Opinion
The 20th of July will mark the day the Turkish Army invaded and occupied 40% of the island of Cyprus. Greece’s Prime Minister Mitsotakis, dignitaries and other heads of state will be welcomed as guests by President Christodoulides to commemorate that historical dark event but to also make the customary petty speeches aimed to tickle people’s ears.
Meanwhile, 50 years on and Erdogan’s Islamization ambitions for the Greek island are progressively taking root under a well-planned invasion by Muslim asylum-seekers. Their high birth rate will play a critical role in the population and will be a contributing factor to the demographic erosion of Hellenic Cyprus.
After years of successive failures to deal with Turkey’s occupation, the mounting problems continue to persist and one can ask why it has taken so long to accept that something is not going so well. Yet, the answer has been obvious for years. Cyprus does not have—and never did have in place—a long-term defence policy on how to get rid of the Turkish occupiers! Nations have in place defence policies that are considered sacrosanct and forbid temporary governments to trespass redlines; but not so in Cyprus or Greece!
In both cases, each new government makes up its own brew of defence plans, which so far have been ineffective in stopping Turkey’s appetite for more; Greece faces territorial provocations in the Aegean including Thrace and Cyprus remains ensnared by Turkey’s Neo-Ottoman ambitions. Yet, ironically, under the “spirit of reconciliation” the Christodoulides government has been obsessed with meaningless buzzwords; Bi-zonal, Bi-communal Federation (BBF).
In fact, Cyprus entrapped itself into a deep warren with little chance of an escape! The last glimmer of hope to resolve the “Cyprus issue” ended in failure at Crans Montana seven years ago! As a result of that fiasco, a new headache has emerged out of the Crans Montana ashes: the “Two-States-or-Nothing Solution” demanded by Erdogan and Tatar; his Turkish Cypriot marionette community leader. The UN’s pet project for the Republic to become a Bi-zonal, Bi-communal Federation, is now dead and discarded by Ankara as nonsense and yet, President Christodoulides hopes to restart the BBF talks again.
Can the government be honest and without spins explain to the citizens of the Republic, what a ''Bi-zonal, Bi-communal Federation (BBF) with Political Equality” actually means?
To most people, the proposed BBF has become an illusionary concept and they are wondering as to why the President is so insistent on negotiating such a dead-end idea; a political system that does not exist elsewhere in the world. Is Cyprus to become another guinea pig experimentation in line with the Anastasiades/Troika’s 2013 Bail-in robbery of emptying people’s bank accounts?
In fact, the majority of Cypriots have no idea what a BBF means; so it’s pointless to negotiate a “mythical solution” without the consent of the people! The idea that an elected President has the mandate to execute his presidential powers and do what one man thinks is best for the country is nonsense. No government or a President has the mandate to alter the basic fabric of the nation without the consent of the people to be decided by a Referendum.
The truth must finally be recognized. The old strategy to reunite the island has been a total failure; fifty years of impasse is a clear indication of that. A radical new approach is necessary so citizens can actually play a critical role and instruct the government (direct democracy) on the type of solution and redlines they demand from their peers.
The time has come for Mr Christodoulides to take leadership, reconsider the failed archaic tactics of the past and finally ask Cypriots what solution they desire to see as a nation; and what they expect from him to negotiate on their behalf. The proposal should be put to a public debate and when it’s over, the people will then tell the President what to do. Citizens are not less able to assess critical issues than politicians can for what is best for them or the nation.
Voting on such a critical issue should be compulsory for all Greek Cypriots and citizens of the Republic but also include the 500.000 (2011 census) Greek Cypriots in the Diaspora to register and be allowed to vote during national elections.
All Cypriots—irrespective of where they live—should have the legitimacy to cast a vote on fundamental constitutional changes that may affect their ancestral homes, properties and country. Cypriots in the Diaspora can no longer be treated as second-class citizens by the motherland because they happen to live abroad.
Other countries provide that constitutional right to their nationals living abroad why not Cyprus? If Cyprus wants to be recognised as an EU country governed by the Rule of Law, then it’s only right to amend the constitution and to treat all Cypriots as equal citizens with equal rights without archaic bureaucratic exceptions.
NOTE: As a citizen, I personally have the right to vote for the Provincial and Federal elections in Canada but also for the UK elections, yet I live in Cyprus.
*Andreas C. Chrysafis was born to Greek parents in Cyprus and hosts Cypriot, British and Canadian citizenship. He lived most of his life in the UK and Canada and Cyprus. He’s a published author of five books and a recognized artist while his thought-provoking articles (over 450) continue to be read globally. He is not politically affiliated but is a strong advocate of the Rule of Law, Democracy, Transparency, Equality and Human Rights but also a robust opponent of Corruption.
ANDREAS’ LINKS: Artworks: www.artpal.com/chrysafis
Book titles: https://www.amazon.com/Andreas-C.-Chrysafis/e/B00478I90O
