Settlers in Gaza and relations to our problem

[erolz]

[magikthrill]

[magikthrill]

is the 120,000 turkish settlers correct (i cant remember to what conclusion we came in). even including the turkish troops?

[cannedmoose]

[magikthrill]

i thought though that we had estimated it from lordos surveys and it seemed to be an accurately reasonable number. i think it was 1 settler for every 2 Turkish Cypriots if im not mistaken. something like 1/3 of the total Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus population. What is that?

[cannedmoose]

[erolz]

[magikthrill]

[Bananiot]

This is my contribution to a similar question posted in the "other" forum.

I have given my view on this subject in another thread. I think one needs to remember that according to conventional (Arab) wisdom, the whole of Israel was an occupied area. In fact, many Arabs still thing so but today, entertaining such thoughts is considered to be extremism.

From the creation of Israel on Palestinian land in 1948 until the middle of the 70's probably all Arab States did not recognise Israel and this was reflected even in their constitutions. Egypt was the first major Arab country to change all these and Sadat paid with his life the normalisation of relations with the Jewish state.

If we need to draw some parallels to our problem, the thing that stands out is the fact that any progress was only made possible when moderate forces of both camps took over and started talking. Complicated issues can only be solved through negotiations between parts that respect each other! In Israel such forces existed in the shape of the late Prime Minister (can someone fill in his name, I can't remember it at the moment) who was also brutally murdered, this time by Israeli fanatics. The new Palestinian President also seems to be a moderate politician. If he manages to contain his fanatics he will do a great service to the long suffering Palestinian people.

As a result of the moderates in both camps finding their voice, and with the help of the UN and some countries, such as the USA and even Norway, an agreement was made to give Palestine (Gaza and West Bank) some form of autonomy that would lead, no doubt, to a recognised Palestinian State. Within this framework, the Israelis started tearing down the settlements in Gaza and the West Bank so that these places would soon be handed over to the Palestinian authorities.

Can anyone seriously argue that this important development could have arisen in any other way? For this reason, I say: Get read of the fanatics that have plagued our country for decades. They have done enough damage. Let the forces of moderation chart a new course; for unification, permanent peace, friendship and understanding. We all know who the fanatics are. They can be identified through our troubled history since 1955. These people have rejected every peace offer; every plan that was offered to us. They are the modern vampires, who lust for blood and thrive on confrontation and violence.

[cannedmoose]

[brother]

[Bananiot]

Thanks moose, it was Rabin indeed.

[Constantinopolitis]

Op-Ed on TURKEY’S ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS IN CYPRUS

WASHINGTON, DC — This Op-Ed article appeared in The National Herald on August 20, 2005, The Hellenic Voice on August 24, 2005, and it will appear in The Hellenic News of America on September 1, 2005.

ISRAELI SETTLERS OUT OF GAZA – TURKISH SETTLERS OUT OF CYPRUS

By Gene Rossides

The Geneva Convention of 1949, section III, article 49, prohibits colonization by an occupying power. Section III of the Geneva Convention deals with Occupied Territories. Article 49 states in its last paragraph:

“The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territories it occupies.”

Today there are estimates of 8,500 Jewish settlers in occupied Gaza and 1.3 million Palestinians in Gaza. There are an estimated 250,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank.

In Cyprus, there are estimates of 120,000 Turkish settlers in occupied Cyprus.

All the Jewish and Turkish settlers/colonists are illegal under the Geneva Convention of 1949 and should be removed.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last year proposed the unilateral withdrawal of Jewish settlements from Gaza and a few from the West Bank. The Israeli Cabinet and Knesset (Parliament) approved the plan.

Under the Sharon plan, on August 15, 2005 it was illegal for the estimated 8,500 Israelis in the Gaza Strip to remain. On August 17, the Israeli army and police started to remove the settlers who have not left Gaza, using force if necessary. They will then destroy the homes.

Israel hopes to complete the operations by September 4, but no later than September 15. Gaza was captured 38 years ago by Israel. It has been stated that Sharon believes that quitting Gaza will “make it easier for Israel to hold on to the major West Bank settlement blocs” where most of the Jewish settlers live.

Successive U.S. administrations have long opposed the Jewish settlements in occupied territory as not in the best interests of the U.S. and Israel. President Bush has endorsed the withdrawal stating: “ The disengagement is, I think, a part of making Israel more secure and peaceful.”

Unfortunately, successive U.S. administrations, including the Bush administration, have not been forthright regarding the illegal Turkish settlers/colonists in Cyprus. They have not stated publicly that they are illegal and must be removed.

The Bush administration’s position has been and is worse than previous administrations in that it supported the flawed Annan Plan, primarily instigated by Britain, which would have allowed most of the 120,000 illegal Turkish settlers to remain in Cyprus and to keep the Greek Cypriot homes and properties they were illegally given by Turkey.

On April 1, 2005, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addressed the 99th annual meeting of the American Society of International Law and stated:

“ One of history's clearest lessons is that America is safer and the world is more secure whenever and wherever freedom prevails. I've said that the time for diplomacy is now. One of the pillars of that diplomacy is our strong belief that international law is vital and a powerful force in the search for freedom. The United States has been and will continue to be the world's strongest voice for the development and defense of international legal norms….

America is a country of laws. When we observe our treaty and other international commitments, our country—other countries are more willing too to cooperate with us and we have a better chance of persuading them to live up to their own commitments. And so when we respect our international legal obligations and support an international system based on the rule of law, we do the work of making the world a better place, but also a safer and more secure place for America. “

When is the U.S., in its own self-interest, going to apply the rule of law to Turkey?

When is the U.S., in its own self-interest, going to stop the double standard on the application of the rule of law to Turkey?

When is the U.S., in its own self-interest, going to stop the appeasement of Turkey’s aggression against Cyprus and occupation of 37.3 percent of Cyprus.

A good start would be for Secretary Rice to publicly call for the removal of the illegal Turkish settlers from Cyprus.

The illegal Jewish settlers should be removed from Gaza and the West Bank and the illegal Turkish settlers should be removed from Cyprus.

[Constantinopolitis]

NOTE: "40,000 Turkish-Cypriots have left Cyprus
since 1974, to be replaced by 100,000 mainland Turks. `It will soon be
difficult to pinpoint a single Turkish-Cypriot on the Island"

---------------

Silenced: Turkish-Cypriot journalist assassinated - Kutlu Adali
New Internationalist, Dec, 1996 by Sergios Zambouras
KUTLU ADALI, a well-known Turkish-Cypriot journalist, was shot dead outside
his home in the Turkish occupied territories of Cyprus on 7 July of this
year. Adali is one of four Turkish-Cypriots to have been killed in separate
incidents on the island last summer. Turkish-Cypriots are rapidly becoming
an endangered minority within the Turkish part of Cyprus. According to an
article Kutlu Adali wrote in 1995, 40,000 Turkish-Cypriots have left Cyprus
since 1974, to be replaced by 100,000 mainland Turks. `It will soon be
difficult to pinpoint a single Turkish-Cypriot on the Island,' Adali wrote
earlier this year.
Although a census has yet to be carried out in the Turkish-occupied part of
Cyprus, at least a fifth of the population now consists of Turkish military
personnel. A 40,000-strong Turkish army garrison has turned Northern Cyprus
into `one of the most highly militarized areas in the world, in terms of
civilian-military personnel ratio,' according to UN General Secretary
Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
A shadowy group, calling themselves `The Turkish Revenge Brigade' claims
responsibility for Kutlu Adali's assassination. But according to a woman
witness, who has identified and named the killers, they were Turkish army
officers. The Turkish-Cypriot police claim they began `carrying out a
widespread investigation' shortly after the assassination. However, their
only announcement since then has been that the crime was committed with a
small handgun. In fact Adali died from multiple bullet wounds inflicted by a
9mm machine gun, a weapon regularly used by the Turkish military.
The Government of Cyprus, which controls the Southern, Greek-Cypriot portion
of the island, has produced videotaped evidence that officials of the
Northern, Turkish-Cypriot government were involved in Adali's assassination
and the other Turkish-Cypriot killings.
`Kutlu was an ardent believer in Turkish-Cypriot, as distinct from mainland
Turkish, identity,' one of his former colleagues said. `The problem for him
was that both Greek and Turkish-Cypriots did not have enough confidence in
themselves, or in each other.' An estimated 8,000 people attended his
funeral and, in London, 2,000 Turkish-Cypriots signed a petition demanding
the arrest of the killers, yet Adali's assassination has been overlooked by
the mainstream press.

[cannedmoose]

Sorry Constanti re, I don't buy that argument. I have a very good contact in the north, who may be in the establishment but is far from being an establishment stooge, with whom I've discussed this issue. Yes, there are a substantial number of settlers, but they're not a majority, even if you include the soldiers and migrant workers.