CUMHURIYET- Columnist Mumtaz Soysal writes on lessons to be drawn from the Palestinian problem. A summary of his column is as follows:
The incidents which occurred in Palestine on the heels of similar events in Bosnia and Kosovo have pointed out the need to draw lessons for parallel problems in other places, and particularly for Cyprus. Those offering their views on the Cyprus issue should learn these lessons. The first one concerns situations where people of different cultures both historically and geographically are forced to live on the same piece of land. However different their cultures may be, they will consider the land they are born in as their own country. Under these circumstances, it is not easy to share a common land with the idea of peaceful coexistence. The differences and the memories of the past sometimes have greater influences. The easiest formula is to try a separation on the land based on cultural differences in order to avert possible frictions. Even in Europe, where these frictions stemming from differences are often overcome after lengthy processes, the main factor unifying the states is based on the unity of nations. It is interesting to note that the bloodshed in Cyprus was stopped by just such a separation. Didn’t the chaos and murders in Palestine began when Britain opened these lands to the immigration of Jews with the 1917 Balfour Declaration? The second lesson to be learned is that in such lands only societies which unite under certain beliefs and cultures can survive and protect themselves, and those who cannot do so are defeated. Along these lines, foreign efforts aimed at causing the internal decay and disintegration in Northern Cyprus can be better understood. The third lesson is the most important of them all. The oppression of the Palestinians, notwithstanding their personal sacrifices, stems from the fact there is no power to protect them. Everyone is a bystander. The real aim of the efforts to leave Northern Cyprus bereft of the support of Turkey’s military power can be explained by this lesson drawn from the Palestinian issue.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION