The Cyprus problem is not ethnic but philosophical

Alkan CHAGLAR
In its earnest efforts to resolve the Cyprus question, Britain has for decades done everything to comprehend the concerns of both Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities in Cyprus. British foreign policy and international peace plans Britain has endorsed for the war torn island country has always centred on the hypothesis that the Cyprus problem is an ethnic issue. This notion that dictates that the only people residing on the island are either the conflicting Greeks or Turks has in more recent times led the British government to play political hopscotch, frantically currying favour with one community before hastily sucking up to the other in order to find the so-called ‘middle ground.’ But to believe the Cyprus problem is divided along ethnic lines is an illusion, the Cyprus problem is as much philosophical as ethnic.

ORIGINS
As a British crown colony, Cyprus was commonly known as an island of Greeks or Turks. Were they ignorant of the Cypriot identity and culture? Not at all, according to a great many academics, the origins of Britain’s characterisation policy stems from a colonial politics of divide and rule, when these such perceived divisions would have acted as a useful control tool for the island’s colonial administration. The principle of “Divide et Impera” has always been a common feature to empower the colonial power to control its subjects, and has been a policy of past imperial powers worldwide. In fact according to Machiavelli, good leadership requires a leader to forcefully divide and separate its opponents or those that oppose his / her rule in order to weaken them.

HISTORICAL ERROR
But in Cyprus’ case categorization coupled with a divide and rule politics led from one historical mistake to another. There was hardly any mention of the “Cypriots” in the 1960 London and Zurich Agreements that laid the foundation for an independent Cyprus. This failure and the fact that everything in this Republic was categorized as being either ‘Greek’ or ‘Turkish’ themselves terms that do not necessarily apply to both communities meant that the newly independent Cyprus was effectively a “Cypriot Republic without Cypriots.”
To avoid any confusion, even the millennia old Maronites, Latins and Armenians were put in an awkward position where they had to choose which community they would ‘belong’ to.
Not to be too harsh, perhaps a mention that in Cyprus there are indeed Cypriots living there was to be added later? But undoubtedly, these chain of historical errors hindered the development of an island-wide identity in the Republic days; in fact some may argue that it was this very policy that may have even helped laid the foundations of partition.

SUPPRESSED
Predictably with the denial of the existence of Cypriots coupled with outside influence by Ankara and Athens, Cypriotness among Cypriots has remained suppressed. By contrast, it was common for members of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities to define themselves as Greeks or Turks, not as Cypriots. To say one was a Cypriot then was unthinkable and hitherto to most elderly Greek and Turkish Cypriots is still unimaginable. This low esteem maintained by Cypriots for Cypriotness was not the result of informed free choice however, but was historically due to the fact that a sense of Cypriotness was never allowed to be developed in modern Cypriot history since the island had until recently always been ruled by outsiders. Importantly, in addition neither externally backed EOKA nor TMT would have tolerated talk of such ‘nonsense’ in the zenith of their terror campaigns.

CYPRIOTNESS EXISTED IN PRE-NATONALIST TIMES
Long in a deep freeze and even with lack of promotion a Cypriot identity has continued to exist. In fact, some may argue, the Cyprus problem needed to get worse before it could get better. Surrounded by the turmoil caused by inter-communal conflict amid the rubble and graves of the dead, Cypriotness has resurfaced again. As if unconquerable, Dr. Hubert Faustmann said in his article “Cypriotness in a historical perspective,” Cypriots have always had a Cypriot identity even in pre-nationalist times. Indicating deep origins, Faustmann continues: “The origins of a Cypriot identity are rooted in the link between human nature, geography and culture. “On any clearly defined geographic unit and particularly on islands, people inevitably develop an identity as inhabitants of this territory. “Moreover, the territorial separation of an island encourages the development of specific ties and customs as a cultural source for a distinct island identity,” he adds.

CHANGE IN THE PARADIGM WAY OF THINKING
Faustmann is right to cite the geographical importance to Cypriotness, but philosophy too plays a momentous role. To understand the change in the paradigm way of thinking, one needs to appreciate that the Cyprus problem today is constantly changing and is far removed from the time of inter-communal conflict. No longer can we speak of a ‘Greek’ or ‘Turkish’ side in the Cyprus problem. Independent from the disingenuous notion of an ethnic conflict, the Cyprus problem has become a philosophical problem today.
Cypriots have over the past 47 years undergone an enormous change in their paradigm way of thinking. Faced with the sickening crimes of ultra nationalists, incompetent governance and open interference from the ‘motherlands,’ a sense of Cypriotness has been revived in all communities in Cyprus. This revival has led to the emergence of a progressive group of Cypriots on both sides of the Green Line who work closely together to increase Cypriot cultural activity, be it films, novels or poetry. With some suppression still in place, art has found itself as the tool for expressing this revived Cypriotness. Also politically, for the first time, there are Greek Cypriots who are fighting for the rights of their Turkish Cypriot compatriots, Turkish Cypriots who are raising awareness of the Maronites, Latin Cypriots who are campaigning for the rights of Armenian Cypriots and so on.
These past weeks I have heard Greek Cypriot lawyer Costas Apostolides complain that not enough information was available in Turkish for the introduction of the euro, while Serdar Atai, a Turkish Cypriot criticised the looting of Greek Cypriot properties. New colourful characters in Cypriot society as poet Neshe Yashın, Journalist Sevgül Uludağ and Academic Alev Adil, as well as film-director Panicos Chrysanthou, writer Tony Angastiniotis and novelist Andreas Koumi, frequently challenge the narrow communal perspective of the Cyprus problem. Are they all traitors perhaps? Not so unusual or marginalised, this is called being and thinking as a Cypriot.
A class of Cypriots has been born. Yet in the last Annan Plan there was no mention of Cypriots again! Another mistake?

CYPRIOT IS A STATE OF MIND
Overshadowed by the political dimensions of the unresolved Cyprus question, Cypriots nevertheless exist. The Cypriot is not just a Greek Cypriot nor is it a Turkish Cypriot, nor a Maronite Cypriot, an Armenian or even a Latin Cypriot but all of these communities combined. How? By taking ownership of all these communities while embracing Cyprus’ true multi-cultural heritage and identity- this is what being Cypriot really denotes. Whereas some Turkish Cypriot or Greek Cypriots may think communally, being Cypriot is the ability to think nationally. A Cypriot is somebody who puts the interests of Cyprus as a nation before the interests of the community from which they stem.
Being Cypriot is not treachery nor does it depend on your birth, lineage or your religion or language, it is not a matter for the Church to decide or a constitutional arrangement, it is completely and unconsciously the product of the Cypriot people themselves. Unlike Greek and Turkish Cypriots, or Cyprus Greeks and Cyprus Turks, the Cypriots do not constitute an ethnic community but a state of mind. Based entirely on philosophy, Cypriots are not delimited like ethnicity or religion, and therefore can grow faster than any of these groups. From my own experience Cypriots tend to be young, university educated and many will have had a philosophical change in their life with regard to their perception of the Cyprus problem. This philosophical revolution is bringing more and more converts daily. A future force to be reckoned with, few Cypriots ever revert back to being Greeks or Turks of Cyprus.

CYPRIOTS – A NEW VOICE
If Britain is serious about resolving the Cyprus problem and if its policy towards Cypriots is sincere, then Britain must update its perception of the Cyprus problem by beginning to look at the Cyprus question no longer from the perspective of a Greco-Turkish dispute but as a philosophical dispute. In its bid to help Cyprus, by surrounding itself with either Greek or Turkish Cypriot advisers, Britain will only alienate chunks of both the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities who view themselves as Cypriots. What one Greek or Turkish Cypriot says is not necessary what a Cypriot who may also be a member of either community will endorse. Equally, Britain too must not fall into the trap of dismissing those progressive Cypriots today as simply ‘free thinkers’ or ‘peace activists,’ while it is true that they fight for peace, they are the more importantly the voice of the Cypriots speaking. It is time Britain as a guarantor power and active player in the resolving of the Cyprus problem recognises this revived voice.