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Cyprus: Half a Century of Plunder and Devastating Illusions

by Phoebus Klokkaris *

For half a century in the occupied areas of Cyprus, it has been systematically committed by Turkey the crime of plunder, towards the annihilation of Hellenism/Christianity, while in the free areas, the leaderships of most political parties remain attached to DDO with the illusion, which they also cultivate in the people, that this solution "reunites Cyprus and prevents partition"A pernicious illusion that must be dispelled.

Today the occupied territories from Turkey to our territories, present a nightmarish picture Turkification/Islamization.Turkey uprooted the Greek population, which was the overwhelming majority, seized their property, destroyed their cultural and religious heritage, changed Greek place names, in order to erase every trace of Greek presence and Christian life. It carried out rapes, executions of civilians and prisoners, and the implantation of Turkish settlers, mosques and imams. Crimes against humanity that went unpunished, but are not time-barred and must be reported. It is also working on the free areas, because its strategic goal, as set since the 1950s (Nihat Erim reports, plan to regain Cyprus) is to control ALL of Cyprus, which it intends as a vital area for its expansion, within the framework of its vision for the reconstitution of the Ottoman Empire (sacred oath of the Turkish National Assembly of 1920).

The governments of the Republic of Cyprus (RC), in order to appease Turkey, accepted the holding of the so-called inter-communal talks (Board of Directors) with the subordinate administration of Turkey, under the threat of the Turkish occupation forces (TDF), which they exonerated Turkey and turned the international crime of invasion, occupation, colonization, and ethnic cleansing, which it committed against the Republic of Cyprus, into a bi-communal dispute. Another mistake was the adoption of theas a DDO as a solution to the Cyprus problem, imposed by Turkey and Britain to legitimize the partition, dissolve the Turkish Republic and extend Turkish control over all of CyprusAn even greater mistake is the cultivation of illusions among the people, that the SDO "reunifies Cyprus and prevents partition". The cultivation of illusions thrives because the people are in the dark and do not know what is called the “acquis of the talks”. The governments of the CD, with the unjustified invocation of the secrecy of the talks (on issues known to Turkey and the UN), did not officially inform the people, as they should, about the convergences of the talks (essentially our own concessions) nor about the serious problems of the DFO, which we know from leaks to the media, such as the 77-page Downer convergence document.: dysfunction (complexity of the state), lack of security (deprivation of the right to self-defense), violations of the unity of the state and human rights (rights to vote and be elected, private property, freedom of establishment) by imposing territorial zones of guaranteed majorities of residents and property as well as violations of democratic principles (majority principle in decision-making, etc.).

Another serious issue that affects the unity, security and sovereignty of the Cypriot state is the bilateral agreements of dependence of the pseudo-state on Turkey , for which no mention is made. We do not know if they will be integrated into the solution, as happened with the Annan plan. Turkey insists on their integration in order to have the Turkish Cypriot state under its strategic control and through it to impose political decisions on the Cypriot state.

If the people are officially informed about the convergences, problems and serious violations of human rights and democratic principles of the DDO, they will wake up, they will react. strongly against the government and its political leaderships and will demand the rejection of this solution, which is not consistent with a democratic EU member state, such as Cyprus.

Britain and Turkey have a common strategic goal, the abolition of the KRG. There should be no single independent democratic state in Cyprus, but it should be replaced by a stillborn two-headed state formation, in which the balance of terror between the two communities would prevail, so that the removal of the British Bases would never be requested, and the political decisions of the Cypriot state would be controlled by Turkey through the Turkish Cypriot state (pseudo-state). The goal of Britain and Turkey would have been achieved if the Annan Plan (DDO) had been adopted, which was rejected in a referendum in 2004.The continued support of the DDO by our governments is a disregard for the popular verdict.. The DDO will collapse because it will face serious problems in decision-making by the state. The convergence for a minority VETO right (positive vote) in decision-making requires a deadlock resolution mechanism (DRM) for the state to function (like the 3 foreign judges in the Annan plan) which is still being sought.. Democracies do not need MEAs because they apply the democratic principle of majority rule in decision-making. When this principle is violated, with a VETO right to the minority (as in the 1960 constitution of Cyprus, which paralyzed the state or in the Annan plan and the DFO), the state is doomed to collapse. MEAs are time-consuming, they circumvent the principle of popular sovereignty, and our state must not experience it again. the nightmare of the Turkish Cypriot VETOs on the 1960 constitution.

Today, at the negotiating table for the Cyprus issue, the two solutions that exist are on Turkish terms. The solution supported by the CD DDO, which with the continuous retreats of the Greeks resulted in a disguised form of confederation of two states and the one supported by Turkey two state solution, which Turkey understands as a confederation of two states. The two solutions are not different from each other, they are based on the IPA and serve the Turkish strategic goal of controlling all of Cyprus. Turkey, through the Turkish Cypriot state, which has been transformed into a quasi-province (majority of settlers, bilateral dependency agreements) and the arrangements at the level of the confederal umbrella, will impose decisions on the Cypriot state, which will be disarmed (convergence of the DDO). Turkey does not seek two independent states in Cyprus, so as not to have a Greek Cypriot state with security options on its southern shores. It aims to control the ENTIRE island.

The course being followed in the Cyprus issue is leading to the Turkification of all of Cyprus and only the awakening of the people can halt the destructive course. Awakening will only be achieved if the people are objectively informed and understand:

(1) that the DDO not only did not reunite Cyprus, but it legitimizes partition, abolishes the KC, extends Turkey's control over the entire island and

(2) that the SDF is essentially no different from the two-state solution that Turkey currently supports, which always interpreted the agreed English term < > of the DDO, as <<founding states>> with the knowledge of the governments of the CD.

* Lieutenant General (retd.)

Nicosia July 2023