A note of the essence of the Cyprus problem

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.

here the text can be found also in Greek, Turkish and Spanish

https://sevgululudag.blogspot.com/2018/11/kbrs-sorununun-ozu-nedir-what-is.html