Rum Citizens vs Evrodolar ²

The issue of mixed marriages is a complex one that requires a comprehensive consideration of developments from the past to the present; it is more complicated than it appears. However, as I am also concerned about not claiming to be an expert on history, I consider it more appropriate to discuss the contemporary aspects of the subject in this article.

Now the issue is very deep of course, but I want to stay a bit in the present and touch on why, in my opinion, this issue needs to be focused on so much and how {the Greek Cypriot government} (because in my view, only the name of the Republic of Cyprus state remains and it has, in a way, (t)turned into a Greek Cypriot Government—the reason comes shortly) has made us suffer this much.

With the 1974 intervention, as the structure we call the Republic of Cyprus shifts south, Turkish Cypriots also try to establish their own administrative structure. After the short-lived structures that were established, in 1983 the TRNC is founded, which continues to this day. There are mixed children born under the name of this government, and because of these children, they were born into the world as individuals with TRNC identity (see: yours truly). These children share some common traits. One of the parents is from Turkey, one is Cypriot, and the children were born in Cyprus.

Although a large part fits the definition above, alongside the Turkey-origin part there are also parents who are citizens of countries such as Russia, Pakistan, Bulgaria, etc. The Republic of Cyprus is, in a way, practicing “non-European” discrimination. Because if both parents are European Union citizens, the child can generally obtain citizenship, but if they are from a non-EU country like those mentioned above, they cannot obtain citizenship. Interestingly, even though Bulgaria is an EU country, children with parents who are Bulgarian citizens also experience a major difficulty regarding citizenship.

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus, for a person to be a Cypriot citizen it is sufficient that one of their parents is a Cypriot citizen, and this citizenship is the child’s constitutional right.

The Republic of Cyprus is a European Union country, and the citizenship laws of EU countries must comply with the EU’s basic conditions and human rights. (Of course, does the European Union, which claims to defend human rights so much, really care about this issue, or is it just pretending to care?)

Let’s return to the facts: the Greek Cypriot government—the very European Greek Cypriot government—that Christodoulides will lead the European Union’s presidency this year, considers children whose parents met and married in the north of the island and who were born in the north of the island as {children born under occupation}; and if one of the parents of the children born under occupation is of Turkish origin, the issue becomes even more impossible to resolve—goodbye to Rum identity. Because we, the evrodolar¹, are responsible for the region we were born in and of course guilty in the same way. We are guilty because we were born in the north, we are guilty because our mother or father is a citizen of the ‘barbarian-enemy’ country—of course I should say that Greece, which carried out a fascist coup in Cyprus, is very innocent(!). From the money taken from the European Union for the island’s general population, nothing falls to us because we are the grandchildren of a Juda³. And so, as criminals by birth, it has been attributed to us as a duty to watch Rum-identities enter and exit whatever European country they want as they please, to be able to study in foreign countries (of course this is not the only problem but…), and to be able to work officially in the South. The issue is not only going to Europe without a visa. Not only can we not use our constitutional right, but it also continues with us being officially portrayed as guilty because of what happened before.

At this point, I should say we should also have a grievance toward Turkish Cypriot politicians because it is obvious that from past to present there have been many politicians who have presented themselves as defending Turkish Cypriotness, of course defending it to the end, and who have eaten money and plots under this umbrella, and because of these politicians our representation has remained very insufficient.

From the beginning of the writing I have been saying “Greek Cypriot government.” The reason I say it this way is that the government in the South is representing not {Cyprus} but {Greek Cypriots—and at some points even the Greek state (by the way I am not saying the North is much better or very correct, but since our topic is the South, let’s not digress)} and is looking after their rights.

For example: one of the official languages in the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus is Turkish, but it is not possible to use Turkish in any official institution. 30% of public servants is the right of Turkish Cypriots, but this right cannot be exercised. Turkish Cypriots should also have a say in state governance, but this right also cannot be exercised.

Or another example: when crossing at the border gate, if you are a Turkish Cypriot, you have to pass not from where Republic of Cyprus citizens—Republic of Cyprus citizens who are not Turkish Cypriots—pass, but from the “Turkish Cypriots” section. Yet you are the bizatihi ⁴ citizen of that country—can there be discrimination among citizens? Apparently there can. I thought about whether there could be a practical reason for this, but in the end the IDs are the same, so there should not be a difference in the system entry of the IDs. So this administration was separating its own citizen within itself. For these reasons the administration in the South is not a Cypriot administration but only a Greek Cypriot administration. Yet the Republic of Cyprus I mentioned at the beginning was established to look after the interests of the whole island and therefore all peoples on the island. From a republic that still carries this name, only shame can be expected from the state of today!

Now while our rights are being eaten away this much at these points, how much are Turkish Cypriots defending/able to defend their rights? How much do the peace-minded Greek Cypriots (I am leaving aside the nationalist part of course), or human rights advocates, care about us?

I am not the most knowledgeable on this issue. As much as I can, I follow it to a certain degree through Instagram, news organizations, and my communication with my environment, and I should state that as someone who follows above a certain level, I had not heard that Greek Cypriots were making much noise about this or defending our rights. That means that even if there are defenders, their visibility is very low. That means either they defend it just for show, or they truly do not have the motivation or the time and strength to work on it, or their numbers are very few. Still, if I were to mention a few names from the answer I received to the question of whether there is anyone in the South: I can list groups such as KISA, the kindergarten teachers’ union, some lawyers, etc.

On the other hand, let’s turn to the North. Looking at the picture I see in the North, although Tatar has claims such as “I defended your (Turkish Cypriot youth) rights, I told Christodoulides this, I did that” (I listened to these claims as a first person at a youth congress), I do not believe that he defended our rights sufficiently, or at least in a way that I would adopt. C’mon Ers, you could have done better!

Tufan Erhürman, who has newly come to the presidency, stating that he will discuss this issue when going to the table, making statements about it, and keeping it on the agenda has, so far, earned my appreciation. Of course it is too early to comment, but for now I will say that I hope he will continue like this. I am waiting with curiosity to see what will happen in the future.

Niyazi Kızılyürek and his working team, who served in the European Parliament in the past, tried to bring this issue onto the agenda during his term. Not only staying within the European Parliament, he also attended meetings with civil society organizations and represented them where necessary.

I would like to touch on presidents, prime ministers, and the most important representatives even further back, but my age and therefore my knowledge falls short, so let me stay in the present.

Presidents and political leaders are very important in this issue, yes. But another factor as important as them is civil society organizations. In the north of the island there are two organizations that struggle on this issue that I know of. I have heard of other organizations, but since I do not have information, it is more correct to mention the two I know.

The Kimliksizler Association is a civil society organization that tries to gather people experiencing the mixed marriage/relationship issue on the island and make the issue visible; it is made up not only of people experiencing identitylessness but also people who want to change things; it organizes mass actions and marches in the South; it tries to create pressure by holding meetings with Republic of Cyprus officials and embassies of EU countries; it officially conveyed the issue to the European Parliament with a petition signed by 675 people; and it is working for the issue to be heard by the Human Rights Court.

The civil society organisation known as the Mixed Marriage Problem Solution Movement is an organisation that holds meetings with United Nations members, organises panels with European Union funding, publishes booklets, and advocates for rights through various methods.

Finally, let's look at the people. Unfortunately, the people living in the north of the island are not showing enough interest in the issue and are not pursuing their rights sufficiently. There are those who participate in protests, sign petitions when necessary, and try to make their voices heard individually and/or collectively, but we are falling far short of the struggle we need to wage. We are still playing the game of waiting for the apple to fall into our mouths. Well done!

Note: I would like to thank Nazen Şansal for her informative comments, contributions and inspiration; Doruk Ekingen, the most politically astute person in the world, with whom I have discussed this topic for years; and finally, the Republic of Cyprus, which inspired me to write about this subject...

Rum ID1: Rum means Greek Cypriot. It is an irony. Since the Republic of Cyprus does not give attention to the Turkish speaking Cypriots, It has become the Republic of Greek Cypriot.

Evrodo2: bastard(cylingo.org)

Juda ³: In Italian, the 13th Apostle of Jesus, the sinner, the betrayer. In fact, Italians have a slang term for him: ‘Porco Juda’.