Refusing half a loaf

I know little of Mr. Nicos Rolandis, who was once Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism in the government of Cyprus, but I am coming to respect his opinions. Unlike many of his compatriots, he seems to understand that politics is the art of the possible and that, in the interest of conciliating diversity, as Bernard Crick famously described the political art, it may be necessary to scale back one's claims on the political authorities. Here Rolandis recites a litany of missed opportunities to return Varoshia to its inhabitants: The sad lady of the sea. And here he argues that history may one day judge Greek Cypriots to have "used improvement after improvement to destroy their cause": The twilight zone. Too bad Rolandis is not president of the republic.


Koyzis family archives

The abandoned city of Varoshia,
a ghost town since 1974,
as seen from the north

Missed opportunities

It seems I'm not the only person to think that Greek Cypriots have been squandering opportunities repeatedly over the decades. Former government minister Nicos A. Rolandis agrees with me in this op-ed piece for the Cyprus Mail: King Jigme and floundering Cyprus. My only disagreement with Rolandis is that I would trace this pattern back to 1948, when Greek Cypriots rejected Lord Winster's proposal to institute a self-government that fell short of ending colonial status outright. Then again I've written before about refusing half a loaf and ending up with none.

Nicosia barrier dismantled

The internationally-recognized government of Cyprus has removed the barrier at Ledra Street in the divided capital of Nicosia, in response to a similar move last December by the Turkish Cypriot authorities on their side: Greek Cypriots remove wall, seek Turkish pullout. I took the photograph below at the Ledra Street barrier in 1995.



Is this a move towards reuniting the island, or is it an effort to embarrass Turkey during a European Union summit? Unfortunately, reunification will likely remain stalled as long as Tassos Papadopoulos is president. I would much prefer to see Nikos Rolandis hold that office, for reasons I've indicated before.

Mid-February snippets

• It's finally happened: Kosovo Declares Its Independence From Serbia. A lot of people will not be pleased over this, especially ethnic Serbs living in the province, but also a number of European Union members with their own separatist movements.


• Here is very good news indeed: Cyprus vote goes to runoff, Papadopoulos out. Tassos Papadopoulos has obstructed a settlement in the island since attaining the presidency five years ago. I would still prefer Nicos Rolandis in office, but either Kassoulides or Christofias will be an improvement over Papadopoulos.


• This makes little sense to me: 5 Anglican primates to boycott Lambeth. Ten years ago it became evident that there is a small-o orthodox majority in the Anglican communion. Why boycott the next Lambeth Conference where orthodox provinces would otherwise carry the day once again?


• This I can understand more easily, given the current confessional disarray in the Anglican Church of Canada: Five Anglican parishes set to separate from Church. Archbishop Fred Hiltz is, of course, appealing selectively to the Windsor Report, thereby demonstrating, once more, that bishops are quite willing to defy any authority except their own.


• The WRF's Comment runs an interview with a south central Upper Canadian political scientist of minor renown. It might be worth taking a peek at.


• Tomorrow is the new provincial holiday, Family Day, instituted by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty upon being returned to office last autumn. My wife pointed out to me that it just happens to fall on what in the US is called Presidents' Day. Our holidays tend uncannily to coincide with American ones. Or are we simply copy cats?