Paying the price of arrogance and disdain

In his article titled “ Paying the price of arrogance and disdain” published on Sunday Mail, Greek Cypriot economist and social scientist George Koumoullis mentioned the issue of guarantees. Koumoullis stated that what troubles the Turkish Cypriots is not the territorial integrity of Cyprus but physical safety that’s why Turkish Cypriots insist on the issue of guarantees.

Koumoullis underlined that education system in the South Cyprus develops hostility for the Turkish Cypriots. Mentioning the issue of Enosis, Koumoullis stressed that Greek Cypriots do not spend efforts to understand fears of the Turkish Cypriots on the issue of Enosis.

Stating that “The decision for the armed struggle of 1955 was taken secretly from the Turkish Cypriots who made up almost 20 percent of the population”, Koumoullis expressed that Greek Cypriots made mistakes on the issue of guarantees as mistakes made in 1955. Mentioning tragic events which were experienced between 1963-1974, Koumoullis underlined that Turkish Cypriots have been affected by these tragic events in a bad way that’s why Greek Cypriots should try to understand Turkish Cypriots’ psychology.

“ Bearing in mind the Turkish Cypriots do not trust the EU or the UN to guarantee their security, one solution would be to accept guarantees for a period of time after which they would be phased out” Koumoullis added.