Cypriot ambassador visits the San Francisco Bay Area
4 June 2002
Oakland, California

It's time to let the wounds heal and to look to the future, was the clear, consistent message spread by the Ambassador of Cyprus to the US, Her Excellency Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, during her first official visit to the San Francisco Bay Area, May 29 - June 2.

The visit was prompted by an invitation to speak at the World Affairs Council in an event co-sponsored by the Commonwealth Club of California, both highly respected public affairs forums. The World Affairs Council was founded in 1947 "out of the interest generated by the founding of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945" and currently has over 10,000 members. Founded in 1903, the Commonwealth Club is "the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum", with about 14,000 members. Both organisations host hundreds of annual events featuring leading figures in the fields of politics, culture, society and the economy.

The Ambassador's speech, delivered to a packed house, was entitled "Cyprus, European Union Membership: A Catalyst for Peace". Cyprus' future lies with the European Union, she explained, and the prospect of accession "has changed the context of what we call the Cyprus problem".

Through a brief outline of the history of the EU, Ambassador Marcoullis pointed out that "through this remarkable process of integration, centuries-old foes became friends and partners ... working together for common objectives and common interests." If it worked for France and Germany, it can work for Greek- and Turkish-Cypriots, she argued. Membership in the EU "would provide the appropriate environment for the two communities to find a common home and live together as European citizens. The experience of other EU countries to that effect is a very positive one in projecting a Union where reconciliation and cooperation have replaced years of enmity, confrontation and mistrust."

"Reunification and membership to the EU is not a zero-sum game for Cyprus, the Union, Turkey or the United States' interests," she continued. "Any gain for one can also be a gain for the other and could be to the benefit of the relationship between them..." resulting in a "...win-win situation on both sides of the Atlantic."

"Continued division and instability in Cyprus is in no one's interest. At a time when Washington is putting all its energy to combat international terrorism, it is essential that all conflicts that are remnants of the last century should be resolved and removed from the agenda, so that all attention and resources are focused on the big picture." Given this, she stated, "We look to the United States to exercise its unmatched leadership in that direction".

The message of reconciliation and the need to look to the future remained consistent during the Q&A section of the programme, when she resisted a detailed analysis of past differences and instead drew the audience's applause by offering, "There is no doubt in my mind and in the minds of the Cypriots, Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots, that there were mistakes. Both Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots, all of them suffered. We cannot say that the suffering of the Greek-Cypriots was more than the suffering of the Turkish-Cypriots. ... But you look to the past in order to gain the wisdom to look to the future."

The tone and message were repeated the following day during an interview on the call-in programme FORUM on San Francisco's best-known public radio station, KQED. The interviewer attempted to focus the programme on the history and culture of Cyprus as well as the prospective accession to the EU, in order to provide an introduction to this low-profile island. Inevitably the audience's calls revolved around the division of the island, despite KQED's promise that it will soon host a full-hour political discussion with representation from both sides. Once again Ambassador Marcoullis refused to delve into a root cause analysis of the dividing issues more than absolutely necessary for correcting statements made by callers. "But we want to look to the future" she insisted, adding that Cyprus' future lies with the EU.

In her very busy schedule that took her all over the Bay Area and beyond, Ambassador Marcoullis was accompanied by Mr Nicolaos Theophanous, Cyprus' Honorary Consul and the primary organiser of the four-day visit. They met Greek-Cypriots, Greek-Orthodox religious leaders, local authorities like the Mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown, to whom the Ambassador extended an invitation to visit Cyprus, and made several contacts with the press and media.

Extensive contacts were also made with the Greek-American community. The Ambassador and the Consul met with multi-millionaire Republican supporter Alex Spanos, as well as with California Assembly Member, Lou Papan, who recently introduced a Bill in the State Assembly urging the President of the US to increase the administration's efforts to promote the reunification of Cyprus, as prescribed by the United Nations, and its accession to the European Union. The Ambassador also addressed a lunch hosted by Dynamis, a foreign policy action committee of wealthy Greek-Americans.

In keeping with the Ministry of Commerce's desire to develop the high-tech sector in Cyprus, Ambassador Marcoullis and Consul Theophanous met in Silicon Valley with the top executives of ATMEL, a semiconductor company founded and run by Greek-Americans. Established in 1984, and floated in 1991, it has 6,000 employees, and numerous fabrication and design units throughout the world, including Greece.

In San Jose, they also visited the newly established Hellenic Heritage Museum, one of 27 houses in History San Jose Park to which Consul Theophanous has already donated Cypriot costumes and other Cypriot artifacts as part of his efforts to connect with the Greek community in the Bay Area.

Before returning to Washington, DC, the Ambassador attended Sunday liturgy at Oakland's Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension, followed by a lunch for over 150 people, co-hosted by the Honorary Consul, the church, the local chapter of AHEPA, the United Greek-Cypriots of Northern California, and the Pan-Arcadian Society.

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Last updated: 21 Apr 2010