To: HELLENIC-PROFESSORS-PHDS@HEC.GREECE.ORG

Subject: Re: IEE Conference

Importance: High

Friday, June 25, 2010

Dear Mr. Kolias,
In the small town of Lakatamia, where I was forced to set up residence, due to the fact that my home has been under Turkish occupation since 1974, there is a large supermarket called Kolias. This makes me think that you might be of Greek, or even Cypriot origin. You might already think, what is the relevance of this with you. Well, here it is.
Standing at the verandah of my house in Lakatamia, and I must say, standing anywhere is the Nicosia District and beyond, you will see two flags drawn on the occupied mountain range of Penadaktylos. One is the Turkish flag and the other one that of the illegal Turkish Cypriot Republic of Northern Cyprus, which was formed in 1983 by Turkey and is only recognized by that country. Both flags are illuminated at night, to keep raping our memory on a twenty four hour basis.
This is the reminder of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in July 1974. It is a reminder of those killed by the Attila forces during the invasion, those women, children and elderly people raped and disgraced by a NATO allied force. It is a continuous reminder of those missing since 1974. It is a reminder that 200000 refugees and their descendants are not allowed to return to their ancestral homes and places of origin.
But these flags are also a way of intimidation towards the indigenous people of Cyprus, still living under Turkish Occupation in the occupied part of Cyprus. The Turkish Cypriots, whose numbers have deteriorated from 124000 in 1974 to 65000 today. Forced to emigrate due to the importation of hundreds of thousands of illegal settlers from Turkey, in violation of the Geneva convention, and the suppression of any right by the Turkish Military and it's puppet regime in the North, they find refuge in other countries, mostly in the UK.
Those Turkish Cypriots though are now taking advantage of the rule of law and the benefits of EU Accession, as Citizens of the Republic of Cyprus, with free medical cover, free education for their children, jobs in the free areas of the Republic without paying taxes, priority in all Government departments and the lack of rule of law and the free usage of our properties in the occupied North which they hold since 1974.
This is why we, the people of Cyprus DO NOT FORGET. We shall not forget Cyprus. We shall not forget those killed, raped and the refugees. We will continue to search for the missing in order to allow their relatives to rest them to peace.
The problem of Cyprus is simple. It is about Turkey recognizing the Republic of Cyprus and respecting its right to control and protect it's territorial integrity and Sovereignty. Listening to the Turkish Foreign Minister address to the UN Security Council recently, I wish Turkey applied in Cyprus what they were demanding from Israel in the Gaza strip.
I am in no way supporting the Israeli action against the Peace Flotilla, but a country who has ignored every treaty it has signed so far and continues to ignore and violate every UN resolution on Cyprus since 1964 should not be allowed to use the UN fora.
Mr. Kolias. Thirty six years of my life in my village were denied to me and will continue to be denied for as long as Turkey continues to occupy my country. It is organizations like yours who, ignoring the cruel realities on the ground, assist illegal regimes such as the one in the Occupied part of Cyprus to gain international recognition.
I am sure that you are able to change this right now. You can, if you want, take a bold decision and change the venue of your conference. It is not late.
And in order to assist Turkey in it's strive to help the Palestinian people of Gaza come out of isolation, why don't you take your conference to Ramallah? In this way, you are assisting an area under isolation without antagonizing Turkey. I am sure a lot of my friends in Gaza will assist you achieve this.
Thank you for taking time to read my views and I am sure you will consider my proposal seriously. I would also like to hear your views on the matters I have raised. Dialogue is always beneficial.

With my sincere regards,


Nestoras Nestoros