"Cyprus Nation (?)"

Article published in Phileleftheros on 01/07/2017.

A few years ago, the following text would have been considered entirely unnecessary. Today, 57 years after the independence of the Republic of Cyprus and 43 years after the Turkish invasion, the Cypriot people risk losing their national identity. And this is because many ignore the difference between the terms “nation” and “state.”

According to Professor Andrew Heywood, “a nation is a group of people who share a common language, religion, history, and traditions.” The Greek nation consists of people whose mother tongue is Greek, whose religion is Orthodox Christianity, and who share common history and traditions. The Turkish nation consists of people whose mother tongue is Turkish, whose religion is Islam, and who also share a common history and traditions.

Before the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, 82% of the population consisted of people whose mother tongue was Greek and religion Orthodox Christianity – in other words, Greeks (within this percentage were also small religious groups such as Armenians, Maronites, and Latins). For these people, the term “Greek Cypriots” is used. Consequently, 18% of the population consisted of people whose mother tongue was Turkish and whose religion – for most of them – was Islam, therefore Turks. For these people, the term “Turkish Cypriots” is used.

It is well known that the official languages of the Cypriot state are Greek and Turkish, not “Cypriot.” There is no Cypriot language, but there is a Cypriot dialect, just as there is a Cretan dialect (Crete), a Rhodian dialect (Rhodes), etc. Note also that the Turks of Cyprus used to speak Greek as well, and some even had it as their primary language. They could therefore be described as Greco-Turks. By contrast, the Greeks of Cyprus did not speak the Turkish language.

Furthermore, according to Professor Andrew Heywood, “a state is a political entity that exercises sovereign jurisdiction within certain defined territorial boundaries.” The above-mentioned groups are citizens of the state of the Republic of Cyprus, holding Cypriot citizenship. In no case, however, do they have a Cypriot ethnicity, because quite simply a Cypriot nation does not exist. For such a nation to exist, the four fundamental elements (language, religion, history, traditions) would have to be common between the two ethnic groups mentioned, which in reality already belong, one to the Greek nation and the other to the Turkish nation.

In conclusion, however strange it may seem, some in Cyprus do not know to which nation they belong, since they confuse the term nation with the term state. The fact remains that, if we do not know our national identity, we cannot preserve it. And this is the duty of every ethnicity towards its ancestors.

Heywood, Andrew, Politics (Palgrave, 1997)

Nakis Theocharides