I have just finished a book by Victoria Hislop called ” The Sunrise”. It is a fictionalised account of how Cyprus became divided and thousands of Cypriots, both Greek and Turkish, lost their homes and possessions in 1974, particularly in ancient Famagusta (now called Varosha). In that year a coup against President Makarios by extremist supporters of union with Greece provoked an invasion by Turkish troops, ostensibly to protect the Turkish Cypriot minority.
One of my most precious memories was leading my regiment, fresh from England, a brass band playing, through the ancient port gate of Famagusta. The gate was (is) so old that Anthony and Cleopatra would have processed through it into the historic city. Shakespeare immortalised it in Othello, Act 2, Scene 1 . It is now the prohibited entrance to a decaying city.
Now, looking back, I realise how we, the British, with our 30, 000 troops utterly failed to bring peace to Cyprus. We were fighting an idea. The culprit was nationalism and one simple, extreme idea – union with Greece, or enosis. Cyprus has never been part of Greece, but never mind. Greek teachers from Athens radicalised a whole generation of Greek Cypriot children, and we failed to maintain the charming live-and-let live way of life between the two communities that had survived for centuries. 30,000 British soldiers failed to root out the small minority of about 300 dedicated trouble-makers. Later our government washed its hands of the problem of the resulting refugees. Everybody lost. The sheer ignorance and stupidity of the nationalists defies adequate description.
When we arrived that day in Famagusta we genuinely thought we could help. We were peacekeepers, but it turned out that we couldn’t fight an idea with guns and bullets. It gave me a lifelong distrust of nationalism. Moderation – that is the answer. And to think – Epicurus, master of moderation – was a Greek.
Which brings us to ISIS. Once again, bombs will not defeat the idea. The difference between EOKA and ISIS is that we didn’t know where EOKA were, whereas the islamists have made the mistake of seizing actual territory, and, give or take, we know where they are. It seems to me that the best option is to create a cordon sanitaire, try to allow nothing in and nothing out of that territory and wait patiently for disillusionment.
While I don’t believe that union with Greece would be ; on the other hand, it is a perfectly legitimate opinion. If the Greek nationalists wanted union, they should have sought to peacefully perusade the Cypriot people of the benefits of such a union. But by organising a coup, they have delegitimised their movement, making full union with Greece seem undesirable to most Cypriots, even if it was actually a good idea.
I’m not intrinsically opposed to nationalism. Personally, I think Catalonia ought to be independent from Spain becuase the Spanish government is hopelessly corrupt and routinely ignores Catalonia when making decisions. The problem with nationalism is when it is persued at the expense of democracy and human rights, as was the case in Cyprus.