Val, you have a very selective way of viewing ancient history. ALL empires have extended their boundaries by war and occupation. Do you believe that BYZANTINE was invited by its neighbors to come and rule?
Greeks are great pointing fingers at others while denying their own past. After World War II more Greeks killed one another in their own land than those who were victims of the war. Greece has an equally long list of military coups as Turkey, forgotten?
Turkey today prospers while Greece is a basket case, presently destroying what's left of her tourism business, but posters from dwarf countries like Cyprus try to belittle Turkey's economic success story. Laughable!

Christoph, you think you know everything don't you? You may or may not be Hassan Kemal, but I'm going to keep on accusing you of it because you accused James and I of being lovers. And that is OUR secret!

That's right, I'maBritass. You nailed it.

Personally I love Cyprus. Had holiday there last year and we got chit-faced every day! Then held wild sex parties on the beach. Blimey, it was horrowshow!!!

Val, there was something called the Acritas plan written in the early 1960's, probably by Papadop, which was a blue print for the disenfanchisement of the Turkish Cypriots,intended to lead to Enosis, the attempted implementation of which which contributed to inter-communal violence and precipated the crises which resulted in the first Green Line.

How many Turkish Cypriots fall into the category of having had their homes destroyed in the free areas and have nothing to return to? Not very many, a few thousand.

The vast majority of those living in GC properties are settlers, who have no rights to our homes and lands; or Turkish Cypriots who left the free areas in 1974 and not because of GCs but at the insistence of Turkey and Denktash.

Why should GCs be stripped of their property because of the policies of Turkey? Turkey should be made to compensate those TCs it relocated to occupied Cyprus. Besides which, even in Annan, 90,000 GC refugees would have had their homes restored, and many – especially in Morphou – would have replaced TCs and Turks, and there were provisions for compensation to be paid and new homes built for them. So, restitution will happen and there is also a feasible mechanism to deal with those who've been illegally living in GC property, i.e. they go somewhere else – and back to Turkey, if they are settlers.

Why is it that the Turks are always after other peoples lands and houses?Don't they have any of their own? They always want what belongs to some one else. That makes them vindictive, jealous thieves and then when the victim of their theft protests and wants his property back the Turks invent all kinds of lies to justify their refusal to give up the goods that they have stolen.This is their history:They murdered the Armenians and stole everything they had in the land where the Armenians were a nation long before the arrival of the Turks.The Pontians were systematically tortured, raped, murdered , their ancient civilization brutally wiped out and their lands and houses given to Turkish nomads.Now the Turks are trying to do it to the Cypriotes who have lived on their island since the beginning of time.And as if this was not enough they are also now talking about a Turkey without Kurds. I wonder how this psychopathic people intend to get rid of 15 million Kurds who live in Turkey. Well,their history teaches them how.And when they have murdered everyone around them they will present themselves as lovers of democracy,defenders of Europe and will want to claim their rightful place among the leading nations of the European Union.In truth , we all know that Turkey is a sick nation that urgently needs emergency psychiatric therepy sustained over a long period of time. That is the reason why I want partition and not union in Cyprus.You cannot unite with people who are unable to reason and who only respect military power.The derelict town of Varosi is an example of what I am speaking of.

loriot,

Do not Worry About the Agitors trying to Stop the CM Internet posting System There Employer only paid peanuts,

Rumour is the monkey turned it Down but Christopher Accepted !!!

ZIG,

Tell me Exactly why you Think a Family meal in a Family home, Which gives All parties a chance to know each other better, Same As meeting a person You do not know For a pint, Maybe and i stress maybe All the individuals might have found out the other people have maybe different political views, but Share the Same Family problems Etc Without politics is

TAXPAYERS EXPENSE

Show your Evidence ???

Loriot,

Do not Worry These idiots posting under names Christopher JT john Alexander etc, Do not represent Main Stream GC opinion,

My own personal Opinion of them is they are paid Agitors to Stir up Hatreds, Infact Ignorance Sums them up.

They have two Aims

1. Stop the CM Have a online Posting system

2. Stir Racial hatreds

So For All Genuine Posters Do not let these people Win !!!

Christoph, now it's time to give up your Hassan Kemal charade, you just look stupid!

Christoph, I wouldn't think you have a drivers license.

Loriot from Lapta

When the time comes you will vacate your GC house and you will say goodby to North Cyprus.

I will drive you to the airport (Larnaca) to save you taxi fare.

Well, then it will mean no solution. To believe that the TRNC government can afford to void thousands of title deeds is totally unrealistic. It will never happen.

hassan, you should of taken the ferry to Symi from Rhodes. One of the most beautiful places I've ever been to.

Loriot from Lapta

Rhodes was fine I felt at home. Thank you very much for asking.

4000 Turks live there including a relative of Mrs Aziz a famous pharmacys in Turkish Nicosia.

No schools for the Turkish kids. Greek authorities would not allow that and imams not allowed to call for prayers

All the mosques were locked but seemed very looked after.

It was not a problem for me to tell them thet I was Turkish Cypriot they spoke similar Greek like us.

You should go

Beer was excellant so was food.

I would have thought, Loriot, that in the majority of cases restitution was quite possible, regardless of whether properties have 'changed hands' – they did not 'change hands' legally, did they, so on what grounds will people bring law suits and to which authority? The principle should still be that the original owner of the property should decide whether they want restitution or exchange or compensation.

Christofias' argument is that if the TCs are worried about all the GCs refugees returning to their properties and undermining bizonality, then the Turkish side has to accept a smaller zone, which is why he insists on discussing territory alongside property. He also reckons, probably accurately, that not many GCs would return to live in the Turkish federated state and would opt for compensation. But the original owner deciding is a basic human right, which the Turkish side should respect. The restitution of property is the most important issue for GCs. It is why we are prepared to consider all the other stuff to do with governance.

Dave the Impaler
The Catholics and the Protestants have been power sharing in Northern Ireland since 2008 although the Northern Ireland Act was passed ten years earlier.Ian Paisley was the first First Minister and Martin McGuinness the Deputy First Minister.At present Peter Robinson is the First Minister and Martin McGuinness the Deputy First Minister.

Perhaps Gerry Addams did not actually share a pint with Ian Paisley, but they have certainly sat round the same table.

The restitution bit, John Alexander, is a technical and legal impossibility, even if Eroglu would be willing to entertain this idea. Thousands of properties have changed hands, many of them several times. It is not feasible to roll this back without entering into an equal number of law suits. It would take scores of lawyers and probably a decade of court cases without an end in sight.
It is an unrealistic expectation.

John Alexander,the wise man of these columns has spoken again.

PS By the way,Gerry Adams has shared many a pint with Ian Paisley since power sharing was implemented and the Turkish Prime Minister is called Erdogan.

Yes, Fevzi, to suggest that Greek Cypriots are informed by lies and hate is deeply racist – i.e. shows that you have succumbed to lies and hate yourself. As for the dinner: You can't imagine in other conflicts around the world – Israel, Ireland, Turkey – Netanyahu having dinner with Abbas; Gerry Adams sharing a pint with Ian Paisley; or Ocalan having a gin and tonic with Ergodan – which might may you think that the animosity between Greek and Turkish Cypriots is surmountable – or that the rules of hospitality for Cypriots are inviolable, as in the joke that says that when the English soldiers entered our villages looking for EOKA men, we didn't know whether to shoot them or offer them a glass of water.

Either way, the key to this story is in the last paragraph with regards to the property issue currently being discussed at the talks. No progress has been made, as the Turks are insisting on compensation and exchange, not restitution.

Fact is that until Turkey decides it wants a solution, Christofias and Eroglu can have as many dinners together as they like, the talks will go nowhere – which is, actually, want Turkey – and Eroglu – want, in order that they can put into action an enhanced campaign for recognition of the pseudo-state or, at least, the implementation of direct trade from the EU.

Fevzi, "The most successful industry is south Cyprus is the dissemination of hate and lies by the politicians". I wonder where you got that piece of information from? Maybe the kind and gentle grey wolfs perhaps or maybe it was censored by the good people thet brought you Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.
Strange though, because whenever I visit places like Ayia Napa, Larnaca, etc. I seem to find hundreds of turks happily working with greeks. No hate no lies just people getting on with their lives.
you remined me, many years ago at uni. I had a TC friend called Ali when ever we headed out to night clubs he would always change his name to Mike because he thought he would have more of a chance with the girls if his name sounded european.

If you could take politics, ultra-nationalism and such like out of the equation, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots can be very good friends. They both have sincere hospitality in their genes and I believe, so do their people in their respective motherlands.
It is politics that spoils it all.
When I got married in London many years ago a Greek colleague gave me the most present, more than the Turks. At meetings I felt closer to him than my English colleagues. On another occasion when I was doing business with a Greek Cypriot (I hid my Turkish nationality, made out I was Iranian, in case he was prejudiced)he was telling me he came from a mixed village in Cyprus and a Turkish Cypriot neighbour gave him milk as a baby while his parents worked in the fields. There are many examples of Greek/Turkish Cypriot friendship before 1960.
Unfortunately, the history of Cyprus being full of opposing desires, conflict, killings and then the tragedy of war resulting in the loss of homes and businesses to both sides, does not afford time to show friendship. The most successful industry is south Cyprus is the dissemination of hate and lies by the politicians. That's why Cyprus will not be united. We will live in our respective zones, states or whatever. Let's hope that in time we can be friends, trade with each other and prosper. We might even share the water that's coming our way.

Stalin and Churchill got on very well for some time. Stalin even trusted Hitler.

Martin

I was so sure the ordinary people would see that the Anaan Plan was a good compromise.Unfortunately it was not explained to them in such a way so that the ordinary peasant and the churchgoer would understand.

Remember it was the Church and Akel who literally and physically threatened the GCs not to vote YES at the referendum.

If only more ordinary Cypriots from both sides followed their example we could give the politicians the elbow-maybe that's what they are afraid of???