Abstract
Symbols are, first of all, a means of representation as they stand in the place of something else. From the perspective of genetic social psychology representations have a symbolic function since they use symbols to signify, to make sense of and to establish the real. Representations are simultaneously social as they are formed and enacted in social interaction between people in their everyday life in a way that they point to particular social relations in a single community and importantly, with members from other communities. This chapter examines symbols as social representations and specifically focuses on the ways that symbolic meanings of cultural artefacts relating to intergroup conflict vary as a function of the quality of social relations between conflicting groups in the context of the unresolved Cyprus issue. The important role that intergroup contact plays in changing the meaning of symbols within and across the dividing line is highlighted, as well as related forms of communication.
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Notes
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Rum is actually the Turkish word that was used for the Greek Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman Empire. Greek Orthodox citizens of modern Turkey are also called Rums.
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In 2004 new history books for the history of Cyprus where written by the newly elected leadership of Mehmet Ali Talat in the Turkish Cypriot community that offered an alternative narrative which challenged the separatist and nationalistic one that was in place up to that point (see Papadakis (2008) for an analysis of these short lived books). However, in 2010 with the election of the right wing UBP administration these textbooks were replaced by new ones that reverted to the old nationalist narrative described in the text above. In the Greek Cypriot community there is currently an ongoing educational reform and new curricula have been re-written for all subjects, history included. Initial efforts by the 2008, then newly elected, leadership of leftist AKEL to revise the history textbooks faced reactions by the church and nationalist circles. A compromise solution meant that in the new history curriculum there is still a lot of emphasis on Greek history along with Cypriot history but the new material produced to be used concurrently with books imported from Greece, incorporates a commitment to the promotion of historical thinking skills (see Makriyianni et al., 2011, for a discussion). In 2013 a right wing government was elected in power in the Greek Cypriot community. The new minister of education made statements for the need to promote the national identity of students. He also put the history educational reform on hold pending its evaluation and dissolved the team that was working for the elementary school educational reform and the production of educational material in the Pedagogical Institute.
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For a detailed account of the event and organization from a biker’s perspective outside of Cyprus see http://www.warmnsafe.com/the-ride-from-berlin-to-cyprus-1996-to-make-a-point/.
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PAK is a marginal organization with ties to the Greek Orthodox Church not represented in parliament which is against a federal solution of the Cyprus issue. In 2010 it also took part in the organization of an anti-immigration rally in Larnaka along with other extreme right wing and nationalist organizations.
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P.I.O. Publication 139/1996.
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http://www.byegm.gov.tr/ayin-tarihi.aspx?d=en (August 1996).
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http://www.byegm.gov.tr/ayin-tarihi.aspx?d=en (August 1996).
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http://www.byegm.gov.tr/ayin-tarihi.aspx?d=en (August 1996).
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http://www.byegm.gov.tr/ayin-tarihi.aspx?d=en (August 1996).
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See UN Secretary General’s report in relation to the incidents here http://www.un.org/Docs/s199616.htm.
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The project was supported by individuals, organizations, local authorities in Cyprus and abroad, embassies and UNFICYP. The Home for Co-operation also received significant donations by Switzerland, Sweden and UNDP-ACT. Contributions were also made by friends and members of the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research, historical and intellectual societies and organizations, academics and civil society in Cyprus, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA.
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Films can be viewed here http://www.home4cooperation.info/view_page.php?pid=h4c-short-videos-1323274886.
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The two friends are Dervis Ali Kavazoglou and Kostas Misiaoulis, both members of leftist AKEL party, shot to death on April 11, 1965 when they were ambushed by members of a Turkish Cypriot paramilitary organization agitating for taskim (the division of Cyprus).
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the participants that took part in this study and Huseyin Cakal and Nikos Moudouros who read earlier drafts of this paper and made comments as well as the editors for the useful editorial suggestions.
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Psaltis, C., Beydola, T., Filippou, G., Vrachimis, N. (2014). Contested Symbols as Social Representations: The Case of Cyprus. In: Moeschberger, S., Phillips DeZalia, R. (eds) Symbols that Bind, Symbols that Divide. Peace Psychology Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05464-3_4
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