April 26, 1998
Via Fax: 212-556-3622, 3690
The New York Times
To the Editor:
David Binder’s obituary of Constantine Caramanlis (Thursday, April 23, 1998, A23) discredits Greeks when he describes Greece’s politics as a "culture where deviousness is sometimes seen as a virtue" and ascribes to Caramanlis that Greeks are "cunning and conniving." Binder’s selective use of negative stereotypes is not only insulting but bigoted.
Anyone familiar with Greece and its people know them as hard working, devoted to family and freedom and extremely honest, with a Government that has helped its people achieve a quality of life that surpasses that in the United States.
Binder omits the exceptionally strong role taken by the United States installing and backing the military junta in Greece as well as ousting the democratically-elected government. The junta’s failed coup in Cyprus--never a threat to the Turkish minority--was used as an excuse by the Turks to invade and occupy almost 40% of Cyprus.
It was United States interference that destroyed democracy for seven years in the land of its birth and weakened it on a vulnerable island. The words "cunning," "conniving," and "devious" could be used to accurately describe our government’s foreign policy towards Greece and Cyprus.
Michael C. D. Javelos
Associate Director