www.talkcyprus.org

Cyprus: EU and domestic issues :: RE: water, as a problem.

repulsewarrior — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:08:04 GMT

Author: repulsewarrior
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 5:08 am (GMT 3)

Quote:

Charalampos Theopemptou is the Greek Cypriot side's Environment Commissioner, and it was he who told me the story about the old man in the classroom. He explains its meaning: that within living memory Cyprus was wet - there were plenty of rivers and lakes to swim in. Now, they are all gone.

Quote:

The island has reached what geographers call Peak Water - when demand meets and then outstrips supply.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8560424.stm

...international news.
_________________
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind...
Williams James (1842-1910)

Cyprus: three governments; one Capital and Free.
.

General Chat :: RE: Me a mod?

city — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:13:04 GMT

Author: city
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:13 pm (GMT 3)

Crash Test Dummy wrote:

who are you referring to? the forum only started 5 years ago

thats what I said.
The "here" in my P.S. note refers to the island.
_________________
***Be yourself, no matter what they say!***

Cyprus problem discussion :: RE: Cyprus Maronites battle to preserve rare ancestral language

city — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:52:25 GMT

Author: city
Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 7:52 pm (GMT 3)

Quote:

Bringing back to life an ancient language
By Sebastian Heller Published on February 7, 2010, Cyprus Mail

A COMMUNITY living in northern Scandinavia may hold the key to how the Maronites can save their ancient language which dates back to biblical times.

Cypriot Maronite Arabic (CMA) is a distinct language composed of a mixture of Arabic and Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ and his disciples, but its use has been in decline for more than 30 years.

A seminar in Nicosia this weekend will look at ways to reverse this trend by focusing on the lessons learnt from the Sami community in far northern Scandinavia.

�The situation of the Maronite community in Cyprus is very similar to the situation of the Sami 30 years ago, where they were being assimilated by the dominant Norwegian group,� said Costas Costantinou, a professor from the University of Keele who has helped organise the workshop.

The S�mi, more commonly known as Lapps, initially faced conditions and challenges very similar to those of the Maronite community in Cyprus. Consequently the workshop is intended �To see what wisdom, what good practice can be taken from their case, as their example is very successful,� said Costantinou.

The total size of the Maronite community in Cyprus numbers around 5,500, and around 1,000 of them speak CMA. Traditionally, only the Maronites from the occupied village of Kormakitis spoke the language. Members of the community from the other Maronite villages - Asomatos, Karpasia and Ayia Marina - are all Greek speakers. Following the 1974 invasion, the majority of the Maronites from Kormakitis moved south and the language went into sharp decline.

�Up until the present day, it was exclusively from the home that we would learn the language. In the past, when we were in our villages, the whole context supported it, it was easy to speak our language,� said Peppinos Moussas, a Maronite currently living in Nicosia, �Afterwards, once we were scattered, it was difficult.�

Nowadays, large efforts are being made on a social level, and in an organised way, to rejuvenate the language and culture particularly for those under the age of 30.

Following a number of Council of Europe resolutions and recommendations, in November 2008 the Republic of Cyprus formally declared to the Council of Europe that it recognises CMA as a minority language. As a result �the state has various legal responsibilities from now on to protect the language,� said Moussas.

Like the Sami, who 30 years ago were in the position where the dominant Norweigian majority was trying to assimilate them into their culture, language and society, the Maronites do not want to be viewed as a �religious group� but as a �community�.

�There have been repeated calls from our representative, Mr Hadjiroussos, for us to recognised as such,� said Giorgos Skordis, a Maronite who co-ordinates the Xki Fi Sanna (Speak Our Language) educational programme involving approximately 30 students. He emphasised that the Maronites, though they have developed alongside the mainstream population for centuries (since the 7th century AD) have a different history, different heritage, religion and, of course, a distinct language.

�The existence of CMA provides the �hard fact� that Maronites are a national minority with a distinct ethnic identity, not merely a �religious group� that is compelled to affiliate to either the Greek or Turkish Cypriot community as provided by Article 2 of the 1960 Cypriot Constitution,� noted Costantinou in his article �The Protection and Revival of Cypriot Maronite Arabic� produced for the Peace Research Institute Oslo centre which is organising this weekend�s workshop.

The Xki Fi Sanna initiative is co-funded by the European Economic Area countries of Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein and Switzerland (90 per cent of the cost) and the Republic of Cyprus (10 per cent).

_________________
***Be yourself, no matter what they say!***

Cyprus problem discussion :: Cyprus Maronites battle to preserve rare ancestral language

repulsewarrior — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 08:21:09 GMT

Author: repulsewarrior
Subject: Cyprus Maronites battle to preserve rare ancestral language
Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 11:21 am (GMT 3)

Quote:

With his twice-weekly lessons, Elias Zonias is fighting to preserve the ancestral language of Cyprus's dwindling Maronite community, described by experts as a "treasure" but now threatened with extinction by rapid demographic change.

http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1196284&lang=eng_news&cate_img=317.jpg&cate_rss=news_Features

...if it were possible for two, why not three National Assemblies, (or more), within a united Cyprus: more than three Governances, two levels; this is Bicommunal. There is a distinctive value of Cyprus because it is still alive culturally, and it has so much diversity with roots 5,000 years old. beyond being "greeks" or "turks", "moslem" or "christian" if you will, the issue for all of us is the recognition of our identities, as Persons as well as Individuals.

...and if it were possible to give National Assemblies land over which they can sustain themselves as a People there is no reason to believe that as People they would not want a government where they can sustain a sense which goes beyond any single Heritance, a State.

...enclaves which spot the whole island secures the return for at least some of the displaced as communities, others like the Maronites warrant this same recognition. for the settlers who will be displaced recognition for some, as Cypriots a change with homes instead of houses. for all of us free movement, expression and association. even with the green line unchanged, a diversity for each in their population, and no "border".
under a central government this would be Bizonal; rather than tearing the island in two.

...please read my manifesto.
_________________
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind...
Williams James (1842-1910)

Cyprus: three governments; one Capital and Free.
.

Cyprus problem discussion :: RE: GOODWILL FORWARD

repulsewarrior — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 06:46:29 GMT

Author: repulsewarrior
Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:46 am (GMT 3)

Quote:

Eroğlu, speaking to diplomatic correspondents in Ankara late on Thursday, made the remarks when asked to comment on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan�s recent statement that Turkey is ready to pull its troops from Cyprus in the event of a deal.

Eroğlu said this issue will not be on the agenda as long as there is no peace deal in Cyprus. While recalling that Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly said �no� to a UN plan to reunify Cyprus in 2004, Eroğlu said the plan had proposed a significant withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus.

The much-hyped speculation surrounding the KKTC�s �hard-liner� prime minister, who is the favorite in the upcoming April 18 presidential election in the KKTC, is that reunification negotiations -- currently led by Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat and Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias -- will come to a halt once Eroğlu becomes president. Noting that if he is elected president his priority will be to advance the negotiations, Eroğlu said, however, that Turkey�s security guarantees in Cyprus were a requirement for the Turkish Cypriots.

Meanwhile, the UN secretary-general�s special advisor on Cyprus, Alexander Downer, praised Erdoğan for his remarks on a possible troop withdrawal made during a rare interview with Greek Cypriot newspapers over the weekend. Downer, speaking to reporters on Thursday, said this is the first time a Turkish prime minister has specifically and clearly supported a bizonal, bicommunal international entity based on federal political equality. Downer said Erdoğan�s remarks were indicative of the positive atmosphere and the progress of the Cyprus reunification process.

06 March 2010, Saturday

TODAY'S ZAMAN İSTANBUL
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-203525-no-troop-withdrawal-from-cyprus-without-deal.html

_________________
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind...
Williams James (1842-1910)

Cyprus: three governments; one Capital and Free.
.

Cyprus problem resources :: RE: A peacemaker always keeps the spirit soaring!

peter2travel — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:47:19 GMT

Author: peter2travel
Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 12:47 am (GMT 3)

Thanks for the post on peace of the world

Cyprus: EU and domestic issues :: RE: ...snakes need help too; ask for George

peter2travel — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:34:07 GMT

Author: peter2travel
Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 12:34 am (GMT 3)

Thanks for the nice post and making us alert about the importance of snakes to the ecosystem in Cyprus.I am relay surprised to know that how snake help the ecosystem.