Papadopoulos' talk of defending Hellenism is alienating Turkish Cypriots

As President of the Republic of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos should be doing all he can to promote the Cypriot nation and the unifying ideology of Pan-Cypriotism as the path to social reunification. Regrettably, drunk on the idea of Hellenism the Cypriot President is far too busy metamorphasizing Alexandra the Great, while sending out contradictory messages to the rest of the world and alienating thousands of Turkish Cypriots.

In traditional democracies, the role of the President is above partisan politics, beyond inter-community disputes; the President is a representative figure who strives to represent all his citizens, from every political affiliation and religio-linguistic group abroad. But clearly the mind of the President of the Republic of Cyprus was elsewhere on the14th of July 2006, while visiting Greece. In his speech to the Greek head of state, President Papadopoulos stated loyally: “We (Cyprus) do not want, nor do we seek to transfer the weight of our problems to the shoulders of Greece. But, we do want our Greek brothers to realise that we in Cyprus, as we resist Turkish expansionism and fight for the national and physical survival of Greek Hellenism, are forward defenders of Hellenism in its widest meaning and dimension.''

Like thousands of Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Latins and Armenian Cypriots as well as thousands of Greek Cypriots who believe themselves to be Cypriot above all, I could hardly believe my ears. Greek brothers? Fighting for the survival of Hellenism? Does the Cypriot President who claims legal and moral justification for this very title abroad forget which country he is the head of state of? Did he not imagine how his irresponsible message could be interpreted by Cyprus’ Turkish Cypriots and many other religio-linguistic groups?

But it was not the first of such ill chosen terminology, President Papadopoulos later asked a crowd of Greek Cypriots in Nicosia to “judge” if they were helping the “Hellenism of Cyprus”. Helping Hellenism seems to be a priority in his presidency, where simultaneously he tries to convince Turkish Cypriots that the days of his involvement with the Akritas Plan are over.

Perhaps President Papadopoulos needs to be informed that the Republic of Cyprus is not a carbon copy of Greece. It is a Cypriot state co-founded by Turkish Cypriots, where Turkish is one of its official languages and where no less than 26% of the population of Cyprus are Turkish Cypriots. It is a country that has historic ties not only with Greece and Turkey but with the entire Near East. It is a land where Christianity and Islam are the two main religions, and where its flag under which his cries for Hellenism are echoed was designed by a Muslim Turkish Cypriot.

To those who proudly claim to have voted “Oxi” under the false notion that they were preventing Cyprus from becoming a Greco-Turkish country, it is time to wake up and smell the coffee; Cyprus is and will always be the home of Turkish Cypriots, and Cypriot culture will always have a generous Turkish ingredient among many others, whether they can stomach it or not. As a proud citizen of this state I ask President Papadopoulos who on earth has given him the right to pronounce himself the defender of Hellenism while using the title President of Cyprus? Where in the 1960 constitution is this right afforded to the head of state?

I ask President Papadopoulos, is he representing an electorate of an Athenian suburb or bi-lingual Cyprus?

For me as a citizen of the Republic, it is completely unacceptable and scandalous that my head of state carries on presenting himself to the world as Cypriot President while manipulating this title to lend support to the nationalism of another country! It is equally unacceptable to try to justify this action by pointing the finger across the Wall of Shame and measuring one’s own actions by those of others. As a Cypriot President, Mr Papadopoulos does not have the luxury of Mr Talat to define himself as solely the leader of one community.

Alienating Turkish Cypriots and no doubt thousands of Maronites, Armenians and Latin Cypriots with his Greek nationalistic rhetoric, the President is actually helping to preserve the status quo and pouring the cement that will finalise irreversible partition. Despite tears shed for Hellenism, the President faces a huge responsibility on his shoulders as a Cypriot head of state.

Every time he forgets his role, Turkish Cypriots who are putting themselves against their own hardened nationalists, some risking their lives receive a big slap in the face. Their timely and commendable efforts to build a better future for all Cypriots are shattered by a President who cannot separate himself from Greek nationalism. Inevitably this leads many Turkish Cypriots out of frustration and humiliation to give up their struggle.

The President of Cyprus should pay greater attention to avoid alienating Turkish Cypriots. His hand of friendship should not be as that of a negotiator trying to get Turkish Cypriots to a table, where he will try to bargain with them, but as a President reaching out to his citizens, and inviting them to re-join other Cypriots in the Republic and its institutions regardless of when a political settlement will take place. After all are Turkish Cypriot rights as citizens of the Republic of Cyprus held hostage to a political settlement?

Whether there is a political settlement at present or not, there is no justification for President Papadopoulos to manipulate powers entrusted to him. As President if Mr Papadopoulos genuinely believes in reconciliation, peace and reunification, then he must be prepared to manifest his sincerity by being more representative of his people, otherwise his presidential legacy will be remembered for entrenching partition and his messages of defending Hellenism will be construed by the entire world to mean that the Republic of Cyprus is nothing more than a Greek Republic of Cyprus.

A presidential balancing act between being a Greek Cypriot leader and “President of all Cypriots” is a dangerous game, particularly if one tries to defend Hellenism while promoting Cypriot unity. Naturally when Hellenism is promoted in Cyprus, Pan-Turkism and a new Turkish Cypriot nationalism are quickly formed to counter it. As President of Cyprus, Mr Papadopoulos has to embrace the full diversity of Cyprus, even while standing in front of the Greek head of state. And if the President still feels the needs to be patriotic, then he should opt for Cypriotism, a more inclusive ideology which captures all the communities of Cyprus. ©