By Tony Barber in Brussels and Delphine Strauss in Ankara
The Greek Cypriot-led government of Cyprus on Tuesday placed new obstacles in the way of Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union, declaring that it would not permit the start of accession talks in five policy areas unless Turkey changed its stance on the Cyprus dispute.
Although no other EU country supported them, the Greek Cypriots exercised their right under EU rules to announce that they would block talks over free movement of workers; the judiciary and fundamental rights; justice, freedom and security; education and culture; and foreign, security and defence policy.
Markos Kyprianou, foreign minister of Cyprus, described the measures as a “targeted response, not a complete freeze” to Turkey’s membership talks.
However, Turkey warned last week that its accession process could suffer irreparable damage if EU leaders introduced fresh sanctions in retaliation for Ankara’s refusal to open Turkish ports and airports to Greek Cypriot traffic.
After a two-day meeting that ended on Tuesday, EU foreign ministers decided against such sanctions after a majority concluded that discussions on a settlement among Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders were at a delicate stage .
The foreign ministers said they would maintain a freeze on negotiations in eight of the 35 policy areas that Turkey, an official candidate for EU membership since 2004, must complete before it can join the bloc.
Cyprus’s announcement went further, because the policy areas it listed are in addition to the eight where all EU countries agree talks should not proceed.
Turkey opened EU accession talks in 2005 in return for a promise to permit direct transport links with the Greek Cypriots. Turkey has refused to honour the accord, saying the EU has failed to fulfil its commitment to end the isolation of Turkish Cypriot-controlled northern Cyprus.
Suat Kiniklioglu, deputy chair of foreign relations of Turkey’s ruling AK party, said that if Cypriot threats were true, it would indicate “that the Greek Cypriot government’s position is continuing to poison Turkey’s relations with the European Union”.
EU governments are anxious to see progress in a new round of United Nations-sponsored talks on a Cyprus settlement that started in September 2008. With presidential elections in northern Cyprus scheduled for April and a nationalist candidate tipped to win, EU diplomats say the window for a deal is narrowing to between now and late February.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009.
Showing posts with label Cyprus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cyprus. Show all posts
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Can Cyprus overcome its bloody history?
Chris Summers
More British soldiers were killed during the "Cyprus emergency" in the 1950s than have died in Iraq or Afghanistan. So why has it been forgotten and what hope is there of reuniting the island?
On Remembrance Sunday, about 500 relatives and veterans watched as a new memorial was unveiled in Kyrenia, in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus, to recognise the 371 British servicemen who lost their lives on the island between 1956 and 1959.
The unveiling, and the laying of a wreath by the British High Commissioner, Peter Millett, sparked a diplomatic row, with President Demetris Christofias raising the matter when he met UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown a few days later.
One of the names on the memorial is Corporal Mervyn Whurr, 22, killed by a bomb on Kyrenia's Six Mile Beach in September 1956.
His sister, Barbara Hocking, from Millbrook in Cornwall, said: "My mum had a telegram saying he'd been injured, then she got another one saying he had an arm and a leg amputated. A few days later another telegram came saying he'd died."
Unlike those of troops killed in Afghanistan, his body, like those of most of the Cyprus casualties, was not flown home and lies in a cemetery at Wayne's Keep on the island.
Mrs Hocking was at the unveiling of the memorial, where she was joined by Margaret Moncur, whose brother 19-year-old Matt Neely, from Glasgow, was killed in 1956 by a bomb while doing his National Service.
Mrs Moncur said: "He loved his football, he was full of fun, playing jokes and was very popular with his mates.
"For some reason Cyprus has become a forgotten war."
The Cyprus High Commissioner to London, Alexandros Zenon, said the failure to consult the Cyprus government about the memorial was perceived as an "insult".
He said: "In principle we are not against a country honouring its soldiers who fell in service.
"The problem is that the memorial was built and unveiled in the occupied part of Cyprus. It could have been erected in the British sovereign base area.
"We also feel it's politically premature. I understand they want to honour them, but for Greek Cypriots the anti-colonial struggle is still a very sensitive issue."
In the late 1950s the British Empire was trying to cling on to the island, which remained a strategic location, especially around the time of the Suez crisis.
Greek Cypriot fighters belonging to an organisation called Eoka planted bombs and attacked British servicemen on and off duty.
Several civilians were also killed, including Catherine Cutliffe and her daughter Margaret who were shot while buying a wedding dress in Famagusta, although Eoka denied responsibility for that attack.
Eventually in 1960 Cyprus was granted independence, but tensions between the Greek Cypriot majority and the Turkish Cypriot minority grew during the next decade.
In July 1974 a Greek nationalist group, Eoka-B, led by Nikos Sampson, carried out a coup backed by the military junta in power in Athens.
Sampson promised to unite Cyprus with Greece in so-called "enosis".
Turkey sent its army to the northern part of the island, ostensibly to protect Turkish Cypriots.
The idea of enosis evaporated and the moderate Archbishop Makarios returned to power.
But the Turkish Army has remained ever since and the island is still separated, with a UN buffer zone running right through the heart of Nicosia, the world's last remaining divided city.
In 2004 the United Nations came up with the Annan Plan - named after the then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan - which suggested a bi-zonal federated state.
But, although it was accepted by the Turkish Cypriots in a referendum, another poll in the south rejected it.
Cyprus was then admitted into the EU, which many Turkish Cypriots opposed believing it removed an incentive for the Greek Cypriot side to reach a solution.
But fresh momentum was injected with the election of Mr Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat, president of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Both are leftists elected on a platform of reconciliation.
Negotiations are ongoing, but one of the major stumbling blocks is the question of how to deal with Greek Cypriots who claim land and property in the north.
Some of this has been sold to some of the 6,000 British expats in northern Cyprus.
In what could prove to be a test case, a court in Cyprus ruled against a couple, David and Linda Orams, who bought land originally belonging to a Greek Cypriot, Meletis Apostolides.
There are fears that if no deal is reached before elections in the TRNC in April what Mr Brown referred to as a "unique opportunity" could be lost.
Mr Zenon said: "The likely opponent of Mr Talat is a hardliner and if he is elected, things will not be made easier. But we will not create artificial deadlines which, as with the Annan Plan, have proved disastrous."
Mr Talat himself, in an interview with the BBC, admitted: "If somebody who is not in favour of a bi-zonal solution is elected then the negotiations will not continue easily."
He said of the negotiations: "The positions of the two sides are not very close, but we are making progress."
Mr Brown recently renewed an offer to hand back just under half of the UK's sovereign base areas on the island - around Akrotiri and Dhekelia - if a deal could be reached between the two sides.
Andrew Dismore, Labour MP for Hendon in north London, feels the timing of the Kyrenia memorial was unfortunate.
He represents more than 3,000 Greek Cypriot constituents and recently led a debate in Parliament about the island.
Mr Dismore said: "Of course, there should be a memorial, but this is neither the time or place, at such a sensitive time in the talks.
"It just serves to remind Greek Cypriots of the UK's less than glorious role as the colonial power, when we are trying to be positive in our support for the talks."
But Mr Talat said the memorial was a "humanitarian" issue and should not have become "politicised".
Mrs Hocking said it was sad the memorial had led to a row and she said of her brother's death: "Was it worth it? The two governments are still not talking. Was it worth all those lives being wasted? It's just like Afghanistan."
More British soldiers were killed during the "Cyprus emergency" in the 1950s than have died in Iraq or Afghanistan. So why has it been forgotten and what hope is there of reuniting the island?
On Remembrance Sunday, about 500 relatives and veterans watched as a new memorial was unveiled in Kyrenia, in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus, to recognise the 371 British servicemen who lost their lives on the island between 1956 and 1959.
The unveiling, and the laying of a wreath by the British High Commissioner, Peter Millett, sparked a diplomatic row, with President Demetris Christofias raising the matter when he met UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown a few days later.
One of the names on the memorial is Corporal Mervyn Whurr, 22, killed by a bomb on Kyrenia's Six Mile Beach in September 1956.
His sister, Barbara Hocking, from Millbrook in Cornwall, said: "My mum had a telegram saying he'd been injured, then she got another one saying he had an arm and a leg amputated. A few days later another telegram came saying he'd died."
Unlike those of troops killed in Afghanistan, his body, like those of most of the Cyprus casualties, was not flown home and lies in a cemetery at Wayne's Keep on the island.
Mrs Hocking was at the unveiling of the memorial, where she was joined by Margaret Moncur, whose brother 19-year-old Matt Neely, from Glasgow, was killed in 1956 by a bomb while doing his National Service.
Mrs Moncur said: "He loved his football, he was full of fun, playing jokes and was very popular with his mates.
"For some reason Cyprus has become a forgotten war."
The Cyprus High Commissioner to London, Alexandros Zenon, said the failure to consult the Cyprus government about the memorial was perceived as an "insult".
He said: "In principle we are not against a country honouring its soldiers who fell in service.
"The problem is that the memorial was built and unveiled in the occupied part of Cyprus. It could have been erected in the British sovereign base area.
"We also feel it's politically premature. I understand they want to honour them, but for Greek Cypriots the anti-colonial struggle is still a very sensitive issue."
In the late 1950s the British Empire was trying to cling on to the island, which remained a strategic location, especially around the time of the Suez crisis.
Greek Cypriot fighters belonging to an organisation called Eoka planted bombs and attacked British servicemen on and off duty.
Several civilians were also killed, including Catherine Cutliffe and her daughter Margaret who were shot while buying a wedding dress in Famagusta, although Eoka denied responsibility for that attack.
Eventually in 1960 Cyprus was granted independence, but tensions between the Greek Cypriot majority and the Turkish Cypriot minority grew during the next decade.
In July 1974 a Greek nationalist group, Eoka-B, led by Nikos Sampson, carried out a coup backed by the military junta in power in Athens.
Sampson promised to unite Cyprus with Greece in so-called "enosis".
Turkey sent its army to the northern part of the island, ostensibly to protect Turkish Cypriots.
The idea of enosis evaporated and the moderate Archbishop Makarios returned to power.
But the Turkish Army has remained ever since and the island is still separated, with a UN buffer zone running right through the heart of Nicosia, the world's last remaining divided city.
In 2004 the United Nations came up with the Annan Plan - named after the then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan - which suggested a bi-zonal federated state.
But, although it was accepted by the Turkish Cypriots in a referendum, another poll in the south rejected it.
Cyprus was then admitted into the EU, which many Turkish Cypriots opposed believing it removed an incentive for the Greek Cypriot side to reach a solution.
But fresh momentum was injected with the election of Mr Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat, president of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Both are leftists elected on a platform of reconciliation.
Negotiations are ongoing, but one of the major stumbling blocks is the question of how to deal with Greek Cypriots who claim land and property in the north.
Some of this has been sold to some of the 6,000 British expats in northern Cyprus.
In what could prove to be a test case, a court in Cyprus ruled against a couple, David and Linda Orams, who bought land originally belonging to a Greek Cypriot, Meletis Apostolides.
There are fears that if no deal is reached before elections in the TRNC in April what Mr Brown referred to as a "unique opportunity" could be lost.
Mr Zenon said: "The likely opponent of Mr Talat is a hardliner and if he is elected, things will not be made easier. But we will not create artificial deadlines which, as with the Annan Plan, have proved disastrous."
Mr Talat himself, in an interview with the BBC, admitted: "If somebody who is not in favour of a bi-zonal solution is elected then the negotiations will not continue easily."
He said of the negotiations: "The positions of the two sides are not very close, but we are making progress."
Mr Brown recently renewed an offer to hand back just under half of the UK's sovereign base areas on the island - around Akrotiri and Dhekelia - if a deal could be reached between the two sides.
Andrew Dismore, Labour MP for Hendon in north London, feels the timing of the Kyrenia memorial was unfortunate.
He represents more than 3,000 Greek Cypriot constituents and recently led a debate in Parliament about the island.
Mr Dismore said: "Of course, there should be a memorial, but this is neither the time or place, at such a sensitive time in the talks.
"It just serves to remind Greek Cypriots of the UK's less than glorious role as the colonial power, when we are trying to be positive in our support for the talks."
But Mr Talat said the memorial was a "humanitarian" issue and should not have become "politicised".
Mrs Hocking said it was sad the memorial had led to a row and she said of her brother's death: "Was it worth it? The two governments are still not talking. Was it worth all those lives being wasted? It's just like Afghanistan."
Thursday, November 12, 2009
UN envoy focuses on progress in unification talks
By Kerin Hope
Alexander Downer, United Nations special envoy to the latest Cyprus reunification effort, insists that after 14 months of open-ended bicommunal talks he is still “cautiously optimistic” about a settlement.
One hopeful sign, he says, is that Demetris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat, the Cypriot leaders, are meeting more often in order to tackle key issues such as power-sharing and property ownership in a future federal state.
After almost 50 sessions the leaders ”have made significant progress – though not equal progress in all (negotiating) chapters,” Mr Downer says. “But they’ve agreed on an enormous number of things.”
These include most issues concerning the economy and European Union responsibilities – seen as the least contentious of the six chapters – as well as a large chunk of the governance and power-sharing chapter that dominated the discussions earlier this year.
But chapters on property, territory and security – issues that brought several previous peace initiatives to a halt - have still to be discussed in depth.
The Australian former foreign minister, now a political consultant, flies in regularly to facilitate the negotiations, with UN-appointed experts providing legal and technical help.
His “good offices” mission – the venue for the talks – occupies a modest one-storey building at the former Nicosia international airport in the UN-controlled buffer zone separating the Greek and Turkish Cypriot parts of the island.
Mr Downer’s qualifications for the job include mediating a peace agreement in a civil conflict in Papua New Guinea and helping the UN organise a referendum in East Timor.
Yet the UN is deploying significantly fewer resources than during the ill-fated peace effort of 2002-04 that resulted in the “Annan plan” – a 10,000-page blueprint covering almost every detail of establishing a loose federation on Cyprus that only a handful of islanders claim to have read.
That plan was dropped after 76 per cent of Greek Cypriots who voted rejected it in a referendum - although it was approved by 65 per cent of Turkish Cypriots in a separate vote.
This time the UN does not intend to impose deadlines, Mr Downer stresses, in spite of Mr Talat’s concerns about reaching a deal before his presidential term runs out in the spring.
“There’s no timeframe, it’s up to the leaders to work out the timelines and agree on them,” he says. “The Turkish Cypriots want to complete the negotiations by early next year and the Greek Cypriots don’t want to be suffocated by asphyxiating deadlines.”
Mr Christofias and Mr Talat - fellow leftwingers and self-described friends – start their twice-weekly sessions with frank private discussions before sitting down with their advisers and UN experts, according to Cyprus-based officials.
Yet hopes that two veteran Cypriot politicians committed to healing the island’s 35-year division would be able to achieve a breakthrough have so far not been realised.
Mr Downer points to a recent agreement on setting up a rotating federal presidency as a sign of “real progress” though details of voting procedures have still to be worked out.
Moreover, the two leaders have started to discuss the complex property issue which will also have an impact on opportunities for Greek and Turkish Cypriots to return to homes they abandoned in the 1974 conflict.
After 35 years of division, many Greek Cypriots would prefer to receive compensation or sell their holdings in the Turkish Cypriot north of the island rather than live there after a settlement.
“It’s a complicated issue, legally and economically,” Mr Downer says. “For example, if compensation is going to be a big part of the solution, where does the money come from? You have to work out ways of financing it.”
An agreement on property would also help resolve the issue of how much the territory in north Cyprus would be handed back to the Greek Cypriots in a settlement, he says.
A few issues on security have been agreed, for example that a reunified Cyprus would not have an army, Mr Downer says.
But the continued presence of Turkish and Greek military forces on the island under current treaties of alliance, and the Turkish Cypriot position that a treaty of guarantee is still essential although Cyprus is a member of the European Union, are potential stumbling blocks to a deal.
Both Cypriot leaders have recently sounded considerably less upbeat than Mr Downer about the course of negotiations so far.
Mr Christofias said in Brussels in October that his expectations for the talks “had not been justified” and blamed Turkey’s political and military leadership for the lack of progress.
Mr Talat said in a Financial Times interview in September that overall he was “not satisfied with the pace of the talks” and that the current initiative is the “last chance” of resolving the Cyprus problem.
Yet making pessimistic public statements is also part of the negotiating process, Mr Downer suggests.
“When you go and talk to the two sides, it all depends what mood they’re in,” Mr Downer “They’ll run a different line on different days. We run one line - that this process can succeed. ”
Alexander Downer, United Nations special envoy to the latest Cyprus reunification effort, insists that after 14 months of open-ended bicommunal talks he is still “cautiously optimistic” about a settlement.
One hopeful sign, he says, is that Demetris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat, the Cypriot leaders, are meeting more often in order to tackle key issues such as power-sharing and property ownership in a future federal state.
After almost 50 sessions the leaders ”have made significant progress – though not equal progress in all (negotiating) chapters,” Mr Downer says. “But they’ve agreed on an enormous number of things.”
These include most issues concerning the economy and European Union responsibilities – seen as the least contentious of the six chapters – as well as a large chunk of the governance and power-sharing chapter that dominated the discussions earlier this year.
But chapters on property, territory and security – issues that brought several previous peace initiatives to a halt - have still to be discussed in depth.
The Australian former foreign minister, now a political consultant, flies in regularly to facilitate the negotiations, with UN-appointed experts providing legal and technical help.
His “good offices” mission – the venue for the talks – occupies a modest one-storey building at the former Nicosia international airport in the UN-controlled buffer zone separating the Greek and Turkish Cypriot parts of the island.
Mr Downer’s qualifications for the job include mediating a peace agreement in a civil conflict in Papua New Guinea and helping the UN organise a referendum in East Timor.
Yet the UN is deploying significantly fewer resources than during the ill-fated peace effort of 2002-04 that resulted in the “Annan plan” – a 10,000-page blueprint covering almost every detail of establishing a loose federation on Cyprus that only a handful of islanders claim to have read.
That plan was dropped after 76 per cent of Greek Cypriots who voted rejected it in a referendum - although it was approved by 65 per cent of Turkish Cypriots in a separate vote.
This time the UN does not intend to impose deadlines, Mr Downer stresses, in spite of Mr Talat’s concerns about reaching a deal before his presidential term runs out in the spring.
“There’s no timeframe, it’s up to the leaders to work out the timelines and agree on them,” he says. “The Turkish Cypriots want to complete the negotiations by early next year and the Greek Cypriots don’t want to be suffocated by asphyxiating deadlines.”
Mr Christofias and Mr Talat - fellow leftwingers and self-described friends – start their twice-weekly sessions with frank private discussions before sitting down with their advisers and UN experts, according to Cyprus-based officials.
Yet hopes that two veteran Cypriot politicians committed to healing the island’s 35-year division would be able to achieve a breakthrough have so far not been realised.
Mr Downer points to a recent agreement on setting up a rotating federal presidency as a sign of “real progress” though details of voting procedures have still to be worked out.
Moreover, the two leaders have started to discuss the complex property issue which will also have an impact on opportunities for Greek and Turkish Cypriots to return to homes they abandoned in the 1974 conflict.
After 35 years of division, many Greek Cypriots would prefer to receive compensation or sell their holdings in the Turkish Cypriot north of the island rather than live there after a settlement.
“It’s a complicated issue, legally and economically,” Mr Downer says. “For example, if compensation is going to be a big part of the solution, where does the money come from? You have to work out ways of financing it.”
An agreement on property would also help resolve the issue of how much the territory in north Cyprus would be handed back to the Greek Cypriots in a settlement, he says.
A few issues on security have been agreed, for example that a reunified Cyprus would not have an army, Mr Downer says.
But the continued presence of Turkish and Greek military forces on the island under current treaties of alliance, and the Turkish Cypriot position that a treaty of guarantee is still essential although Cyprus is a member of the European Union, are potential stumbling blocks to a deal.
Both Cypriot leaders have recently sounded considerably less upbeat than Mr Downer about the course of negotiations so far.
Mr Christofias said in Brussels in October that his expectations for the talks “had not been justified” and blamed Turkey’s political and military leadership for the lack of progress.
Mr Talat said in a Financial Times interview in September that overall he was “not satisfied with the pace of the talks” and that the current initiative is the “last chance” of resolving the Cyprus problem.
Yet making pessimistic public statements is also part of the negotiating process, Mr Downer suggests.
“When you go and talk to the two sides, it all depends what mood they’re in,” Mr Downer “They’ll run a different line on different days. We run one line - that this process can succeed. ”
Leaders wrestle to break island’s bitter deadlock
Few outside observers still have doubts about the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders’ commitment to ending the island’s 35-year division.
After 14 months of regular meetings, their blue-upholstered armchairs at the United Nations “good offices” mission outside Nicosia have acquired a comfortable, well-worn look.
Demetris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat are well-qualified negotiators, with a shared trade union background and sufficient language skills to argue the details of a peace settlement in English.
Self-interest also plays a role. If a deal on setting up a bizonal, bicommunal federation is reached, Mr Christofias and Mr Talat would almost certainly be the first to hold the rotating presidency of a reunified Cyprus.
If not, both men are likely to be punished by voters and replaced by hardline nationalists who might opt for a permanent partition of the island.
Yet the UN-sponsored talks are dragging. Last week Mr Christofias admitted that the leaders were not yet ready to discuss in depth the issue of property, which, together with territory and security, lies at the core of a settlement.
“This is a comprehensive and difficult issue and they will go on working,” says Alexander Downer, former foreign minister of Australia and UN special adviser to the negotiations.
Though Nicosia-based diplomats try to avoid talk of deadlines and last chances, Mr Talat is already feeling the heat. His leftwing Republican Turkish Party was defeated last April at a parliamentary election in the north by Dervis Eroglou, whose National Unity Party favours a two-state solution.
Without at least a framework deal in place, Mr Talat’s chances of winning a second presidential term in the April poll look increasingly slim.
Public opinion in the north, once overwhelmingly in favour of reunification – and access to the benefits of European Union membership – is hardening.
“The talks don’t have a positive image and people aren’t very hopeful,” says Emine Erk, a Turkish Cypriot human rights lawyer. “There seems to be a zero-sum attitude, that you’re only happy with the talks if the other side is giving ground.”
Mr Christofias in turn faces pressure from “rejectionists” in the Greek Cypriot south, including influential media barons and members of the centrist Democratic party, which is the junior partner in his communist-led coalition government.
While communist discipline still appears strict, some analysts doubt whether Mr Christofias has the full support of his party on reunification.
However, the election victory of George Papandreou’s Socialist party in Greece has given the island’s pro-settlement politicians a welcome boost.
Mr Papandreou intends to rebuild the close relationship with Turkey he established as foreign minister 10 years ago.
“We have to revive a dynamism that will not only help Turkey on its course towards Europe but contribute to a solution of the Cyprus issue,” he said during a visit to Nicosia.
Next month’s EU summit, at which the bloc’s 27 heads of government are due to assess Turkish progress, will test the resolve of both Mr Papandreou and Mr Christofias. They hope that Turkey will inject fresh momentum into the Cyprus talks, as well as its own bid for accession, by agreeing to open one of its ports to Greek Cypriot traffic.
But if not, Mr Christofias has implicitly ruled out using a veto against Ankara, saying: “Our intention is not to punish Turkey.”
Many Greek Cypriots are uncertain about the benefits of signing up to a federal state that they would have to finance in its early years, as Turkish Cypriot per capita income is about half that of the south.
Greek Cypriots have avoided fostering cross-border relationships because of a widely held view that any form of bicommunal contact – from schoolchildren exchanging visits to football matches against teams from the north – implies “recognition” of the self-proclaimed Turkish Cypriot republic in the north.
The issue of “recognition” also places constraints on trade across the Green Line, the unofficial border between north and south, which has been developing gradually under an EU umbrella.
Most Turkish Cypriot products are still shipped to Turkey for export, while goods purchased by Greek Cypriots are generally transported in bulk and packaged in the south for sale locally.
“When Cyprus joined the EU in 2004 we were promised direct trade with the Union. That hasn’t happened,” says Oya Barcin, head of trade development at the Turkish Cypriot chamber of commerce.
Both sides of the island are feeling the impact of the global slowdown, following a collapse in the holiday property market and a sharp decline in tourist arrivals this year.
Greek Cypriot unemployment has reached 5.5 per cent, the highest rate since 1974. Turkish Cypriots have also lost jobs in the construction sector in the south.
A weak recovery is forecast for the south, while the isolated economy in the north faces continuing stagnation.
Studies indicate that reunification would bring sustained growth in tourism and business services, the pillars of the Greek Cypriot economy.
Higher education, which underpins the Turkish Cypriot economy and is expanding in the south, would become a growth sector, while the north’s mass tourism market would quickly be upgraded.
“There would obviously be the short-term costs of economic adjustment, but the medium-term prospects, with Greek Cypriot companies gaining access to the large Turkish market, would be very exciting,” says Charilaos Stavrakis, Greek Cypriot finance minister.
Settling issues of property and territory would unlock domestic investment and allow a federal Cyprus to develop a long-term strategy for attracting foreign investment, according to UN advisers. As a result of the island’s frozen conflict, ownership of property worth an estimated €20bn – mainly in the north – remains in dispute.
One arresting example is the derelict resort of Varosha outside Famagusta – a popular Mediterranean playground in the 1960s – with crumbling high-rise hotels surrounded by barbed wire.
“Just the rebuilding of Famagusta as a high-quality resort would make the whole island more prosperous for years to come,” says Symeon Kassianides, a Greek Cypriot businessman.
But so far neither Mr Talat nor Mr Christofias has tried to put forward a vision of a prosperous, reunited Cyprus offering a wealth of opportunity to both communities.
After 14 months of regular meetings, their blue-upholstered armchairs at the United Nations “good offices” mission outside Nicosia have acquired a comfortable, well-worn look.
Demetris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat are well-qualified negotiators, with a shared trade union background and sufficient language skills to argue the details of a peace settlement in English.
Self-interest also plays a role. If a deal on setting up a bizonal, bicommunal federation is reached, Mr Christofias and Mr Talat would almost certainly be the first to hold the rotating presidency of a reunified Cyprus.
If not, both men are likely to be punished by voters and replaced by hardline nationalists who might opt for a permanent partition of the island.
Yet the UN-sponsored talks are dragging. Last week Mr Christofias admitted that the leaders were not yet ready to discuss in depth the issue of property, which, together with territory and security, lies at the core of a settlement.
“This is a comprehensive and difficult issue and they will go on working,” says Alexander Downer, former foreign minister of Australia and UN special adviser to the negotiations.
Though Nicosia-based diplomats try to avoid talk of deadlines and last chances, Mr Talat is already feeling the heat. His leftwing Republican Turkish Party was defeated last April at a parliamentary election in the north by Dervis Eroglou, whose National Unity Party favours a two-state solution.
Without at least a framework deal in place, Mr Talat’s chances of winning a second presidential term in the April poll look increasingly slim.
Public opinion in the north, once overwhelmingly in favour of reunification – and access to the benefits of European Union membership – is hardening.
“The talks don’t have a positive image and people aren’t very hopeful,” says Emine Erk, a Turkish Cypriot human rights lawyer. “There seems to be a zero-sum attitude, that you’re only happy with the talks if the other side is giving ground.”
Mr Christofias in turn faces pressure from “rejectionists” in the Greek Cypriot south, including influential media barons and members of the centrist Democratic party, which is the junior partner in his communist-led coalition government.
While communist discipline still appears strict, some analysts doubt whether Mr Christofias has the full support of his party on reunification.
However, the election victory of George Papandreou’s Socialist party in Greece has given the island’s pro-settlement politicians a welcome boost.
Mr Papandreou intends to rebuild the close relationship with Turkey he established as foreign minister 10 years ago.
“We have to revive a dynamism that will not only help Turkey on its course towards Europe but contribute to a solution of the Cyprus issue,” he said during a visit to Nicosia.
Next month’s EU summit, at which the bloc’s 27 heads of government are due to assess Turkish progress, will test the resolve of both Mr Papandreou and Mr Christofias. They hope that Turkey will inject fresh momentum into the Cyprus talks, as well as its own bid for accession, by agreeing to open one of its ports to Greek Cypriot traffic.
But if not, Mr Christofias has implicitly ruled out using a veto against Ankara, saying: “Our intention is not to punish Turkey.”
Many Greek Cypriots are uncertain about the benefits of signing up to a federal state that they would have to finance in its early years, as Turkish Cypriot per capita income is about half that of the south.
Greek Cypriots have avoided fostering cross-border relationships because of a widely held view that any form of bicommunal contact – from schoolchildren exchanging visits to football matches against teams from the north – implies “recognition” of the self-proclaimed Turkish Cypriot republic in the north.
The issue of “recognition” also places constraints on trade across the Green Line, the unofficial border between north and south, which has been developing gradually under an EU umbrella.
Most Turkish Cypriot products are still shipped to Turkey for export, while goods purchased by Greek Cypriots are generally transported in bulk and packaged in the south for sale locally.
“When Cyprus joined the EU in 2004 we were promised direct trade with the Union. That hasn’t happened,” says Oya Barcin, head of trade development at the Turkish Cypriot chamber of commerce.
Both sides of the island are feeling the impact of the global slowdown, following a collapse in the holiday property market and a sharp decline in tourist arrivals this year.
Greek Cypriot unemployment has reached 5.5 per cent, the highest rate since 1974. Turkish Cypriots have also lost jobs in the construction sector in the south.
A weak recovery is forecast for the south, while the isolated economy in the north faces continuing stagnation.
Studies indicate that reunification would bring sustained growth in tourism and business services, the pillars of the Greek Cypriot economy.
Higher education, which underpins the Turkish Cypriot economy and is expanding in the south, would become a growth sector, while the north’s mass tourism market would quickly be upgraded.
“There would obviously be the short-term costs of economic adjustment, but the medium-term prospects, with Greek Cypriot companies gaining access to the large Turkish market, would be very exciting,” says Charilaos Stavrakis, Greek Cypriot finance minister.
Settling issues of property and territory would unlock domestic investment and allow a federal Cyprus to develop a long-term strategy for attracting foreign investment, according to UN advisers. As a result of the island’s frozen conflict, ownership of property worth an estimated €20bn – mainly in the north – remains in dispute.
One arresting example is the derelict resort of Varosha outside Famagusta – a popular Mediterranean playground in the 1960s – with crumbling high-rise hotels surrounded by barbed wire.
“Just the rebuilding of Famagusta as a high-quality resort would make the whole island more prosperous for years to come,” says Symeon Kassianides, a Greek Cypriot businessman.
But so far neither Mr Talat nor Mr Christofias has tried to put forward a vision of a prosperous, reunited Cyprus offering a wealth of opportunity to both communities.
Urgency and frustration grow in Ankara
By Delphine Strauss
A clutch of Turkey’s senior diplomats flew to Ankara last month for a weekend of talks behind the closed doors of the foreign ministry. The topic: Cyprus.
In the 35 years since Turkish troops occupied the north of the island, the deadlock has defied successive attempts at UN mediation and become the biggest obstacle to Turkey’s European Union membership bid – even though the Turkish community, and not the Greek one, voted for reunification in a 2004 referendum.
Now, the Greek Cypriot government says Turkey is trying to impose false deadlines on negotiations – but the sense of urgency in Ankara is real.
By April, Mehmet Ali Talat, the Turkish Cypriot leader, must have something to show for 18 months of talks to frame a bizonal, bicommunal federation, if he is to win re-election against a hardline opponent with very different views on the island’s future.
Yet although Mr Talat and Demetris Christofias, his Greek Cypriot counterpart and friend, meet more often, they have made little progress.
“We’ll continue making every effort to find a solution. And we’ll never give in to the demands of those who try to impose deadlock,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish prime minister, told his ruling party congress last month.
He has every reason to be sincere. The Cyprus stalemate is poisoning relations with the EU, whose leaders meet in December to assess Turkey’s membership bid given its refusal to open its ports to Greek Cypriot traffic.
Moreover, as the International Crisis Group (ICG) noted in a recent report, Mr Erdogan’s Justice & Development (AK) party “wants a solution because it views the hardliners on Cyprus as a bastion of their domestic opponents in the old nationalist establishment”.
Ankara is urging EU governments at December’s meeting not to impose sanctions that could upset talks at a delicate stage, a western diplomat says. The warning is likely to be effective: no country wants to be blamed for talks failing.
Turkey has also been heartened by the election as Greek prime minister of George Papandreou, who helped forge a new era in Greek-Turkish relations on the groundswell of sympathy that followed earthquakes in both countries in 1999.
But some question whether Ankara is doing everything it can to facilitate a deal or doing its utmost to avoid blame if talks again come to nothing.
The ICG noted that Turkish politicians, compared with 2004, were both less engaged and, subtly, taking a harder line on some issues of property, territory and security.
“Compared with 2004, Turkey is following a different strategy. They have confidence in Talat and so have left the negotiations to him,” says Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat who heads the think-tank Edam. “Ankara will not do anything… until things have reached a stage where a deal is a real possibility, and I don’t think we’re there.”
With time running short, one possibility is to press for a framework agreement that would at least give Mr Talat something to offer voters in April’s elections, and leave details to be hammered out afterwards. This is “increasingly looking like the best option”, a western diplomat says.
The alternatives include a new quest to formalise the position of northern Cyprus, at present recognised as a state only by Ankara. Turkish ministers are not yet spelling out contingency plans, but they are dropping hints in a tone of rising frustration.
“No one should expect the Turkish side to be tolerant if we encounter deadlock despite all our efforts for a solution. No one should come to us with new demands,” Mr Erdogan told his party faithful. He also, pointedly, enumerated the countries that accept northern Cypriot passports or host the territory’s offices and representatives.
Such sabre-rattling hides the fact that the Turkish government will have less control of the situation than it would like if Dervis Eroglou, the natural heir of Rauf Denktash who for decades opposed reunification, ousts Mr Talat at the next election.
Ankara holds the purse-strings to the northern Cypriot economy. But Mr Erdogan also has to contend with a strong nationalist lobby at home, already provoked by government plans for Kurdish reform and rapprochement with Armenia. To those audiences, he is clear on one point: “The Turkish Cypriots are an integral part of the Turkish nation.”
A clutch of Turkey’s senior diplomats flew to Ankara last month for a weekend of talks behind the closed doors of the foreign ministry. The topic: Cyprus.
In the 35 years since Turkish troops occupied the north of the island, the deadlock has defied successive attempts at UN mediation and become the biggest obstacle to Turkey’s European Union membership bid – even though the Turkish community, and not the Greek one, voted for reunification in a 2004 referendum.
Now, the Greek Cypriot government says Turkey is trying to impose false deadlines on negotiations – but the sense of urgency in Ankara is real.
By April, Mehmet Ali Talat, the Turkish Cypriot leader, must have something to show for 18 months of talks to frame a bizonal, bicommunal federation, if he is to win re-election against a hardline opponent with very different views on the island’s future.
Yet although Mr Talat and Demetris Christofias, his Greek Cypriot counterpart and friend, meet more often, they have made little progress.
“We’ll continue making every effort to find a solution. And we’ll never give in to the demands of those who try to impose deadlock,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish prime minister, told his ruling party congress last month.
He has every reason to be sincere. The Cyprus stalemate is poisoning relations with the EU, whose leaders meet in December to assess Turkey’s membership bid given its refusal to open its ports to Greek Cypriot traffic.
Moreover, as the International Crisis Group (ICG) noted in a recent report, Mr Erdogan’s Justice & Development (AK) party “wants a solution because it views the hardliners on Cyprus as a bastion of their domestic opponents in the old nationalist establishment”.
Ankara is urging EU governments at December’s meeting not to impose sanctions that could upset talks at a delicate stage, a western diplomat says. The warning is likely to be effective: no country wants to be blamed for talks failing.
Turkey has also been heartened by the election as Greek prime minister of George Papandreou, who helped forge a new era in Greek-Turkish relations on the groundswell of sympathy that followed earthquakes in both countries in 1999.
But some question whether Ankara is doing everything it can to facilitate a deal or doing its utmost to avoid blame if talks again come to nothing.
The ICG noted that Turkish politicians, compared with 2004, were both less engaged and, subtly, taking a harder line on some issues of property, territory and security.
“Compared with 2004, Turkey is following a different strategy. They have confidence in Talat and so have left the negotiations to him,” says Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat who heads the think-tank Edam. “Ankara will not do anything… until things have reached a stage where a deal is a real possibility, and I don’t think we’re there.”
With time running short, one possibility is to press for a framework agreement that would at least give Mr Talat something to offer voters in April’s elections, and leave details to be hammered out afterwards. This is “increasingly looking like the best option”, a western diplomat says.
The alternatives include a new quest to formalise the position of northern Cyprus, at present recognised as a state only by Ankara. Turkish ministers are not yet spelling out contingency plans, but they are dropping hints in a tone of rising frustration.
“No one should expect the Turkish side to be tolerant if we encounter deadlock despite all our efforts for a solution. No one should come to us with new demands,” Mr Erdogan told his party faithful. He also, pointedly, enumerated the countries that accept northern Cypriot passports or host the territory’s offices and representatives.
Such sabre-rattling hides the fact that the Turkish government will have less control of the situation than it would like if Dervis Eroglou, the natural heir of Rauf Denktash who for decades opposed reunification, ousts Mr Talat at the next election.
Ankara holds the purse-strings to the northern Cypriot economy. But Mr Erdogan also has to contend with a strong nationalist lobby at home, already provoked by government plans for Kurdish reform and rapprochement with Armenia. To those audiences, he is clear on one point: “The Turkish Cypriots are an integral part of the Turkish nation.”
Friday, October 30, 2009
Cyprus downbeat on unification talks
By Tony Barber
Demetris Christofias, president of Cyprus, painted a gloomy picture on Thursday of the prospects for overcoming the island’s division, saying negotiations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots were making little progress.
“Unfortunately, I must say my expectations, and the expectations of the great majority of the people of Cyprus of both communities, have not been justified up to now,” Mr Christofias told reporters in Brussels, where he was preparing for a European Union summit.
Cyprus has been divided into a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkey invaded the island in response to a Greek-inspired coup aimed at absorbing Cyprus into Greece.
Mr Christofias, leader of the internationally recognised republic of Cyprus, and Mehmet Ali Talat, leader of a secessionist Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus that no country except Turkey recognises, opened talks in September 2008 on reuniting the country as a bizonal, bicommunal federation.
Experts on the Cyprus dispute say the talks are approaching a critical moment because Mr Talat, widely regarded as a moderate who is keen on a settlement, faces a presidential election next April that he appears in danger of losing to a hardline candidate.
However, Mr Christofias said: “These are artificial deadlines. Talat must show more understanding, instead of putting forward intransigent positions. Otherwise, it’s blackmail. I’m not a political fellow who accepts blackmail. I’m ready for a solution before April.”
The EU and US are keen to keep the talks alive, fearing that a breakdown will wreck Turkey’s EU membership bid and hobble efforts to forge closer relations between the EU and Nato.
Mr Christofias put much of the blame on Turkey’s political and military leadership, saying: “The main problem for me is that Turkey must assist in a solution of the Cyprus problem. They must recognise the Republic of Cyprus. They refuse.”
He said he had made a concession by offering citizenship of a reunited Cypriot state to 50,000 Anatolian Turks who have settled in northern Cyprus since 1974. The precise number of Turkish settlers on Cyprus is disputed. Many estimates run to more than 100,000.
Mr Christofias laughed as he described Mr Talat’s response. “He said to me: ‘There are no settlers, there are only citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.’”
Mr Talat, interviewed by the Financial Times in September, said the present talks were “the last chance for a solution”.
Both sides say property disputes are an especially difficult issue, with many Greek Cypriots who lost their homes after 1974 wanting them back, and Turkish Cypriot negotiators defending the new owners and emphasising compensation for the dispossessed. “We have deep, deep differences here,” Mr Christofias said.
Another disagreement concerns a Turkish Cypriot demand for equal numerical representation in some 50 institutions, such as the island’s central bank and competition authority, Mr Christofias said.
Turkish Cypriots accounted for about 20 per cent of Cyprus’s population in 1974, but tens of thousands have since left the island, with arrivals from mainland Turkey more than making up the difference.
Demetris Christofias, president of Cyprus, painted a gloomy picture on Thursday of the prospects for overcoming the island’s division, saying negotiations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots were making little progress.
“Unfortunately, I must say my expectations, and the expectations of the great majority of the people of Cyprus of both communities, have not been justified up to now,” Mr Christofias told reporters in Brussels, where he was preparing for a European Union summit.
Cyprus has been divided into a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkey invaded the island in response to a Greek-inspired coup aimed at absorbing Cyprus into Greece.
Mr Christofias, leader of the internationally recognised republic of Cyprus, and Mehmet Ali Talat, leader of a secessionist Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus that no country except Turkey recognises, opened talks in September 2008 on reuniting the country as a bizonal, bicommunal federation.
Experts on the Cyprus dispute say the talks are approaching a critical moment because Mr Talat, widely regarded as a moderate who is keen on a settlement, faces a presidential election next April that he appears in danger of losing to a hardline candidate.
However, Mr Christofias said: “These are artificial deadlines. Talat must show more understanding, instead of putting forward intransigent positions. Otherwise, it’s blackmail. I’m not a political fellow who accepts blackmail. I’m ready for a solution before April.”
The EU and US are keen to keep the talks alive, fearing that a breakdown will wreck Turkey’s EU membership bid and hobble efforts to forge closer relations between the EU and Nato.
Mr Christofias put much of the blame on Turkey’s political and military leadership, saying: “The main problem for me is that Turkey must assist in a solution of the Cyprus problem. They must recognise the Republic of Cyprus. They refuse.”
He said he had made a concession by offering citizenship of a reunited Cypriot state to 50,000 Anatolian Turks who have settled in northern Cyprus since 1974. The precise number of Turkish settlers on Cyprus is disputed. Many estimates run to more than 100,000.
Mr Christofias laughed as he described Mr Talat’s response. “He said to me: ‘There are no settlers, there are only citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.’”
Mr Talat, interviewed by the Financial Times in September, said the present talks were “the last chance for a solution”.
Both sides say property disputes are an especially difficult issue, with many Greek Cypriots who lost their homes after 1974 wanting them back, and Turkish Cypriot negotiators defending the new owners and emphasising compensation for the dispossessed. “We have deep, deep differences here,” Mr Christofias said.
Another disagreement concerns a Turkish Cypriot demand for equal numerical representation in some 50 institutions, such as the island’s central bank and competition authority, Mr Christofias said.
Turkish Cypriots accounted for about 20 per cent of Cyprus’s population in 1974, but tens of thousands have since left the island, with arrivals from mainland Turkey more than making up the difference.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
ICG warns of possible Cyprus partition
By Delphine Strauss in Ankara
A de facto partition of Cyprus will be the only option remaining if talks to reunify the island have not produced a settlement by the spring, the International Crisis Group warns in a report published on Wednesday.
A year of United Nations-brokered talks between Demetris Christofias, president of the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government of Cyprus, and Mehmet Ali Talat, his Turkish Cypriot counterpart and friend, have made only limited progress on the most controversial issues of property, security and power sharing.
If a referendum on reunification does not take place before April’s elections in the north, which is recognised as a state only by Turkey, Mr Talat is likely to be replaced by a candidate sceptical of the basic formula of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation.
Mr Talat told the FT in an interview earlier this month that it was the “last chance for a solution”, although he gave no deadline by which talks must be concluded.
“The future is either federation or partition,” according to a senior diplomat from the region cited in the report.
The ICG notes it would be difficult to revive talks, as the UN and other possible brokers are reluctant to be implicated in further failures, and young people in both communities are growing increasingly indifferent to the issue.
A permanent split, whether formally recognised or not, would mean slower economic growth, higher defence spending and reduced international credibility for both sides, the report argues. It could also persuade many Turkish Cypriots to seek better prospects elsewhere, whether overseas or in the south of the island.
A UN-sponsored reunification plan, which would have turned Cyprus into a loose federation, was derailed in 2004 when Turkish Cypriots approved it by 65 to 35 per cent in a referendum but Greek Cypriots rejected it by 76 to 24 per cent. The European Union admitted the Greek Cypriots as the island’s sole representatives, a step that has severely complicated Turkey’s EU accession talks.
The ICG urges Turkey to end a boycott on direct talks with Greek Cypriots, saying: “The gravest disconnect plaguing the talks is mistrust between two of the principal actors.” But it warns: “Today’s stronger, more prosperous Turkey is more ready than in the past to defy the EU and risk irreversible damage to the relationship over what it also sees as issues of national interest and justice.”
A de facto partition of Cyprus will be the only option remaining if talks to reunify the island have not produced a settlement by the spring, the International Crisis Group warns in a report published on Wednesday.
A year of United Nations-brokered talks between Demetris Christofias, president of the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government of Cyprus, and Mehmet Ali Talat, his Turkish Cypriot counterpart and friend, have made only limited progress on the most controversial issues of property, security and power sharing.
If a referendum on reunification does not take place before April’s elections in the north, which is recognised as a state only by Turkey, Mr Talat is likely to be replaced by a candidate sceptical of the basic formula of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation.
Mr Talat told the FT in an interview earlier this month that it was the “last chance for a solution”, although he gave no deadline by which talks must be concluded.
“The future is either federation or partition,” according to a senior diplomat from the region cited in the report.
The ICG notes it would be difficult to revive talks, as the UN and other possible brokers are reluctant to be implicated in further failures, and young people in both communities are growing increasingly indifferent to the issue.
A permanent split, whether formally recognised or not, would mean slower economic growth, higher defence spending and reduced international credibility for both sides, the report argues. It could also persuade many Turkish Cypriots to seek better prospects elsewhere, whether overseas or in the south of the island.
A UN-sponsored reunification plan, which would have turned Cyprus into a loose federation, was derailed in 2004 when Turkish Cypriots approved it by 65 to 35 per cent in a referendum but Greek Cypriots rejected it by 76 to 24 per cent. The European Union admitted the Greek Cypriots as the island’s sole representatives, a step that has severely complicated Turkey’s EU accession talks.
The ICG urges Turkey to end a boycott on direct talks with Greek Cypriots, saying: “The gravest disconnect plaguing the talks is mistrust between two of the principal actors.” But it warns: “Today’s stronger, more prosperous Turkey is more ready than in the past to defy the EU and risk irreversible damage to the relationship over what it also sees as issues of national interest and justice.”
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Time running out for Cyprus settlement
By Delphine Strauss in Nicosia
Time is running out to reach a settlement on the divided island of Cyprus, where a 35-year conflict remains the biggest obstacle to Turkey’s progress towards European Union membership.
Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders are intensifying negotiations following calls from the UN Security Council to “accelerate momentum” after nearly a year of limited progress.
Turkey faces a crucial year-end review of its EU accession bid, and there are fears that unless there is a breakthrough on Cyprus an opportunity for progress will have been lost.
Stepping up talks is a response to two new threats to hopes of a federal solution to Cyprus’s division – which dates back to 1974, when Turkish troops occupied the north after an Athens-engineered coup.
Elections last month in the breakaway Turkish north – recognised as a state only by Ankara – returned to power an old-style nationalist party, many of whose voters oppose reunification.
Shortly after that, the European Court of Justice issued a judgment affecting one of the most contentious areas of talks. It ruled that courts in the EU should enforce a Greek Cypriot judgment on disputed property.
“It is unbelievable, it caused a great blow to negotiations,” Mehmet Ali Talat, who is still leading negotiations in spite of his party’s electoral defeat, said.
Mr Talat has staked his political future on the drive for a “bicommunal, bizonal federation”, alongside Demetris Christofias, the Greek Cypriot president . Their success or failure will reverberate outside the island, as without a settlement there is little prospect of Greek Cypriots lifting blocks on key areas of Turkey’s EU membership negotiations.
The EU considers the situation in Cyprus urgent because member states, not least the Greek Cypriots, must decide by December how to handle a review of Turkey’s bid if Ankara does not open Turkish ports to Greek Cypriot traffic.
Yet Mr Christofias knows compromises would anger his coalition partners. George Iacovou, his representative in talks, described hopes of rapid progress as “wishful thinking”.
A despondent Mr Talat says the EU is to blame for Turkish Cypriots’ waning enthusiasm for reunification. He cites the EU’s failure to open markets to northern Cypriot trade and accuses it of favouring Greek Cypriots. After the ECJ ruling, he said “this is crystal clear, there is no vagueness”.
Even if the EU sidesteps the Cyprus issue when it reviews Turkey’s EU bid in December, Mr Talat faces his own deadline with presidential elections in the north next spring. And as negotiations drag on – with progress in technical areas, but divergences on contentious issues of governance and property – Cypriots in both communities are losing interest.
Turkish Cypriots voted conclusively in 2004 for a UN-brokered deal that Greek Cypriots rejected. The defeat of Mr Talat’s party in last month’s elections is partly because of a downturn in the Turkish Cypriot economy. Yet voters have also endorsed a nationalist party whose leader, the 72 year-old Dervis Eroglu, is openly sceptical that a federal arrangement can succeed.
He said his government would continue distributing titles to land owned by absentee Greek Cypriots and added that, if a UK court followed the ECJ’s guidance and enforced Greek Cypriot claims on land in the north, “our people will push us to get out of negotiations”.
Turkey exerts enormous influence over the Turkish Cypriot administration, and has delivered stern warnings to Mr Eroglu to support a settlement. But as Egemen Bagis, Turkey’s EU negotiator, points out, any Turkish government perceived as selling out on Cyprus risks losing millions of votes.
Ayla Gurel, a researcher at the International Peace Research Institute, says Turkish Cypriots are starting to doubt that the EU can solve their problems. “Their impression is that the EU framework cannot be a guarantee because the courts can always choose to overrule political decisions,” she said.
Time is running out to reach a settlement on the divided island of Cyprus, where a 35-year conflict remains the biggest obstacle to Turkey’s progress towards European Union membership.
Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders are intensifying negotiations following calls from the UN Security Council to “accelerate momentum” after nearly a year of limited progress.
Turkey faces a crucial year-end review of its EU accession bid, and there are fears that unless there is a breakthrough on Cyprus an opportunity for progress will have been lost.
Stepping up talks is a response to two new threats to hopes of a federal solution to Cyprus’s division – which dates back to 1974, when Turkish troops occupied the north after an Athens-engineered coup.
Elections last month in the breakaway Turkish north – recognised as a state only by Ankara – returned to power an old-style nationalist party, many of whose voters oppose reunification.
Shortly after that, the European Court of Justice issued a judgment affecting one of the most contentious areas of talks. It ruled that courts in the EU should enforce a Greek Cypriot judgment on disputed property.
“It is unbelievable, it caused a great blow to negotiations,” Mehmet Ali Talat, who is still leading negotiations in spite of his party’s electoral defeat, said.
Mr Talat has staked his political future on the drive for a “bicommunal, bizonal federation”, alongside Demetris Christofias, the Greek Cypriot president . Their success or failure will reverberate outside the island, as without a settlement there is little prospect of Greek Cypriots lifting blocks on key areas of Turkey’s EU membership negotiations.
The EU considers the situation in Cyprus urgent because member states, not least the Greek Cypriots, must decide by December how to handle a review of Turkey’s bid if Ankara does not open Turkish ports to Greek Cypriot traffic.
Yet Mr Christofias knows compromises would anger his coalition partners. George Iacovou, his representative in talks, described hopes of rapid progress as “wishful thinking”.
A despondent Mr Talat says the EU is to blame for Turkish Cypriots’ waning enthusiasm for reunification. He cites the EU’s failure to open markets to northern Cypriot trade and accuses it of favouring Greek Cypriots. After the ECJ ruling, he said “this is crystal clear, there is no vagueness”.
Even if the EU sidesteps the Cyprus issue when it reviews Turkey’s EU bid in December, Mr Talat faces his own deadline with presidential elections in the north next spring. And as negotiations drag on – with progress in technical areas, but divergences on contentious issues of governance and property – Cypriots in both communities are losing interest.
Turkish Cypriots voted conclusively in 2004 for a UN-brokered deal that Greek Cypriots rejected. The defeat of Mr Talat’s party in last month’s elections is partly because of a downturn in the Turkish Cypriot economy. Yet voters have also endorsed a nationalist party whose leader, the 72 year-old Dervis Eroglu, is openly sceptical that a federal arrangement can succeed.
He said his government would continue distributing titles to land owned by absentee Greek Cypriots and added that, if a UK court followed the ECJ’s guidance and enforced Greek Cypriot claims on land in the north, “our people will push us to get out of negotiations”.
Turkey exerts enormous influence over the Turkish Cypriot administration, and has delivered stern warnings to Mr Eroglu to support a settlement. But as Egemen Bagis, Turkey’s EU negotiator, points out, any Turkish government perceived as selling out on Cyprus risks losing millions of votes.
Ayla Gurel, a researcher at the International Peace Research Institute, says Turkish Cypriots are starting to doubt that the EU can solve their problems. “Their impression is that the EU framework cannot be a guarantee because the courts can always choose to overrule political decisions,” she said.
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