Zones, Hypocrisy and Cyprus

The Pendadaktylos Mountain in Keryneia, a "zone" with
millenniums of uninterrupted Christian and/or Greek history

The zones in Cyprus were the result of an illegal, unwarranted invasion. Cyprus never had zones in its history. Or if you prefer all zones in all of Cypriot history (which spans millenniums and did not start when Ottomans invaded in 1571) have been majority Christian and/or Greek or wholly Christian and/or Greek. Therefore federation is equivalent to accentuating 1960 injustice by superimposing magic zones which are majority owned by Christian refugees. This is why it will never be approved.

Furthermore, the precedent would be disastrous. What next? Muslims in Birmingham seeking their own zone? Kurds in Istanbul (a city 20 times the size of Cyprus)? I fail to see the logic behind rendering a monstrosity part of international law because of an unfortunate historical alliance between Kemalist fascism and the Anglo-Saxon world.

Makarios was right in 1963. A minority cannot demand privileges of the kind Turkish Cypriots demand. No European in their right mind would accept them for their minority. Neither will Cypriots.


Makarios as a matter of fact did not go far enough. The solution must be an upgraded 1960, a Republic of Cyprus without zones, that removes all apartheid clauses & special privileges for a minority that today barely numbers 12% of Cyprus' population. And Turkish Cypriots must learn Greek, just as every minority everywhere does, ie being obligated to learn the language of the majority. In Cyprus the majority is not merely in numbers, but above all in historical continuity and cultural footprint. The Greek language and the Christian ethos is part of what makes Turkish Cypriots Cypriots. Most Turkish Cypriots know that deep down.

If one wishes to confirm Turkish and Turkish Cypriot hypocrisy all she needs to do is ask them: "Out of curiosity, do you support political equality between Turks and Kurds, as well as full exclusive education in Kurdish for Kurds?" The answer at best will be a "kind" refusal. The Turkish mind is so warped by nationalistic propaganda that they cannot even bring themselves to acknowledge the possibility of Turko-Kurdish equality of the kind they demand in Cyprus.

Source: comment on Cyprus Mail 21 Feb 2016