Enosis

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will visit Turkish Cyprus on Feb. 20-21, as peace talks on the divided island hit a snag following the Greek Cypriot Parliament's decision to celebrate a 1950 referendum aimed at unification with Greece.

Even if Cyprus reunification talks went off track on Feb. 16 due to a Greek Cypriot parliament decision to commemorate "Enosis" in public schools, the Turkish Cypriot president said they support a bi-zonal and bi-community federal state and have never given up on the reunification talks. 

The United Nations, which has been the sole supporter of finding a peaceful solution to the more than 40-year-long conflict on Cyprus, is trying the revive the troublesome peace talks that came to a halt over a Greek Cypriot parliament decision to commemorate "Enosis" in public schools. 

Peace talks aiming to find a peaceful solution to the more than 40-year-old Cyprus issue collapsed on Feb. 16 over a row between the Turkish and Greek sides stemming from the latter's recent decision to introduce the commemoration of a vote for "Enosis" in Greek Cypriot public schools. 

Turkey has rebuked Greek Cyprus' recent decision to introduce the commemoration of "Enosis" in Greek Cypriot public schools, noting that the decision made by a "racist, far-right," party would not contribute to ongoing efforts to create a new partnership between Turkish and Greek Cypriots.

Greek Cypriots demonstrated hypocrisy once again this week when the House of Representatives voted to mandate schoolchildren to commemorate the 1950 "enosis" or "union with Greece" plebiscite, which was suggested by the socialist Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) and supported by the Cyprus Church. The draft was sponsored by the marginal National Popular Front (ELAM), which was objecte

The Cyprus "hop-on-hop-off" talks have been continuing ever since the first meeting of two great personalities of the eastern Mediterranean island, when Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf R. Denktaş and Greek Cypriot leader Glafkos Clerides met at a hotel in Beirut in 1968.

Commenting about George Vassiliou, the late Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktaş said he was no different than other Greek Cypriot leaders; the only difference might have been his ability to make the nastiest remarks with a smiling face. “He is a smiling devil… No different than the others,” he said. He was wrong.