By Chris Elliott….
As a publisher of news in Northern Cyprus, I read with great interest the Sunday Express article “Britain urged to use Brexit freedoms to recognise North Cyprus as a sovereign country” which led with the opening “Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Express, the President of Turkish North Cyprus Ersin Tatar has urged Boris Johnson’s government to get behind his plan for a two-state solution which he will propose at the talks. He believes that after Brexit freed Britain from the EU it can now fulfill its role as a neutral guarantor for the eastern Mediterranean island, ensuring that both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots are treated in a balanced way.”
When I first arrived in Northern Cyprus to work some 16 years ago a newfound friend said: “North Cyprus will become another Monte Carlo in the future and then you and I will not be able to afford to live here.”
Well neither happened and I am still living here as a retired British expat and it’s now time for the UK to accept its responsibility as both former Cyprus Crown Colony administrator from 1925 to 1960 and then as a Guarantor Power to the Zurich Cyprus Independence agreement which failed when Turkish Cypriot participation in the central government ceased on December 23, 1963, when all Cypriot Turks from the lowest civil servants to ministers, including the Turkish Vice-President Dr. Fazıl Küçük were forced out of the government and the Greek Cypriot dream of Enosis with Greece went ahead with the Akritas plan.
The Akritas plan when implemented had forced the Turkish Cypriots out of a shared government and was now extended by EOKA aided by Greece military forces which through sectarian killings and intimidation tried to rid the island of Turkish Cypriots.
The day before Turkey, as a guarantor power, mounted a military intervention to stop the ethnic cleansing and restore peace in Cyprus in July 1974, Greek Cypriot President, Makarios III stood before the UN Assembly and said my country has been invaded by Greece (the third guarantor power).
President Makarios III was then overthrown by the 1974 Cypriot coup d’état carried out by Greece, which was under Greek military junta rule.
UN peacekeepers had been deployed on the island in 1964, effectively recognising the Greek Cypriots as the government but clearly had not achieved their objective of maintaining peace and helping create a settlement of the Cyprus problem.
In the years ahead many UN inspired peace plans had been proposed only for the Greek Cypriots to reject them and the most notable was the Annan plan which was accepted by Turkish Cypriots only for the Greek Cypriots to slam the door on that peace plan with an OXI vote.
Since then we have seen continued efforts by the UN to get the communities to agree to a federation agreement only for this to be rejected time and time again by the Greek Cypriots who do not want to share power and give equal rights and respect to the Turkish Cypriots.
Enter the EU who granted Greek Cypriots who live in half of the island EU membership which gave it veto rights on any issue being considered that affects Northern Cyprus.
So back to the brilliant summary in the Express article. Yes, it is time for the UK to be great again and having left the European Union, which is run for the self-interest of a small number of members, to now stand up and as the former Father Country to recognise the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus which now deserves the abolition of embargoes to be allowed to join the world community.
Clearly, we shall hear lots of protests from the naysayers but then their intent is for no changes to be made to the status quo and for the cosy gravy train that benefits Greek Cypriots to continue forever.
Cyprus is an island and like the European region, which has developed over many years with separate self-autonomous countries, Cyprus North and South should now look forward to peace, cooperation and economic development for the benefit of all and not the selfish few and for the great United Kingdom to lead the way to a bright new future for this Jewel in the Mediterranean.
Well said.
Thank you Olwyn
Chris ,well written and totally agree .
Thank you Ronald we have to keep publishing the Truth of Cyprus
As always, a thoughtful article… thank you Chris.
Thank you Dean it’s the least I can do to help my adopted homeland
Dear Chris Elliott and Margaret Sheard
Between you two producing the CyprusScene.com online e-newspaper and website which has developed into a very enlightening organ especially about the Cyprus catastrophic history and all problems throughout the years ever since 1951 and which has never stopped up until today.
The world continues condoning this atrocity with some of them like the EU, encouraging it against the Turkish Cypriots and even the Guarantor powers, not doing what they originally promised in 1960 Peace Agreement to do except Turkey came to save the Turkish Cypriots.
As most of the Greek AKEL Leftist members who did not want Enosis, Union with Greece were threatened or killed by the terrorists who already had an organisation called AKRITAS with Sampson’s EOKA B and the Junta of Greece wanting to kill all those not wanting ENOSIS.
Thank God Turkey came and saved all of us and even brought democracy back for Greece to adopt again.
Now CyprusScene through all of their hard work is publishing the Truth of the Cyprus problem and he is an Englishman to be proud of and should be applauded..
Thank you Chris thank you Margaret for Telling the Truth and Nothing but the Truth of the Cyprus problem.
Thank you John for those words of appreciation
So in your opinion anyone that invades a country and stays there for years illegally has the right to that country I would love it if a minority of let’s say french ppl did this to the Uk there would be no way this would be done Cyprus historically was populated by Greek Cypriots so what you are saying is based on your benefit. If the UK does this it will piss off a lot of countries and yes brexit has taken place but the future at this moment is not looking bright
Seem to recall the French did like a few others invade the UK way back and were it not the UK that dug the french out of a mess a few times..Anyway, Turkey had every right to intervene in Cyprus as a guarantor power, and the so-called Roc was invaded by Greece before Turkey arrived to stop their ethnic cleansing of the Turkish Cypriots.
So let’s bring it on with a two-state solution and the EU can butt out
Brilliant. Thank you for loving the Turks