Let history judge

Sir,
There has been a barrage of criticism (‘Romantic fools?’ June 5) of my letter of May 29 suggesting it was naïve to expect Greek and Turkish Cypriots to live together in harmony given the events of the past. To those critics I would like to pose a number of questions:

Where else in the world would you see a country invaded and divided by a green line? Where else in the world would you see the aggressors being treated as the victims, while the displaced legal residents are asked to make sacrifices and concessions defying international law and common decency… Since when has been a nationalist
and fighting for your rights, country, heritage a crime? And being mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Hitler…. while we’re at it why don’t we put ‘her majesty’ Queen Elizabeth II in the same group? After all she was responsible for the hangings of many brave young men who were fighting for their ideals and the expulsion of the British from their land.

I am not a Tassos apologist nor am I his supporter. I do believe that you all underestimate the mentality of the Greek Cypriot voter. You seem to believe that the 76 per cent ‘no’ voters were swayed by Tassos’ speech. Unfortunately for you, the Greek Cypriots are very well informed. They are able to read, they are able to go back in history, and they know what is right and just. That is why if you asked for another vote today based on the Annan5 solution, the results would probably be a
carbon copy of the previous one.

Have no fear, you have done a brilliant job in displacing me from my roots, from my father’s land and from my heritage.  As far as being ignorant and narrow-minded, we are all entitled to our opinions. I look at history and base my decisions upon its findings. Unfortunately for all of us, history doesn’t lie. I really hope that you are right and I am in the wrong. I will be the first to apologise and ask for forgiveness for being a narrow-minded ignorant pessimist.
Michael Panayi, Fort Worth, Texas

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.