The Cyprus “problems” and the dialogue of the deaf
There is not even consensus on what the Cyprus problem is
Image source: Microsoft Copilot.
I am way behind on paying client work, so this week I am short-cutting by slightly re-hashing a reply I put on another Substack post called Unmapped Narratives.
As an outsider, but also one who has spent 20+ years heavily involved, both professionally and voluntarily, working with people on both sides to try to stick the island back together again, one of the key obstacles to solving the Cyprus problem as I see it is that there are two entirely different views of what the Cyprus problem is about.
Turkish Cypriots typically see the Cyprus problem as an intercommunal one: Greek Cypriots perhaps rejecting Turkish Cypriots’ right to exist, certainly rejecting their status as equals, therefore rejecting the notion of power-sharing on the UN-defined principle of political equality. And in the 1960s this also involved oppressing and killing Turkish Cypriots, as described in the original post to which I replied.
Greek Cypriots typically see the Cyprus problem as all about Turkey. It is about invasion and occupation, leading to mass displacement and lost property within living memory. But it is also seen as a single line of behaviour by ‘Turks’ all the way back to the Byzantines losing Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453 or Cyprus falling to the Ottomans in 1571.
So for the standard Greek Cypriot approach, Turkish Cypriots are essentially bit players. This is why Greek Cypriot leaders always want to deal directly with Turkey and why Turkish Cypriots always get frustrated when they are ignored.
Even before all the other obstacles, this makes solving the Cyprus problem rather difficult. Because for the Turkish Cypriots, the big scary beast is the Greek Cypriots, who they fear will try to push them out in any future power-sharing arrangement, as they see the late president, Archbishop Makarios, having done in 1963. For the Greek Cypriots, the big scary beast is Turkey, who they fear will never move its troops out, and will always be trying to find ways either to split the island or control it.
Different Cyprus problem groups
This ends up with 3-4 types of groups. When I originally wrote this in the reply to the post I was talking only about Greek Cypriots. Below I have tried to put in Turkish Cypriot equivalents as well. Two of these groups are one the fringe, in my view.
Fringe 1. People who have good Turkish Cypriot friends, are often involved in peace efforts, have taken time to hear the Turkish Cypriot view and therefore totally understand where they are coming from and what their trigger points are. Similarly, the Turkish Cypriots understand the Greek Cypriots and their trigger points. Although I know many of these people, I would be naïve not to acknowledge that they a small minority.
Fringe 2. The far right who see Turkish Cypriots as the same as Turks and throw aggressive insults like the ones cited in the article. I hope they are still a small minority. The equivalent on the other side is the Grey Wolves.
Group 3. The well meaning but inadvertently patronizing. The ones who fit into this description in the Greek Cypriot community can’t help treating Turkish Cypriots like a minority whom they need to be seen to be nice to. I saw this play out fairly recently. But I see it elsewhere too, when a Turkish Cypriot is kind of “put on the spot” in front of a majority Greek Cypriot group (even in people’s homes) to explain their entire community’s views. This third well meaning group generally knows little about the Turkish Cypriot experience in 1963-74 because it is never spoken about in the south, so they miss all the trigger points.
Doubtless there are similar types in the Turkish Cypriot community, who don’t understand why Greek Cypriots are very sensitive about property development, or Turkish guarantees, Turkish troops and so on. If you know anyone in this group in either community, encourage them to go and watch The Divided Island, which is now on Amazon Prime and hopefully available in Cyprus. I learned things I didn’t know about and I believe it will be an eye-opener for both communities.
Group 4. Among Greek Cypriots these are the ones who only think about Turkey as the enemy and don’t think about Turkish Cypriots at all, apart from saying, “but we always got on fine: it is the foreigners’ fault”. My hunch is that these are the majority. It is kind of benign neglect. But it is also, thankfully, why there have been next to no attacks on Turkish Cypriots in the south and no one gets bashed shopping at IKEA.
Who would be the equivalent in the north? Also those who say it is all the foreigners’ fault, without any consideration of how people on both sides might have contributed and still contribute to the division, by what they have done and what they have failed to do.
I don’t know how you change that apart from a lot more things like Divided Island and one day, if society is mature enough for it, a truth commission, as advocated by the prominent lawyer , Achilleas Demetriades. In a truth commission, each side gets to hear about the suffering of the other and each side gets to acknowledge their part in it but also with the comfort that it will not turn into a pogroms or witch hunt.
I have heard Cypriot psychologists argue that, without this “confessional”, there can be no rapprochement and permanent peace. But as people who lived through the traumas die out, there isn’t much time left to do that.
If you want my premium monthly in-depth product, check out Sapienta Country Analysis Cyprus and other deep-dive reports here or single copies here. And if you can’t afford those but want the executive summary only for just €100/year*, you can find that here on Substack, at Cyprus Pocket Brief.
Or support this publication, Sapienta Cyprus Snippets, for just €49 per year.*
*Monthly payments are a massive administrative headache, so since I can’t switch them off I have effectively banned them by setting the monthly price the same as the annual.