Jennifer Lopez withdraws from occupied Cyprus gig

Well, well, well. I guess all us cynics who thought, 1. Jennifer Lopez would not be deterred from appearing at the Cratos Hotel in occupied Kyrenia because the $3m on offer would override the politics of the occupation of northern Cyprus; and that 2. grassroots campaigns are ineffective, now have to take it all back, because Lopez has just released on her website an Official Statement Regarding Cyprus Appearance, which says:

Jennifer Lopez would never knowingly support any state, country, institution or regime that was associated with any form of human rights abuse. After a full review of the relevant circumstances in Cyprus, it was the decision of her advisors to withdraw from the appearance. This was a team decision that reflects our sensitivity to the political realities of the region.

Well done to the tireless and fearless Nikolaos Taneris of CANA (please join the mailing list) and the organisers of the Facebook campaign who identified the prospect of Lopez appearing in Kyrenia as a huge propaganda coup for the occupation regime and resolved to try and prevent it; which they did, and in the process – and this is important – generated significant publicity for the realities of Turkey’s presence in Cyprus and brought together many young Greeks from all over the world in a good cause.

And while it remains unclear exactly why Lopez has withdrawn – fear of controversy is the most likely explanation (though I also notice that Sophia Cotzia of PSEKA is suggesting that Lopez backed out after getting a call from a ‘friend on Capitol Hill’) – the fact of her withdrawal does put down a marker and perhaps suggests to all those Turk businessman who dream of turning occupied Cyprus into Las Vegas that their thievery and despicable plans will not be easily fulfilled.

I have to say those of us who live the occupation of our country on a daily basis and have done for 36 years can get extremely worked up when confronted by those who don’t take our anguish seriously and we want them to suffer as much as our families have suffered at the hands of the Turks so that they know what injustice feels like. It’s an unfortunate mentality to have, but one that is understandable. Anyway, personally, I don't know much about Jennifer Lopez – I don’t think I’ve ever heard one of her songs – other than she has a reputation for having a large behind; though I have seen her in a very good film with George Clooney, called Out of Sight, which is based on a novel by the superb American crime writer, Elmore Leonard.