OPPORTUNITY and
A REQUEST TO THE MAYOR
(Publication Date: February 2, 2007)
Uncle Mehmet was saying to his grandchild: “Son, don’t pay attention to them; this is not how it should be done.”
Thinking his grandfather was old-fashioned, his grandchild snapped back: “Times have changed, Grandpa; you’re stuck in the past.”
A faint smile appeared on Uncle Mehmet’s face: “Things are still the same as they were before, my child... Anyway, you’ll understand in time.”
***
Those who follow my columns will know.
The days when the ‘Annan Plan’ was on the agenda—a plan that confused people; haunted children’s nightmares; was an indispensable topic of debate on TV; turned neighbors against each other; led people to have loud conversations in their personal relationships when they disagreed; and, on top of all that, had many powers—are a period for me.
I call this period the ‘Annan Plan Period.’
There are many benefits to calling a period of time a ‘period.’
As in the observations I have just made, it creates opportunities to make good use of that period of time.
In addition to all this, periods make it easier to learn lessons, both personally and socially, by drawing on the proverb: ‘A calamity is better than a thousand pieces of advice.’
Did we learn lessons from that period?
I cannot say for certain.
For one thing is certain: the branches that those who, during the ‘Annan Plan Period,’ guided society in what some considered the ‘right’ direction and others the ‘wrong’ one, and convinced people that a solution in Cyprus could only come through reunification, clung to were broken one by one very shortly after that period (that is, today).
As in the dialogue between a grandfather and grandchild during that period, we have a result that proves Uncle Mehmet’s words to his grandchild right: “You’ll understand in time.”
The KADEM poll results that made headlines at the start of the week confirm what we have been saying.
According to KADEM’s data,
65 percent of Turkish Cypriots favor a “two-state solution”...
The research does not stop
at this finding!
Society is not letting those who deceived it during that period go unpunished: It shows that people no longer trust political parties and trust the army and the police most.
This is a result of the ‘Annan Plan
Period’ (of course, those who resigned from their own parties and switched sides and/or founded parties and formed governments).
But the lack of trust in
political parties is not a good development!
Because the importance of politics in resolving problems is an undeniable fact; however, no initiative that does not have public support can succeed…
I have not particularly discussed this topic, which has been in the news since the start of the week.
I waited for the process of turning the poll results into a political tool to pass.
Unfortunately, political parties are missing a good opportunity by ignoring the danger of “low levels of trust” and failing to discuss how to increase trust.
As always, representatives of political parties and their spokespeople in the press are hunting for votes.
But the importance of this poll lies in learning lessons from it, rather than turning it into a political tool.
Actually, I am not the one making this observation, either.
The poll says it:
Only 14 percent of Turkish
Cypriots are very interested in politics!
Let those who turn
everything into a political tool take note…
A REQUEST TO THE MAYOR
Nicosia Turkish Municipality Mayor
Mr. Bulutoğulları continues to do good work.
According to the statement made yesterday: “Asphalt work, which will continue until the end of the year, will proceed alongside sewer, water, and sidewalk work.”
The report in yesterday’s TAK
bulletin also included Mr. Bulutoğulları’s comments.
In this statement, the Mayor said that “once this work is completed, all of Nicosia’s roads will be finished with asphalt of a quality that will not need to be reviewed for twenty years.”
Everything sounds good...
But we have
a request for the Mayor.
Dear Mayor,
please ensure that the infrastructure to be built (sidewalks, sewers, drainage lines, water pipes) is designed for the future.
Otherwise, our asphalt, which is supposed to be “of a quality that will not need to be reviewed for twenty years,” will be full of potholes.
Just so you know...
While we have you
here, let me ask again: (I also asked in my January 5, 2007 column titled ‘What was done in Dikmen?’ Note: To access the column, you can use www.cemkar.net...)
When will you hold a press conference about the latest situation in Dikmen?
Good luck with your work...
Until Monday… Be respectful in traffic!
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