Mr. Argyrou is extremely misinformed about Greek Cypriot patriotic songs that are taught in Greek Cypriot schools. Their primary slogans are very similar to the recent graphite's that were written on the top of the highest building near the Ledra Street border gate in Nicosia. The graphite's stated, "Death to the Turks" and "Axe and fire to the Turkish dogs." The Turkish Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that, "Having failed to adopt any measures to prevent incidents such as the inhumane treatment of our citizens and foreigners at the border gates, the extensive damage inflicted on the cars carrying TRNC license plates and the beating-up of the Turkish Cypriot students studying at the British School in the South, the Greek Cypriot leadership has opted for a policy of lending support to such incidents." I would hardly call slogans advocating mass murder of an entire group of people songs "about freedom from brutal Turkish oppression," as Mr. Argyrou claims.

The Ottoman Empire was not as bad as Mr. Argyrou would like Israelis to believe. In 1492, Sultan Bayezid II was one of the few rulers of his day who accepted the expelled Jews of Spain with open arms. Jews held prominent positions in the Ottoman System, as did Christians. There were no pogroms in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Turks did not force people to convert or die by the sword. The Ottoman Empire was one of the most tolerant empires in human history. Everyone was treated according to their laws: Jews and Christians had their own laws that were applied only to their societies, whereas Muslims had their own laws that were only applied to them. The allegation that minorities were treated badly in the Ottoman Empire is inaccurate. Anyone who seriously studies Ottoman history is astonished by the level of freedom for minorities in the Ottoman Empire compared to any of the other empires that existed during that exact same time period. Minorities were never second class citizens. In fact, minorities were favored over Turkish people. Most of the Famous Pashas, high ranked government officials and army commanders were of non-Muslim origin. Minorities were exempted from being soldiers. This gave them many opportunities to pursue business, a privilege that the Greeks benefited from. The Phanariots became so rich they became the monetary bank of the entire empire. In return, they were charged a small extra wealth tax. I am sure that the Greek Cypriots were more than willing to pay to be exempted from Turkish army work!

The Treaty of Guarantee, written in 1960 after the British departed from Cyprus, did not violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as Mr. Argyrou claimed. To the contrary, it was a treaty that reaffirmed the human rights of every body on the island. This treaty stated that Turkey, Greece, the United Kingdom, the Greek Cypriots, and the Turkish Cypriots would all guarantee the independence of Cyprus. Cyprus was to be a republic. According to a report written by the British Parliament, "From its very inception, the Republic of Cyprus was never a unitary state in which there is only one electorate with a majority and minority. The two communities were political equals and each existed as a political entity, just as both large and small states exist within the structure of the European Union." The President would be Greek Cypriot; the Vice President would be Turkish Cypriot. Power rested in the legislative branch, which was 70% Greek Cypriot and 30% Turkish Cypriot. The Treaty of Guarantee is democratic in the sense that it respected every body's rights, like all liberal democratic systems should. Also, it is important to remember that this treaty was not imposed by the British. The Turks, Greeks, British, Turkish Cypriots, and Greek Cypriots are all on record of consenting to this treaty with their own free will. Their signatures are all on the Treaty of Guarantee, one of the founding treaties of the 1960's Republic of Cyprus. For this reason, it is ridiculous that the Greek Cypriots signed this treaty with their own free will and then say that it was imposed on them, thus justifying their persecution of the Turkish Cypriots.

Mr. Argyrou is wrong to state that the Turks pulled out of the government in the 1960's. They were forced out of the government by the Greek Cypriots, who high jacked the constitution and started a campaign of genocide against the Turkish Cypriots. As Makarios stated himself in a sermon at Panayia village on September 4, 1962, "Until this Turkish community forming part of the Turkish race which has been the terrible enemy of Hellenism is expelled, the duty of the heroes of EOKA can never be considered as terminated." Contrary to the myths made by Mr. Argyrou, the Turks were unarmed and without support. Even the Turkish Cypriot police were unarmed, thus leading them to be taken hostage by the Greek Cypriot police, who were armed, as documented by Harry Scott Gibbons in the "Genocide Files." Thus, for eleven years, the Turkish Cypriots would suffer unspeakable tragedies. The UK Commons Select Committee found that "There is little doubt that much of the violence which the Turkish Cypriots claim led to the total or partial destruction of 103 Turkish villages and the displacement of about a quarter of the total Turkish Cypriot population, was either directly inspired by, or certainly connived at, by the Greek Cypriot leadership."

It is absolutely mind-boggling how Mr. Argyrou distorts history. The Akritas Plan was not a reform of the constitution that the Greek Cypriots consented to. Even Greek Cypriot Lt. General George Karayiannis admitted this, when he stated that "When the Turkish Cypriots objected to the amendment of the constitution Makarios put his plan into effect, and the Greek Cypriot attack began in December 1963." In other words, the Akritas Plan was the Greek Cypriot plan on how to deceive the world about their true intentions, which was the mass murder of the Turkish Cypriots since they refused to accept changes that would make them third class citizens. As the Akritas Plan states, "we must be ready to proceed immediately through actions, including the immediate declaration of Enosis." According to a statement that Makarios made to Bunte Illustrierte in 1972, "The union of Cyprus with Greece (Enosis) required the extermination of the Turkish Cypriot community." Whether Mr. Argyrou likes it or not, Makarios is the terrorist, not Denktas. In fact, Professor Ernst Forsthoff, the neutral President of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Cyprus, told Die Welt on December 27, 1963, that "Makarios bears on his shoulders the sole responsibility of the recent tragic events." Makarios was the leader of EOKA, a Greek Cypriot terrorist organization that is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Turkish and Greek Cypriots.

One cannot help but be amazed at how Mr. Argyrou perverts the history of Bloody Christmas. Bloody Christmas is a historic fact. As Harry Scott Gibbons, author of the "Genocide Files," explains, "During the night of December 20-21, 1963, the Greeks launched a series of attacks on Turks throughout the Nicosia area. The combined forces of uniformed Greek Cypriot police and civilian EOKA gunmen began systematically to murder Turks and arrest and disarm Turkish policemen. At the same time, the Greek Cypriots took complete control of the Cyprus government information organization and announced the legal authorities were putting down a Turkish uprising. Within days, Turkish civil servants through out the island had been ousted from their positions and Greeks now ran the entire governmental administration. Armed EOKA thugs physically prevented the Vice President, a Turk, Dr. Fazıl Kucuk; from entering his office." These statements are confirmed by the Guardian, which reported on December 31, 1963, that "it is nonsense to claim, as the Greek Cypriots do, that all causalities were caused by fighting between armed men of both sides. On Christmas Eve many Turkish Cypriot people were brutally attacked and murdered in their suburban homes." To deny the gravity of the suffering of the Turkish Cypriots on Bloody Christmas is absolutely despicable and historically inaccurate.

It is mind-boggling how Mr. Argyrou claims that an unarmed Turkish Cypriot population had the power to ethnically cleanse the heavily armed Greek Cypriot population. Such statements go contrary to historical fact. His perversion of numbers is a discredit to academic scholarship. Mr. Argyrou's numbers totally contradict those given by the United States Senate, which claimed that 20,000 Greek Cypriots were forced to move from Northern to Southern Cyprus, while 34,000 Turkish Cypriots were forced to move from Southern to Northern Cyprus. The 194,000 Greek Cypriot refugees in Southern Cyprus are the result of the Greek coup, where Simpson overthrew Makarios in a coup because he did not want to complete the genocide against Turkish Cypriots fast enough for his liking. Upon gaining power, he would slaughter many Greek Cypriot Makarios supporters, in addition to the Turkish Cypriots. As the Washington Star reported on July 22, 1974, "Bodies littered the streets and there were mass burials. People who were told by Makarios to lay down their guns were shot by the National Guard." Sampson was even more fanatical in his extermination plans than Makarios. Sampson wanted the Turkish Cypriots to be annihilated with all possible speed. These facts are confirmed by Nicos Sampson himself, who stated in the Greek newspaper Eleftherotipia on February 26, 1981 that "Had Turkey not intervened I would not only have proclaimed Enosis but I would have annihilated the Turks in Cyprus." Given these facts, who are the true victims of genocide?