Enough of this politics of provocation  

This week marked the biggest public display of flags ever in Cyprus, when the Turkish and TRNC flags were hoisted on the pinnacle of the Besparmak / Pendactylos mountains together to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). A decision overseen by the Turkish Cypriot administration, for some they are only flags, for others symbols of independence but for many others particular those looking from the Southern direction they are a provocation. A suspicious and ill-timed move by the so-called “pro-rapprochement” administration, this act has prompted me to ask: How sincere is the current Turkish Cypriot administration in their claim to seek peace?  

GARGANTUAN FLAGS

Last February a group of Turkish nationalists submitted plans to hoist the TRNC and Turkish flags on top of the Besparmak / Pendactylos Mountains. The gargantuan flags of Turkey and the TRNC when hoisted at a height of 50 meters cover a total area of 216 square meters or 11 football pitches! Make no mistake; they can be seen not only throughout Cyprus but even in the Taurus mountains in Turkey across the straits. Questioned why the enormous flags were necessary, Cavlan Suerdim, a spokesman for the Flag of the Zenith Association who founded the idea told the Cyprus Mail in its Sunday November 11. 2007 edition: “We would like to send a message to the whole world that these lands and region belong to the Turkish nation,” No doubt in my mind a nationalist act, somehow these plans were approved by the Mehmet Ali Talat government who gave their seal of approval. 

ISOLATION

To make sure nobody misses the point the flags are even illuminated at night using scarce electricity. But isolated, the authorities in the North who habitually lament over recurrent power cuts undoubtedly seem to prioritize when it comes to their displays of flags. I wonder what enormous cost these flags are. And what good is it to have luminous flags at night when there are Turkish Cypriot household in the North of Cyprus that have only limited hot water or heating this autumn due to the frequent power cuts. It’s great to see where the priorities of the Talat administration are. 

PROVOCATION

But to tens of thousands of our Greek Cypriot compatriots who have to look at the flags, they are provocative, and while there are indeed many Greek flags and tributes to Hellenism in the Republic no equivalent to this display exists. It rather makes one wonder how a party like the Republican Turkish Party (RTP) that styles itself as “pro-rapprochement” and one that successfully rallied Turkish Cypriots to vote yes in the last Annan Plan referendum, could endorse such a provocative display of nationalism on the one hand inform, while telling its own community and the world that it seeks peace with the Greek Cypriots on the other. Making sure that wherever you are on the island you can see the Turkish flag is hardly a step for peace. Does the ‘peace-seeking’ leadership of Mehmet Ali Talat honestly not realize that ones nationalism is another’s provocation?

But perhaps it is a cover-up, according to many good academics, flag waving and the cheap and easy appeal of nationalism is normally a tool for power-hungry politicians who wish to divert attention from their own failures such as incompetence in governance. The thrills of nationalist symbols lit up in the night sky in a country that sees regular black outs are enough to divert attention from such failures.  
 

ATTITUDES

Regrettably, attitudes in the administration that lean towards nationalist rhetoric are also non beneficial to peace. Amongst some circles in the TRNC administration if you are not supporting the upgrade of that entity through your abilities then you are a disgrace. Advisors to Mr Talat like Hasan Ercakica even insult the intelligence of those who seek to regain Turkish Cypriot rights in the Republic of Cyprus by dubbing their beliefs the result of a “simple brain storming.” The brains behind the TRNC Presidency, Mr Ercakica even asks his readers in rather bias fashion: “Are you here to support Osmosis”? (Cyprus Observer 03.08.2007) Each and every week the Turkish Cypriot Administration Spokesman (like his Greek Cypriot counterpart) blames the ‘other’ side for lack of progress in the Cyprus problem and doubts their insincerity without realizing that their own propaganda at the ‘other side’ is instead hindering important dialogue, wasting precious time and is the driving force of nationalistic inclinations in each community.

The presumption many in this administration allude to in their arguments is that it is “the moral duties of individuals to fellow members of the nation override those to non-members” (in other words other Cypriots). In accordance with true nationalist ethical principles, if you are a Turkish Cypriot then it is your duty to prove your loyalty. According to the definition of Nationalism, “national loyalty is expected in the case of conflict, where such loyalty should prevail over local loyalties, and all other loyalties to family, friends, profession, religion, or beliefs.” Visibly, the Turkish Cypriot administration desperately needs nationalism to make people obey them. The Good ‘citizen’ is therefore somebody who is loyal to a government and does what the government tells them to do. As expected with such a philosophy, to win people's support the state uses all sorts of symbols, including flags.  
 

TRNC CULTURE?

However, occasionally the symbols are not so clear and the administration finds other ways to transmit its message. In London also Turkish nationalism has by some means also made its way into something as innocent as an educational brochure intended for children with the help of the TRNC London Representative Office. Meticulously put together through the hard work of Alp Ermiya and a group of Turkish Cypriots, the Educational Brochure aims to promote education in the Turkish speaking communities in Britain. But that didn’t stop the London branch of the TRNC Representative Office who exploited it as a front to promote the TRNC as a ‘state.’ To my revulsion, the Education Attaché Mehmet Erenler wrote in the last page of the brochure in his article, “We are working very hard not to lose our TRNC culture and language here in the UK.”

I thought this was an educational brochure and is “TRNC culture” not a tad secessionist? To my knowledge there is a common Cypriot culture shared by Turkish, Greek, Maronite, Latin and Armenian Cypriots. A slip of the tongue, perhaps? Mistakes like these occur too often I fear. 

SINCERITY

A party with Socialist roots it was not so long ago that the ruling RTP was itself the target of Greek and Turkish nationalism in Cyprus but now it seems they endorse constant use of flags, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia that stand for partition. The very administration that is meant to represent Turkish Cypriots in the world and negotiate a peace that will reunite Cyprus bringing this community back into its rightful place in the Republic of Cyprus and the world community seems more concerned about how it celebrates the existence and longevity of the secessionist TRNC.

But the trouble is, if you are telling your community and the world that you seek peace with the Greek Cypriots then it is contradictory to display giant flags the size of football pitches on mountains. Hardly a peaceful gesture, Mr Talat and his advisors should by now be aware that any flag can be provocative depending on where it is placed and how it is used. Evidently, if you already have a giant size flag facing the Greek Cypriots in the area where the Republic is based after a conflict along with a nationalist slogan underneath, why hoist another one in the same direction? This cannot be anything other than provocation and there are no prospects for peace with such a politics provocation.