The Washington Times Prints CANA Letter To Editor: Time for Turkey to talk turkey

For Immediate Release: July 26, 2009

Contact: Georgia Maratheftis, New York, Tel. (917) 699-9935

The Sunday, July 26, 2009 weekend edition of The Washington Times, one of the
most widely circulated political newspapers in America, published Cyprus Action
Network of America (CANA) Executive Director, Georgia Maratheftis’ letter to the
editor “Time for Turkey to talk turkey”, responding to (second secretary of the
unrecognized TRNC) Buket Kop’s letter “Settling Cyprus”. Maratheftis’ published
letter to the editor highlights the Pontian Greek Genocide and the Genocide in
Cyprus, and will be read by thousands of Americans from political commentators
to Washington insiders, think-tanks, foreign embassy workers and opinion makers.
This is the caliber of smart activism that proves how pivotal CANA is for public
relations of the Cyprus Cause to Americans.

The text of the letter appears below, followed by The Washington Times letter to
which the letter responds. To see the Letter to the Editor online, visit
(www.washingtontimes.com) and click on the 'Letters to the Editor' section, or
try this link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/26/time-for-turkey-to-talk-turkey/

LETTER TO EDITOR: Time for Turkey to talk turkey

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Letters to the Editor
The Washington Times
3600 New York Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002

To the Editor:

Buket Kop's Monday letter, "Settling Cyprus," neglects to mention the major
setback to any real hope of a settlement or solution to the division of the
island of Cyprus -- the bullying presence of many thousands of Turkish soldiers,
the most blaring reminder of Turkey's military legacy on the island.

The Turkish military invasion of Cyprus, launched on the orders of the Bulent
Ecevit government of Turkey on July 20, 1974, was an attack by land, sea and air
on a relatively small, defenseless island. Those forces, which under the
rejected Annan Plan would have been allowed to sit on the island, forced
hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes, towns and villages and
killed thousands of Cypriots -- acts that could be considered ethnic cleansing
or even genocide.

On July 10, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted to the killing
of 150 ethnic Turks, the Uighurs, in China by calling it an act of genocide.
"These incidents in China are as if they are genocide," he said. "We ask the
Chinese government not to remain a spectator to these incidents. There is
clearly a savagery here."

Turkish military forces killed more than 150 people in Cyprus, even by official
Turkish statistics. "Instead of pointing the finger at others," to borrow Mr.
Kop's phrase, Turkish officials should take the time to look in the mirror and
ask themselves: With the legacy of the Pontian Greek genocide and the genocide
in Cyprus, why would the victims of such savagery want to live under Turkish
military rule?


GEORGIA MARATHEFTIS
Executive director
Cyprus Action Network of America (CANA)
New York
----------------------------------


Washington Times
Letter to editor published July 20, 2009
Settling Cyprus
July 20, 2009

The article "Cyprus envoy blames division on Turkey" (World, Friday) repeats the
same rhetoric we often hear from the Greek Cypriot side regarding the Cyprus
issue.

If the Greek Cypriots had accepted the U.N.-sponsored settlement plan in April
2004 instead of rejecting it by a staggering 76 percent of the vote, the island
would be united today. Soon after the Greek Cypriot rejection, the U.N.
secretary-general himself described it as a "major setback." He went on to say,
"What was rejected was the solution itself rather than a mere blueprint." He
also asked the Greek Cypriots to reflect on a "bi-communal, bi-zonal federation
which means not just two constituent states, but also political equality and the
sharing of power." He finally called upon them to demonstrate "not just by word,
but by action" if they were ready to share power with the Turkish Cypriots in a
federal structure.

Even Nikos Rolandis, a former Greek Cypriot foreign minister, lists 15 occasions
when the Greek Cypriot side rejected proposals for a settlement.

Instead of pointing the finger at others, the Greek Cypriot side should display
the sincerity and determination that is truly needed to achieve a comprehensive
and fair Cyprus settlement.

BUKET KOP
Second secretary
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Washington Office
Washington
####

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2578 Broadway #132
New York, NY 10025
New York: Tel. 917-699-9935
Email: cana@cyprusactionnetwork.org
www.cyprusactionnetwork.org
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