Cypriot predicament
Although Greek and Turkish Cypriots continue to celebrate their reunion as a people, the island's territorial reunification project remains stalled, reports
Michael Jansen from Nicosia
Since the Turkish Cypriot administration ended the physical separation of the two communities on 23 April, thousands of Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been pouring across the Green Line, which has divided the island since 1974, to visit former homes, towns and villages, to meet old friends and to make business deals. Hundreds of Turkish Cypriots have applied for passports from the internationally recognised republic and a few have asked to set up commercial ventures in the more prosperous south.
While these developments on the people-to-people level have disproven the contention of the Turkish side that Greek and Turkish Cypriots cannot live and work together, Ankara, the ultimate decision-maker which maintains 35,000 troops in the north, and the Turkish Cypriot leadership have not budged from their stand that there are and must be two independent, sovereign states on this small island.
Following a 16 June meeting with US State Department Coordinator for Cyprus Thomas Weston, Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash said that the UN plan for the reunification of Cyprus could not be revived. He stated, "There is nothing on the table for us which can make me say yes [to a resumption of talks], nothing at all." Denktash said the plan, drawn up by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, "is not on my table... and to be on the negotiating table both sides have to agree. Knowing the view of the Greek Cypriot side and the changes they want on it and knowing what changes I want on it, it is impossible to give life to it."
He dismissed speculation that Annan would hold consultations with the two sides in September. The European Union (EU) would like to have a Cyprus settlement before the island becomes a member next May but Annan has refused to resume talks unless the two leaders, Denktash and Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos, ask for UN intervention. Denktash also reiterated his stand that the Turkish Cypriots could join the EU only when Turkey achieves membership.
By contrast, Papadopoulos has declared himself willing to negotiate on the basis of the Annan plan which, he says, needs some less than major modifications. Following last weekend's European summit in Thessaloniki, he said negotiations could conclude by March, allowing the Turkish Cypriots to join the EU along with the Greek Cypriot majority republic.
Weston accused Denktash of hardening his rejectionist line on the Annan plan and of obstructing confidence building measures proposed by the Greek Cypriots to make life easier for Turkish Cypriots. Weston confirmed reports that his visit was part of a fresh push by Washington to secure a solution before May and said that the US fully supported the Annan plan as the sole path to a settlement.
Denktash also adopted hard-line positions during a meeting with EU Commissioner for Enlargement Gunter Verheugen. Denktash accepted a 12 million-euro aid package for municipalities and civil society organisations in the north but rejected the second part of the EU package allowing Turkish Cypriot goods to be sold in the bloc if exported through the republic's ports. Denktash had initially refused to accept the aid because it would not be channeled through his administration. Verheugen said he had expected no breakthrough on the reunification issue but warned the Turkish side that Ankara could not expect to secure its own accession by promoting a Cyprus solution. Cyprus is set to become an EU member next spring with or without a political settlement. He stated, "A trade-off is out of the question," making it clear to the obdurate Denktash and his backers in the Turkish military that Turkey cannot expect its candidacy to prosper as long as Cyprus remains divided. This firm EU stand could strengthen the hand of the ruling Justice and Development Party which favours a solution involving reunification because it is eager to join the EU.
In a bid to improve its image on the eve of the EU summit at Porto Carras near Thessaloniki in Greece, the Turkish parliament approved a new package of reforms, limiting anti- terrorism laws and lifting restrictions on its Kurdish minority. The EU welcomed these measures but now awaits implementation. Turkey has previously adopted legislation but failed to put it into force, particularly on "security" issues involving curbs on the powerful military.
Turkey's representative at Strasbourg also announced that Ankara had agreed to comply unconditionally with the ruling of the European Human Rights Court and would pay Greek Cypriot refugee Titina Loizidou $900,000 in compensation for the loss of her home in Kyrenia, occupied by the Turkish army in 1974. Turkey previously rejected the ruling of the court, claiming that it was not responsible for the situation in the north. However, only 48 hours after agreeing to pay Loizidou, Ankara reversed its stand. Fearing that compliance would provide a precedent for another 3,000 Greek Cypriots, who have also lodged cases with the court, Ankara conditioned the Loizidou payment on shelving the other cases and an agreement that any further legal appeals would have to be dealt with by Turkish Cypriot courts. Commenting on Ankara's declaration that it was prepared to settle with Loizidou under such conditions, Denktash said the proposal was intended to "create a climate" for the "balanced resolution" of claims based on an exchange of properties with those in the north being decided by Turkish Cypriot courts. This will never be accepted by the Greek Cypriots who constitute 82 per cent of the population and own most of the property on both sides of the Green Line.
Ankara's antics reveal that the struggle for dominance continues between the generals and Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan's moderate Islamist government. While Justice and Development Party deputies, representing the Turkish electorate, kept Turkey out of the US war on Iraq, it is far more difficult for the party to do a deal on Cyprus. The generals, who decide Cyprus policy, are not eager for Turkey to enter the EU because to do so they have to surrender their role in politics, conferred on the armed forces by the founder of the modern state, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. For the generals, Cyprus remains both a strategic base and a means for scuppering Turkey's bid for EU membership. This suits Denktash who is determined to remain president of the breakaway Turkish state in the north in spite of the demands of the majority of his people for reunification and accession.
