History lessons

The UN Secretary-General`s Special Adviser on Cyprus, Mr Alexander Downer, is having a series of meetings in Nicosia in his first visit to the island. According to the Cyprus News Agency, Mr Downer had briefings at the UN yesterday and will meet with Mr Christofias and Mr Talat and their aides, Iacovou and Nami, today, as well as with the Ambassadors of the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council.

Meanwhile, the President of the European Commission Mr José Manuel Barroso, in a written statement on Friday welcomed the initiative of President Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat to launch full-fledged negotiations aimed at resolving the Cyprus problem. "I strongly encourage all parties to work with a positive and flexible spirit and to keep up the momentum towards an agreement", he said. "A unified and integrated Cyprus would benefit not only Cypriots themselves, but the whole of the European Union". He added that the Commission stands ready to provide any support to the process that the two sides might request. It will follow the development of the process closely, and set up the arrangements necessary to ensure that the Commission can respond swiftly as and when required. "Let me assure the Cypriot people that I as President, and the whole of the European Commission, is committed to stand by the people of Cyprus in their efforts to solve the Cyprus issue and to bring this conflict on European soil to an end."

Moreover, Turkish Cypriot daily Zaman reported that the Turkish capital has also welcomed the decision to start comprehensive negotiations in Cyprus in early September. "Turkey has from the beginning been supportive of the start of comprehensive negotiations within the framework of a goodwill mission of the UN secretary-general for the purpose of reaching a settlement on the Cyprus issue based on the well-established UN parameters, which are bi-zonality and political equality of the two parties and a new partnership that will be established by two equal constituent states," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday. "Turkey will give its full support to the negotiation process, which will be started between the two parties in Cyprus on Sept. 3, as long as it is in line with this understanding," the Ministry noted.


Reconciliation with the T/C is one of the government's targets and will be cultivated in schools. The upcoming school year has been declared as the ‘Educational Reform Year’ and will focus on the nourishment of a culture of peaceful cohabitation, mutual respect and co-operation between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The Minister of Education said that activities will be organised in the forthcoming school year during which "pupils will be informed of what it means to live in Cyprus without the Cyprus problem solved as opposed to living in Cyprus where the Cyprus problem has been solved”. He also said that history books would be reviewed. “The history of Cyprus in the last 50 years is not in the history books. Our children need to learn their modern history,” the Minister said.

According to an unconfirmed report in Alithia, President Christofias is going to Kyrenia next Sunday, the first time that a Cyprus president will do so. He will be visiting Mr Talat's home to congratulate him on his daughter's wedding, due to take place on Thursday, at which a number of G/Cs have also been invited. Due to prior engagement Christofias would be unable to attend the actual wedding so was invited to the home on Sunday instead which he accepted. Mr Talat himself has on a number of occasions crossed to the south. The paper says this is an indication of the importance that the two leaders put on the kind of messages they want to get across to the population in preparing them for a solution. They believe that community leaders should show by example and thereby pave the way for the rest of the population.

Meanwhile, Politis publishes the second part of its opinion poll which shows that the majority of G/Cs, while in favour of contacts between the two communities, are reluctant to cross over to the north, with only 25% stating they intended to do so within the next year. The main reason cited was as a matter of "principle" because they did not want show official papers, while 65% said they were fearful of the presence of the Turkish army and a further 37% said they felt "uncomfortable" amongst T/Cs. Only 21% believes that those who do cross should be condemned for doing so.

The Cyprus Mail reports that Kyrenia Bishop Pavlos lashed out at the government on Sunday, accusing it of keeping the whole truth from the public over the Cyprus problem. He warned that in the event of a solution the two constituent states would co-operate to allow the easy division and annexation of one of the two states by Turkey, which was Ankara’s objective.

Commenting on the cleric’s accusations, government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said the government was being truthful.“The President of the Republic states his views with courage, as with courage and clarity he puts forward our side’s position that solution we seek is a solution of a bizonal, bicommunal federation, with one sovereignty, one citizenship and one international profile, which will be an evolvement of the single Cypriot state founded in 1960, to a federal state,” Stefanou said. The aim was a partnership between the two communities and not the two states, he added.

An editorial in Politis says the enemies of a federal solution are now showing their true colours. It is not possible to declare, as the Bishop of Kyrenia did, that you are in favour of the effort to find the best possible solution and at the same time claim that the solution won't last, it will fail and the north will become an annex of Turkey. If they are convinced this will happen then they cannot possibly support federation. So why don't they come straight out and say so. Why don't they put down specific proposals of what they would like to see instead.

Politis’ satirical column Kata Varvaron also takes on the Bishop of Kyrenia. He says it’s been years since the venerable Bishop opened his mouth. Last time he did this to us was in order to tell on his “brother” the bishop of Morphou by writing a letter to the Synod accusing him of talking to a T/C paper and misinterpreting Christian doctrine by trying to be appeal to infidels. Especially the term ”infidels”, or “giaour” in Turkish, as you know, is THE most Christian of terms. And proves what Jesus preached, that we are all children of the same God. So just as we thought the Bishop of Kyrenia had decided to leave us alone, he struck again. He accused the government of leading the country to a partnership of two states, exactly what Ankara dreamed of. Our idiots, I suppose, don’t get it, only the Bishop does. Namely that Ankara will take advantage of the situation in order to ultimately annex the north. And he doesn’t even say, this is what he fears, he says he’s sure of it! That’s why talks for a solution are taking place, suckers. So that they can first find the solution then destroy the solution and annex the north. EU terrritory, mind you, let me note. So what’s the point of talks so that we suckers trip up on the banana peel? Question. If that was their aim all along, why didn’t they do this all these years? And I don’t mean now that they have EU ambitions. But years ago. If they could have annexed it, why didn’t they and get it over with? But even if we assume that they didn’t because they too are idiots and that they only thing holding them back now is their EU objectives, how are they going to do it when there is a solution? Aren’t they going to have EU objectives then? Go figure.