British thief has his say

The most ardent advocates of the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus are those thieving Britons who have illegally taken over the land and property Greek Cypriots were forced to abandon following the Turkish invasion in 1974. The vileness of these 8,000 or so Britons is truly shocking. It is hard to imagine a lower form of humanity or that any country other than Britain could have produced them. And to give an idea of what kind of loathsome, despicable criminals we are dealing with, I publish below an article I came across today by one Tom Roche, which appeared in Cyprus Today – an English-language newspaper published in occupied Cyprus. It'll make you sick to read it, but it is useful to know how these obnoxious, pig-ignorant crooks think.Time to tell the Greeks: Shut it!A new border crossing is to be opened at Yesilirmak [occupied Limnitis] in the far north-west. It will bring permanent land access to the Turkish Cypriot enclave of Erenkoy [occupied Kokkina] and allow locals to go South without the need to drive about two hours to Lefkosia.Do I rejoice at this news? Well no, actually, because it will also make it easier for more Greek Cypriots to come to the North and start throwing their weight about.We had a little taste of things to come in Lapta [occupied Lapithos] last week. My wife spotted a stranger wandering up and down the gecit, or little lane, which runs between our place and our neighbours. She asked if she could help him and was told he was looking for his land.'Oh', she said, 'and which bit is yours then?' The stranger threw open his arms and declared: 'All of it!'. He beetled off and a note was made of the registration number of his big blue BMW 4x4.Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we live in the same area as Linda and David Orams that encourages these try-ons. Anyway, our belligerent visitor will have to get in the queue with the various other Greek Cypriots we have had making similar claims. Funny how we haven’t had too many of them walking up to Turkish army camps to reclaim ownership.It has taken them a while to catch on, but now the Orthodox Church is getting in on the act. Metropolitan Bishop Iseas is the titular head of the area that covers St Barnabas Monastery near Salamis.He has filed a lawsuit against Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights, claiming he has been 'deprived of his religious rights and expelled from his place of worship by force'. His application has been accepted and is awaiting a date for hearing.There can be no doubt at all about the outcome. Once again Turkey will be slammed, ordered to pay about a million euros and told that the Bishop must be allowed to return.The Orthodox Church in Cyprus is a truly wicked organization which conspired with the EOKA terrorists who sought to wipe the Turkish Cypriots from the face of the earth. There will be no mention of this in Strasbourg.I began to wonder; just how have the Greek Cypriots convinced themselves that they still own the whole of Cyprus? For one thing, their leaders have encouraged this myth for the past 35 years. Thousands still describe themselves as 'refugees', even though they live in comfort, many on Turkish Cypriot land. Then, there’s the phenomenon of the 'virtual' local councils which elect mayors and members, and meet regularly to decide on things over which they have no jurisdiction, like the street lighting in Gazi Magusa [occupied Famagusta].Regular readers will know I call this the 'Back to Kyrenia' syndrome, or in the case of Christofias’s latest demands, back to Kyrenia, Guzelyurt [occupied Morfou] and the Karpaz [occupied Karpass peninsula].The other reason is that we in the TRNC [sic] have allowed it to happen. In many ways it is astonishing that the Turkish side is always painted as the aggressor in Cyprus. To my mind they have been far too subservient.Ankara’s initiative in opening the border in 2004 wrong-footed the Greeks, it’s true, but look at what has happened since then.It saddened me to see how swiftly the Greek menus went up in Girne [occupied Kyrenia] harbor and elsewhere. Of course our hard-pressed traders needed the customers, but it was as if the events of the previous thirty-odd years had never happened.Five years on and the Turkish Cypriots have become second-best once again. Trade is more or less one-way, with very little Turkish Cypriot produce deemed acceptable. The South’s taxis may cross carrying fare-paying passengers but ours may not go the other way. Most ludicrously of all, every day coach loads of tourists visit Girne [occupied Kyrenia] and Bellapais, led by a Greek Cypriot guide pouring poison in their ears. Of course no Turkish Cypriot tour guide may operate in the South.Why do we allow it? It only perpetuates the view that the Greek Cypriot Republic is a legitimate state while this is not.Our new Foreign Minister [sic] Huseyin Ozgurgun says he is considering ways to prevent Greek Cypriots coming over here to make claims on land. Quite rightly, Mr Ozgurgun says they are trying to impose the laws of another state. Don’t worry, minister, should Turkey and the TRNC [sic] ever join the EU, you’ll get used to that.Instead of wasting precious parliamentary [sic] time, which ought to be used to deal with the country’s economic crisis, drawing up new legislation, may I offer a simple and far more effective solution: the Greek Cypriots have abused their right to visit North Cyprus, so let’s put a stop to it. Shut the gates.And before you throw your hands up in horror, ask yourselves honestly: Does a trip to IKEA mean that much to you? How often do you use Larnaca airport?When it comes to the border, it is perhaps time for all of us to ask ourselves: 'Whose side are we on?'The choice of goods in the shops has increased immeasurably in the last five years, so shopping is hardly an issue any more. Anyway, what price freedom from harassment versus a pack of Camembert from Carrefour?On the other front, I am quite prepared to put up with Cyprus Turkish Airlines, which can only improve with planned privatization.The 'international community' will cry foul, but so what? The Useless Nations and the Equally Useless (EU) will never support this side anyway.No, it is time for a show of strength. Nothing would better demonstrate who is in control here. It is not the fantasists of 'Kyrenia Municipality'.AND another thing: I don’t want to hear any more Zorba the Greek at social functions. Can’t we get it into our heads that these people are no friends of ours?The next time I hear some wretched bouzouki music and an invitation to do the syrtaki, I shall be tempted to throw my plate.
By John Akritas