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Cypriots Being Cooked Like Frogs

Cypriot bank depositors line up passively to get what's left of their confiscated deposits.
Cypriot bank customers line up passively to get what’s left of their confiscated deposits taken by the government.

As long as Cyprus country is ruled by a corrupt politicocracy and governed by morally impoverished politicians nothing good will come out of it; the primary reason the Republic has so far bitterly failed its citizens.
Cyprus has become the land where shattered dreams are mounting into heaps of broken promises and the saga of public discontent continues with no end in sight.Those who do not live on the island will find it difficult to comprehend the devastation the EU-IMF Troika and the Cyprus government(s) did.
The pungent stench of economic and social betrayal permeates. Each day new financial scandals of corruption come to surface that involve prominent public figures reputed to be pillars of society; yet, nobody is prosecuted but instead, they’re offered amnesty from wrongdoing.
What is most surprising out of this tragedy, its the citizens apathy and acceptance. When the Government and Troika robbed the nation blind and crashed its economy the people said nothing and took it. When their bank accounts were frozen and money stolen to bail out the banks, they took it. People continue to say nothing; their homes are about to be repossessed and people still say nothing. By the time they come for their soul they will no longer be around to say anything. Sedated by the terrible trauma they became easy victims of persuasion by government spin.
Thankfully, citizens are waking up. They are now speaking out with furor on public forums telling their side of harsh truth in the hope that someone sane will listen and help them out of the straightjacket their own government ensnared them in. Even the Archbishop of Cyprus has called for people to rise up en-masse and resist the ongoing economic and social crimes committed against the nation. In essence, his strong massage reveals a desperate cry for a non-violent revolution and a mass uprising against the continuing injustice.
The official government response for its rush decision to sign the EU-IMF Troika’s loan resolution (without consultation or a referendum) was that it was a “price worth paying” to stabilize the banking system, save the country from bankruptcy and to demonstrate that Cypriots are “good Europeans.” Many will say that’s just hogwash. Such patronizing attitude by a Europhile “yes” government is not only an insult to people’s intelligence but to the thousands of unsuspecting citizens who are about to lose their homes (under Troika’s orders) and businesses that face total collapse or to the 100,000 jobless; not forgetting the destitute standing in food lineups. Yet, only five years ago the county enjoyed prosperity and zero unemployment.
Without meaningful investments, low interest rates (Cyprus’s rates are triple the rest of Europe) and the unhindered circulation of money in the market place to kick start the economy, existing government policies are doomed to fail; it will then be dependent on additional Troika poisoned loans – estimated to reach as much as €50 billion. For a small country this is madness. Certainly this is not a solution but a sure way for Cyprus to experience serfdom and colonization.
The allegory of the frogs suits the situation on the island perfectly well: frogs swimming in a pond full of murky water are happy to swim away in muck without a worry in the world as long their meager existence is not threatened; ignorant of the fact that the water is gradually being heated to a point the unsuspecting frogs have no will to escape and ultimately boil to death.
If on the other hand, the same frogs were thrown into a pot full of boiling water the frogs will instantly jump out of the scorching water to save their skin. Cypriots found themselves in a similar murky situation; apathetically they misread the signs of entrapment and lethargically found themselves into a black hole without the resolve to jump out and avoid ruin!
Sifting through the political maze of entrapment one becomes aware there is no real prospect for salvation in Cyprus because: the system always protects the system; bankers protect bankers; governments are in support of governments and politicians are in support of politicians. It’s a private privileged club where citizens are excluded. This makes it impossible to find justice under a system that is isolated from the people and operates without transparency or accountability.
The spiral web of convenience and cronyism is well imbedded into the political structure and will remain so unless reformed. Nevertheless, changes to a political structure or government cannot be accomplished using the same mechanisms that created them in the first place.
On the other hand, if no sweeping reforms take place things will deteriorate. Left unchallenged, the repetition of social injustice will continue for years to come because the political and social structure in Cyprus was established on shaky foundations. Under those terms, there is no hope in the world for the system to be changed by the system.
Aristotle portrayed two types of revolutionary changes to a bad system: (1) complete change from one constitution to another and (2) modification of an existing constitution. The first option is the most common and will never materialize without a popular uprising to influence sweeping changes to the status quo. The latter, on the other hand is hindered by political self-interests. Consequently, the chances of radical reforms initiated by those same persons who govern and thrive on exploiting the system are remote, if not impossible.
Historically, sweeping changes are accomplished by either violent or non-violent uprisings and in fact, the world has experienced both types of revolutions where people resist governments who no longer represent the wishes of the electorate. Inevitably, all revolutions share similar objectives: the desire to instigate changes to an oppressive rule, culture or socio-political institutions that no longer serve the interests of the public.
In non-violent uprisings, extensive campaigns of civil resistance the likes of mass labor strikes, peaceful marches and rallies contribute to the pressure for the ultimate collapse of oppressive regimes and there are many examples, such as: the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the Revolution in Poland, the collapse of the Military Junta in Greece and many others. In fact, the United Nations recognizes this complex phenomenon of the “Right to a Revolution” (violent or non-violent) as a human right.
According to the American Constitution “a revolution is justifiable when a long train of tyrannical government abuses take place; it is the citizens right and their duty, to throw off such a governmen.t. John Locke a renowned British philosopher/thinker, declared that: “The people could instigate a revolution against the government when it acted against the interest of citizens” He furthered deemed that: “the right to a revolution is an obligation and essentially acts as a safeguard against tyranny”.
Most uprisings aspire for democratic rule on the presumption that it’s panacea. Actually, democracy in its present metamorphosis is a flawed ideology that encourages corruption, nepotism and tyranny.
It ultimately reinforces and paves the way for a privileged minority to govern the masses, while it also marginalizes groups of citizens from the electoral process. Unless a new revolutionary culture is established to radically reform existing pseudo-democratic governments and political institutions, citizens will always be at the mercy of petty politicians.
To liberate the island from its present turmoil, it will take a benevolent leadership with a vision but such leadership should not be the result of some kind of political-party arrangement concocted behind closed doors; it will never work and the present experience is a fine example of that! That is only the half-truth; the underline problem in Cyprus is not simply economic – in time that can be resolved – but the other half is rather more complex and that is: the prevailing continuance of government incompetence and its inability to govern judiciously for the welfare and protection of the nation.
Today, Cyprus has reached a turning point in its history and may soon be the subject for revolutionary changes – changes that are well overdue! It undoubtedly needs a new constitution and also has to do away with the “presidential” form of government, which has failed the country so miserably for so many years.
On a positive note, the new constitution in-the-making, can only be the brainchild of free-minded “think-tanks” composed of seasoned statesmen, thinkers, revered constitutionalists, academics, economists and other esteem experts in their own field chosen by their peers on the basis of merit. Most certainly must not be politically appointed! In fact, to achieve this one small step of reform, is a real revolution in the making indeed.
Under the present caustic situation a non-violent uprising or revolution cannot be excluded or ignored. It is more likely than unlikely. People are furious and if not listened to by the present government, that deadly fury can easily spill over to destabilize the entire country.
In fact, what Cyprus desperate needs is a benevolent government; a government in statue and comparison to Philosopher Rulers or a Pericles of Athens who will uphold Justice, Transparency and the Rule of Law at high esteem, but foremost, to care and protect the nation from economic assassins such as EU-IMF Troika and other enemies of the state.
For Cyprus, that is a tall order indeed. The truth of the matter, nothing good happens unless people make them happen! But, unless the perfumed garden is carefully weeded out of parasites and the stables of corruption are cleaned out for good, Cyprus will always be governed under a pseudo-democratic system with little chance for improvement.  The people’s choices are quite plain and stark: jump out of the scorching water or remain impassive and burn.
 

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