy, and this is until today the reason why we
have no solution.
There are two majoritarian g/c perspectives and
narratives about the t/c community, differentiated but differently problematic.
Sometimes state political calculation unites them creating a great
contradiction. But the reason why this contradiction stands, in spite of its
apparent absurdity, is the deeper essence of a dominant g/c refusal to accept
t/c in terms of parity. The first narrative
regards the Turkish Cypriot community as an instrument of Turkey, as a part of
the (eternal) enemy, and as a foreign body on this "Greek island".
This is the position of the deep g/c state, which denies t/c their Cypriotness.
Before 1974, this position culminated in the slogan "the enemy to the
sea" and its consequences are the bones that are being excavated today from
group graves. The second narrative considers the Turkish Cypriot community as a
problematic disadvantageous Cypriot element, a victim also of Turkey, which can
be tolerated with some cultural autonomy but in no circumstances with
constitutionally guaranteed collective political rights. Prior to 1974,
this position culminated in the attempt to abolish the bi-communalism of the
constitution and to transform the t/c community into a minority. This narrative
denies t/c their Turkishness as a precondition for their acceptance.
But both "the Greeks and the Turks cannot do together"
and "we were doing just fine with the Turks before 1974" are half
truths. The whole truth (and by extension the creation of a whole Cyprus) is
the recognition of political equality in practice and the will to share power
in a federal state. We said, the truth must always be said, and we ought to say
it.
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