International law is like Santa Claus

Sir,

I am writing in response to the letter by Mr Sivitanides in the Sunday Mail (March 5) that commented on the article by Nicos Rolandis “King Jigme and floundering Cyprus”. Having read both the article and the response of Mr Sivitanides I would like to note the following:

Concerning the will of the people: Does Mr Sivitanides honestly believe that the people of Cyprus decided objectively? Did they not follow either the president’s or their party leader’s advice on what to vote at the referendum? Did they not put their feelings of national pride before any unbiased view of the proposed plan? The plan which came after negotiations (in which we participated and supposedly argued our case) was demonised and presented as an Anglo-American plot. The type of solution presented to us has been in the workings since 1977 when Makarios agreed to it; this is the type of solution we are going to get in the end since this is what we have agreed to. 

Furthermore, international law is not clear or direct; there is never one interpretation. It is not something we can appeal to in order to find justice. We have to stop this victimisation that we have in our mentality. Turkey also says it acted based on international law in order to protect the Turkish Cypriot minority as a guarantor power. So justice from international law is a non-argument and a never-ending story.
International law is like Santa Claus; a fairytale to tell children. Things do not work like that. What does work? See what others want from us, in order to get what we want.

International law is for the powerful to exploit, more than it is for the protection of the weak, while the will of the people is misguided. We have to see things as they really are and not as they are “supposed to be”. It is very idealistic to believe in the rule of law and the will of the people, but it is simply not reality.

Michael Lazarou, Nicosia

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.