Mr Laconic strikes again: the president has yet again shot himself in the foot over his rather arrogant attitude to British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw’s recent ‘effort’. I call it an ‘effort’, as presumably it was meant to somehow generate a vague possibility of negotiations starting again in Cyprus. However, this did not happen, as Tassos Papadopoulos refused to meet Straw because he went to meet Talat in an official capacity, at the non-recognised ‘presidential’ building. Most Greek Cypriot political parties applauded the President’s action, particularly those in government. So Jack Straw’s ‘initiative’ included Athens, Ankara and Talat, but not us, the Greek Cypriots.
Yet numerous officials have over the last two decades met leaders of the Turkish Cypriot community in the same way as Jack Straw, so what was so different on this occasion? It’s clear Tassos aims to turn back the clock, instead of moving forward – we are now set to a rejectionist and maximalistic time frame – something which tragically most Greek Cypriots seem to be accepting as a ‘common sense’ form of truth.
I say tragically, because this form of arrogance on our part will only stifle any hopes for a solution and thus solidify, or, to use a popular AKEL term, ‘cement’ the realities of partition.
As for the new Turkish proposals, they should not have been rejected so profoundly. What should be happening, if feasibly possible, is the start of some kind of dialogue with constructive counter-proposals. The impression this government gives is negative, intransigent and arrogant.
Evidence of this was beamed on TV screens internally where the President again accused the media of misinforming the public on US and EU reactions being positive to the new Turkish proposals. “You said that,” he stated in his usual laconic style to journalists. Meanwhile, if you flicked channels and saw MEGA TV’s Michalis Ignatiou from Washington, it was clear that, yes, these new proposals were being viewed as something worth considering for discussion.
So even if we totally disagree with these new Turkish proposals, even if they are attempting yet again to get recognition for the ‘TRNC’ through the back door of the EU, this should be challenged and questioned through a constructive dialogue. Jack Straw stated this on his trip to Turkey by making it clear that a solution and lifting trade on the north are in fact “separate tracks”.
That fact, along with many others, somehow got lost among the anti-Straw charade of protest a couple of days ago, rallied up by an unholy alliance of so-called solution parties and outright rejectionists who govern Cyprus.
P.O.T.S., standing for Parts of the Soul, is an interesting crew of local hiphopheads who do what they do for the love and belief in the musical genre. Two people from P.O.T.S., Vangelis & Funkit will be DJing every Thursday at Double Six (formerly Ballistic) deep down in old Nicosia. Spinning a solid combination of hiphop and funk with hopefully at some point Mr Funkit ‘give them some dirt’ on the mic. Well worth the trip to Onasagourou Street.
Get Clicking: many independent music artists around the world find it difficult to get airplay and exposure, as often local media, particularly in these times of homogenised superfried globalisation, usually bypass anything local for commercial, safe and sanitised pop hits. Consequently, independent artists have been forced to engage in different and perhaps more effective ways of promotion. Online, there are a whole host of people from Cyprus making and promoting their material to audiences throughout the world. A good site for checking this out is www.soundclick.com, where if you look up local artists as diverse as Lyrical Eye, Chris Louvieris and Armaggedon, you’ll hear much music and get all the info the local media does not usually deliver. Another useful resource for musicians is www.sonicbids.com. This site has three truly amazing dimensions if you sign up and pay a small fee. You first get a copy of the heavy ‘Indie Bible’, 1,200 pages packed with useful information and addresses. Then there’s the EPK – Electronic Press Kit. With this you can construct in just a matter of minutes your press kit to send to industry people via email. This features a biog, discography, up to three tunes and five pics, plus all the technical requirements a band needs to play live. Finally, there are hundreds of opportunities that come up every day from people in the industry looking for songs, artists, bands, lyrics, beats and collaborations. So get busy, get clicking and get out there!
Baghdatis Fever: huge salutations to Marcos Baghdatis for reaching the final in the Australian Open tennis tournament. He has really put Cyprus on the sports map, more than any team effort like football, where, let’s face it, we never stand a chance of winning anything. The fans, however, leave a lot to be desired. Fair to say, why shouldn’t we be excited? After all Cyprus has never won anything. But the Greek flag waving yobbo football antics, including obscene language beamed around the world, make us an international embarrassment. Footie is one thing, tennis is another. I really hope Marcos goes this far at Wimbledon, but the fans have to be a little bit more down with tennis etiquette. Otherwise they will be evicted from the centre court.
