From the sublime to the ridiculous
AS IT WAS May Day last week there was no column. Instead I joined the ranks and took to the stage with friends Sonic Crime and Sofoz. Cetinkaya Football Ground in the buffer zone opposite Ledra Palace always feels like a heartless place to be doing a concert. There’s a strange, almost dead, atmosphere there. And yet symbolically the place remains at the heart of the issue. At some point we just lost ourselves in music as night fell and people’s faces became shadows, lilting silhouettes moving with the rhythm. The event was organised by a common platform of teachers for a solution and was a success, with about 1,000 people in attendance. My friend Sonic Crime was a little disturbed however by some of the banners. ‘Where are we man?’ he asked gazing at a flag of Stalin and a hammer and sickle while strumming guitar backstage to ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon. It was such a bizarre semiotic clash ‘Uncle Joe’ meets ‘Winnie’ in Cyprus which still remains pitifully in the same situation, almost locked in time. In many ways it was miraculous so many people came, given this was the week of the Oram’s/Apostolides ruling outcome, which also came a short time after CTP lost power to Eroglou. Many people celebrated the EU court ruling and other’s lamented, the same way with the recent elections. Frankly, I admire Meletis Apostolides for standing up for his rights but am concerned with all the fall out the case has created.
For many Greek Cypriots the Orams and anyone who has adopted a similar approach to re-appropriating other people’s property are naïve enough to believe victory was certain. Their lawyer, Cherie Blair is also viewed as naïve for taking on the case. All well and good but there is also a sense of deja vous; we have all been here before. My reservation on this issue is largely due to the loud, distorted sounds created by those who believe the legalistic approach to solving the Cyprus Problem is the only way forward. This approach suffers tragically from a nefariously one-sided perspective on human rights and frankly all it can achieve is benchmark court rulings that are worthless unless they can be implemented. It remains to be seen where all of this will lead us but there is a real danger of missing the plot yet again. As Bruce Lee used to say, ’don’t think, feel! It is like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.’
The notion of Cyprus being a banana republic has a permanence that no government, despite who is in power, can shatter. It’s an ambient characteristic that surfaces every now and then when another cat in our corner of the Mediterranean decides it’s also time to chase my tail as well. OELMEK, the teachers union, has been suffering from this rather pointless condition for some time over a number of issues and now they find themselves in a rather isolated position in society. In taking such a hard sectarian line against GCE A Levels and Baccalaureate qualifications as entrance criteria to the University of Cyprus they are now even willing to abstain from invigilation of Modern Greek exams for this year’s school leavers. Parents are incensed, as are students set to take their exams. It still remains a mystery to me how some one could arrive at such an illogical stance. I mean think about it, can a student qualifying from a state school in Cyprus enter Oxford or Cambridge or La Sorbonne? Are our own state school exams so highly ranked throughout the globe – meaning Greece of course! The only reason OELMEK fears this move is it affects their political legitimacy, their power base. But how can 35 students per year from private schools in Cyprus with internationally recognised qualifications pose such a threat? Pass some more bananas round, the small Paphian variety, the saga continues, what next OELMEK chain themselves outside The Ministry of Education?
What a disappointment for all London teams the Champions League has turned out to be, Arsenal hammered by Manchester United at home! Chelsea robbed by a last minute goal from Barcelona helped by some very lame referreeing decisions!! It’s clear that Barcelona are the Mancunians of the situation and Manchester are the rebelling Catalans. Expect a fearless final, with lots of goals!!!
