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How Cyprus Got Fleeced By The EU

noIn civilized societies the respect of law and regard of ethnic diversity are deeply entrenched into the cultures. Under such conditions a country not only will prosper but also encourage good citizenship. However, no person will behave in a civilized manner unless brought up from childhood in a stable family environment and given good training.
Aristotle 2500 years ago stated that: “Man the noblest of all other animals left at his own device, without laws and justice becomes the worst.” That statement is as true today as it was then. Where there is no justice there is no wrong.
It is a common knowledge that when planting a seedling, one selects fertile ground and takes good care to see that it grows into a healthy sapling. But until it’s fully developed, it will need protection from parasites nibbling away at its mere existence; one needs to keep away those nasty pests. If it’s planted on rotten ground, it will wither and die or fail to develop into its full potential. Diseased and vulnerable, the fruit of one’s labor can be a great disappointment.
The development of humans offers similar comparisons. An unloved baby for example can develop withdrawal symptoms and may well die from lack of touching tenderness. Tests in orphanages show high infant mortality rates (30-40%) of infant babies who die from love deprivation. If not cared for: “Babies who are not held and muzzled and hugged enough will literally stop growing and – if the situation lasts long enough – even if they are receiving proper nutrition –die,” said Maria Szalavitz and Bruce D. Perr in Empathy, the Brain and Human Connections.
A nation is no different and as equally vulnerable; it could “die” from social apathy, bad government and public disillusionment. Just like a fragile child, it will need nurturing and caring to develop into a proud nationhood. A strong and solid foundation based on good government and justice is fundamental, but most importantly, it is how effectively the nation’s education system is encouraged to develop. Those factors will ultimately define the nation’s standing and potential to cope with the new challenges of the day.
Knowledge through good education can never be underestimated. It is the most powerful ingredient available in a society and a critical substance that develops social responsibility. However, good citizenship does not come automatic but it’s taught and developed into a way of life: just like respect, it needs to be earned. In some countries, like Canada, Australia and the U.S., before an immigrant has to earn citizenship. This is an honorable policy that safeguards the culture of the nation and enshrines national pride and citizen equality.
Under similar conditions a nation will excel but if those guidelines are set aside for political expediency, the country will not only dwindle and fail but will become the breeding ground for anarchy and rebelliousness. Unstable, the country will be plagued with a barrage of outside influences and takeovers – as in the case of Greece and Cyprus where the EU-Troika has become their new master.
Ruined economically (partly due to bad government, incompetence and bad policies), those countries are now both accountable to an international banking cartel known as the Eurogroup. Today, this merciless group of economic assassins control and dictate national policies in exchange for loans. Those “resolutions” or “mnimonios” are the blueprint to economic colonization. By way of a collateral, governments are obliged to abandon the right to govern their countries to a group of banking institutions.
The current government has sadly committed the nation to experience a heap of miseries. Strapped for money, it’s determined to sell the nation’s silver but what is outrageously absurd; it is offering “Cypriot citizenships” to anyone who is prepared to buy a property of 300,000 euros and more. The politicians call this a “revolutionary policy”. This is not the way to build nationhood, but to destroy it.
In the last few months, Cypriots have seen the true and ugly face of political failure at its worst. There is a growing public demand to get out of the Euro rather than face slow death sanctioned by the government. What secret negotiations transpired between March 15-25 with the Eurogroup, will remain a well-guarded secret and mystery. It will be remembered as the day: “the shearing of the golden fleece.” By signing the EU-Troika agreement, the two-week-old government wasted no time at all and sealed the destiny of Cyprus.
What has dumbstruck industry and citizens alike it’s how quickly (and without consultation) the newly-elected government embarked on the unthinkable. Pro-EU government lobbyists persuaded parliamentarians to pass a bill and accept the Troika’s terms to a 10 billion euros loan. It has come to surface that most of those representatives had no idea what they were committing the nation into; not only they failed to read the document in its entirety but those who did, failed miserably to read the small print or worse, they did not object. That is the kind of politicians Cyprus produces.
Swiftly, the government introduced the Troika’s strict austerity measures and ordered the immediate robbery of billions of peoples’ money directly from their bank accounts (bail-in) without their consent. It went even further and raided workers’ life-long pension funds; robbed charities; shut down the Laiki bank and possibly another bank will follow suit; threw thousands of workers into the streets and by next year, the unemployed is estimated to reach over 120,000 individuals. For a small country this is not only madness but also a national disaster in the making. The government’s answer to criticism; it did so to save the country from bankruptcy.
This dastardly act and illicit heist of grabbing people’s savings is criminal, inexcusable and immoral. Those responsible for the economic collapse of the country should be apprehended, prosecuted and jailed if found guilty. Regrettably, this will never happen in Cyprus; it never did before and will not happen this time either.
Appointed “public inquiries” are simply a façade to mislead the public. Government cover-ups have become part of the Cyprus tradition. That is the way Cyprus interprets democracy. As for the people, they choose to remain silent and have turned apathetic while their world around them is collapsing in front of their eyes.
As long as morally impoverished politicians whose objectives are to snatch some kind of compensation from their political careers govern the country, the country will never rise above its present state of affairs.
From a tiny seed a mighty oak tree can grow to withstand harsh weather conditions, but not Cyprus. It’s as if the young Republic was planted on bad soil and failed to produce strong-minded citizens or a leadership to propel the country forward. Instead, it developed a social culture void of solidarity or the spirit for a true democracy.
What is happening across the island, is only the beginning to a long road of drudgery and insecurity; hence hundreds of young people and professionals are leaving the island to seek security abroad. That is very sad indeed. As for those who remain behind, they have become the chunk of cheese set in a trap to be nibbled away by ravenous domestic and foreign rats!
 

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