In the face of what is raging just a few kilometres away from us, the significance of everything else fades. However, the battles of everyday life continue to rage on.
Two citizens of the Republic of Cyprus, one Turkish Cypriot (Oz Karahan) and one Greek Cypriot (George Tattis) were arrested during the parade for the 64th anniversary of the Republic of Cyprus as they attempted to unfurl a banner reading “Republic of Cyprus: The only solution.”
The two were handcuffed (something that hadn’t been done for a convicted murderer who had escaped) and were taken to police headquarters, where they were charged with insulting police officers.
Faced with criticism, the police seem to have decided to harden their stance. When they did this before, a young woman lost part of her vision from the force of the water sprayed against her by the infamous water cannon, ‘Aiantas’ (which is soon expected to gain two siblings).
Now, in a similar display of order and security, two peaceful activist citizens are being treated like criminals, sending a clear message to everyone: behave yourselves.
Even if one accepts that the two citizens spoke harshly to the police officers, they obviously didn’t do so without reason.
They tried to open the banner, the police tried to stop them, they asked for explanations, and tension arose.
But since when has it been a crime to unfurl a banner at a parade? Or perhaps the text must first be submitted to a committee for approval?
We’ve said we want a more capable police force, but we also need officers who can assess the situations they face without creating more issues themselves. The line isn’t even thin; it’s very clear.
“Republic of Cyprus, the only solution” is simply an opinion, one shared by thousands, just as thousands of others support different forms of solutions, even though no solution is visible on any horizon.
The world is burning from all directions, and we are just a footnote in history (that’s just another opinion).
Two years ago, a woman of Chinese descent was arrested in the same place as she tried to approach Nikos Christodoulides to hand him a recommendation letter from a mutual acquaintance to help her — as she said — find a job.
Nikos Christodoulides wasn’t president yet, but the woman was quite perceptive. Still, although the president later helped many people find employment, we never saw the Chinese woman again.
She had even dressed up nicely, wanting to honour our Republic, which was then celebrating its 62nd anniversary. A Republic that has yet to mature. A psychoanalyst would find many reasons for this difficulty, but might be blamed for what they would say.