Cypriot primary school text books
© AFP/File Daniel Sorabji

NICOSIA (AFP) - Critics have demonised Education Minister Andreas Demetriou for making such a bold proposal, which opponents say will undermine the heritage of the Mediterranean island.

The minister's circular is tantamount to "castrating our Hellenic heritage," according to nationalistic opposition party DISY.

"Does this mean everything that we have learned is false?" asked Archbishop Chrysostomos II, head of the powerful Cyprus Orthodox Church.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey occupied the northern third in response to an Athens-engineered Greek Cypriot coup seeking union with Greece.

Greek-speaking people form the majority in the south, whose government is recognised around the world. The breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus declared independence in 1983 but is recognised only by Ankara.

President Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat on Friday held their fourth meeting in a round of talks launched on September 3 to try and reunify Cyprus.

The education minister issued his controversial circular to schools around the time the talks began, saying he wanted to help develop a culture of respect between the two communities in a bid to bolster reunification.

A Cypriot student reads her secondary school history text book
© AFP/File Daniel Sorabji

Demetriou said history books which have remained unchanged for decades must be reviewed to take into account the changing world. He set up a committee of experts to take on this sensitive task.

"Education must cultivate these things that unite us and characterise us as a people," he said.

"I personally believe... that there is nothing better than the truth."

Demetriou's words had a bombshell effect for many, though the plan also found its backers.

Eleni Semelidou, head of the Cyprus Secondary Teachers' Union, is among those who are anxious about the rewrite.

"I am all for peaceful coexistence but in the north live not only Turkish Cypriots, but also 40,000 Turkish occupation troops and 120,000 Turkish settlers," she said.

"The problem is, with whom shall we cooperate?" she said.

For University of Cyprus social anthropologist Yiannis Papadakis, problems in teaching history are rife on both sides of the divided island.

Cypriot students are seen near the front door of Phaniromeni School
© AFP/File Daniel Sorabji

"Students learn more history of Greece or Turkey than history of Cyprus," said Papadakis, who published a book earlier this year outlining comparisons in history manuals in the north and the south.

He said there is a common thread to all history books in Cyprus except for those published in the breakaway Turkish republic where manuals were revised in 2004 following the election of leftist Talat.

"All the books... have a common plot: the good, the bad and the ugly," Papadakis said.

"The good is us, the evil is the neighbour, the enemy, and the ugly is the great powers who should have been on our side, and who betrayed us, namely Great Britain.

"Students learn that Cyprus has always been Greek, all the other communities... don't belong. They are conquerors," he said.

Papadakis said that some teachers in the north have "refused to use the revised" manuals to protest some of the contents while in the south "it is very difficult for Greek Cypriot teachers to give a more balanced viewpoint."

Since Talat took office, history manuals in the north have dropped such terms as "motherland" in reference to Turkey and use the words "Cypriot" and "people" to designate the two communities, the anthropologist said..

Tahir Gokcebel, head of Turkish Cypriot teachers union KTOEOS, acknowledged that revising textbooks after 2004 was a "very difficult task" and spoke of some "prejudice and bias" in manuals on the south side of the island.

He wants a "common curriculum" for schools across the island and would like compulsory classes for both the Greek and Turkish languages.

©AFP