Communication Across Conflict Lines: the Case of Ethnically Divided

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Communication Across Conﬂict Lines: The Case of Ethnically Divided Cyprus

HARRY ANASTASIOU Portland State University, Oregon & Cyprus Peace Center

This article explores the dynamics of nationalist communication, or better, of non-communication, between the rival Cypriot ethnic communities. The analysis shows how the protracted ethno-nationalist conflict that has stained the history of the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus has affected, among other things, the process of communication between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities. A number of themes that occupy a central place in the conflict are explored from the vantage point of how each community understands and addresses them as it interacts with the other. The inquiry discloses that the interpretive mental frameworks by which the meaning of words, facts, events, behaviors, and phenomena have been perceived, recalled, understood, and transferred have become culturally and institutionally configured in such a way over the years as to often dissociate and even dismantle the very conditions by which intercommunal communication becomes possible. The article also examines the conditions and prospects of freeing communication from its entrapments in the ‘meaning patterns’ of ethno-nationalist conflict, particularly in the context of the emerging bi- communal citizen peace movement. It shows how the germinating inter-ethnic dialogue in the spirit of peaceseeking rapprochement is commencing a process of deconstructing the traditional forms of conflictual, nationalist discourse while opening up new vistas of understanding, possibilities, and vision for the future.

Protracted Nationalist Conflict divide’ that separates the G/C and the T/C minds must be preceded by a grasp of the The history of ethno-national conflict on the major structural dynamics of the conflict. ethnically divided Mediterranean island of There are two interrelated parameters that Cyprus has decisively marked the communi- define the framework of the conflict, which cation process between the major stakehold- in turn effectively conditions the mode of ers in the conflict, but most of all, and in a communication between the two sides. profound way, between the two Cypriot These are the longstanding impact of ethnic communities, namely, between Greek Cypri- nationalism as a world- and life-view, and the ots (G/Cs) and Turkish Cypriots (T/Cs). The collective memory specific to the experiences so-called Green Line, which ethnically of pain and injury in each community. divides the capital city of Nicosia, is not so As a rule, communication between rival, much in itself an obstacle to communication nationalistically oriented ethnic groups is as it is a symbol of a communication problem always divergent, in that the respective that goes far deeper than the physical barriers frameworks of meaning tend to resist estab- of sandbags and barbed wire. lishing communicative contact with each Any understanding of the complexity of other. Nationalist world- and life-views are the communication process across the ‘great such that they exhibit a certain incapacity in

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establishing an overlap of meanings and of historically marked both the G/C and the points of reference, far enough to initiate T/C communities (Loizos, 1998; Worsley & genuine dialogue. Their inner logic exhibits Kitromilites, 1979). The G/C agenda has a resistance to what Gadamer calls ‘the fusion been disclosed in the relentless attempt to of horizons’, the major condition that unite the island with Greece (enosis), or renders communication and understanding otherwise claim Cyprus as a purely Hellenic of the past and of other narratives possible island. The T/C agenda, supported by (Gadamer, 1975). More specifically, on an Turkey, has been revealed in the pursuit of intergroup level, nationalist frameworks the ethnic partition of the island (taksim). resist the natural process of communicative While coexisting in an ethnically mixed interaction by which communicating parties society, the historical ambition of each side create increasingly an emergent, shared to establish its own pure, mono-ethnic state domain of meaning. led to unprecedented violence and the The reason for this is not because the physical separation of G/Cs and T/Cs in frameworks of rival nationalist groups are 1974. Observers of the Cyprus phenomenon different, but, paradoxically, because they tend have noted that while the separation of to be identical in their fundamental nature. people by natural barriers, such as rivers, seas, Nationalism carries a view of ‘the nation’ that and mountains, is understandable, the separ- is absolute and sacred in value, mono-ethnic ation that occurs along artificial lines of hos- in nature, collectivist and narcissistic in men- tility is horrifying. For here, one is stunned tality, conflictual in predisposition, and by the fact that ‘borders are not just geo- militant in its concept of defense and its graphic barriers, but that they are the enemy means of freedom (Alter, 1994: 5, 20; Gellner, of talk, of interaction, of the flow of ideas, in 1994: 65). It conceptualizes society in terms short, they are the opponents of communi- of a single, homogeneous ethnic identity, thus cation’ (Gumpert & Drucker, 1998: 237). rendering the existence of other ethnic groups Nationalist conflict in Cyprus has in the body social a ‘national anomaly’ and, in brought with it a legacy of pain and suffer- times of conflict, a ‘national blemish’ that ing resulting from the violence. The memory needs to be cleansed. This type of ‘imagined of pain, entirely different in content and community’ is couched in an ethnocentric references for each community, constitutes construct of history, highlighted by wars and the second major parameter in the structure revolutions, in which national heroes, in their of the Cyprus conflict that has affected and alleged supreme actions and sacrifice, assume continues to affect communication between national immortality as ‘the nation’ exhibits the two sides. through them its infallible record of glory and For the T/Cs, the painful memories con- eternal grandeur (Anderson, 1995; Hobs- centrate mainly on the period 1963–74. bawm, 1994: 76–82). In all this, the value, Their experiential recollection concerns the history, and identity of ‘the nation’ are defined constrained, underdeveloped life in their in conflictual juxtaposition to ‘an enemy’ enclaves. In terrifying vividness, T/Cs (Ignatieff, 1995; Kedourie, 1994: 50). Hence, remember the repeated defeats in bloody to the degree that two or more ethnic groups, conflicts with the G/Cs and Greek troops, in any mixed society, espouse nationalism as a and the loss of human life that appeared stag- world- and life-view, the prospect of coexis- gering in the eyes of their community as a tence becomes grim, as communication across consolidated numerical minority. The collec- ethnic lines is ruled out a priori. tive memory of T/Cs is marked by the These features of nationalism have missing persons (483 T/Cs over 32 G/Cs in 05anastasiou (ds) 2/8/02 1:28 pm Page 583

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1964), and generally by the feeling that for Communication Between years they were living under conditions of Perspectives in Conflict perpetual siege (Denktash, 1982; Oberling, 1982; Volkan, 1979: 18–25, 119). The Dialectical Process of Non- For the G/Cs, on the other hand, the Communication collective historical memory and experience Over the decades, this dynamic has led to an of injustice originate mainly from the more essential form of alienation that has insti- concentrated but inundating events of 1974, tutionalized the interaction between the two with the Greek coup d’état and the Turkish communities, psychologically, intellectually, military intervention. The tragic memories and culturally, into what may be called a refer to the unprecedented loss of human life, dialectical process of non-communication. to the mass uprooting from their homes, to The phenomenon entails a dialectical process the irreplaceable loss of property, to the inasmuch as it involves sustained and per- refugees and the missing persons. Within petual cycles of ‘communicative’ interactions days of the Turkish military invasion, between the two sides, mainly through the 200,000 G/Cs became refugees in their own official positions of each side and the mass country. Casualties, many of them civilians, media. And it entails non-communication were estimated at about 2,850 persons. The insofar as the more the two sides interact, the number of missing persons reached 1,619, less they understand each other, and conse- while about 20,000 G/Cs initially remained quently the more they frustrate each other. trapped in the Karpas area, under Turkish This is fully demonstrated in Papadakis’s military control. Thousands of G/Cs were analysis of published materials prepared by taken to prisons in Turkey; some of these pris- the Public Information Office of each side. It oners were later exchanged for T/Cs who had is shown how each side resorts to the attri- been captured by G/C and Greek forces in the bution of evil intentions to the other, by ana- south. The fate of those G/Cs who were left lyzing and interpreting events through the in Turkey remains to this day a dark mystery, absolutist notions of the respective national- haunting the memories of their families and ist frameworks and related stereotypes of the G/C community in general. (Papadakis, 1998). Furthermore, the pain incurred by the loss of life and property was compounded by a The Process of Non-Communication decisive shattering of the G/C nationalist Around Phenomena and Their Meaning aspiration of union with Greece. To the The most obvious points around which com- degree that nationalism breeds and sustains a munication discord has been occurring are collective, narcissistic psychology of exagger- those that concern the references to the role ated and absolutized political objectives, the of the Turkish army, the status of the Turkish ending of any prospect of fulfilling such Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and objectives invariably results in an equally the status of the Republic of Cyprus. accentuated experience of loss. Following the Whereas the G/C side perceives and refers to civil strife within the G/C community, the the Turkish army as an invasion and occu- Turkish invasion left the G/Cs with a pro- pation force, the T/Cs see it and refer to it as foundly deflated sense of ethno-national a peace force that conducted a peace opera- pride. In an unprecedented manner, the tion. The Turkish and T/C side addresses and events inflicted on the G/Cs what political considers the TRNC as a historically psychoanalysis refers to as ‘narcissistic injury’ justified, and hence legitimate, independent (Volkan, 1979). state, while it views the Republic of Cyprus 05anastasiou (ds) 2/8/02 1:28 pm Page 584

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as an entity that has ceased to exist as sover- T/C community. In addition, the association eign over the entire island. On the other by G/Cs of the cause of their own pain with hand, the G/Cs and Greece see the TRNC as the agenda of T/C nationalism has had the an illegitimate breakaway state, and the effect of preventing the G/Cs from perceiv- Republic of Cyprus as the sole legitimate ing and reflecting on the fact that behind the state structure whose territory extends over T/C claim for state recognition, which in the whole island. itself is surely illegitimate, lies also a past Traditionally, any attempted direct dia- traumatic experience of existential fear which logue around these key issues, formal or triggers a deep need for security and collec- informal, has always led to a decisive break- tive identity. It is precisely this feeling among down of communication. Though the above T/Cs that has been usurped for years by issues reflect the communication problem in Turkish nationalism in both Cyprus and its most obvious form by reason of the con- Turkey, and this in turn has fed and sustained flict, there are numerous other matters where Greek nationalism by provoking the G/Cs to the communication process and the ambigu- countervailing reactions and interpretations. ities of meaning therein are much more This type of interaction has had the effect of subtle. Some examples may suffice to illus- locking the two sides into a vicious cycle of trate the issue in more concrete terms. non-communication. When the G/Cs, through their official Over time, the precipitation of events, positions and public political culture, claim experiences, and cumulative meanings in a the right of the refugees to return to their relationship of protracted conflict, particu- homes (which surely constitutes a human larly under the impact and shadow of right), the T/Cs interpret it as an attempt by nationalism, may pose communication prob- the G/Cs to take back everything for them- lems even to the meaning of otherwise com- selves and uproot them completely, leaving monly understood terms. I have witnessed them helpless and without shelter. Rooted in numerous meetings between G/Cs and T/Cs the T/C experiences of the 1960s, this per- where the problem of refugees was the main ception is reinforced and sealed by the tra- issue of discussion. However, in all cases it ditional G/C nationalism, which espoused transpired that in the very communication the ideal of a completely Hellenized island. process, beneath the interactions, there was a The T/C fear of the prospect of ethnic dis- crucial discrepancy in the meaning that each placement has been such that it overshadows side attributed to the word ‘refugee’. the ability to acknowledge that, on the Though a number of T/Cs who were human plane, the G/C claim does in fact present had been refugees twice, and some concern a human right that needs to be even three times during the troubles between acknowledged and addressed. 1960 and 1974, they spoke of the refugee On the other hand, when the T/Cs problem and experience in a mode of strong demand recognition of the TRNC, the G/Cs emotional disengagement. When the G/Cs tend to attribute it exclusively to an arrogant spoke of the refugee issue, which in their case attempt to legitimize the status quo through had been a one-time occurrence in 1974, the might of arms, in a flagrant violation of they did so with considerable pain and justice. Moreover, T/C nationalism, with its potent emotional content. notion of a mono-ethnic state carved out of The detached way in which T/Cs referred the island, has been totally alarming to G/Cs, to their experience as refugees gave the G/Cs thereby entirely concealing from their eyes the distinctive impression that the T/Cs were certain fundamental human realities of the completely indifferent to the G/C plight 05anastasiou (ds) 2/8/02 1:28 pm Page 585

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following their displacement by the Turkish and relationship to the land brings to the fore army. In the mind of the G/Cs, the attitude this differentiated memory of what ‘refugee’ of the T/Cs in reference to refugees was seen means (Hadjipavlou-Trigeorgis, 1998: 251). as a confirmation of the old aim of T/C Thus understood, it becomes clear how nationalism to ethnically partition the island. the process of communication between the On the other hand, accompanied by a pas- parties, even in the use of exactly the same sionate demand for the return to their homes words, may become so skewed by its en- in the north, the G/C reference to refugees tanglement in the matrix of the conflict that was perceived by T/Cs as a great threat, it effectively breaks down. One can see how behind which lay the original G/C national- the same word comes to have a considerably ist notion of Cyprus as a completely Hellenic different meaning and reality for each side! island. The process of mutual non-communication Given the divergent historical experiences thereby sets in as an aspect of a protracted of the two communities and their encapsula- conflict relation. tion in nationalist frameworks, the two sides At the formal political level, the difference attributed completely different meanings to in the two approaches has been reflected and the word ‘refugee’. For the T/Cs, to be a highlighted in a verbal interchange through refugee meant living in one’s home under the mass media between the two sides on 8 conditions of extreme danger, fully exposed and 9 February 2002. In the midst of to the enemy’s nationalist agenda for com- ongoing, top-level negotiations, the leader of plete territorial control, and being compelled the T/C side, Rauf Denktash, stated that the to leave one’s home in exchange for areas of issue is not one of G/C refugees returning to safety and security. This, in fact, was the the north, but a matter of property exchanges experience of T/Cs from 1963 to 1974. For and/or compensation settlements (Cyprus T/Cs, therefore, being a refugee means Broadcasting Corporation, 2002). Referring leaving one’s home in order to go to a safe to the decision of the European Court of place. Hence the detached way in which they Human Rights, 10 March 2001, the G/C spoke of the refugee problem. side, through the Attorney General, asserted For the G/Cs, on the other hand, being a that the refugee issue is in fact a central refugee refers to the experience of living a life problem of the violation of the human rights of safety and prosperity and then being of the G/Cs, who are prevented by the forced to leave one’s home overnight, and, Turkish army from returning to their homes having lost all one’s belongings, being placed (European Court of Human Rights, 2001). under conditions of complete uncertainty, Another example of the process reflecting a insecurity, and exposure to physical danger in mutual failure to communicate centers the face of an advancing army. This, in effect, around the respective meanings attributed, was the experience of the G/Cs in 1974 with since 1974, to the T/C attempts to engage in the invasion of Cyprus by the Turkish international trade and the G/C attempts to military. Given the Turkish nationalist objec- block any and all such efforts by T/Cs. For the tive of creating a geographical ethnic space T/Cs, exporting from the northern, Turkish- for T/Cs by cleansing it completely of G/Cs, controlled Cyprus has implied a necessity for the word ‘refugee’, in the G/C mind, economic survival, whereas, for the G/Cs, it acquires a meaning far more awesome and has meant nothing more than an attempt to disturbing than that given by T/Cs. A careful trade stolen goods and property. Communi- reading of personal accounts of T/Cs and cation on this issue has always been most diffi- G/Cs regarding their respective experiences cult, leading to an impasse every time. 05anastasiou (ds) 2/8/02 1:28 pm Page 586

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The matter came clearly to the fore in be addressed, if any constructive interaction relation to the European market. The G/Cs, between the two sides is to take place. insisting that exports from northern Cyprus In the final analysis, G/C communication entailed exploitation of their own properties, with T/Cs over the economic plight of the which had been taken from them by force, T/C community, and T/C communication appealed to the European Court for a ruling with G/Cs over the property rights of the that would ban products originating from G/Cs, have come to be framed by the con- northern Cyprus from being traded in the flict in such a way as to never meet in a European market. In the G/C mind, the common communicative framework to central concern was to curb the de facto render meaningful exchange possible. Need- results of Turkish militant nationalism and less to say, persistent and in-depth dialogue its aim of making a part of the island entirely around issues is indispensable for any move- Turkish. When in 1994 the European Court ment toward a settlement. The challenge ruled that the exports from northern Cyprus therefore lies in strategizing ways to achieve did not carry the appropriate documentation a shift from antithetical modes of nationalist to meet the standard legal requirements for communication to a minimum, common the European market, the T/Cs interpreted communicative framework that can encom- the event as yet another attempt by the G/Cs pass and bring into the realm of dialogue the to break them economically, and to reduce major concerns of both sides. them to second-class citizens, perpetuating thereby the economic supremacy of the The Process of Non-Communication G/Cs. In the T/C mind, the event was remi- Through the National Symbols niscent of the ethnic majoritarianism tra- The dialectical process of non-communi- ditionally imposed by G/C nationalism in its cation also holds true in the public display claim to power over the entire island. In this of national symbols by each side. Along with sense, the T/Cs experienced the decision of the flag of the Republic of Cyprus, the G/Cs the European Court as a deplorable continu- have always flown the national flag of ation of the economic embargo they suffered Greece. Similarly, next to the flag of the in the enclaves during the 1960s, only this TRNC, the T/Cs have always flown the flag time on a grander scale, with the Europeans of Turkey. However, it is the national flags of on the side of the G/Cs. the respective motherlands that have Conditioned by the protracted nature of actually commanded the collective passions nationalist conflict, the mode of communi- of the two Cypriot communities. It is cation around the issue of property rights and with the Greek and Turkish flags that G/C trade has obstructed the G/Cs from under- and T/C nationalisms have traditionally standing that, while Turkey has occupied identified, as it is in relationship with the northern Cyprus through military force and motherlands that the concept of national has certainly violated G/Cs’ rights to their unity has been historically developed in each property, the T/Cs still need to survive econ- community. omically, and that this ought to be seriously From an objective historical vantage addressed in any relevant dialogue between point, the two national flags of Greece and the two sides. The T/Cs, on the other hand, Turkey, and all that is associated with them, while focusing on the economic survival of have undermined and continue to under- their own community, have tended to block mine the state sovereignty of the Republic out of the communication process the fact of Cyprus. Subjectively, however, the that the property rights of the G/Cs need to symbolism of the national flags, for each 05anastasiou (ds) 2/8/02 1:28 pm Page 587

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community, summarizes and represents a series of diachronic associations of subjec- meanings and experiences directly opposite tive historical memories on the one hand, to those attributed to them by the other and of nationalist stereotypes encompassing side. For the G/Cs, and especially for those and fossilizing these memories on the other. with explicit nationalist tendencies, the The fact that the national flag of each Greek flag has always constituted a symbol community is the flag of another country, of national pride, glory, grandeur, collective distinct from Cyprus, complicates the mean- identity, and ethnic purity. The equivalent ings even further. For each side, its national national symbol of the T/Cs, the Turkish flag turns out to be a symbol of pride and flag, has always been viewed by the G/Cs as ethno-national unity beyond the specific a symbol of shame, barbarism, and dark- state entity it represents. However, each side ness. Since 1974 in particular, in the eyes of has always considered the presence in Cyprus the G/Cs, the Turkish flag has contained the of the national flag of the other community meanings of invasion and occupation, of as a symbol of unacceptable claims over the missing persons, of illegality, of injustice, of island by a foreign state that simultaneously violence, of partition and Turkification of supports the unacceptable positions of the part of Cyprus. In a bi-communal corresponding Cypriot community. Ever encounter, a young G/C articulated the since the rise of nationalism on the island, matter quite succinctly when he stated, ‘I even after independence and more so in often go for a walk along the “green line” in 1974 and thereafter, the G/Cs have viewed Nicosia, I see the Turkish flag and I feel the flying of the flag of Turkey by the T/Cs insecure. I struggle with past memories and as an abominable symbol of foreign inter- present realities’ (Hadjipavlou-Trigeorgis, vention and occupation. But the T/Cs have 1998: 251). perceived the flying of the flag of Greece by For the T/Cs, on the other hand, the the G/C community in exactly the same way, Turkish flag has generally embodied a symbol namely, as an extension of the sovereignty of of collective protection, of salvation and Greece over the island of Cyprus. These facts support from the motherland. It has func- reveal a distinctive impasse in the process of tioned as a reference to the guarantee of their communication that is mediated through the physical security by the all-powerful Turkish national symbols that have been exhibited by state, and has been a reminder of the con- each community over the decades. Though dition that secures the separate collective they are held tacitly, the interpretations and identity of the T/Cs. In the eyes of the T/Cs, meanings attributed to the national flags by the Greek flag, on the other hand, has been each side have been both intense and potent a symbol of domination, degradation, in content. In this sense, the continued pres- oppression, siege, and violence. It has rep- ence of the Greek and Turkish flags in the resented for them their negative experiences G/C and T/C communities constitute of the 1960s, the backwardness, the depri- symbols that represent as well as preserve the vation, the perpetual containment in the Cyprus conflict. enclaves, the uncertainty, the missing At a deeper level, this process of mutual persons, the attempted Hellenization of the non-communication betrays a form of entire island, and the traditional G/C hypocrisy that is generally born within the nationalist aim of unifying Cyprus with schismatic psychological make-up of Greece. All these meaning-patterns of the nationalism, and the personality that two sides, which come into conflict around expresses it. This inner schism in the the national symbols, have been derived from nationalist mind can be illustrated as follows: 05anastasiou (ds) 2/8/02 1:28 pm Page 588

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While the national flag of ‘my own’ ethnic symbols of conflict, threat, and militarism. group self-evidently constitutes a necessary, This reality, which supersedes any abstractly rightful, and inalienable symbol of national attributed meanings, was once revealed in pride and justification, the national flag of the innocent observation of a 6-year-old boy, the ‘other’ ethnic group is clearly and essen- who upon seeing his national flag in a tially an unacceptable phenomenon, a military parade, turned to his father and said, symbol of shame, abomination, and under- ‘Look father, the flag of war!’ Here, the co- handedness. This antinomy reflects a double incidence of symbolic meanings and standard in how the nationalist mind inter- nationalist rivalry became complete! prets national symbols. Conditioned by a nationalistically laden history, it is derived The Process of Non-Communication from a collective pattern of perception Through the Mass Media whereby each side, while gazing with uncriti- Critics of the type of propaganda dissemi- cal familiarity at its own national symbols, is nated through the means of mass communi- disturbed and repelled by the national cation argue that the phenomenon not only symbols of the other side. The massive thrives under conditions of protracted con- Turkish and T/C flags painted on the side of flict, but that it also generates an effective, the Pentadaktilos mountain range, observ- general uniformity of thought within the able for over 20 miles into the G/C south, rival groups concerned; a uniformity that is the huge flags covering public buildings in precipitated around the major axis of the northern Nicosia, as well as the flying of the dispute (Ellul, 1973; Orwell, 1949). Turkish flag during military parades, are per- Interestingly, many have argued that, even ceived by G/Cs as a flagrant violation of irrespective of their specific content, the very justice, while their own Greek national structure of the mass media tends to facilitate symbols are seen as natural. On the other the establishment of generalized stereotypes hand, the indiscriminate flying of the Greek (McLuhan, 1964: 24, 32; Meyrowitz, 1985). flag on Greek Orthodox Church buildings In the case of Cyprus, under the pervasive (usually alongside the anachronistic flag of condition of protracted conflict, the long- the Byzantine Empire), the presence of the standing tradition of populist nationalism Greek flag on numerous public buildings, and the advent of the mass media have and even in the offices of certain ministers, naturally joined forces, decisively shaping the together with the flag of the Republic of public communication landscape of the Cyprus, are perceived by the Turkish side as island. The stereotypes of traditional a persistent attempt by the G/Cs to assert the nationalism, which have emerged in their Hellenic identity of Cyprus reminiscent of fury again and again, have been easily sus- the nationalist goal of enosis. tained and revived, partly because in the up- This non-verbal, but powerful and ever- to-date systems of mass communication they present, exchange of meanings through found the perfect media through which they national symbols results in the perpetual become entrenched and proliferate as a undermining and often annihilation of the central element of public culture. Appar- conditions necessary for genuine communi- ently, throughout the history of the Cyprus cation. When we grasp the national symbols, conflict, nationalism found its own stereo- not in isolation and in the abstract, as typical patterns of thought to be quite con- nationalism does, but in the context of the gruous with the modus operandi of the mass relationship between the two communities, means of communication. we see the national flags functioning as In Cyprus, the nationalist propaganda 05anastasiou (ds) 2/8/02 1:28 pm Page 589

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that has been either consciously or indirectly conducted more through direct control or assembled and disseminated over the years by supervision and even active intervention by the means of mass communication has trans- the administrative authorities, securing formed the experiences, perceptions, and thereby a more intense, immediate, and sub- interpretations rooted in the history of the stantive reinforcement of nationalism. Even conflict, from scattered suggestive tenden- though there have been non-nationalist cies, from implicit and individual references, voices, such as that of the newspaper Avrupa, to collectivized, crystallized stereotypes and questioning the traditional, nationalist men- explicit meanings that in turn have come to tality and policies characterizing the T/C integrate and condition public culture (Ellul, administration, the historical momentum of 1973: 34–38). nationalism is still the dominant force that The fact that since 1964 (and more so one must reckon with as it is directly linked after 1974) the two communities have hardly to the power structure of the status quo had any direct daily interpersonal or group (Ozgur, 2000). contact means that interaction and com- A glance at the media landscape in north- munication between the two sides have been ern Cyprus, particularly when one scrutinizes almost entirely restricted to the abstract the media originating from the north, reveals domain of the mass media. Communication a high degree of ‘government’ control and has thereby been occurring solely in the form a complete ‘state’ monopoly when it comes of an impersonal exchange of messages and to television broadcasting (Gumpert & stereotypes, through what, in time, have Drucker, 1998: 240–1). There are no pri- become standardized, mutual accusations, vately run television stations broadcasting characterizations, self-victimization, and a from the north. The only additions to the rhetoric based on one-sided, skewed, and electronic media landscape are transmissions often even unfounded nationalist assump- from Turkey. The press, on the other hand, tions (Papadakis, 1998). has been exclusively linked to political The specific language that is standardized parties. in and through the means of mass com- Hence, while in the case of the T/C communication, especially each time there is a re- munity, nationalism in the media culture has emergence of overt nationalism, is generally been a direct extension of centralized statism the language that conditions the content of and party politics, in the case of the G/C public culture. Consequently, the way of community, nationalism in the media has thinking that is associated with this kind of been occurring as a ‘free’ enterprising mass language binds, and often muzzles, anyone culture, which simultaneously has been who enters the public realm. In the G/C reflected in public political life. The dialecti- community, this condition has been occur- cal process of non-communication between ring mostly spontaneously, and, at times, the two communities has been taking place with a more or less subtle form of state inter- through the interaction between the domi- vention, depending on which party is in nant cultural nationalism of the G/Cs, on the government. More often than not, censor- one hand, and the dominant statist national- ship in the G/C community has been indi- ism of the T/Cs, on the other. rect through the nationalism permeating the What is interesting, but also tragic for the general culture, which inevitably cuts across interest of peace, is that whatever positive party lines. experiences of symbiosis and peaceful coexis- By contrast, in the T/C community, the tence between G/Cs and T/Cs may have style of nationalist censorship has been been inherited, or are even now taking place, 05anastasiou (ds) 2/8/02 1:28 pm Page 590

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they are restricted to people’s private and per- in its stance on nationalist discourse. sonal memories. In her philosophical and However, even as one disaggregates each social critique of totalitarian and fossilizing community, differentiating the nationalists thinking, Hanna Arendt has repeatedly from the non-nationalists, the fact remains warned that as the public realm becomes that the struggle to attain inter-ethnic under- devoid of ‘space’ for genuine dialogue, and standing between the two communities enmeshed into a singular, uniform reality, it hinges on breaking through the traditional gives rise to the prospect of violating and nationalist frameworks that have con- leveling the private realm (Arendt, 1958). ditioned political and cultural intercommu- Jacques Ellul and others have emphatically nal communication in the public realm since stressed the same issue and raised the same the colonial era. concern (Ellul, 1973: 165, 169–171; Mey- From the analysis of the communication rowitz, 1985: 16). dynamics in Cyprus transpires the fact that This condition is typical of the post-1974 there are two major obstacles to opening up youth. It has been brought to sharp focus in the process of communication. The first is a recent film entitled Unwitnessed Memories, constituted by the fact that the cumulative in which interviewed youths reflect a schism pain resulting from the protracted conflict in their souls and minds as regards their per- has closed down historical memory by focus- sonal relationship to the conflict. Having ing collective remembrance almost exclus- been raised under ceasefire conditions, in an ively on the highlighted references to one’s ethnically segregated society, these youths own suffering and grievances. The second appeared caught between the inherited concerns the fact that, historically, national- nationalist memories and related moral obli- ism has sealed the pain of each community gations to their ethnic group, on the one into collective mental and cultural frame- hand, and their personal life-experiences on works that operate a priori through polarized the other, which have no connection to the stereotypes of ‘us’ and ‘them’, of ‘justice’ and dark side of the ethnic conflict. In the reflec- ‘violation’, of ‘absolute good’ and ‘absolute tions of the young people, it becomes evident evil’ (Kizilyurek, 1993). Moreover, the that these two domains are becoming linkage that naturally occurs in ethno- increasingly incongruous, generating a sense national conflict between the pain of one’s of bewilderment, and even guilt, around the own community and nationalism as a closed- fact that the life-perspective they are ended world- and life-view inevitably stalls expected to adopt bears little association with communication, preventing thereby the the world they personally experience. In possibility of perceiving and understanding Cyprus, the protracted nature of the conflict, the pain and the grievances of the other side, even under ceasefire conditions, has tended an acknowledgement that is imperative for to unjustly tax Cypriot youth both psycho- orienting dialogue toward a resolution. logically and mentally. Therefore, for genuine communication to open up, it is necessary to pursue strategies and approaches at all levels of interaction Deconstructing Nationalist Non- that tend to deconstruct the relationship Communication between, on the one hand, the pain and While nationalism weighs down on the suffering as the human dimension of the collective conscience of the Cypriots as the conflict, and, on the other hand, the adver- dominant legacy of their history, neither the sarial nationalist frameworks that monopo- G/C nor the T/C community is monolithic listically claim and usurp the suffering. 05anastasiou (ds) 2/8/02 1:28 pm Page 591

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Certainly this is not an easy feat, as it suggests intermittent support of third parties, this performing a kind of strategic and intellec- citizen-based, peace-enhancing effort has tual neurosurgery on the conflict relation- initiated, over the years, a great number of ships. activities, ranging from joint workshops on However, in spite of the extraordinary conflict management and conflict resolution, obstacles, there have been a number of to strategy meetings, to think-tanks on approaches and efforts at initiating com- various aspects of the Cyprus problem, to munication that have achieved precisely this joint social and recreational activities, to structural disassociation of the distinctive development of a common vision. During human dimension of the conflict from the the first phases of all these activities, ‘con- inherited nationalism. They concern efforts trolled communication’ was employed that have emerged and have been nurtured through specially designed methods of facili- mainly in the context of the bi-communal tation, so as to manage the conflict and citizen-based peace movement that has been render interaction constructive and sustain- on the rise since the early 1990s, almost in able. Through the process, the bi-communal direct contrast to the relapsing nationalism of groups have struggled through various the same period (Hadjipavlou-Trigeorgis, critical aspects of the psychological, concep- 1998: 259). Assisted by third-party facili- tual, historical, social, and political dimen- tation and support, mainly from the USA sions of the problem, some of which were not and partly from Europe, citizens from both only complex and exceedingly difficult to communities have made the conscious deal with, but also extremely painful to decision to become engaged in direct inter- encounter (Broome, 1997, 1998; Fisher, personal communication with ‘the enemy’. 1992; Hadjipavlou-Trigeorgis, 1998). How- With the support of the United Nations, and ever, the structured mode of interaction that the persistent and continuous interventions effective, third-party facilitation provided of third parties, citizens of the two com- restrained the familiar, overwhelming, and munities have been able to meet since the paralyzing impact of nationalism on the early 1990s, both on and off the island, yet communication process. This structured not without suspicion, long interruptions, process, thereby, gradually allowed the two and even ostracization by members of their sides to openly share their particular human own communities. Their meetings have been dimension of the conflict, namely, the past taking place mostly in the buffer zone in the and present suffering, the grievances, and the capital city of Nicosia. Following the sense of injustice that each felt needed to be decision of the European Union not to addressed. The bi-communal peace-seeking accept Turkey as a candidate for membership groups, which I have observed through active in December 1997, the T/C administration participation, gave rise to a new kind of forbade bi-communal contacts for more than experiential knowledge reminiscent of the a year. But a number of citizens managed to words of Longfellow when he asserted, ‘If we overcome this obstacle either by continuing could read the secret history of our enemies to communicate through the use of the Inter- we should find in each man’s life sorrow and net or by meeting in Pyla, the last bi-com- suffering enough to disarm all hostility’ munal village adjacent to the British (Chattalas, 1984: 95). sovereign base of Dhekelia that ended up in It has been noted by outside observers the buffer zone following the 1974 troubles. that these bi-communal meetings reveal ‘a Using a variety of conflict-resolution “coming together” with participants opening methodologies and approaches, through the up, sharing their mutual feelings of loss and 05anastasiou (ds) 2/8/02 1:28 pm Page 592

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separation from the entirety of their Cypriot munication based on ‘relational empathy’ heritage’ (Gumpert & Drucker, 1998: 243). started to take effect (Broome, 1993: 103). As communication matured and inter- On this basis, it became possible to address personal bonds of friendship and trust basic human needs in a new light, beyond started to become established, G/Cs and their imprisonment in traditional national- T/Cs moved to the next level of jointly ism. In this context, there evolved innumer- developing conceptual structures by which a able efforts to develop a joint understanding whole range of issues pertaining to the con- of civil society, to design citizen-based flict were reframed in an expanded and more strategies and actions, to consider alternative inclusive perspective. Higher and deeper modes of power sharing, and to develop a levels of awareness were attained as regards, sense of a common vision for the future. In on the one hand, the meaning, structure, and regard to directly addressing the political historical complexity of the conflict, and, on aspect of the Cyprus problem, the most the other, possible options, strategies, and notable bi-communal effort was made by the directives for rapprochement, including Oslo Group and the Harvard Study Group, reflections and conceptualizations of realistic who generated a set of creative, conflict- paths toward a political settlement. As an resolution ideas providing directives and a active participant and/or facilitator in bi- general framework for the settlement of the communal groups for over a decade, I can Cyprus problem. Since the late 1990s, the attest to the repeated statements made by work of both of these groups has been praised members of both communities expressing by third parties and Cypriot moderates, their expanded and often fundamentally new while fiercely attacked by nationalists who understanding of the other side, and subse- object to the involvement of citizens in such quently of the Cyprus problem. On a think-tanks. number of occasions, T/Cs stated that for the From the long, arduous, repeated and first time they understood the pain that the ever-renewed effort of peace-enhancing bi- G/Cs suffered in 1974 and why the G/Cs communal groups sprang also a plethora of have a deep need to have access to the north- parallel and complementary practical actions ern part of Cyprus. On the other hand, many and projects, giving both symbolic and con- G/Cs confessed ignorance and surprise upon crete expression to peacebuilding as a central finding out that the other community, just factor of social transformation. These activi- like their own, has had its refugees and ties have effectively enhanced the vision of missing persons (Hadjipavlou-Trigeorgis, reconciliation, both across as well as within 1998). In these encounters, a shift had slowly the ethnic communities (Wolleh, 2001). taken place whereby the traditional pattern In recent years, we have witnessed a signifi- of interaction based on ‘reified’ and ‘objecti- cant increase in the number of active bi- fied’ images of ‘the other’ – so inadequate for communal groups, as well as in the number effective communication – was replaced by a of citizens showing interest in participating in ‘dialogic model’ of communication the rapprochement effort. We have also seen (Bakhtin, 1984: 293). the emergence and establishment of non- In this process, there occurred a gradual governmental organizations (NGOs) as a dissociation of the deeper human needs and vital element of civil society that was hitherto interests, such as security, identity, com- unknown to Cyprus. As it has gained munity, economic development, and vitality, strength and confidence, the bi-communal from the formal, stagnating, nationalistic peace movement has persistently raised the positions of the two sides. A pattern of com- demand for the ‘right to communicate’ as an 05anastasiou (ds) 2/8/02 1:28 pm Page 593

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inseparable element of human rights forbidden line, to dream, plan, and act (Gumpert & Drucker, 1998: 238). But this together for a better future! In this context, demand for the right to communicate has the new communication technologies, the acquired significance only because it has been Internet and cyberspace in general, have accompanied by the ‘will to communicate’, as been utilized and integrated by the a precondition for peace. In this way, the bi- bi-communal movement into the rapproche- communal efforts of G/Cs and T/Cs have ment process as peace-promoting instru- reinforced and validated the pleas of men like ments. In this regard, the bi-communal Jean D’Arcy for formalizing the right to com- movement has moved ahead of the trend municate within official human rights identified by analysts in which post- (D’Arcy, 1979). industrial means of communication are seen Some nationalist critics of the peace as a potential aggravator of conflict (Lijphart, movement have argued that the bi-com- 1994: 258). Projects under titles such as munal meetings in the buffer zone have been ‘Technology for Peace’ and websites such as in essence artificial. At face value, one can http://www.tech4peace.org and http://www. indeed agree. The place of the encounter, the peace-cyprus.org, as well as the hundreds of planned and structured process, the method- e-mail exchanges taking place between peace ical features of the facilitation, the conflict- activists from the two communities, are a resolution techniques, all are set up as a testimony of how the bi-communal move- constructed event. Ironically, however, in the ment has begun to modify, however slightly, buffer zone, in this neutral, but dead, sphere the communication landscape of divided of no-man’s land, this structured, artificial Cyprus (Durduran, 2000). environment created the occasion for Paradoxically, for the bi-communal peace members of the two communities to meet movement, the buffer zone, which is nothing and become genuinely engaged with one other than a dead sociopolitical space, another. This process eventually gave rise to embodying and symbolizing a legacy of a new breed of Cypriots. The initial means hatred and violence, has been transformed that were employed may have been artificial, not only into a significant springboard for but the direct, personal encounters were real, new thinking and action, but also into a lever perhaps more real with respect to grasping for exerting a formative influence on the the depth and breadth of the Cyprus conflict respective communities. No doubt the pro- and the full range of central issues that need tracted nature of the conflict and the related to be addressed than the way the average nationalism still weigh heavily on Cypriot citizen, immersed in the nationalism of society. However, in the last analysis, having his/her community, experiences and under- opened a window of communication in a stands the problem. new peace-seeking framework of meaning, In the buffer zone, G/C and T/C citizens the bi-communal movement has effected, in from across the social and political spectrum the respective communities, a partial erosion created, for the first time, a form of ‘public of public nationalist culture, by gradually space’, to use Arendt’s term, that was safe and infusing into the public domain an alterna- secure enough to engage in hard but genuine tive vision of Cypriot society. It has created a dialogue, to express pain, as well as hope, to constituency, however small, providing, for raise grievances as well as accept responsi- the first time, trans-party and trans-ethnic bilities, to re-evaluate as well as to envision public legitimacy for those rare political the world anew, to cry as well as to laugh with leaders who see the need to move beyond the ‘the enemy’, to form friendships across the traditional nationalist approaches to a more 05anastasiou (ds) 2/8/02 1:28 pm Page 594

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reconciliatory, federally decentralized schema adversarial nationalist frameworks. None of of political symbiosis and settlement. In this the achievements of the bi-communal peace sense, the bi-communal peace movement has movement would have been possible without been giving concrete samples of what the creating the conditions for direct communi- United Nations resolutions on Cyprus have cation between G/C and T/C citizens, or by been demanding for more than 37 years. leaving the communication process solely in As a result of the efforts of the bi-com- the hands of the mass media and nationalist munal movement, public opinion is no terms of reference. Compared to the whole of longer exclusively captive to nationalism. A Cypriot society, and its long habituation to a new approach in communicative interaction, culture of conflict, the bi-communal move- a new mind-set, engaging citizens too, with ment remains considerably weak. But when new analyses and approaches conducive to a compared to the fruits it yielded given the peaceful settlement, have, in effect, started to difficult conditions in which it was compelled enter public culture. A shifting of the focus to operate, then its strength can be fully of communication from adversarial, appreciated. nationalist approaches to peace-enhancing Moreover, on the basis of the above analy- visions, strategies, options, and policies has sis, one must not conclude that only the been gradually emerging in the realm of active peacebuilders are in favor of trans- public visibility. Representatives of the nationalist, inter-ethnic dialogue and con- citizens’ peace movement have been making structive interaction between the two decisive and increasing contributions to communities. All along, there have been a public opinion formation through their pres- number of citizens in both communities who ence in the mass media, including the press, have in fact been questioning the traditional radio, and television. Though there is still nationalist discourse. The important issue, fierce opposition by nationalists to rap- however, is that until the work of the peace- prochement contacts and communication builders and their alternative political culture between the two communities, there is clear became consolidated and openly visible in evidence to suggest that a new generation of the form of a peace movement in the 1990s, citizens, ready to support reconciliation, is these citizens had no voice in the public on the rise. Moreover, this process of ‘citizen realm with which to identify, whereas now diplomacy’ on the ‘track two’ level has also they are both empowered and represented in been criss-crossing the official politics of public culture and dialogue. ‘track one’, not only by reason of opportune The bi-communal peace movement of contacts, but also by intention and strategy. Cyprus will continue to be exposed to the In this, a considerable array of new ideas on reactionary criticisms of the nationalists. the parameters and possibilities of a solution Certainly, the historical momentum of to the Cyprus problem, incubated by think- nationalism in the two Cypriot communi- tanks of the bi-communal movement, have ties, with its dominant grip on both public been silently finding their way into the opinion and the majority of political leaders, formal negotiation process. will persist. But, with the peace movement, All the above indicates that strengthening an alternative path has been placed before the direct, interpersonal contact between the two Cypriots, concerning an approach and a communities, at all levels of society, consti- mode of communication that bears directly tutes an essential element and catalyst for on whether the fundamental options relevant initiating and developing modes of com- to the future of Cyprus will become closed munication that transcend the traditional down and minimized, or opened up and 05anastasiou (ds) 2/8/02 1:28 pm Page 595

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optimized. It must also be noted that, Broome, Benjamin J., 1997. ‘Designing a Collec- although it was born and developed under an tive Approach to Peace: Interactive Design and extremely constraining and forbidding Problem-Solving Workshops with Greek- public opinion, the peace movement of Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot Communities in Cyprus finally found full legitimacy and Cyprus’, International Negotiation 2(3): 381–407. official support from the Greek government Broome, Benjamin J., 1998. ‘Overview of Con- in the late 1990s, when the Simitis govern- flict Resolution Activities in Cyprus: Their ment assumed an open rapprochement Contribution to the Peace Process’, Cyprus policy toward Turkey, involving, first and Review 10(1): 47–66. foremost, direct citizen contacts. Calotychos, Vangelis, ed., 1998. Cyprus and its All those who fiercely object to inter- People: Nation, Identity and Experience in an personal and direct intercommunal contacts, Unimaginable Community, 1955–1997. either indirectly through a dominant portion Boulder, CO: Westview. of G/C public opinion or more directly Chattalas, Angelos M., 1984. Pearls of Wisdom: through the interventionist policies of the An Anthology of Quotations and Philosophical T/C administration, understand, perhaps, Thoughts. Larnaca: Libarid. the positive power of interpersonal contact Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation, 2002. News, 9 February. and direct communication. For, clearly, the D’Arcy, Jean, 1979. ‘The Right to Communi- enhancement of positive contacts, opening cate’, Interim Report of the International up public dialogue around matters pertaining Commission for the Study of Communication to peace, would leave the most nationalisti- Problems. Paris: UNESCO. cally inclined persons in each community Denktash, Rauf R., 1982. The Cyprus Triangle. exposed to their own insufficiency and irrele- Boston, MA: Allen & Unwin. vance, as they would remain enslaved to a Durduran, Turgut, 2000. ‘Jumping the Wire mind of permanent animosity and entrapped Through the Internet’, Friends of Cyprus in the historical cul-de-sac of the past. Report 43 (Autumn): 21. Ellul, Jacques, 1973. Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes. New York: Vintage. References European Court of Human Rights, 2001. Case of Cyprus v. Turkey. Strasbourg, 10 May. Alter, Peter, 1994. Nationalism. London & New Fisher, Ronald J., 1992. Peacebuilding for Cyprus: York: Edward Arnold. Report on a Conflict Analysis Workshop, June Anderson, Benedict, 1995. Imagined Communi- 17–21, 1991. Ottawa: Canadian Institute for ties: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of International Peace and Security. Nationalism. London & New York: Verso. Gadamer, Hans-George, 1975. Truth and Arendt, Hanna, 1958. The Human Condition. Method. New York: Seabury. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Gellner, Ernst, 1994. ‘Nationalism and High Bakhtin, Mikhail M., 1984. Problems of Dosto- Culture’, in Hutchinson & Smith (63–70). evsky’s Poetics, trans. and ed. C. Emerson. Gumpert, Gary & Susan J. Drucker, 1998. ‘Com- Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota munication Across Lands Divided: The Press. Cyprus Communication Landscape’, in Calo- Broome, Benjamin J., 1993. ‘Managing Differ- tychos (237–249). ences in Conflict Resolution: The Role of Hadjipavlou-Trigeorgis, Maria, 1998. ‘Different Relational Empathy’, in Dennis J. Sandole & Relationships to the Land: Personal Narra- Hugo Van Der Merwe, eds, Conflict Resolution tives, Political Implications and Future Possi- Theory and Practice: Integration and Appli- bilities in Cyprus’, in Calotychos (251–276). cation. Manchester: Manchester University Hobsbawm, Eric, 1994. ‘The Nation as Invented Press (95–111). Tradition’, in Hutchinson & Smith (76–83). 05anastasiou (ds) 2/8/02 1:28 pm Page 596

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Hutchinson, John & Anthony D. Smith, eds, Papadakis, Yiannis, 1998. ‘Enosis and Turkish 1994. Nationalism. Oxford: Oxford Uni- Expansionism: Real Myths or Mythic versity Press. Realities?’, in Calotychos (69–84). Ignatieff, Michael, 1995. Blood and Belonging: Volkan, Vamik D., 1979. Cyprus – War and Adap- Journeys into the New Nationalism. New York: tation: A Psychoanalytic History of Two Ethnic Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Groups in Conflict. Charlottesville, VA: Uni- Kedourie, Elie, 1994. ‘Nationalism and Self- versity Press of Virginia. Determination’, in Hutchinson & Smith Wolleh, Oliver, 2001. Citizen Rapprochement by (49–55). the Local Peace Constituencies: Bi-Communal Kizilyurek, Niazi, 1993. Hi Kypros Peran tou Conflict Resolution Trainers Group in Cyprus. Ethnous [Cyprus Beyond the Nation]. Nicosia: Berlin: Berghof Research Center for Con- G. Kasoulides & Son. structive Conflict Management. Lijphart, Arend, 1994. ‘Ethnic Conflict in the Worsley, Peter & Paschalis Kitromilites, eds, West’, in Hutchinson & Smith (258–261). 1979. Small States in the Modern World: The Loizos, Peter, 1998. ‘How Might Turkish and Conditions of Survival. Nicosia: Zavallis. Greek Cypriots See Each Other More Clearly?’, in Calotychos (35–51). McLuhan, Marshall, 1964. Understanding Media: HARRY ANASTASIOU, b. 1951, PhD in The Extensions of Man. New York: McGraw- Political Sociology of Peace and Conflict Hill. (Union Institute & University, Cincinnati, Meyrowitz, Joshua, 1985. No Sense of Place: The OH, 2002); Portland State University, Con- Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior. flict Resolution Program; academic and prac- Oxford: Oxford University Press. titioner in the field of conflict resolution and Oberling, Pierre, 1982. The Road to Bellapais: The peacebuilding; core member of the Harvard Turkish Cypriot Exodus to Northern Cyprus. Study Group, a think-tank addressing the New York: Columbia University Press. Cyprus problem (1998– ); pioneer in the Orwell, George, 1949. Nineteen Eighty-Four. development and growth of a citizen-based, London: Secker &Warburg. bi-communal peace movement in Cyprus. Ozgur, Ozker, 2000. ‘This Is the Situation’, Current main interest: nationalism and ethnic Friends of Cyprus Report 43 (Autumn): 21. conflict.