CYPRUS HAS A LONG AND INGRAINED GREEK HISTORY
Washington Times
May 6 2010
Cyprus gained its independence from the British Empire in 1960, but
even the British Ministry of Defense could not deny that for 3,500
years, Cyprus’ Greek identity of language and culture has been retained
("There are Turkish Cypriots, too," Letters, Monday).
Over the centuries, numerous empires have come and gone, and quite a
few ethnic communities have blossomed in Cyprus: Armenians, Latins
and even Arab Maronites. But it was the yoke of the British Empire
that sought to force the impression of "two peoples" on the island in
order to implement its partition plans. During the 1955-59 struggle to
liberate Cyprus, not a single Turkish Cypriot participated. Instead,
the British, with the aid of Turkey, established the Turkish terrorist
organizations Volgan and TMT to attack Greek Cypriots and other
communities, including even the Turkish Cypriots. It was the British
who recruited the Turkish Cypriots into their police and security
forces to crack down on anti-colonial activism.
The Turkish military invasion did not protect anyone’s interests but
those of the mass murderers and rapists who pillaged the property of
anyone who was not Turkish. Scores of Greek and Armenian monasteries
and churches have been forcibly converted into hotels and casinos, and
the Turkish military recently went so far as to bulldoze a Neolithic
settlement in order to plant Turkish flags. In his letter, Timur Edib,
former president of the Maryland American Turkish Association, talks
of the "balance" the Green Line has lent to Cyprus. Balance? Hardly.
Just ask the multitudes of nationalities that were displaced forcibly
or murdered by the Turkish military on the "Turkish-and-only-Turkish"
side of the Attila Line.