Monday, July 26, 2010

Turkish fascists outside the Turkish Embassy in Washington give Nazi salutes to Greek, Jewish and Armenian demonstrators!


The Turks have shown their real selves again. An anti-demonstration that was set up against the demonstration of the Greek-Cypriots against the illegal invasion and occupation, Turkish demonstrations, with the official approval, as it seems, of the Turkish Embassy itself.

These people, as you will see in the videos, have given Nazi salutes to the demonstrators, which included Greeks, Armenians and Jews, amongst others. 

See and distribute this information and videos. Turkish mentality at its best. 

The news have already been circulated by large blogs and news sites such as: 

http://europenews.dk/en/node/33976
http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/2010/07/july-20-2010-tisha-bav-turkish.html
http://thesilentmajority.wordpress.com/2010/07/21/greek-cypriot-americans-demonstrate-at-turkish-embassy-dcon-36th-anniv-turkish-invasion-of-cyprus/
http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/07/sieg-heil-at-turkish-embassy.html
http://www.greekrealm.com/forum/greek-diaspora/15519-turkish-embassy-hitler-salute-july-20-2010-a.htm
http://tundratabloid.blogspot.com/2010/07/turk-embassy-supporter-gives-hitler.html 


TURKISH EMBASSY HITLER SALUTE ON JULY 20, 2010
For Immediate Release: July 21, 2010
Contact: Nikolaos Taneris, New York, Tel (917) 699-9935

NEW YORK—The Cyprus Action Network of America (CANA) demonstrated against the Turkish Embassy in Washington DC on July 20th, 2010 for the entire business day, to mark the 36-year anniversary of the illegal Turkish invasion of Cyprus that began on July 20, 1974. Greek-Cypriot demonstrators from the DC area and from as far away as Florida and New York participated. The Greek-Cypriot demonstration was helped by Armenian community supporters, (whose people are an integral part of Cyprus ) and suffer from the ongoing illegal Turkish-military-occupation, and by pro-Israel activists. The Greek-Cypriot demonstration applauded American celebrity Jennifer Lopez’s “NO” to Turkish terrorism. Protest slogans emphasized the Turkish Crimes against the Greek-Cypriot people and the brutality of the illegal Turkish invasion, and ongoing illegal Turkish military-occupation.

Many diplomats and journalists took pictures and videos of the demonstration, and diplomatic staff from the nearby Embassies of India, Japan and South Korea voiced their admiration of our commitment to justice and human rights by asking for our flyers and information about the Turkish Crimes committed in Cyprus.

Günay Evinch and the Turkish Embassy Hitler Youth
A counter demonstration was staged and closely supervised by Gunay Evinch, of the law firm Evinch and Saltzman. Gunay Evinch is widely acknowledged as “the lawyer of the Turkish Embassy.” Gunay Evinch has defended Turkey from American lawsuits by Greek-Cypriot Americans, he is the President of the Turkish Lobby. Gunay Evinch is a promoter of Armenian genocide denial within the United States and the source of Turkish invasion of Cyprus denial propaganda for Turkey in America.

The main speaker for the Turkish Embassy counter demonstrators (who was witnessed as receiving help and consulted with Gunay Evinch) repeatedly made the Hitler salute and shouted “Heil Hitler” towards pro-Israel activists and the Greek-Cypriot community. The Turkish Embassy staff also participated and helped GUNAY EVINCH AND THE TURKISH EMBASSY HITLER YOUTH who also barked out to the Greek-Cypriot community "Turkish soldiers raped your mothers" and further committed hate crimes against women by making obscene gestures with his genitalia and his megaphone. The Cyprus Action Network of America (CANA) will be releasing the pictures and videos of GUNAY EVINCH and his Turkish Hitler Youth making the Hitler salute to Jewish Anti-Semitism watch groups and to the Israeli and German government which monitors such hate speech and hate gestures and enforces heavy criminal penalities for glorifying Hitler:

PLEASE DISTRIBUTE THE FOLLOWING YOUTUBES AND PICTURE WIDELY:

You Tube: TURKISH EMBASSY HITLER SALUTE ON JULY 20, 2010 (Look for Gunay Evinch in the background)



You Tube: TURKISH EMBASSY CELEBRATES RAPES OF GREEK-CYPRIOT WOMEN (Look for Gunay Evinch in the background)



You Tube: TURKISH EMBASSY GENITALIA GESTURES (Look for Gunay Evinch in the back ground)



The videos of the Turkish Embassy Hitler Salute should not at all be suprsing, the Hitler book “Mein Kampf” is a runaway bestseller in Turkey, and Turkey has strong ties with anti-Semitic terrorist organizations such as Hamas (classified by the US government as a terrorist organization) The wildly popular anti-Semtic “Valley of the Wolves” movie and television series in Turkey falsely claims that Jews and Americans “harvest organs” from Muslims in Iraq.


Jewish-American writer and political commentator Daniel Pipes (who has been in communication with CANA) published a fascinating and commendable Op-Ed on July 20, 2010 in the Washington Times about the Turkish invasion of “Greek land” in Cyprus, and the Jennifer Lopez cancellation of her performance in Turkish-Occupied Cyprus. We republish it below.

In remembrance of July 20th the Cyprus Action Network of America (CANA) salutes all defenders of human rights, and the struggle and resilence of the survivor people of the nation of Israel and the survivor Greek-Cypriot people.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Damien McElroy's contradictions on Cyprus - What does Telegraph say about it?

Here is a letter by Mr. Phoebus Sparos, exposing the contradictions of Damien McElroy. We ask, what does Telegraph say about this? You can ask the Telegraph and Mr. McElroy himself the same questions. Please make sure you send your copy, undersigned with your name, telephone number and address (they will remain confidential), to dtletters@telegraph.co.uk and telegrapheditorial@telegraph.co.uk. Remember to be polite and respectful.
 
Dear Sir,

In response to your report of 23 July 2010 titled “Northern Cyprus plans to become Mediterranean 'Las Vegas'” by Damien McElroy I would like to comment as follows:

Dear Mr. McElroy

Thank you for not using Girne for Kyrenia but I am afraid the rest of your article is a disgrace to journalism. It reminded me of another article you wrote back on 29 Dec 2009 (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/cyprus/6901089/Cyprus-peace-talks-Greek-and-Turkish-leaders-turn-to-kitchen-table-diplomacy.html).

Then you wrote:

“Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when the Turkish army invaded after a Greek-backed coup.”

Now you write:

“In 1974, the Turkish army drove all Greeks from towns and villages across the northern half of the island in a sudden strike precipitated by pogroms against the local Turks.”

So, what caused the Turkish invasion? The coup or the “pogroms”? Or are you going to say both? Of course the biggest worry is that in both cases, no matter what you say you present Turkey’s invasion as a more or less justified act. If you want to know about real facts read “Bloody Truth”; you can download it from http://www.freedomjustice.com.cy/. It is based on declassified documents of your very majesty’s government.

“Even if there was not a single Muslim Turk there [i.e. Cyprus], Turkey ought to maintain a Cyprus Issue. No country can remain indifferent to such an island which is situated in the heart of her vital space.” (“Strategic Depth, A. Davutoglu, Greek Translation p.279). 
In case you do not remember, Davutoglu is now the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey and the theoretician of the Neo-Ottomans.

Pogroms against the local Turks?

WHEN THE Cypriot Turk teacher Sevim Uflet found herself face to face with Denktash, in the full of dead and wounded, clinic of Dalbatoglu in 1958 (she was herself mourning her brother Ulus Uflet, who had just unwillingly blasted himself in Kaimakli with the bomb he was making and intending against the Greeks), she said to Denktash: 
 
“For God' s sake, give an order to finally stop all these killings”. He answered: “These dead are useful. With these we will make our voice heard in the world.” (A.H. Tachsin: “Denktash' rise to the top” pub. Diaphaneia, p.51).
“A tense standoff between the Parachute Regiment and Turkish tanks on one of Britain's sovereign bases is still the closest two Nato nations have been to war” you say. Are you trying to tell us that it is your “Parachute Regiment” that stops the Turkish tanks? I am afraid that your country, your various governments rather, has done a lot more than that but all in the opposite direction, i.e. making sure that Turkey gets what she wants. It is a cliché but is true “divide and rule”, applied masterfully by your majesty’s many governments.

I stop here, respecting the availability of space in your paper and my time. Otherwise, I could right several pages exposing your “inaccuracies”, which I believe are expressly designed to push a certain point of view. Just, please avoid expressions like “southern part” when you know it is the free or unoccupied part. As you should also know, there is but one Cyprus part of which is occupied, i.e. what you referred to as “Northern Cyprus”.

Phoebus Sparos

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Reply to the Telegraph's Damien McElroy's lies about "pogroms against Turkish-Cypriots"

We copy here the letter sent to the British newspaper 'Telegraph' and journalist Damien Mc Elroy by the Efylakas.com Editorial Team. As you will read yourselves, McElroy's blatant lies are just to much to swallow. 

Nevermind him referring to the military occupied part of Cyprus as if it is a legal entity, forgetting completely about the ethnocide of the Greek-Cypriots, he even makes the false assertion (without providing ANY evidence whatsoever) that the Greek-Cypriots have carried out "pogroms" against Turkish-Cypriots, when in fact the opposite happenned! Mr McElroy, with 200,000 Greek-Cypriot refugees until this day, 37% of the land occupied and people still missing and unaccounted for, its not the Greek-Cypriots who carried the pogroms, its the Turkish state!

 The Efylakas article can serve as an excellent template for you to add your own arguments. 

Please make sure you send your copy, undersigned with your name,  telephone number and address (they will remain confidential), to dtletters@telegraph.co.uk and telegrapheditorial@telegraph.co.uk. Remember to be polite and respectful. 

P.S. - Mr. Damien McElroy seems to be writing from and based "in Keryneia". With what legal status exactly is this gentleman writing from an illegally occupied EU territory? What is this British citizen (?) doing by working and writing from an area that the government of the UK does not recognize?


For publication - "Right of Reply"The Editor: 'The Daily Telegraph' and Mr. Damien McElroy 
July 24, 2010

Dear Sir,

Our news site (efylakas.com) is being read by hundreds of Greeks and Greek-Cypriots everyday. In those readers there there are also members of the enormous Hellenic Diaspora in Britain, where Greeks and Greek-Cypriots live assimmilated and in peace and contribute economically, spiritually, socially and culturally, with respect their host country and British ethics and traditions. With this letter, we believe that we represent the views of a large majority of those readers.


We outreach to you as people who take great pride and have tremendous passion in human rights, dignity, and respect to justice and the common European values of democracy and the rule of law, and as such we respectfully request that you take into consideration our objectios regading an article of yours on Cyprus, and therefore publishing our letter.

We refer to your report of 20th July 2010 (anniversary of the illegal Turkish invasion)  titled
“Northern Cyprus plans to become Mediterranean 'Las Vegas'” by Damien McElroy and wish to comment as follows:

1. There is no “Turkish enclave” in Cyprus, but part of the Republic of Cyprus under Turkish illegal military invasion and occupation since 1974. The Republic of Cyprus is the
only recognized legal entity on the island of Cyprus.

2. The “Cratos Hotel” you are referring to has been
illegally built on stolen land in the occupied village of Kazafani in the Kyrenia district. The land rightfully belongs to the Church of Cyprus, and has been taken away by violence in the summer of 1974.

3. A UN embargo forbidding recognition of the occupied regime is confirmed by Security Council Resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984) because it is the outcome of a brutal and illegal invasion and continued occupation and there is no question of it being recognised. It is sustained by the presence of approximately 45,000 mainland Turkish military forces, and there has been at least 160,000 illegal Turkish settlers (brought in mainly by the Anatolian regon of mainland Turkey), which constitutes a war crime, as confirmed by International Law and European court decisions.


4. There is no hope of so called independent future for the occupied area. The area under question is stolen from the 200,000 Greek Cypriot refugees forced by the Turkish invading army to abandon their properties at gunpoint back in 1974, and to this day not allowed to return and use their property.


5. You cannot call “sharing” the abandonment of your stolen property and half of your country. Stolen land and properties have to be returned to their rightful and legal title deed owners. What the Turks are asking the Greek-Cypriots in an unprecedented audacity is to hand them over their stolen properties! Mr McElroy, we ask you: Would you give your house's title deed away to the first thief that forces you out of it?


6. This is an enormous lie that can't possibly be corroborated by any evidence. There were no pogroms against the Turkish Cypriots in 1974. In fact, the British Labour government of Harold Wilson and Turkish PM Bulent Ecevit literally conspired (and declassified Foreign Office documents prove this) to let Turkey invade the island and fulfill a long awaited Turkish-British plan to divide the island. That was finally agreed during their meeting in London on 17th July 1974. Furthermore, the  British High Commissioner in Cyprus,  Sir Olver and the then Turkish Ambassador in Nicosia confirmed in writing (British Foreign Office released documents refer) that NOT A SINGLE TURK was harmed by the Greek short lived coup which ONLY affected the Greeks and not the Turks. The only "evidence" of attacks against Turkish-Cypriots happenned at the villages of Aloa and Santalari which happenned by terrorists of EOKA-B' which was against the Makarios government, and even that happenned during the invasion, while Turkey was ethnically cleansing the north of Cyprus by 200,000 Greek-Cypriots, and not before the invasion happenned as Mr. McElroy falsily says! We demand that Mr McElroy produces any evidence he has that the Greek-Cypriots conducted organized "pogroms" against Turkish-Cypriots, or else he will prove that he is not a very objective journalist.


7. The 5,000 Britons who have bought properties in the occupied that belong to Greek-Cypriot refugees have done wrong and violated human rights and international law in dealing with stolen properties and will have to bear the consequences.


8. As for Mr. Day, former Conservative MP, living in the occupied area of Cyprus he has no right whatsoever to speak on the matter, the colonial jurisdiction over Cyprus has ended many years ago. Britain, the government of which is currently run by a Conservative-Liberal coalition, does not recognized the Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus as a "state". What is, therefore, Mr. Day really doing out there, and does he represent British interests and the sacred British values of rule of law and democracy in this way?


Thank you.


With all due respect,

Editorial Team / efylakas.com
Telephone number:
+442034114439
Original article follows:  

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Daniel Pipes: Turkey in Cyprus vs. Israel in Gaza, Ankara's recent condemnation of Jerusalem is hypocritical


Source: Washington Post, 19 July 2010
Daniel Pipes
source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jul/19/turkey-in-cyprus-vs-israel-in-gaza/print/

In light of Ankara's recent criticism of what it calls Israel's "open-air jail" in Gaza, today's date, which marks the anniversary of Turkey's invasion of Cyprus, has special relevance.

Turkish policy toward Israel, historically warm and only a decade ago approaching full alliance, has cooled since Islamists took power in Ankara in 2002. Their hostility became explicit in January 2009, during the Israeli-Hamas war. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan grandly condemned Israeli policies as "perpetrating inhuman actions which would bring it to self-destruction" and even invoked God ("Allah will ... punish those who transgress the rights of innocents"). His wife, Emine Erdogan, hyperbolically condemned Israeli actions as so awful they "cannot be expressed in words."

Their verbal assaults augured a further hostility that included insulting the Israeli president, helping sponsor the "Freedom Flotilla" and recalling the Turkish ambassador.

This Turkish rage prompts a question: Is Israel in Gaza really worse than Turkey in Cyprus? A comparison finds this hardly to be so. Consider some contrasts:

c Turkey's invasion of July-August 1974 involved the use of napalm and "spread terror" among Cypriot Greek villagers, according to Minority Rights Group International. In contrast, Israel's "fierce battle" to take Gaza relied on only conventional weapons and entailed virtually no civilian casualties.

c The subsequent occupation of 37 percent of the island amounted to a "forced ethnic cleansing," William Mallinson said in a just-published monograph from the University of Minnesota. In contrast, if one wishes to accuse the Israeli authorities of ethnic cleansing in Gaza, it was against their own people, the Jews, in 2005.

c The Turkish government has sponsored what Mr. Mallinson calls "a systematic policy of colonization" on formerly Greek lands in Northern Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots in 1973 totaled about 120,000 people; since then, more than 160,000 citizens of the Republic of Turkey have been settled in their lands. Not a single Israeli community remains in Gaza.

c Ankara runs its occupied zone so tightly that, in the words of Bulent Akarcali, a senior Turkish politician, "Northern Cyprus is governed like a province of Turkey." An enemy of Israel, Hamas, rules in Gaza.

c The Turks set up a pretend-autonomous structure called the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus." Gazans enjoy real autonomy.

c A wall through the island keeps peaceable Greeks out of Northern Cyprus. Israel's wall excludes Palestinian terrorists.

And then there is the ghost town of Famagusta, where Turkish actions parallel those of Syria under the thuggish Assads. After the Turkish air force bombed the Cypriot port city, Turkish forces moved in to seize it, thereby prompting the entire Greek population (fearing a massacre) to flee. Turkish troops immediately fenced off the central part of the town, called Varosha, and prohibited anyone from living there.

As this crumbling Greek town is reclaimed by nature, it has become a bizarre time capsule from 1974. Steven Plaut of Haifa University visited and reports: "Nothing has changed. ... It is said that the car distributorships in the ghost town even today are stocked with vintage 1974 models. For years after the rape of Famagusta, people told of seeing light bulbs still burning in the windows of the abandoned buildings."

Curiously, another Levantine ghost town also dates from the summer of 1974. Just 24 days before the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, Israeli troops evacuated the border town of Quneitra, handing it over to the Syrian authorities. Hafez Assad chose, for political reasons too, not to let anyone live in it. Decades later, it too remains empty, a hostage to bellicosity.

Mr. Erdogan claims that Turkish troops are not occupying Northern Cyprus but are there in "Turkey's capacity as a guarantor power," whatever that means. The outside world, however, is not fooled. While Elvis Costello recently pulled out of a concert in Tel Aviv to protest the "suffering of the innocent [Palestinians]," Jennifer Lopez canceled a concert in Northern Cyprus to protest "human rights abuse" there.

In brief, Northern Cyprus shares features with Syria and resembles an "open-air jail" more than Gaza does. How rich that a hypocritical Ankara preens its moral plumage about Gaza even as it runs a zone significantly more offensive. Instead of meddling in Gaza, Turkish leaders should close the illegal and disruptive occupation that for decades has tragically divided Cyprus.

Daniel Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum and a visiting fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

July 20th 2010, Protest Turkish Embassy: Turkish murderers, rapists, thieves, invaders, occupiers OUT OF CYPRUS!



July 20Th: Protest Turkish Embassy: Turkish murderers, rapists, thieves, invaders, occupiers OUT OF CYPRUS

Contact: Nikolaos Taneris , New York . Tel. (917) 699-9935
WHERE: Turkish Embassy 2525 Massachusetts Ave., NW , Washington , DC
WHEN: July 20, 2010, Tuesday, 9AM-5PM


“Turkish Delight – but not for the Oppressed” by Victor Sharpe, The Jerusalem Connection Report US. Published on June 20, 2010--

“In 1974, a flotilla set sail from Turkey . No, it wasn’t destined for the Gaza coast carrying thugs and jihadists masquerading as human rights activists – as ill armed Israeli commandos discovered to their cost. No, this was a flotilla of naval ships sailing towards Cyprus as a fully-fledged invasion force, illegally employing U.S. arms and equipment. Later, after Greek Cypriot resistance had been crushed in the north of the island, Turkish forces began to ethnically cleanse almost half of the island from its Greek population, The Turkish military employed hundreds of U.S. tanks and airplanes and 35,000 ground troops, with the result being a land grab by Turkey of 37.3% of Cyprus. Turkey later sent additional flotillas to the island; ships containing 150,000 Turkish settlers who proceeded to colonize the land after some 200,000 Greeks had been driven out and made into refugees.”

The Cyprus Action Network of America (CANA) will be demonstrating directly in front of the Turkish Embassy in Washington DC , to demand justice for the criminal Turkish invasion of Cyprus that began on July 20th 1974.

For 36 years Greek-Cypriots suffer an ongoing HOLOCAUST of our culture, heritage and people. Turkey’s crimes include the rape of 800 Greek-Cypriot women, the murder of thousands of Greek-Cypriots, the theft of half of the Greek-Cypriot peoples homeland, the forcible displacement of hundreds of thousands, and the ongoing illegal occupation of a culture, a sovereign territory a homeland.

Over 100 United Nations resolutions have declared the ongoing Turkish-military-occupation of Cyprus illegal, and call for the speedy withdrawal of all Turkish troops from Cyprus . Turkey continues to mock international law and human rights and continues to exploit the theft of our land by spending millions to illegally convert it into luxury hotels and casinos. Turkey has brought over 150,000 illegal Turkish settlers into our stolen homes to commit cultural genocide by forcibly changing the demographic of Cyprus .

Turkey’s illegal occupation regime is an offshore base for the Turkish deep state, and uses Turkish-occupied-Cyprus to export illicit narcotics and international terrorism.

We call upon all Greek-Cypriots and people of conscience who care for justice to join us, to bring their own noisemakers and flags, and to not give the criminal a moment’s rest on July 20th the 36th Anniversary of our trail of blood and tears. Look the Turkish murders, rapists, thieves, invaders, occupiers right in the eye, and join us chanting loud and proud TURKEY OUT OF CYPRUS .

In 2008 the CANA July 20 Turkish Embassy protest managed to get coverage by CBS. Our protest sends the strong message around the world that, no matter how hard the Turkish murderers, rapists, thieves, invaders, occupiers and their allies try to sell us their Turkish racist bizonal, bicommunal plans: WE WILL NEVER FORGIVE, WE WILL NEVER FORGET the perpetrators of the HOLOCAUST of the Greek-Cypriot people."

source: http://www.cyprusactionnetwork.org/july_20th_protest_turkish_embassy

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Letter to all MEPs: In 9th of July of 1821 we had in Cyprus the massacre by Turks, of 486 notable Greek Cypriots

We copy a letter Euripides Billis, Ex – Assistant Professor of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). Says a lot about the history of Turkish brutality on Cyprus. 

Make sure you use the letter and distribute it, as it contains important facts about the history of Cyprus and Turkish brutality.  


Honorable Members of the European Parliament,

In 1821 we had the Greek revolution against Turks.

This year in 9th of July of 1821 we had in Cyprus the massacre by Turks, of 486 notable Greek Cypriots.

Even the fact that in the island of Cyprus there existed that time calm, the Turk governor of Cyprus Mehmet Küçük asked from the Sultan Mahmud II (1785-1839) his permit to kill 486 notable members of Cyprus Greek community so as Greek people of Cyprus to remain without leaders.

Of course the permit was given the 486 Greek Cypriot were then Killed.

Between them were included, the archbishop of Cyprus Kyprianos and all the Bishops of Cyprus. The archbishop of Cyprus Kyprianos was hanged and all the others were massacred.

If you ever been in Nicosia you may see in the yard of Madonna Phaneromeni church the mausoleum of the hanged archbishop Kyprianos and of massacred Bishops of Cyprus.

This was the kind of Ottoman Turkish Empire for which the foreign minister of Turkey Davoutoglou stated many times recently how "ideal" was.

As you may below see, every date is an anniversary of Turkish massacres in different countries of the late Ottoman Turkish Empire.

The written below data are from the George Horton (late Consul of US in Smyrna until its destruction by Turks in 1922) book "The Blight of Asia" which you may find in Google.

Turkey beyond these data continued until recent years its genocides against Greek in Constantinople in 1955 and 1963, against the Greek people of Imvros and Tenedos islands and against Greek Cypriots during its invasion in Cyprus in 1974. Of course for many years continues the killing of Kurds.

This is the European Turkey.

May I also remind you that the prime minister of Turkey Erdogan will visit as a "conqueror" the occupied part of Cyprus in 20th of July to celebrate their crime of the of Turkish invasion in Cyprus in 1974 

Euripides Billis
Ex – Assistant Professor of Athens National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)


ATTACHMENT: George Horton's data about Turkish massacres from 1822 up till 1904

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Lopez's cancellation ignites the fire: Favourable coverage from world press again, Turkey's human right abuses exposed on a massive scale

Very positive coverage from the international press. We provide links to some of myriads of articles on the issue. The Jennifer Lopez affair internationalized the Cyprus problem once again, it showed the reality of the brutal Turkish invasion and occupation, and has managed more than what Greek and Greek-Cypriot politicians have failed to do for years. 

After many years, the drama of Cyprus is once again frontpage for the eyes of the world to see. All newspapers, from West to East, and from North to South talk about the human rights abuse, the Turkish military invasion, the refugees and the "displaced Greeks", the "non-recognised north" and the ongoing illegal occupation of a European island with a Greek heritage. 


Once again, THANK YOU JENNIFER LOPEZ for being a champion of Human Rights, Democracy, Freedom and Morality!

11 July 2010: 

Lenta (Russia): Турки потребуют от Дженнифер Лопес компенсацию в 40 миллионов долларов

10 July 2010:

Kathimerini (Greece): Λόπεζ: Μία νίκη με πολλά μηνύματα μεν αλλά...

09 July 2010: 

Forbes (syndicated from Associated Press): J-Lo cancels controversial north Cyprus show

Reuters: Jennifer Lopez cancels Cyprus gig after outcry

El Pais (Spain): Jennifer López cancela su conflictivo concierto en Chipre - includes direct link to Fanoulla Argyrou's article in Spanish

E! Online (UK): Jennifer Lopez Clues In, Pulls Plug on Controversial Cyprus Concert - by Josh Grossberg

People (Spain): Jennifer López cancela concierto en el norte de Chipre

Toronto Sun (Canada): J.Lo axes controversial Cyprus gig

Gulf Daily News (Bahrain): Lopez has cancelled Cyprus gig

The Celebrity Cafe (USA): Jennifer Lopez Cancels Cyprus Show

Christian Science Monitor (USA): Jennifer Lopez cancels controversial north Cyprus show

CBC (Canada): Jennifer Lopez cancels Cyprus gig amid furor

Silicon Valley Mercury News (USA): J.Lo drops a hot potato

Los Angeles Times (USA): Jennifer Lopez cancels concert at northern Cyprus hotel 

Singers Rooms (USA): Jennifer Lopez Pulls Plug On Controversial Cyprus Gig

Canoe (Canada):  J.Lo axes controversial Cyprus gig 

411 Mania (USA): Jennifer Lopez Pulls Out Of Show Due To Political Climate 

NDTV (India): Lopez calls off her performance at Cyprus Hotel

PerezHilton.com (USA): J. Lo Cancels Performance In Northern Cyprus

IndiaTalkies (India): J.Lo pulls out of controversial N. Cyprus gig 

07 July 2010:

The Hollywood Reporter (USA): Jennifer Lopez's Cyprus gig divides locals

Lrytas (Lithuania): Kipro turkai iš atlikėjos J.Lopez reikalauja 40 mln. dolerių kompensacijos

06 July 2010: 

E! Online (Israel):  קמפיין בינלאומי קורא לג'ניפר לופז לבטל הופעה בחלק הטורקי של קפריסין - Links to CANA and Fanoulla Argyrou's article 

Friday, July 9, 2010

J-Lo officially withdraws from the concert in occupied Cyprus!! Thank you Jennifer!! You are true champion of Morality, Human Rights, Democracy and Freedom!

It is now official people! Thanks to the efforts of thousands of grassroots activists, people who care about human rights, freedom and democracy, Jennifer Lopez has reconsidered and she has OFFICIALLY withdrawn from the concert! She will NOT be making a favour to the Turkish occupation army, Neo-Sultan Tayyip Erdogan and Neo-Ottoman imperialist Ahmet Davutoglu. Congratulations to the Cyprus Action Network of America for their enormous efforts!!

Thank you Jennifer!! You are true champion of Morality, Human Rights, Democracy and Freedom! Yes, you are still "Jenny from the block", and you do care about "Eleni from Keryneia", "Anastasia from Ammochostos" and "Georgia from Morphou" that in 1974 they were forced to flee their houses and ancestral lands, they were raped at gunpoint, they had their husbands executed in front of their eyes, and they were made refugees along with 200,000 other Greek-Cypriots. 

Thank you Jennifer you putting morality, ethics and human rights above the blood-dripping money and fame that the rapists, the murderers and the invaders promised to you. 


Source: TMZ.com, 7/8/2010 3:53 PM

Jennifer Lopez has officially "withdrawn" from a concert in a European territory currently under military occupation -- claiming she never would have agreed to perform had she known the "relevant circumstances" surrounding the intense political situation.

Lopez was scheduled to perform in Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus ... an area that neither the United Nations nor the European Union recognize as an independent sovereign state ... because of the way it was illegally occupied by the Turkish military in 1974.

In fact, multiple Greek and Cypriot politicians expressed anger after reports surfaced claiming Lopez had agreed to perform at a swanky hotel in Northern Cyprus on July 24.

But a rep for Lopez tells TMZ, "Jennifer Lopez would never knowingly support any state, country, institution or regime that was associated with any form of human rights abuse."

The rep added, "After a full review of the relevant circumstances in Cyprus, it was the decision of management to withdraw from the appearance.  This was a team decision that reflects our sensitivity to the political realities of the region."

http://www.tmz.com/2010/07/08/jennifer-lopez-jlo-northern-cyprus-greece-turkey-concert-show-outrage/

--------------------------------
Confirmation by the official website:


Official Statement Regarding Cyprus Appearance
07.08.10, 8:20PM  


Jennifer Lopez would never knowingly support any state, country, institution or regime that was associated with any form of human rights abuse. After a full review of the relevant circumstances in Cyprus, it was the decision of her advisors to withdraw from the appearance. This was a team decision that reflects our sensitivity to the political realities of the region.

http://www.jenniferlopez.com/news/official-statement-regarding-cyprus-appearance

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Grass-roots power: Avalance against Jennifer Lopez perforfming in occupied Cyprus

Following the initiative taken up by Cyprus Action Network of America CANA on June 30, 2010 to respectfully protest American celebrity Jennifer Lopez’s illegal visit to Turkish-occupied Cyprus, thousands of Greek-Cypriots in the homeland and the diaspora answered the call by bombarding multimedia with the truth and media began to listen.


Beginning with a report by Helena Smith of the GUARDIAN UK on July 5 th, an avalanche of international news reports have been issued citing the illegal Turkish invasion and illegal Turkish-occupation of Cyprus in regards claims of Lopez’s illegal visit to Turkish-Occupied Cyprus. We also have gained the support of Greek-Cypriot advocacy groups in Cyprus and around the world, below follows extensive links documenting all our successful efforts to send out a cry for help worldwide for justice for CYPRUS. Moreover the call for justice was made by two Greek-Cypriot Refugee women, Mrs. Fanoulla Argyrou who wrote the letter “Dr. Ms Jennifer Lopez, 800 Greek-Cypriot women were raped by Turks in 1974…” which has been translated following massive demand in Greek and Spanish and circulated in three languages was quoted by the Guardian and international media syndication, and Refugee mother and President of CYPRUS' MOVEMENT OF REFUGEES & DISPLACED MOTHERS Markella Isaia-Chakka's letter to Jennifer Lopez has made such an impact that it was also translated in French.

Jennifer! Please don't embellish fascism and ethnic cleansing for a mere business contract! For humanity's sake, it is really not worth it!

The letter sent to Jennifer Lopez by the Efylakas.com Editorial Team. Can serve as an excellent template for you to add your own arguments. 

Also, make sure you post the photographic design below to your Facebook wall's and tag your friends on it! (click to enlarge)





Dear Jennifer Lopez,

Our news site is being read by hundreds of Greek and Greek-Cypriots everyday. With this letter, we believe that we represent the views of a large majority of those readers.

We outreaching to you as fellow human beings and as people who take great pride and have tremendous passion in one’s cultural heritage to respectfully request that you cancel your visit to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus to attend the opening of the Cratos Hotel & Casino on July 20, 2010 - a day that is ironically the 36th “black anniversary” of Turkey’s illegal invasion and subsequent occupation of 37% of the Republic of Cyprus.

The Cratos Hotel & Casino is located in the city of Kyrenia, which the Turkish occupying forces have renamed into "Girne". Actually, the hotels in occupied northern Cyprus are built on stolen Greek-Cypriot land, the rightful owners of which have been brutally expelled at gunpoint from their properties in 1974. The families of nearly 200,000 refugees of Cyprus, cannot return to their homes in Kyrenia, Famagusta, Lefkosia, Morphou, Karpasia and so on. The names of all these places have been also changed into Turkish. Why did the Turkish army and the Turkish state have the need to do that if the island was rightfully theirs?

Why did they have to destroy ancient Greek monuments of incalculable historical importance, desecrate Christian churches by turning them into toilets, stables, bars and hotels, vandalizing and razing to the ground all the Orthodox, and even the few remaining Jewish, cemeteries? Because they wanted to forcefully eradicate the real history of this land and make it Turkish by force. By that same military force that they have invaded in July 1974, they pillaged, murdered, raped over 800 Greek-Cypriot women, executed POWs and civilians, and forced 200,000 people to flee their ancestral homes in fear, making them refugees in their own country. Turkey has been doing this because she has been strictly following the racist policy of ethnic-cleansing devised back in 1954 with the infamous Nihat Erim reports and continues updated today through Davutoglu's fascist dogma of Neo-Ottomanism. The destruction of the cultural and religious heritage of Cyprus due to Turkey’s illegal invasion and occupation is well-documented by leading authorities, including the United States Helsinki
Commission (CSCE), and you, as a person of art and culture should have been aware of this fact.

It is therefore sad and disheartening to see a celebration of this grandeur taking place in Kyrenia, a city where countless human rights violations including, murder, rape, and the forced movement of population, occurred 36 years ago. A city from which all rightful citizens where expelled in 1974 and are still alive and fight to go back.

We have no bad feelings for our Turkish-Cypriots co-citizens, despite the fact that many of them have been participating in the Turkish war crimes. In fact, as legal citizens of the Republic of Cyprus today they fully enjoy all benefits bestowed to them, including free healthcare (without them even paying taxes), education allowances for studying at the best institutions abroad and unfettered movement between the illegally occupied areas and the non-occupied areas of Cyprus. But the pseudo-state of the north violates every human rights convention and international humanitarian law ever set on paper. What we want is a just and viable solution to the division of Cyprus under high-level UN agreements and Security Council resolutions, restoration of democracy and freedom by the removal of Turkey’s 40,000 illegally stationed troops, the return to Turkey of 180,000 illegal settlers in occupied Cyprus (an act of war itself by the Geneva Convention), and the restoration of property illegally taken from their rightful owners, as countless court decisions demand. It is so simple!

Ms. Lopez, everybody sincerely appreciates your professional accomplishments. Actually, you are a big celebrity in both Greece and Cyprus and amongst the enormous Hellenic Diaspora all over the world. It is understandable that business commitments of a person of your immense talent do not always take into consideration the political climate and the social context they happen in. But in this situation you have to appreciate that the wounds are still open, 37% of Cyprus is still occupied, there are still families expecting missing persons to return, there are still POWs which Turkey refuses to acknowledge their whereabouts and many of them are found executed in abandoned wells and mass graves all over Cyprus, there are still refugees who do not have their own house because all their properties lies in the hands of the Turkish army, 1/3 of the Greek-Cypriots are still refugees and there are countless children that grew up orphans because the invading forces executed their parents.

You can see yourself that the international outcry has been tremendous. At the time of writing, more than 13,000 people (Greeks and non-Greeks) have been members of just the Facebook groups dedicated to this: http://www.facebook.com/pages/AGAINST-JENNIFER-LOPEZ-PERFORMING-IN-OCCUPIED-CYPRUS/129154837124167

More groups appear on Facebook all the time. Due to the actions of activists all over the world, your name and your good reputation of is already at a very high risk of being irreparably tarnished by letting yourself being so blatantly used for the political ends of Turkey and the Turkish occupation forces. In social networking websites and blogs the uproar has been enormous, and the issue has been widely discussed in mainstream Greek and Cypriot media, including major newspapers, TV and radio shows, and has been featured in such international media outlets as The Guardian, Telegraph, Sydney Morning Herald, One India, AFP, Digital Spy, Eleftherotypia, Improper, Toronto Sun and so on.

Besides, it is hard not to notice the huge contradiction between you working with Amnesty International for rightfully bringing to the attention of the world the femicide and the rapes of 350 women in Mexico, and at the same time you turning a blind eye to the rape of 800 and more Greek-Cypriot women during the Turkish invasion in 1974!

Jennifer Lopez! Please don't allow yourself to ge used as a tool of Turkey's propaganda! Please don't tarnish your good name by celebrating with the rapists, the invaders, the occupiers and the murderers of the Cypriot people! Turkey wants to use you, along with other stars and celebrities, in an attempt to purchase a false “normalcy” and false “legitimacy” for the bandit pseudo-state that has been deemed illegal with two UN Security Council Resolutions and is being recognized by no-one but Turkey.

Jennifer! Please don't embellish fascism and ethnic cleansing for a mere business contract! For humanity's sake, it is really not worth it!

With all due respect,

Editorial Team / efylakas.com

À l’attention de: Madame Jennifer Lynn Lopez [article in French]

Article in French to be syndicated. Refugee mother Markella Isaia-Chakka's letter to Jennifer Lopez has made such an impact that it was also translated in French. The campaign starts to permeate in the French-speaking world, as the Agence France-Presse has syndicated the story, and it has also been reported by the largest TV network TF1.

Isaia-Chakka's letter, along with Fanoulla Argyrou's letter on the 800 Cypriot raped women, should be distributed as widely as possible. Please post this French letter on Facebook and Twitter, send it to any French-speaking friends you have, and of course e-mail it to Francophone media around the world. For contacts to French media in France and elsewhere, consult these links: 

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~rll/resources/french/media.html

http://www.abyznewslinks.com/franc.htm
 
http://french.about.com/od/news/French_News_Radio_TV_Newspapers_Magazines.htm


À L’ATTENTION DE : Madame Jennifer Lynn Lopez (Née le 24 juillet, 1969)
Chère Madame Lopez,

Je vous écris en ma qualité de Présidente des Mères Déplacées de Chypre, en tant qu’une femme et pardessus tout en tant qu’une mère. Depuis cette partie du monde nous suivons et admirons votre carrière à succès, mais aussi votre étonnante force à élever vos enfants et votre détermination à leur offrir les justes valeurs de la vie.

Néanmoins, nous fûmes réellement attristées et choquées en apprenant que vous visiterez la région de la République de Chypre occupée par l’armée turque, pour prendre part aux célébrations de l’anniversaire de l’invasion illégale de notre pays par la Turquie, qui nous a privées de nos foyers et de nos droits fondamentaux au sein de notre propre pays. Depuis le 20 juillet 1974, lorsque laTurquie envahit notre île, un tiers de la population de l’île de Chypre, c’est à dire 200.000 personnes - probablement la proportion de personnes Déplacées Internes/Réfugiées la plus élevée dans un seul pays - furent chassées par la force de leurs foyers et 37% du territoire souverain de la République de Chypre passa sous occupation militaire turque. En contravention de toutes les Résolutions des Nations Unies et de toutes les Décisions de la Cour Européenne des Droits de l’Homme condamnant la Turquie pour sa présence illégale sur l’île, les Chypriotes grecs furent empêchés de retourner dans leurs foyers et propriétés depuis leur expulsion massive.

Les personnes déplacées qui devinrent en fait des refugiés dans leurs propre pays, subirent en plus de la perte de leurs propriétés et leurs biens, la perte de leurs êtres chers, nombreuses desquelles sont encore portées disparues, vue que la Turquie refuse de rendre des comptes concernant leur sort. Certains membres de notre mouvement, qui à l’époque étaient adolescentes, furent violées par les soldats turcs et capturées comme prisonnières de guerre - quant aux autres membres, nous fûmes violées à même notre âme et en souffrons toujours.

La Turquie a déraciné notre enfance et nos rêves, pourtant nous ne perdons pas espoir. Nous avons à présent nos propres familles et enfants et nous luttons pour les élever avec les moyens limités dont nous disposons loin de nos foyers. MAIS NOUS N’OUBLIONS PAS LA TRAGÉDIE DU 20 juillet 1974.

Sur votre site internet vous dites: «Quant à moi, je suis Catholique,» (Lopez dit sur Southern Florida’s NBC 6); nous aimerions vous informer qu’au mois de juin de l’année courante, Sa Sainteté le Pape Bénédicte XVI visita la République de Chypre, toutefois il refusa de visiter les régions occupées par l’armée turque, ne pas donnant suite à une invitation «officielle» qui lui fut adressée. Ceci devrait être instructif sur ce que cet « état » représente pour la Chrétienté et l’humanité. Nous, en tant que Chrétiennes et en tant que femmes ayant souffert des atrocités commises par la Turquie, vous exhortons à ne pas réaliser ce voyage à Chypre et à ne pas participer à ces célébrations. Le fait que vous êtes mondialement célèbre, transforme cette « fête pour votre anniversaire » en un piège adroitement camouflé au profit de la Turquie et produira un impact négatif direct au détriment de mon pays et de nous-mêmes, dans la mesure où la propagande turque vous utilise dans un effort de se forger une fausse « normalité » et une fausse « légitimité » pour le pseudo-état hors la loi qui n’est reconnu que par la Turquie.

Lors de Votre Décision, NOUS VOUS PRIONS de considérer QUE:

Le 20 juillet 1974 la Turquie envahit et occupe depuis une partie de Chypre, et, de ce fait, de l’Europe elle-même;

La Turquie perpétra une épuration ethnique et des crimes de guerre contre les Chypriotes grecs.

Nous, les Mères Déplacées Internes et Réfugiées, revendiquons la restauration de nos Droits Humains et le retour en Sûreté à nos FOYERS et PROPRIÉTÉS.

Nous exigeons la détermination du sort et la localisation des personnes portées disparues ainsi que la responsabilisation de la Turquie.

Ces faits constituent la vérité souvent omise dans les discussions au sujet de Chypre pour des raisons de tact et ignorée par les Dirigeants Mondiaux, qui se présentent comme des Défenseurs des Droits de l’Homme. Nous faisons appel à votre qualité de femme, de mère et de chrétienne et nous vous demandons de respecter nos souffrances et ne pas fêter votre anniversaire en compagnie des pilleurs de notre histoire, de notre passé, de notre présent et de notre avenir. Nous comptons sur votre sensibilité contre les violations des Droits de l’Homme à travers le monde et nous aimerions solliciter votre soutien actif dans notre combat contre l’impérialisme et dans nos efforts de restaurer nos Droits Humains, de la même manière que vous vous étiez battue pour la sensibilisation au sujet des femmes mexicaines assassinées à Ciudad Juarez et en Chihuahua. Je me mets personnellement à votre disposition pour vous fournir toute information utile de façon objective et pour coopérer avec vous de toutes les manières possibles dans le but d’informer le monde au sujet de ces crimes impunis, perpétrés à Chypre depuis 1974. Nous sommes confiants que vous prendrez la décision juste.

Dans l’espoir de votre réponse,

Sincèrement votre,

Markella Isaïa-Chakka
Présidente

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

New propaganda attack: Sean Paul will be performing in stolen land in occupied Cyprus on the 7th of August 2010

It has now been confirmed: Besides Jennifer Lopez, Jamaican singer Sean Paul will also be giving a concert in occupied Cyprus. The event is scheduled for the 7th of August 2010 and already a Facebook fan page has already been set up for the event, with almost 4,000 members, titled: SEAN PAUL CONCERT in CYPRUS August 2010


According to Kelly Sheppard, who writes for a Turkish website from occupied Cyprus, the concert is:
"Organized by the Groove Organization and Maiyanna International in conjuction with DanceFM, Jasmine Court Hotel and MediaWorks Broadcasting Group this will surely be a night to remember!"
Along Sean Paul:
"there will also be additional performances from DJ Masterstepz from the UK, DJ Shadia from Dubai and Baris Pulat from [occupied] Cyprus"
Jasmine Court Hotel does NOT belong to the Turks or the Turkish Army. According to an official document of the (internationally recognized) Republic of Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the hotel's name was Jasmine Court before 1974 (now illegally renamed Jasmine Court Hotel), it was a 5-star hotel with 392 rooms and it belonged to a Greek-Cypriot! Needless to say, the rightful owner of Jasmine Hotel has been violently kicked out of his property at gunpoint.

Please read the official document here, which explains (with full references to rulings of the European Court of Human Rights) why it is illegal for Sean Paul to give a concert at the stolen property:
...It should also be reminded that, according to the United Nations Principles on Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons (the Pinheiro principles) “all refugees and displaced persons have the right to have restored to them any housing, land or property of which they were arbitrarily or unlawfully deprived..”.

Under Cyprus Law, Greek Cypriot property owners may bring legal actions before the competent Courts of the Republic against trespassers to their properties in the Turkish-occupied area, claiming damages and other legal remedies available to them under civil law. Judgments issued in favour of lawful property owners shall be recognized and enforced against property/assets of the defendants/judgment debtors in any EU member State, under the provisions of EC Regulation No.44/2001...
As with Jennifer Lopez, it is time for take action and inform Sean Paul and his team, who are probably unaware of the situation and has no clue of Turkey's aggressive and fascist policy on Cyprus.

For the time being, you can start calling the UK line for ticket purchasing (the number is provided on the aforementioned Turkish website), and start asking whether it is legal for Sean Paul to perform in a hotel that has been stolen, and also ask whether he is aware that "northern Cyprus" is actually an internationally non-recognized state, it has been condemned by UN Security Council Resolutions, it is a landmass occupied for 36 years by the Turkish army and 200,000 Greek-Cypriots are still refugees as a result of Turkey's racist policy of ethnic cleansing.

The telephone number is: +44 7766 044 550

Ask these pressing questions at Sean Paul's Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/seanpaul 

Ask the same questions at the event's official fan page 'Sean Paul Concert in Cyprus August 2010': http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=204182328139

Groove Organisation's Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/groovecyprus

And at DanceFM's e-mail: info@dancefm.com.tr

Dear friends. Please keep in mind that Sean Paul is probably not aware of the situation in Cyprus. As with Jennifer Lopez, he is probably not aware that the hotel he is going to perform at has been stolen by its rightful owner, he doesn't know that Turkey has positioned 45,000 troops in "northern" Cyprus in order to violently stop the 200,000 Cypriot refugees to return back to their ancestral lands, he is not aware that there has been ethnic cleansing, destruction of churches and cemeteries, execution of innocent civilians, unarmed POWs and handicapped children. He is probably not aware that 800 Greek-Cypriot women have been raped. [all documentation for the above, click here]

Please be polite, courteous and respectful, foul language, insults and anger -no matter how justified they might seem to be- are the worst enemies of our noble cause for human rights, freedom and democracy.  

We will be back with more information on this campaign. 

Cypriot students of Metopo in the UK have joined the battle: What about the femicide of Cypriot women Jennifer Lopez?

Yet another grassroots activist group joins the battle. Cypriot Student Movement METOPO UK has informed all the British media on the issue of Jennifer Lopez and the 800 raped Greek-Cypriot women. Please read and distribute their letter, which could be sent to more media outlets demanding that they report on this story. We hope that more Greek and Greek-Cypriot organized grassroots groups join the campaign. 


Topic: What about the femicide of Cypriot women Jennifer Lopez?

Cypriot Student Movement ‘METOPO’ UK, representing hundreds of Cypriots all over UK urges all students and activists to call, fax and e-mail the “William Morris Agency” in New York that represents American celebrity Jennifer Lopez, and also use the power of social media and the internet, and urge Mrs. Lopez not to visit Turkish occupied Cyprus and thereby endorse the illegal Turkish military invasion and illegal Turkish military occupation of it. According to Turkish media reports Jennifer Lopez will be paid $3 million dollars to be at the opening of the so-called “Cratos” hotel in the illegally occupied by Turkey northern part of Cyprus.

The Turkish lobby is spending millions of dollars to also ensure that public relations specialists promote her visit and bring in Western reporters. Allegedly, even the BBC will be there for Lopez’s illegal visit. It is obvious that the human rights abusing Turkish government, which has been condemned by UN the European Court of Human Rights decisions and by scores of other international organizations regarding the brutal occupation of northern Cyprus, is using Jennifer Lopez in an attempt to purchase a false “normalcy” and false “legitimacy” for the bandit pseudo-state that has been deemed illegal with two UN Security Council Resolutions and is being recognized by no-one but Turkey .

It is especially pertinent that the Turkish lobby also chose July 20th 2010 as the date of her landing in Turkish-occupied Cyprus, a date that every person sensitive in human rights knows is the 36th year anniversary of Turkey’s illegal military invasion of Cyprus that killed thousands of Greek-Cypriots, that forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands of Greek-Cypriots from their homeland, leaving them refugees until today. It is also the symbolic date of when Turkey barbarically stole half of the Greek-Cypriot people’s homeland. Actually, the hotels in occupied northern Cyprus are built on stolen Greek-Cypriot land, the rightful owners of which have been brutally expelled at gunpoint from their properties in 1974.

It has to be noted that due to the actions of activists all over the world, the name and reputation of Mrs. Jennifer Lopez is already at a very high risk of being irreparably tarnished by letting herself being so blatantly used for the political ends of Turkey and the Turkish occupation forces. In social networking websites and blogs the uproar has been enormous, and the issue has been widely discussed in mainstream Greek and Cypriot media, including major newspapers, tv and radio shows. What has been particularly noted is the contradiction between Mrs. Lopez being working with Amnesty International for rightfully bringing to the attention of the world the femicide and the rapes of 350 women in Mexico, and at the same time her turning a blind eye to the rape of 800 and more Greek-Cypriot women during the Turkish invasion in 1974 and to the illegal military occupation of 37% of Cyprus.

We also attach a letter from a Greek-Cypriot refugee women’s perspective, titled “Dear Ms Jennifer Lopez, 800 Greek Cypriot women were raped by the Turks in 1974” written by author and journalist Fanoulla Argyrou, who has been sent to Mrs. Lopez herself, and which explains in detail the atrocities that Mrs. Lopez will be –unwarily maybe– be called to beautify with paparazzi flashes and glamorous parties.

Jennifer Lopez’s agency contact details:

Cara Lewis 

William Morris Agency , LLC. 
1325 Avenue of the Americas 
New York , NY 10019 
Phone: 212-903-1316 
Fax: 212-903-1531
E-Mail: cpl@wmeentertainment.com

On behalf of Cypriot Student Movement ‘METOPO’ UK,

Alexis Michael
President
http://www.metopo.org.uk

Read the press release in Greek: "Τα φλας των παπαράτσι της Τζ. Λόπεζ επιστρατεύονται για να θολώσουν την κατοχή


Some advice from an experienced activist

Nikolaos Taneris, the New York-based Press Officer of CANA (Cyprus Action Network of America) who has the lead of the Jennifer Lopez campaign, has just written on the Facebook wall of the dedicated group AGAINST JENNIFER LOPEZ PERFORMING IN OCCUPIED CYPRUS


"The William Morris Agency is not replying to our calls and is avoiding the subject, but we are sure they are reading the letters and getting the message, please do not divert the strength on our direction please now keep emailing, writing faxing and keep putting your letter on Lopez related sites.

Thanks for posting all the latest news on the different letters and p.r. coming in, I want to share my experience on activism so we can exert the most pressure. Sending Fanoulla Argyrou's '800 Greek-Cypriot women were raped' letter is the best strategy if people don't have time to write their own letters because it wins the hearts of outsiders (non-Greeks), it centers on the human perspective of women's issues, women's rights and rape or crimes against women which has universal appeal and that is what got us into The Guardian and created the avalanche of international media today.

Petitions are a BAD idea they waste the energy of our supporters because they send an email to the petition site instead of all those emails being sent to the William Morris Agency. So far the petition means our supporters are sending the emails to the petition site, and then when it's finally forwarded to her agent, she in effect gets only (1) email meaning the petition"

It has to be noted that Fanoulla's article has created such an appeal that people have taken the initiative and translated it into Spanish for circulation in the Spanish speaking world!

Spanish version: Estimada Señora Jennifer López, 800 mujeres griego-chipriotas fueron violadas por los turcos en 1974


So promote Fanoulla Argyrou's article, and also the article by Markella Isaia-Chakka, both refugees and mothers, and keep on e-mailing, faxing and telephoning, be polite and informed, and ask where is the sensitive on human rights issues:

Mrs. Cara Lewis
William Morris Agency , LLC.
1325 Avenue of the Americas
New York , NY
Fax: 212-903-1531
E-Mail: cpl@wmeentertainment.com

2,700 Kurdish children rot in Turkish dungeons, arrested for political purposes: This is the racist state that occupies Cyprus to this day

Article to be circulated and syndicated. Yet another proof of "modern" Turkey's "respect" to human rights, democracy and freedom of speech. Yet another example of how the Turkish state treats its own citizens, and how racism has been a main element of the policies of both the Turkish Army and the "oppossing" forces of Davutoglu-Erdogan' Neo-Ottoman agenda. 

Send this article to international human rights groups and groups that support children's rights all over the world, such as the Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/en/home

Click here to find the contact form to the Dutch Socialist Party: http://international.sp.nl/contact/ where you can congratulate MP Harry Von Bommel for his initiative. 


 Source: 'AK News', 21 June 2010
"Dutch lawmaker calls on UNICEF and govt to support Kurdish children imprisoned in Turkey"

Van, June 21 (AKnews) - A Dutch politician Harry Von Bommel, in a call to the UNICEF has requested the organization to support the Kurdish children in Turkey's prisons, according to a source Mnoday.

In a statement sent to AKnews by a human rights organization CHAK the Dutch MP, in a speech he delivered in his country's parliament said he has made a phonecall to UNICEF's Netherlands representatives Monique Van Der Ven and Paul Van Vliet asked them to support Kurdish children living under difficult conditions in Turkey's prisons, allegedly for throwing stones at police forces during demonstrations.

Bommel has reportedly has also called on the Dutch government officials to push on Turkey to comply with the international agreements on children rights.

According to unofficial sources, more than 2,700 Kurdish children have been imprisoned by Turkey for alleged stone-throwing on police forces during demonstrations.

dk/ry AKnews

http://aknews.com/en/aknews/4/157181/

Read the article in Greek:  Ολλανδός σοσιαλιστής βουλευτής ζητά στήριξη για την απελευθέρωση 2,700 Κουρδόπουλων από τα τουρκικά μπουντρούμια


Tuesday, July 6, 2010

President of AHEPA writes to Jennifer Lopez, copies letter to Amnesty International, US State Deparment and Members of Congress

A very important and well-argued letter by National President of AHEPA Mr. Nicholas A. Karakostas. The letter was forwarded to us by AHEPA Canada member Mr. Demetris J. Yantsulis, Media Advisor to AHEPA Convention 2010. 

Below Mr. Karakostas' letter, we also copy a letter by the Hellenic Electronic Center. HEC is a Non-Profit Organization registered in the US  with 39,000 Hellenes as members and 36 Hellenic associations in the US and abroad. 

You can inform Amnesty International about Jennifer Lopez's intentions by directing your e-mails here:  info@amnesty.ca; admin-us@aiusa.org; sct@amnesty.org.uk; info@amnesty.fr; info@amnesty.ch . Please be polite and respectful, foul language, insults and anger -no matter how justified they seem to be- are the worst enemies of our noble cause for human rights, freedom and democracy. 



Download the original AHEPA letter in pdf:  http://rapidshare.com/files/405301350/Ahepa_Supr._Pres._sent_to_JenniferLopezLetter_re_occupied_Cyprus_and_invasion..pdf

Read the leeters by AHEPA and HEC: 

The campaign is going global! News reports from Telegraph, ABC, Digital Spy, Toronto Sun, Guardian, AFP, Yahoo!, Improper, Sydney Morning Herald, OneIndia, TF1

Our frustration and actions have made it in The Daily Telegraph, ABC, Digital Spy, Tortonto Sun, OneIndia, Yahoo! News, The Guardian, The Improper, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Agence-France Presse, TF1, Sydney Morning Herald, tons of blogs and celebrity websites, and it keeps going.

The Facebook group has about 11,500 members at this moment, and keeps growing rapidly. Share the link and keep inviting your friends guys: http://www.facebook.com/pages/AGAINST-JENNIFER-LOPEZ-PERFORMING-IN-OCCUPIED-CYPRUS/129154837124167

Our goal though is to educate Jennifer and her team on what an unacceptable mistake this is. If she has heard yet, we are waiting for an official reply stating that she's NOT attending a ceremony of celebrations of the invasion and illegal occupation of our land. Morals come first. 

Please post the links from these respected media outlets to your Facebooks walls, Twitter, and forward by e-mail to friends and family. The campaign has gained a huge momentum now, and we need to continue our activity about the human rights abuses and the military occupation of Cyprus. 

PS - Keep an eye on this post, as it will be continuously updated with links from sites and blogs that report on the story and our actions.


New York Post (USA), 08 July 2010: J.Lo's gig panned as a Turkey

NRC (The Netherlands), 08 July 2010: Cyprioten boos op Jennifer Lopez

The Armenian Weekly (Armenia), 08 July 2010: Jennifer Lopez Northern Cyprus Visit Generates Controversy

Eyewitness News (South Africa), 08 July 2010: Anger as Jennifer Lopez set to rock north Cyprus

ABC News (USA), 07 July 2010: Greek Cypriots get Loud Over Lopez Gig in North

TF1 (France), 07 July 2010: JLO crée un incident diplomatique à Chypre

Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), 07 July 2010: J-Lo's birthday trip turns ... political

Interia (Poland), 07 July 2010: J.Lo i wojna o Cypr

The Insider (Malaysia), 07 July 2010: Anger as Jennifer Lopez set to rock north Cyprus 

Bruno (The Netherlands), 07 July 2010: Jennifer Lopez schokt Griekse Cyprioten

The Telegraph (UK), 06 July 2010: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/7873956/Jennifer-Lopez-urged-to-cancel-Cyprus-concert.html

Ynet (Israel), 06 July 2010: "ג'ניפר לופז, אל תשתפי פעולה עם הטורקים"

The Digital Spy (USA & UK), 06 July 2010: http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a239037/lopez-sparks-outrage-over-cyprus-gig.html

Toronto Sun (Canada), 06 July 2010: http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/celebrities/2010/07/06/14621171.html

Lenta (Russia), 06 July 2010: Дженнифер Лопес попросили не выступать на Кипре

The Improper (USA), 06 July 2010: http://www.theimproper.com/?p=9570

Yahoo! News (UK & Ireland), 06 July 2010: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/1/20100706/ten-lopez-sparks-outrage-over-cyprus-per-c60bd6d.html

Yahoo! Movies (India) [syndicated from Asia News International], 06 July 2010: http://in.movies.yahoo.com/news-detail/93168/J-Lo-asked-cancel-Cyprus-gig.html

Yahoo! News (Canada) [syndicated from Agence France-Presse], 06 July 2010: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100706/entertainment/entertainment_cyprus_trnc_politics_lopez

OneIndia (India), 06 July 2010: http://entertainment.oneindia.in/music/international/2010/jennifer-cancel-cyprus-gig-060710.html

All Headline News (USA), 06 July 2010: Jennifer Lopez Urged To Cancel Birthday Celebration, Gig In Cyprus, Anne Lu, AHN Entertainment Contributor

ContactMusic.com (UK), 06 July 2010: http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/lopez-sparks-outrage-over-cyprus-performance_1151470

USA News Week (USA), 06 July 2010: http://www.usanewsweek.com/news/Jennifer-Lopez-Faces-Flak-Over-Cyprus-Gig-1278349385/

Daily India (India), 06 July 2010: J.Lo asked to cancel Cyprus gig 

Eleftherotypia (Greece), 06 July 2010: http://www.enet.gr/?i=issue.el.home&date=06/07/2010&s=to-anagnwstiko-ths-teleytaias-selidas

France 24 (France), 06 July 2010: Anger as Jennifer Lopez set to rock north Cyprus 

Daily Inquirer (Philippines) [syndicated from Agence France-Presse], 06 July 2010: http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view/20100706-279600/Anger-as-Jennifer

The Guardian (UK), 05 July 2010: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/05/jennifer-lopez-northern-cyprus-gig

Hollywood Greek Reporter (USA), 04 July 2010: http://hollywood.greekreporter.com/2010/07/04/jennifer-lopezs-decision-to-celebrate-birthday-in-occupied-cyprus-creates-political-turmoil/

Blogs: 

The JLo Spot, 02 July 2010: http://jenniferlopezthejlospot.blogspot.com/2010/07/jennifer-lopez-decides-to-celebrate.html

Reading AHEPA: http://williampenn61.blogspot.com/2010/07/stop-jennifer-lopez-from-visiting.html

The Mercury, Talking Politics with Tony Phyrillas, 03 July 2010: http://talkingpoliticswithtonyphyrillas.blogspot.com/2010/07/stop-jennifer-lopez-from-visiting.html

Sign the Petition: The American-Hellenic Education Progressive Association joins in with full force

New petition out by AHEPA. Make sure you sign it and ask by your friends and family to sign it as well. 


Please join the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) in requesting that Jennifer Lopez cancel her performance this month in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus.

The performance is planned to occur in Kyrenia at the Cratos Hotel & Casino, where she plans to celebrate her birthday. The hotel will open its doors on the 36th "Black Anniversary" of Turkey's illegal invasion and subsequent occupation of the Republic of Cyprus.

Please let Ms. Lopez know that her participation in this event is not acceptable to her fans and supporters.

Sign the petition here: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/jlocyprus/

This petition will be forwarded to Ms. Lopez's agent:

Cara Lewis
William Morris Agency , LLC
1325 Avenue of the Americas
New York , NY 10019

Phone: 212-903-1316
Fax: 212-903-1531
E-Mail: cpl@wmeentertainment.com

About AHEPA
website: http://www.ahepa.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ahepa

Big success! The Guardian: Jennifer Lopez criticised over Cyprus gig

Big success for the campaign and the activists. Congratulations to the Cyprus Action Network of America! The campaign has gained important momentum and credibility after this, and this article by the respected British newspaper The Guardian should be distributed widely. 

Please post the link to the article on your Facebook walls, Twitter and in blogs. 


Source: 'The Guardian' 05 July 2010
Author: Helena Smith

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/05/jennifer-lopez-northern-cyprus-gig

 Singer Jennifer Lopez may have given it little thought when she accepted a seemingly innocuous invitation to celebrate her 41st birthday in northern Cyprus.

The deal: a sun-soaked stay en famille at a $220m destination described as the "single biggest hotel project both sides of the island" in exchange for a one-off performance to celebrate its opening.

But on the Island of Love, where memories of war are never far removed, the star appears to have walked into a political minefield. Instead of eliciting hot anticipation, the visit has ignited the sort of controversy that no celebrity needs.

Cyprus was invaded in 1974 by Turkish troops in response to an attempted coup by the Greek junta in Athens, and has been divided between Greeks in the south and Turks in the north ever since. It remains one of the world's most intractable disputes, where almost every action is seen through a political lens.

A web campaign led by indignant Greek Cypriots to convince Lopez to change her mind has attracted thousands of signatories angry that she should even consider performing in territory that is not officially recognised by the United Nations.

"It is with dismay and shock that the people of Cyprus and especially the Greek Cypriot women in the Republic of Cyprus and elsewhere in the world heard the news that you intend to attend the inauguration of a hotel in the occupied by Turkey [sic] part of our native country," says a letter that forms the basis of the campaign.

The missive, carried on the Cyprus Action Network of America, argues that nearly four decades after the island was "barbarically invaded" it would be morally unconscionable for the artist to visit.
To add insult to injury, campaigners say the hotel in Kyrenia will open on 20 July, exactly 36 years since Turkish paratroopers were dropped onto the island's central plain.

"The Turks go to a great length to secure support from people like you in order to promote their political ambitions and objectives. Does your charitable work and status permit you to give credibility to Turkish rapists, thieves, invaders, occupiers of our stolen properties," the letter asks.

Despite the furore, the five-star Cratos Premium insists the event will go ahead, promising a "very special birthday party … full of surprises for Jennifer Lopez".

But opposition is mounting. An estimated 7,000 people have signed up to a Facebook campaign – and it shows no sign of letting up.