By Martin Banks - 7th December 2011
What is clear is that, with Cyprus set to take over the presidency of the European council in the second half of next year, the clock is very quickly ticking on the “Cyprus problem”
Martin Banks
The end game is fast approaching for the Cyprus problem as Nicosia prepares for its EU council presidency stint. Martin Banks reports.
Some would have you believe that any visit to Cyprus is not complete without calling by the “Museum of barbarism” in Nicosia. Step inside its unpretentious, cream-coloured walls and you are soon reminded of the horrors that lie behind the seemingly never-ending Cyprus conflict.
The bathroom, perfectly preserved, is where a Turkish Cypriot mother and her three young children were brutally shot dead by Greek Cypriot extremists. The date was 1963.
Fast forward to July 20, 1974 and, after 11 years of inter-communal strife, another outrage when 126 children, women and elderly were massacred in three villages near Famagusta. The wife and five children of Kamil Meric were later found in two mass graves hurriedly dug to dispose of the bodies.
He now lovingly tends the graves which have been turned into a shrine for those who perished in the outrage that triggered an “invasion” of Turkish troops onto the island, 35,000 of whom are still there.
The intervening near-four decades have seen numerous talks between the two sides – the Turkish Cypriots in the north and Greek Cypriots in the south – but all to no avail.
In anything, the situation has actually gotten worse with the positions taken up by the two sides hardening over the years. In a bid to lobby for its case, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) recently invited a group of foreign journalists to the island to attend celebrations marking the 28th anniversary of the founding of the TRNC.
The visit was timely as it came ahead of what most see as a make-or-break summit in New York in January under the auspices of the United Nations.
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has set the stage for the talks, which are likely to also involve the EU and the UK, the island’s former colonial power, by warning that Cyprus is now approaching the “end game”.
One of the important things to remember about Cyprus is that the old adage that there are two sides to the argument probably applies more here than anywhere.
For example, what Turkish Cypriots refer to as a legitimate “intervention” in 1974 is regarded by their southern neighbours as an “invasion” which forced thousands of Greek Cypriots to flee their homes in terror. Most, if not all, have never returned.
What remains as fact is that, economically and in just about every other respect, the north lags far behind the south, which, of course, has represented “Cyprus” in the EU since 2004. Only Turkey officially recognises northern Cyprus which is impossible to even reach without going via Istanbul. So where does the EU stand in all this?
Well, Dervis Eroglu, leader of the TRNC, is quick to point out that, back in 2004, the EU “pledged” to end the economic, social and political “isolation” if it endorsed a peace plan put forward by Kofi Annan, then UN secretary general. The Turkish Cypriots backed the plan in a referendum but the Greek Cypriots rejected it.
Eroglu told the Parliament Magazine he remains pessimistic about a settlement unless the EU “take steps to motivate” the Greek Cypriot side. Eroglu, a former prime minister in the north, says the EU “should never have” allowed Cyprus to join, adding, “The EU is keeping us in isolation. There are double standards here and its treatment of us is unjust.”
One step the EU could take, he says, is to introduce a direct trade regulation which would allow the north to trade more freely than is currently the case. Another immediate measure, he suggested, would be lifting the embargo on direct flights to the north.
Ayse Donmezer, of the North Cyprus Hoteliers Association, agrees saying this would “contribute significantly” to boosting tourism in the north which attracts 900,000 visitors a year, far fewer than the south which is easily accessible from most European countries.
Since 2005, the EU has provided some €250m in funds for the north for infrastructure and other projects and she wants this to continue when the EU’s next long-term budget beyond 2013 is decided. “Some of this goes towards the upkeep of heritage and cultural sites in the north. These are for all Europeans, not just a select few,” she said.
The much bigger picture, of course, is that most agree that Turkey will never be allowed to join the EU until the conflict is resolved. Ankara warns that it may freeze its relations with the EU if the New York talks fail.
What is clear is that, with Cyprus set to take over the presidency of the European council in the second half of next year, the clock is very quickly ticking on the “Cyprus problem”.
