“Would you accept Eide’s proposal for your country?” Letter to the Members of the Norwegian Parliament

In an attempt to point out the «role» of Mr. Espen Barth Eide regarding the overall negotiation process and especially his last «actions» where he took the blame off Turkey, our compatriot and associate of our electronic newspaper, Nicos Antoniades, sent a letter-complaint against Mr. Eide to all the members of the Norwegian Parliament.

After Nicos Antoniades referred to the “security and guarantors” issue he proceeded to a clear question to the MP’s of Norway:

“Would you accept the ‘invader’ of Norway to guarantee your country and keep their troops on your land”?

Nicos Antoniades’ letter concludes as follows: “If you would accept that, please forgive me for wasting your valuable time. But if not, and considering that Mr. Eide intends to run for the Norwegian Parliament Elections, allow me to tell you clearly that… his “diplomacy” is dangerous, not only for Cyprus but for the humankind also”!

Please read the letter below:

Dear Member of the Norwegian Parliament,

I am a Cypriot refugee for more than 43 years. As you are probably aware of, in 1974, Turkey invaded in Cyprus and occupied almost half of my country. As a result of the invasion and occupation, almost 200,000 Cypriots became refugees.

Several attempts were made to find a solution. The most recent one began two years ago when former General Secretary of the UN, Mr. Ban ki-moon appointed Mr. Espen Barth Eide as his Special Adviser to the Cyprus problem.

Even though the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Nikos Anastasiades and the Greek Foreign Minister of Affairs, Mr. Nikos Kotzias made several attempts and painful compromises to reach a solution, unfortunately, once more, Turkey insisted on keeping their troops and their guarantees in the Cypriot land.

The new Secretary General, Mr. Antonio Guteres seemed to realize that a normal country cannot work under a “military and guarantor status”. However, when the Greek Minister of Affairs asked the Turkish Minister of Affairs, Mr. Cavusoglu: “Why are you insisting on keeping your troops and guarantees? Do you intend to use them?”, the answer was “Yes”, resulting in the collapse of the negotiations.

Days after that, Mr. Eide accused all parts equally. And although he supported “no blame game”, he is insisting (on a daily basis) to hide the Turkish behavior: “Yes, (we may use our troops)”!

My compatriots and I are aware that Mr. Eide may run for the Parliamentary elections in the forthcoming Norwegian elections. This makes us wonder:

“If Norway was invaded and occupied, would you accept the invader to keep their troops and become a guarantor of Norway”?

There is no doubt that you love your country, Norway, as much as we love our divided but proud and democratic country, Cyprus, an equal member of the United Nations and the European Union. If, for any reason that we are not aware of, Mr. Eide insists on hiding the “invasion and occupation” (encouraging Turkey to keep their troops and guarantors in my country) as an attempt at a “fair” solution, please let me and my compatriots know how this can be possible!

For 43 years we were forced to live away from our properties, our own land, and many of my compatriots passed away. The last thing we need is the invader’s guns to protect us; it’s a terrible feeling!

Dear Member of the Parliament,

If Norway could accept what Mr. Espen Barth Eide is forcing us to accept and, if you, as a member of the Parliament of a democratic country like Norway could allow troops and guarantors to “protect” a solution, please accept my apologies for wasting your valuable time.

But, if you would NEVER accept the invader’s troops and the invader’s guarantor’s in Norway, then I would like to tell you clearly:

Mr. Espen Barth Eide’s “diplomacy” is extremely dangerous, not only for Cyprus but for the humankind also!

Help Norway!

Help Cyprus!

Help the World!

Love and Peace!

* Nicos Antoniades
   A refugee from Famagusta-Cyprus
   Political Marketing Consultant
   Member of the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC)
   New York Reporter