FILMMAKER Antonis Angastiniotis, the man behind the Voice of Blood documentary telling of the massacre of Turkish Cypriot civilians in 1974, has called on all Cypriots to open their eyes to the past and acknowledge that crimes and mistakes were committed on both sides.
“I am a warrior of peace, if you will,” he told the Sunday Mail. “There is too much hatred on this little island, and what I’m trying to do is show that there are bad apples in both communities.
“That doesn’t mean everyone is a rabid nationalist or criminal,” adds Angastiniotis, who insists his work aims at dispelling myths and stereotypes propagated on the two sides of the divide.
Last year his documentary was shown in the north only, after media in the south effectively banned it. It includes extensive footage and interviews with survivors of the attacks. All the Greek television networks contacted either bluntly refused to air it or diplomatically talked their way out of it.
The film explores the killings perpetrated by Greek Cypriot paramilitary groups in the villages of Maratha, Aloa and Sandalari in the wake of the Turkish invasion. It was filmed entirely in the occupied areas.
In the village of Tochni, 69 Turkish Cypriots were murdered and later found in a mass grave. In Aloa, 57 Turkish Cypriots were killed, while in Maratha a further 88 corpses were discovered in a mass grave. Reports in the international media shortly after the invasion spoke of men, women and children being massacred, then buried in a rubbish dump and bulldozed over. Their putrefying bodies were later dug out in the presence of UN troops and world press.
In another Turkish village, all adult males were arrested by Greeks, taken to a quiet spot, offered cigarettes, and then machine-gunned. Only one young man escaped, feigning death, and made his way to the British bases, giving the exact locality of the massacre.
“I’m not taking sides,” says Angastiniotis. “I like to call myself a Cypriot, period. Crimes were committed by both sides, and it’s high time we quit burying our heads in the sand.”
He says he made this position clear at a news conference earlier this week held in the north. Greek Cypriot media were invited, but none attended except a journalist from the Cyprus News Agency. The agency had announced it would be covering the event, but later made no mention of it. By contrast, Turkish Cypriot newspapers afforded extensive coverage to the conference.
“What happened to the so-called journalistic curiosity bug?” wonders Angastiniotis. “Isn’t anyone interested? At least hear what I have to say, and then don’t report it if you don’t want to.
“It’s as if I don’t exist on the Greek side. They know I’ve stumbled on the truth, and can’t deny it… so the only way they can react is muzzle me by ignoring me.
“But I told all those there [at the news conference] that no one is innocent,” says Angastiniotis, alluding to the recent discovery of the remains of around 60 Greek Cypriots killed during the 1974 Turkish invasion. Back in July, the breakaway regime’s authorities confirmed the bodies were being kept in storage in the basement of the north’s ‘foreign ministry’.
Angastiniotis called the conference on Tuesday to promote a revised edition of the documentary, now titled Voice of Blood: Searching for Sergen as well as his book Trapped in the Green Line: the making of Voice of Blood.
Nevertheless, Angastiniotis reiterated to the Mail that his target audience is not Turkish Cypriots but Greek Cypriots.
“I knew it was inevitable some quarters (in the north) would use my work for their own propaganda,” he acknowledges.
“But what to do? If I didn’t get it broadcast, nothing at all would come out.”
The longer, updated documentary tells the story of Sergen, a Turkish Cypriot girl killed in the massacres. Sergen’s part is played by her real-life niece.
As with the film, Angastiniotis has had a hard time getting his book published in the free areas. So far one bookstore has shown interest, but he is waiting for them to get back to him.
“It’s like a massive cover-up. No one wants to touch it. I’ve come to be regarded as a traitor among Greek Cypriots. But what I was trying to do is tell people ‘See, this is what happened. This is the truth that’s been hidden from you’.
“The fact that I am revealing Greeks’ crimes doesn’t mean I’m a Turk lover or what not. Unfortunately, though, most people make that connection. But they are two separate things. The same goes had I made a film about Turkish atrocities. If we continue to live in ignorance, then there is no hope for reconciliation.
“I refuse to hate or to separate myself from any of the two communities; both are equally my compatriots, and the pain of any side is my pain also.”
Angastiniotis says he tried to interview a number of Greek politicians for the film, but they all steered clear of getting involved.
And one deputy he talked to over the phone even quoted the famous words by Jesus Christ, telling him to “Take this cup away from me.”
He claims that many politicians, especially those of a certain age, are aware of the killings, but for obvious reasons have never talked about these. But he adds that this information should reach the general public, which on the whole has a very one-sided understanding of history.
The controversial Angastiniotis says he is planning to make another documentary, this time about atrocities committed against Greek Cypriots.
“I’ve told the Turkish Cypriots… I gave them a deadline of six months. I told them that if they don’t make the film, I will.”
The filmmaker says his research led to the discovery of several people involved in the killings, but that he does not – and will not – name them.
“I’m not a judge,” remarks Angastiniotis. “Still, I’d be more than happy if our government investigated my findings and took action. Doesn’t it bother us there are now living among us certain criminals, monsters, who committed heinous acts 30 years ago? This is a humanitarian issue. Why are we afraid to find out the truth? Because it doesn’t matter, because the victims were Turkish Cypriots?”
Angastiniotis now lives in occupied Famagusta and teaches at the Eastern Mediterranean University. He says he moved to the north out of sheer necessity.
“When you’re out of a job and have mouths to feed, you take what you can get. I wasn’t finding any work in the south, so I decided to apply for an opening in the Media Studies Department of the university.”
Angastiniotis cited another personal experience of fanaticism and prejudice. He says his daughter was once verbally attacked by her teacher for writing on her schoolbag the phrase “Turkish Cypriots are our brothers.”
And on another occasion, his daughter was beaten up by nationalists at an AKEL youth camping in Pervolia, an incident he says was later swept under the rug.
Once an ultra-nationalist himself, Angastiniotis explains how he was transformed:
“When I heard reports about the atrocities, I was shocked. I realised that I only knew half the story.
“Up until then, I was blind.”
