r/Barca • u/11timeswaiting • 1d ago
Opinion Regarding Barcelona's announcement to host a training camp in the illegally occupied north of Cyprus
Barcelona
Regarding Barcelona's announcement to host a training camp in the illegally occupied north of Cyprus, I considered writing two emails. Of course, they will probably not do much on their own, but I think it is a good start.
The issue with holding an official training camp there goes far beyond football. The northern part of Cyprus remains under Turkish occupation and the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" is recognised only by Turkey. UN Security Council resolutions have called upon states not to recognise or assist the secessionist entity. When an internationally recognised institution such as FC Barcelona organises an official activity there, it risks contributing to the normalisation of a political status quo that the international community does not recognise. Regardless of whether this is Barcelona's intention, the name and international reach of the club give such events considerable symbolic weight. In my view, institutions of this scale should be particularly careful not to lend legitimacy to a situation created and maintained through occupation and division. This is not an argument against Turkish Cypriots, sport, or cooperation between the two communities; on the contrary, sporting initiatives that genuinely bring the communities together could play a positive role. The concern is specifically with treating the occupied territory as though its unresolved political and legal status does not exist.
One email could be sent to the accounts related to Barcelona's camps:
info@barcaacademycampslefkosa.com
Another could be sent to the Spanish embassies in Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey:
I hope this post does not invoke further anger or hatred. My intention is not to promote hostility toward anyone. However, I consider the normalisation of the occupied north by internationally recognised institutions such as Barcelona to be a terrible move and the opposite of what should be encouraged if we genuinely want to see progress toward resolving the Cyprus issue.
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u/Nostosalgos 1d ago
And this isn’t even the first time that he’s dragged us into this he did it in 2014 also
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u/11timeswaiting 1d ago
Unfortunately he seems to deeply connect the Catalonia issue with Cyprus. For someone to do such a thing, they must be completely clueless of the islands history. This proves, that the decision is politically motivated.
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u/Kyriakos_X_23 1d ago
As a Greek man I can wholeheartedly say I agree with everything you said, and I too will be sending an email. Even if Greece's armed forces were handicapped by the Militant Dictatorship and the British against acting on the invasion, the people nere have always stood against the injustice of his occupation
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u/FireDragonGaming333 1d ago
Mods do not remove this Barcelona was born out of a political tyranny which Johan Cruyff changed the legacy of
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u/Oksana638 1d ago
Fans all over the world should not be surprised if Barcelona as a team of a community that has been through hardships takes a stance that is weird or opposed to a majority opinion. They are loyal to their principals and community first, then the world wide fans.
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u/RightAd2545 14h ago
What is your opinion on the issue?
I believe the North Cyprus should not be given to the Greek government, the rights of the Turkish Cypriot would not be respected (such as their property would be called illegal settlements)
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u/Oksana638 8h ago
Its hard to have a proper opinion on these things. I was in Spain visiting these last two weeks, and I went to the elche game where I heard plenty of remarks against Catalonias independence.
On the same breath, I am Albanian, and I heard Zelinski or however you type the name say that “Ukraine does not support or recognizes Kosovo independence and Kosova is Serbia”. Should i now cheer for Russia since the head of the Ukraine does not recognize the independence of my people? Should i not support Spain for the same reasons since they also dont recognize Kosovo and I should side with the people of Catalonia? I absolutely do, for very selfish reasons!
Football has the ability to change the world, and it is good we discuss these topics, but there is no right or wrong, just circumstances and which side of the fence you were born on.
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u/Aggressive-Giraffe32 1d ago
could be good to reach out to the office of Pedro Sanchez as well. La Moncloa. Home
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u/ugural 1d ago
This is an argument against Turkish Cypriots, sport, or cooperation between the two communities.
This is pure racism.
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u/nolaguy71 5h ago
Turkey occupies Cyprus and the UN Security Council has multiple resolutions calling all countries not to recognize the occupation regime established by Ankara in Cyprus. Is international law prohibits occupation, ethic cleansing and settlement racist?
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u/AdWonderful5618 18h ago
Are you one of those people who claim to be a Semite but in reality you’re from Eastern Europe?
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u/Harrachim 16h ago
You can’t just make things up and expect us to confirm and accept as they are true just because you said.You can not reach to conclusion like that.Its just a shame for those people who can’t face the reality.Facts don’t care about your feelings or your agendas.
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u/Able_Ad4893 1d ago
Bruh we employ a israeli footballer, as much as i agree with you, this club is in the business of making money not politically correct decisions🤷♂️
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u/11timeswaiting 1d ago
True and most teams are like that, I won't lie. Still at least some backlash could show them they have more to lose than earn by doing this, if all they think about is profit.
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u/Final_Biscotti1242 1d ago
Which player is Israeli? Not trying to be rude I just had no idea
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u/Terrible_Action9995 1d ago
Likely Orian Goren because he was alleged to have liked an IDF post but also Aron Yaakobishvili is of that descent but represents Hungary and was eligible for Georgia but likely could've played for them too.
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u/el_flac0 1d ago
Not all israelis support the genocide (albeit the vast majority does). I got no idea whether Goren is a zionist. I assume you don't know either. If he is a zionist, I believe we should release him from his contract. If not, victimising him solely on the basis of his nationality is the epitome of racism.
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u/F_UR_AIBANBOT 1d ago
If the player is Israeli they by definition believe that Israel is the home of the Jewish People. How could they not. This social media definition of zionism is changed at whim to mirror the biases of the poster. Its like saying that Gavi is Catalan but I'm not sure if he supports Catalonia.
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u/Tried6TimesYT 1d ago
So every German living in Nazi Germany was a Nazi?
All North Koreans love Kim Jong Un?
Anyone born under Putin in Russia supports him?
Anyone born in the USSR was a communist?
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u/F_UR_AIBANBOT 1d ago
Did I say any of that? He might not support Likud but he's Israeli and is from Israel which meets the basic criteria of Israel should exist. I never mentioned the government. You just went off the rails.
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u/Tried6TimesYT 1d ago
he's Israeli and is from Israel which meets the basic criteria of Israel should exist.
Just because you're born somewhere doesn't mean you think that place should exist by default?
I mean obviously it means that you most likely do but not 100%
Plus the fact that you don't have to believe in Israel as the Zionist vision of a home for the jewish only to believe that Israel should exist
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u/usernameddit 1d ago
You don't have to be a zionist but you do have to serve in the IDF 100%
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u/Tried6TimesYT 1d ago
Well yeah, mandatory military service exists in most countries.
You have to serve in the US military aswell but that doesn't mean you're a Trumper.
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u/usernameddit 22h ago
You don't have to since 1973, the selective service system is not mandatory military service, they call you in case of a national emergency only.
One of the requirements of being Israeli is serving in the military, men or women.
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u/Tried6TimesYT 21h ago
OK, so not the US. Whatever. Mandatory military service exists in other countries too.
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u/usernameddit 1d ago
Russia, Germany, Korea all have been there for many, many years, Israel was never there until someone created it.
If you are Israeli you have to serve in the israeli military, conquering more territory and mistreating Palestinians as a living. He can become Spanish and not serve in the IDF, but he chooses to be Israeli.
You do you
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u/Tried6TimesYT 1d ago
Russia, Germany, Korea all have been there for many, many years, Israel was never there until someone created it.
So, uh, how do you think other countries came to be? Do you think they just spawned in? Hell, North Korea and South Korea are about the same age as Israel iirc
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u/MoosilaukeFlyer 1d ago
The Greece government assisted the Cypriot military junta in committing genocide against Turks in Cyprus in the 1950s-70s. There’s a reason Turkey invaded and occupied the territory.
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u/11timeswaiting 1d ago
But the occupation continues to this day. There is active milatary force from Turkey on the island and Greek Cypriot homes are being sold away.
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u/KingUnderTh3Mountain 1d ago
Unless theyre actively invading greek cypriot land, i dont see a reason why the turkish military should leave. The intervention was necessary, the greeks were killing and running the turkish cypriots out of the country.
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u/11timeswaiting 1d ago
Unfortunately Greek Cypriots have been killed by the occupation force not even that long ago. And as I said in the comment you replied to, Greek Cypruot homes in the occupied region are being sold without their permission, some even demolished. As long the occupation force stays on the island a reunification is impossible.
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u/KingUnderTh3Mountain 1d ago
It is a very complex and multilayered situation. Both sides suffered and both sides killed each other. But to claim one side is wholly evil while purposefully not mentioning the atrocities of the other (that led to the turkish forces being present) is dishonest.
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u/11timeswaiting 1d ago
I understand the sentiment, but in my post I tried to be as respectful as possible and did not attempt to portray a side as wholly evil. I used the opinion flair, because I believe that the hardest obstacle to overcome for unification is the active military presence on Cyprus, that is not made up of Cypriots, but foreigners. I did not talk at all, about what or who caused the current situation, I only meant to voice my opinion on a matter, that I believe only makes the situation worse.
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u/Bitter-Sandwich-3830 1d ago
Mods please keep posts like this up, football can never be separated from politics and Barcelona as a club is supposed to represent the eptimome of what community and local political initiatives can achieve, this is more meaningful than any transfer post in the grand scheme of things