When a former President of the Republic passes away, it’s only natural to hear and read eulogies about their work, character, and contribution. Until now, the rule has had no exceptions: Kyprianou, Clerides, Tassos, Christofias.
In the case of George Vassiliou, beyond the tributes and statements about his work, the “school of thought” he championed on the Cyprus problem inevitably came to the fore—his well-known position of “solution, yesterday.” Today, amongst his critics, it’s become known as “yes to any solution.”
Through the announcements, statements, and comments made under the emotional weight of loss, what emerges once again is the degree to which political figures, serving and former, have adopted misleading approaches.
“If George Vassiliou had had Mehmet Ali Talat, Mustafa Akıncı, or Tufan Erhürman at the negotiating table, the Cyprus problem would have been solved.” We heard it in various versions from AKEL officials on the radio, former minister Michalis Papapetrou said it, and the “analysts” of social media wrote it in countless different ways.
At first glance, this translates to: the Cyprus problem wasn’t solved because facing the “willing” Turkish Cypriot leaders, there wasn’t a Greek Cypriot who wanted a solution to the Cyprus problem. Not even Christofias.
“This assessment can only be interpreted as a lack of understanding of the reality that Turkey imposed on the island,” writes Turkish Cypriot publisher and journalist Şener Levent in his article, continuing: “however much advocates of peace and solution the Turkish Cypriot leaders were, they never had their own initiative at the negotiating table. The governments in Ankara always determined the course.”
Şener Levent also notes that “none of the Turkish Cypriot leaders who passed through accepted that there is a Turkish occupation of Cyprus.” And the question is: did our own political personalities who lament the intransigence of… the Greek Cypriot side accept or grasp this? Did the Greek Cypriot defenders of “friend Akıncı” understand it—those who even today refuse to face reality about Crans Montana?
Particularly at the Crans-Montana talks, where Turkey scuppered the achievement of an agreement because its position on maintaining guarantees and a permanent military presence wasn’t accepted, invoking “will” becomes synonymous with Turkish propaganda.
Unfortunately, some political figures assess the intentions of Turkish Cypriot interlocutors based on their sweet smiles, the politeness of their character, and their humanity—whether they rang us to offer condolences for the wildfires, or whether they attended a former president’s funeral.
The most honest eulogy for people and ideas isn’t idealisation, but sober assessment. Because insisting on simplistic narratives honours neither history nor truth.
The Cyprus problem hasn’t remained unsolved through lack of good intentions, but through the brutal exercise of power. And the more the occupation is baptised as “lack of will” on the Greek Cypriot side, the more we’ll recycle myths instead of confronting reality.
