Illusions… – Article by Eleni Mavrou, AKEL Political Bureau member, “Haravgi” newspaper

 

In France, just behind the famous Notre Dame of Paris, there is an underground cenotaph in which a small flame burns unquenched. The cenotaph is dedicated to the memory of the victims of Nazism. At the exit from the crypt is a commemorative plaque on which is inscribed the legacy left by the war generation to future generations: “Forgive, but do not forget”!

This is because peoples who forget their History are obliged to relive their tragedies. But also because the recollection of history may not be convenient for some, but it is a necessary process – the fighting spirit of a people cannot rely on sloganeering, intolerance, fanaticism and big empty talk as it leads nowhere.

These July days, we are again hearing recollections and memories of people who, when democracy was attacked in our country in the period 1970-74, replied “We are ready to fight and defend democracy”. People who stood up to a vastly superior armed invader, but also of all those who lost loved ones in the struggle for democracy and freedom.

However we also hear those who are gradually “rewriting history”. All those (including the state TV-radio broadcasting corporation) who “forget” that in Cyprus we did not have a “civil war”, but the – often violent – subversion and undermining of the legitimate government of the country.

Who “forget” that the gates to the vultures were opened by the treacherous coup d’état.

Who “forget” that neither the geostrategic goals for the subjugation and subordination of Cyprus to NATO interests, nor Turkey’s expansionist calculations would have succeeded had there not been willing Trojan horses – EOKA B and the Greek Junta – to implement them.

It is these consequences that are still lived to this day by those who for 47 years now have kept the key to their house in the occupied areas that awaits them as a precious amulet, those who water the photographs of their loved ones with their tears so that the years will not wither them, those who are one by one passing away in the refugee settlements. The whole of Cyprus.

The most important thing, therefore, is the need to struggle against everything that stands in the way of the reunification of our homeland and people.

47 years after the Turkish invasion, the danger of consolidating the de facto partition – with unpredictable consequences for the future of our people – is more than tangible. The absence of any negotiations in recent years is dangerous for the course of the Cyprus problem, but also for Cyprus itself, for its security and stability. Turkish provocative actions in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus, the inadequate EU sanctions on Turkey and Turkey relieved of responsibilities on the Cyprus problem make for an extremely dangerous and negative scenario for Cyprus.

Maybe certain forces and circles are comfortable with half a country. Others may still believe in the waging of a “long-term struggle”, thinking that time is working in favour of a solution of the Cyprus problem. This, of course, is nothing but a dangerous illusion. The continuation of Turkey’s presence in Cyprus, and even more so rendering its presence permanent and its legitimization, means perpetuating the dangers.

No one has the right to leave this danger as a legacy to future generations. We owe it to those who sacrificed their lives defending democracy and the freedom of our country. We owe it to the generations to come.