“Jointly responsible” by Yiannakis Colokasides – Member of the C.C. of AKEL

11/22/2015, “HARAVGI” newspaper

 

Everyone was quick to condemn the attacks by school students on unsuspecting Turkish Cypriots. I am sure that the Archbishop will also condemn them when next Sunday the press will thrust the microphone in front of him to make statements. Indeed he might do so even earlier than Sunday, just to create impressions.

On the one hand you say “It’s a good thing that they are also condemning these attacks”. On the other hand, however, you wonder about the enormousness of the hypocrisy, because all those who are today, in one way or another, condemning with disgust these attacks are jointly responsible for them – all of them that is, except AKEL. They share the responsibility because they ALL have contributed towards strengthening the ideology of nationalism-chauvinism, among whose results are also the cowardly attacks that took place on Monday.

Certain circles and forces have said that the school students who attacked the Turkish Cypriots belong to the ultra-right National Popular Front (ELAM). This may be highly likely and very expected. However a journalist – eyewitness to the events – told a television news programme that the fact that quite a few of their classmates were watching the attacks without doing anything left a terrible impression on him! And probably they endorsed these attacks. Therefore, the problem is not some isolated case and is not the work a few mindless or stupid people or hooligans or whatever else the attacks were described as in the various statements issued. This doesn’t just concern the five to six school students that perhaps the police may discover and perhaps take to court – unless of course certain big interests do not intervene to rescue the “poor little kids”.

The problem concerns many young people, whose minds have been poisoned unfortunately by the poison of nationalism-chauvinism. And who is responsible for this? It is the education system, the “national-minded” teachers and the Ministry of Education that are responsible who, even today, are glorifying and turning fascist Grivas, the killer of Turks and communists, into a hero.  The Ministry of Education is shocked. But why is it shocked? What you sow, you reap….

Responsible are all those who rallied their forces together in an alliance to prevent the Christofias government from fulfilling its vision for a democratic school.

Responsible are the “national-minded” Clubs and groups, boasting of their “strong” youth.

Responsible are the Archbishop’s statements about the “good lads of ELAM” and his whole stand.

Responsible are the governing DISY Rally party and their Youth Organization NEDISY that are filling young people’s minds with the ideas of chauvinism, the ideology and example of Grivas and “pseudo-patriotism”, as President Anastasiades now very belatedly says.

Responsible are also all those competing with each other as to who will denounce most strongly the solution of bi-communal, bi-zonal federation: the Democratic Party DIKO, the Social democratic Party EDEK, the European Party, the Ecologists, the Citizen’s Alliance party, etc. Yes, they too are jointly responsible, as well as the students who marched and ended up at the crossing points shouting slogans against federation. I wonder – is it a coincidence that the anti-federation rage also leads to barbaric acts being committed? No, it is no coincidence.

Jointly responsible is President Anastasiades himself. Long ago and since the period when he viciously attacked Mrs. Tsougiopoullou former head of the committee to set up the University of Cyprus in the name of Hellenism until recently Anastasiades also did a lot to strengthen nationalism. The same things that happened to the Americans with the Taliban and jihadists have happened to Anastasiades and the governing DISY party. That is to say, they have fed the snake of nationalism to serve their own experiences and considerations and now this snake is biting them also

If all of them who share the same responsibility are truly aware that nationalism will only bring new suffering and pain to us all, they should not confine themselves to making verbal condemnations. Let them demonstrate in practice that they detest nationalism, even though this will mean that will be going against part of themselves…