Nihat Ilhan propaganda..

[Orphic_Hymn]

During the turmoil of 63' alot of attrociies were commited by both sides and while today the events have been condemned, it seems that some simply can not get over the propaganda tactics used in the 50's (staged bombing of the house of Ataturk in Thessaloniki by Turkish secret service) and 60's (staged bombing of the Nicosia Turkish Press Office by the TMT)..

We all know of the well known circulated photograph of children killed in a bathtub, which has been used by Turkey and the ilegall pseudo-state in an attempt to justify the already condemned by UN Resolutions, ilegal presence of the occupation forces on the island..


But how did it really happen ???

It was the 24th of December 1963, when the Major of the Turkish (NOT Turko-Cypriot) Army Nihat Ilhan, literally in a stage of amock, slayed his wife and three children in his house in the center of Leukosia.

Denktash and his TMT propaganda agents who's sole interest was the division of the island as their very slogan "Partition or Death" clearly indicates, took the bodies and placed them in the bathtub where the photoreporter Ahmet Baran was ordered to photograph them and distribute the pictures claiming that this was the result of HC attrocities in the city..dispite the fact that nothing had taken place in the district in question during the events of that day..

(This is a summary of the original statement given to Kostas Genaris by the very man that took the photographs, the photoreporter Ahmet Baran, as presented in his book "Ex Anatolon" p.16-18.)

The horrific events of that night were also described to Arif Hasan Tahsin, then under Denktash's orders and since then one of the major anti-Denktash and anti-occupation forces collumnist.
Denktash had told him that "These dead are usefull to us, through them, our voice will be heard around the world"

It is interesting to note that the only attempt to discredit the events described in K.Genaris' book comes not as a suprize, from the official site of Rauf Denktash . Here, we have the unfortunate pleasure of becoming, once again, witness to how the Turkish and pseudo-states propaganda machine works.

In an attempt to discredit Ahmed Baran's statement and K.Genaris book Turkey and the pseudo-state mobilized yet another individual with dubious backgroud and anything but pure intentions to promote the truth.

We find Tom Roche who is media adviser to the former puppet-leader Denktash and his pseudo-state AND a shareholder and 'consultant' of Hillcrest Estates, (Hillcrest Estates part of the UK brach, is a Cyprus-based real estate agency.. just one of several such agencies trying to sell the illegally occupied Cypriot lands)
Tom Roche claimed that his photo was taken by his alleged friend Stan Meagher. (note that Stan Meagher is conveniently deceased) and was later seen published in Harry Scott Gibbons' "Genocide Files".

It is at least interesting to note that a distinguished photoreporter like Stan Meagher, a man who in T.Roche's own words "loved the news game" would abandon Cyprus, a Cyprus that had more than enough events to cover and return to Britain only to consume himself on taking photos of film actresses like that of Maggie Smith taken only a month after the alleged massacre.

Finally we should make reference to Harry Scott Gibbons who has circulated this picture in the highly questionable for its accuracy 'Genocide Files'..

Among several questionable accounts is the existance of some 300 tanks while we know beyond doubt that at the time, the Hellinic-Cypriots had no more than 17 !!!

While in his account of the events claims the presence of 5 more individuals in the house, its interesting to note that while Major Ilhan's wife and children were gunned down by machine guns despite the fact that the pic suprizingly shows no single bullet whole on the wall, the other hidden in the very same same bathroom, managed to get away with minor injuries..

Another fine depiction of his questionable objectivity and his true motivation are his speeches and interviews.
For example:

In the JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS September - November 2001 Vol. VI Num. 3 he stated:

The Turks of Cyprus may find themselves all too soon in a dilemma - unite with Greece and become a despised and persecuted minority or unite with Turkey and remain free.

From this quote it becomes evident that H.S.Gibbons is totally ignorant of the actual beliefs and the true Turkish-Cypriot fears.
Unfortunately he is obviously pushing Turkey's interests in the island, for the true representatives of the Turkish-Cypriot beliefs, fears and are totally in contrast to what he strives to present.

In Niels Kadritzke's article of the September 1998 "Le Monde Diplomatique" we read

"They’re importing a population that’s more useful and more submissive than the Turkish Cypriots," Mr Özgur continues. Mass immigration from Anatolia is a subject that really raises the hackles of the Turkish Cypriots.

Alpay Durduran, leader of the opposition party, Yeni Kibris (New Cyprus), estimates that 40,000 Cypriots have emigrated since 1974, most of them to the United Kingdom. He believes 80,000 have remained in Cyprus, which means - since the 1997 census recorded a population of 160,000 - there must be equal numbers of natives and new arrivals. The fear is that, within a few years, the Turkish Cypriots will become a minority in their own country.

Futher down we again read:

But the Northern opposition’s greatest fear is that the South will join the EU on its own. Which would, they fear, provoke Turkey to annex the North - with the end of its own identity.

So we conclude that the true fear of the Turkish-Cypriots is being literally swallowed up by Turkey and the loss of their identity, which they obviously do not consider on par with that of the mainland Turks..

But his intentions become clearer by quoting his speech of January 17th 2003

Let me end my speech by saying, "Long live Turkey, long live Turkish North Cyprus, and long live Rauf Denktash."

And I would exhort Turks, in the face of this confrontation with Europe, to remember what a very famous man, Kemal Atatürk, said, and never to forget it:
"Ne mutlu Türküm diyene." How proud it is to be a Turk!

Its high time someone told Gibbons, Roche and all the Gibbons and Roches out there under Turkish payrole that their one and only priority should be the population of the island and NOT Turkey's interests in it.