Wednesday, November 1

Solving the Northern Cyprus Problem

The EU did a very foolish thing by admitting the Greek Cypriot part of Cyprus prior to any resolution being sorted out over the problem of a split Cyprus. The EU itself had a difficult position in that Greece was already a member of the EU and was planning to stop the accession of other new members if the rest of the EU delayed the entry of Cyprus. Now the EU has two member states that are biased in the matter, one of which is part of the problem at hand, and the other played a part in a coup attempt that resulted in Turkish troops sitting on a third of the island to this day.

Complicating the matter is that the EU has been negotiating with Turkey of the possibility of their entry into the EU. Turkey has been pressured on a number of points, such as the death penalty, recognition of the Greek-Cypriot side, and dropping a ban of Cypriot ships from calling on Turkish ports all under the threat of not being permitted to join the EU if they don't agree to the EU's demands.

So how does one solve the issue of a separated Cyprus?

Kofi Annan and the United Nations tried in 2004 with a unification referendum. The Turkish side approved the plan while the Greek half rejected it. There are many reasons listed here why the Greeks had a problem with the plan, but I think the main reason was just to F-over the Turkish half of the island. This would explain why Greek-Cypriots voted down the agreement, with enthusiasm.

So what is the path forward now? Finland is currently trying to move the issue forward while they have the EU Presidency, so far without much luck, despite threatening Turkey that failure to address the issue will effect it's own talks on membership. (Funny, it did not effect Cyprus's membership.)

One way forward would be for Turkish Cypriots to demand their rights as part of the EU community. As they were also brought into the EU.

In light of Protocol 10 of the Accession Treaty 2003 Cyprus as a whole entered the EU, whereas the acquis is suspended in the northern part of the island (“areas not under effective control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus”). This means inter alia that these areas are outside the customs and fiscal territory of the EU. The suspension has territorial effect, but does not concern the personal rights of Turkish Cypriots as EU citizens, as they are considered as citizens of the Member State Republic of Cyprus. - European Union

In effect, Turkish Cypriots are member of the European Union. I wonder if they know that? Of course to travel like an EU Citizen, they will have to obtain a passport from the Greek Cypriot Government. Something tells me that that is not a very likely option at the moment. Then again, they could probably lodge some interesting lawsuits within the EU about the Cypriot Government denying them the right of free passage. If the EU made the Turkish Cypriots Cisizens of the Greek Cypriot side, then perhaps they should excercise that right.

There is one option that is not being discussed.
Why doesn't Turkey just annex the Turkish part of Cyprus? In effect they already have. No other country has relations with 'Northern Cyprus.' All trade links end in Turkey. The Turkish Government fully supports that half of the island economically. The currency is the Turkish Lira. In effect, it is already a part of Turkey. It's certainly not part of the Greek half of the island.

So why continue the charade and just declare it part of Turkey.

Sure, there are all sorts of issues and viewpoints and I have oversimplified the complete issue at hand. I also failed to mention the large numbers of Greek and Turkish Cypriots killed by the other side and 'stolen lands' which surely complicate the issue in it's own right. But lets face it, this happened years ago and equally bad things have happened all over Europe with them managing to resolve the problems and move forward. This is something that cannot be undone leaving us the only possibility of moving forward from the point we are at now. If the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is not a country, then efforts should be to either unify it back with the rest of the island, or simply let Turkey annex the territory.

Turkish Cypriot - EUROPA

Helsingin Sanomat's Coverage of Finland's EU Presidency's attempt to resolve the Cyprus issue.

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - Wikipedia

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cyprus is an EU net contributor. The only reason we here in Cyprus even wanted to join the EU was to have some sort of protection from the Turks. Since we joined the EU, our living conditions have dropped drastically. Also, more then 50,000 Turkish Cypriots already applied for Cypriot passports. I wonder if you know how many Turkish colonists exist in Cyprus today?

Not only were we invaded by your NATO lap dog, thats not good enough for you, we also had to be questioned on why it was that the EU even let us in. Turkey, a net contributor to the EU? HA, that will be the day. Stick to topics that interest you, like the confederate flag or what not and leave the Cyprus issue to the Cypriots. Understand what i am telling you, brother?

george

Fred Fry said...

Thanks for your comments (other than the confederate flag swipe. I am from the North).

Thanks also for confirming that the Turks are taking advantage of the opportunity to get Cypriot passports. Are they getting them, you only mention that they applied for them. (My understanding is that is over 20% of the Turk population living on the island.)

My questioning on why the EU let you in is based on the simple principle that the EU Union is setup to promote stability and prevent war. The current situation in Cyprus is a potential war starter. I would think that the EU would have more bargaining power with Cyprus still on the outside. Face it, both sides are guilty for the current state of affairs and both sides will have to comprimise.

However, to it's credit, the Greek side has moved forward leaving the Turkish half in the dust.

How do you propose resolving the situation?

As for topics that interest me, one is international shipping. In case you did not notice, your half of Cyprus is a shipping powerhouse, however it has a problem concerning Turkish ports. Resolving that problem will be nothing but good for the Cypriot shipping community........

Anonymous said...

So what if your from the North? Isnt the confederate flag an issue of national importance? If its not…then why have there been previous demonstrations (against and for it) in several states? Anywho, the reason I brought it up was because it makes know sense for me, as a Cypriot, to be concerned about such an issue as the confederate flag….i mean really, why should it? Just like it doesn’t make any sense for you to be discussing the Cypriot issue. Why all of a sudden, brother, are you concerned about the Cypriot issue? Cyprus was invaded in 1974 not 2006. You wouldn’t even bother posting about the Cyprus issue if it weren’t for Turkey now seeking to join the European Union, common admit it. Refugees longing to return to their properties have now passed away and not a word, all of a sudden we now have Turkey seeking to join the EU and ohh what to do about the Cyprus issue, ohh what to do now!

Try and understand that it is the Turkish Cypriots who have applied for Cypriot passports and not the Turks (colonists) and ofcourse they have received a passport from the Republic of Cyprus. The few TCs who have obtained the Republic of Cyprus passport are viewed by many Turks as traitors…like our friend Incirli.

The EU is meant to promote economic and social progress or (that’s what Cypriots were led to believe) and for us, an added benefit of security. But now we see our living conditions going down. Some of the 10 countries who joined the union with Cyprus should not have joined when they did until there economies were better….that would have prevented the mess you see here and in western europe. You have know idea what I am talking about because your not from the EU.

Face it, you have no idea about Cypriot or EU matters…nor do I wish to discuss them with you.

Solving the Cypriot problem is an easy one, but pressure will have to be added to your lap dog. A just settlement is that the international community may, even at this late hour, exert sufficient pressure on Turkey, the invader and your so called ally, particularly because of it's fervent wish to join the EU itself, to mend its ways by implementing the UN resolutions and Rights Court judgments on Cyprus, and by respecting the EU acquis fully, particularly when it comes to women and Kurdish rights. Not what you wanted to hear but that’s how you resolve the issue of Cyprus.

George

Fred Fry said...

Dear George,

No. The Confederate flag for most Americans is nothing more than a symbol of racism or of bacwardness. With that said, I am always amazed at how often I see the flag in trucks in Europe. (The demonstrations are in states where it was a state symbol. No more.)

I started discussing the Cyprus issue as it is part of the Turkey issue of joining the EU. So yes, I would not bother about talking of the Cyprus issue if it were not for the EU talks. I was a child when the island was invaded and once I was old enough to care about international relations, I had the Soviet Union as an enemy to concern myself about.

Of course we all could do nothing and leave things as they are? If that is the case, then all this talk is just a bunch of hot air and wastes peoples time.

You say a few TCs have received passports but mentioned 50,000 earlier. That would be about 20% of the TCs living in the north. I would call that more than a few. I am pleasantly surprised at the number.

As for the decline in standards in Cyprus with it joining the EU, well that is part of being a union. Cyprus pays a price so that the partners that it is in union with are helped out with their standard of living improving. A union becomes an average of the standards of the members. Each US state has different standards but they are much more similar than you would find in the EU. (While I am not from the EU as you point out, you are wrong to state that I have no idea what your talking about. I lived in Finland for years, have a Finnish wife, and have been traveling there for work since the early 1990’s.)

I agree, solving the Cyprus issue will not be easy. I am interested to see what happens.

Thanks for your comments and good luck.