High time to re-focus on Cyprus
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 29, 2009 00:00
A well-informed source from Turkish Cyprus told the Daily News that after all it might not be such a bad development for Derviş Eroğlu’s right-wing National Unity Party, or UBP, to have won the elections on the island. The advent to the government of Eroğlu, who is known to have a more hawkish attitude, was perceived with pessimism as his party favors a two-state solution on Cyprus instead of a federation model that is now being discussed by the Cypriots.
The government in Turkey intentionally did not intervene to avoid the election of Eroğlu, according to the same source.
Whether these allegations are true or not, it is clear that Eroğlu’s election has increased the concern among the interested parties that an important opportunity to reach a solution might be missed.
It must not be a coincidence that after a visit to Greece, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband came to Turkey at the beginning of this week and his most important messages pertained to the Cyprus problem.
"We want the Cyprus settlement as soon as possible.
The people of Cyprus have a lot to gain from a solution and a lot to lose from the status quo," he said in Ankara.
"We will support negotiations by Cyprus for Cyprus. The status quo is not sustainable. This year is the year the issue can be resolved."
It is our belief at the Daily News that these messages should be first and foremost addressed to the Greek Cypriot side. There is an asymmetrical situation on the island.
Greek Cyprus is an EU member and as it is recognized by the international community, it is fully connected to the world, in contrast to Turkish Cyprus, which suffers from isolation. In the absence of a solution by the end of the year, Greek Cyprus will not be the side punished, yet the Turkish government risks another setback to its EU bid, as the 27-nation bloc will review the accession talks with a view to take action on Turkey’s refusal to open its ports to Greek Cypriot vessels.
The Greek Cypriot side will be dragging its feet until the end of summer with the expectation that the pressure will lead the Turkish side to have a more compromising attitude. It is high time that interested actors tell the Greek Cypriots that the Turkish side will not bow to any pressure since the EU has lost leverage on Turkey.
A final note: The European Court of Justice’s ruling in favor of a Greek Cypriot whose property in Turkish Cyprus was bought by a British couple, came at a very unfortunate moment.
The decision has only aggravated the sense of frustration in the northern part of the island that had already manifested itself during the elections.
Whether these allegations are true or not, it is clear that Eroğlu’s election has increased the concern among the interested parties that an important opportunity to reach a solution might be missed.
It must not be a coincidence that after a visit to Greece, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband came to Turkey at the beginning of this week and his most important messages pertained to the Cyprus problem.
"We want the Cyprus settlement as soon as possible.
The people of Cyprus have a lot to gain from a solution and a lot to lose from the status quo," he said in Ankara.
"We will support negotiations by Cyprus for Cyprus. The status quo is not sustainable. This year is the year the issue can be resolved."
It is our belief at the Daily News that these messages should be first and foremost addressed to the Greek Cypriot side. There is an asymmetrical situation on the island.
Greek Cyprus is an EU member and as it is recognized by the international community, it is fully connected to the world, in contrast to Turkish Cyprus, which suffers from isolation. In the absence of a solution by the end of the year, Greek Cyprus will not be the side punished, yet the Turkish government risks another setback to its EU bid, as the 27-nation bloc will review the accession talks with a view to take action on Turkey’s refusal to open its ports to Greek Cypriot vessels.
The Greek Cypriot side will be dragging its feet until the end of summer with the expectation that the pressure will lead the Turkish side to have a more compromising attitude. It is high time that interested actors tell the Greek Cypriots that the Turkish side will not bow to any pressure since the EU has lost leverage on Turkey.
A final note: The European Court of Justice’s ruling in favor of a Greek Cypriot whose property in Turkish Cyprus was bought by a British couple, came at a very unfortunate moment.
The decision has only aggravated the sense of frustration in the northern part of the island that had already manifested itself during the elections.