Sabotaging Cyprus
Sir: Christopher Hitchens's logic is not easy to follow when he talks about Cyprus. And although his sentimental views on the Cyprus problem are no puzzle to me — I have come to know them reasonably well over the years — his thinking on the latest developments concerning the issue, and his analysis of the so-called new Greek in- itiative, are quite confusing (Cyprus: new initiatives, 13 March).
With no disrespect to Mr Hitchens's in- tellect or to his deep knowledge of Greece and Greek politics and politicians, I believe that he has made a number of vital errors of judgment in his evaluation of the likely im- pact of the ill-timed and unfortunate 'Papandreou Visit' on the destiny of Cyprus. Now that Athens has once again chosen to stir up out-of-date and unaccep- table Pan-Hellenic sentiment in the Greek zone of Cyprus — again in an obvious at- tempt to establish direct control over Greek Cypriot politics — it may be easier for Papandreou to use the Greek Cypriot com- munity as a trade-off in his negotiations on the Aegean sea-bed rights with Ankara, but I cannot see how, in the light of the obtain- ing facts, this can benefit the Greek Cypriots themselves in any way. In fact, this balcony demagogue who calls himself a socialist but acts no differently from yester- day's 'goons and thugs' in Athens, has so far done nothing but sabotage the inter- communal talks without which neither the structure of the contemplated bi-zonal Federal Republic of Cyprus nor the borders of the two zones can possibly be worked out.
Sentimentally he appears to have won on the Greek side for the time being. However, only days after he left the island the Greek Cypriot Left (Akel) began asking questions about his strategy. And judging from the Greek Cypriot press, the moderates are also unconvinced. However, as a direct result of the visit valuable time is being lost in the intercommunal negotiations.
My hope is that Christopher Hitchens will not ever have to use the stale phrase he so dislikes when reporting from Cyprus: `Bullets whistle round me as I write, etc, ...' Yet exactly this was one of the prescriptions scribbled by Mr Papandreou for Greek Cypriots and for our bi-zonal, bi- national island. What a pity; what a disap- pointment!
Mustafa Adiloglu
Office of The London Representative Turkish Federated State of Cyprus, 28 Cockspur Street, London SW I
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