Cyprus-Forum.com

[Nikitas]

GR said:

"The Turkish Cypriots are salivating in anticipation for this so called Bizonal Bicommunal “Federation” with its clearly defined Turkish Cypriot zone, because 2-3 years later if not earlier, the Turkish Cypriots can then run a referendum within their zone as they see fit and declare…“"

Well GR, the same could be said of the GCs getting fed up with antics and deciding to split off. In each and every case the choices are double edged swords. And regarding this partition thing, we must remember what Ecevit had said, and with an expression of horron on his face during the interview: that Cyprus cannot be split because that can then lead to double union which would make Greece a Middle Eastern power, and the Turks and others DO NOT want this to happen.

And I repeat as always, for this and other reasons it is important to have a rock solid territorial deal from the start. There must be NO territorial ambiguities in the agreement, because a major conflict can start from a territorial ambiguity and when it does Cyprus will not even have a proper police force, let alone a National Guard.

[EPSILON]

How does everyone see this affecting the daily life of the average citizen?

Can we expect riots when people try to go back to their old homes and villages? There might be some sort of reparations paid out but for some people the money is meaningless, they just want to go back to the places they still consider home, even after 35 years away.

What about all that land that belongs to the Orthodox Church and the damage done to the churches? What happens with all that? And of course there's the issue of all the property that's been sold off illegally.

Who's going to deal with all these problems?

The winner of th war, Turkey, will handle these complecated subjects.
As guarantor of the agreement and more inportant as the winner of the war can easily apply the death penalty to some stupid G/C still consider their birthplace as to still belong to them.

Treaties, agreements and various other jokes. Imbros, Tenedos lets say- can you review the respective agreements? Is any article respected by Turkish side?Why the new agreement to be respected by them?

[Nikitas]

Church land and EVKAF (in Greece they call it Vakoufika) land will be handled very delicately. As in every BBF solution proposed in the past the two religious institutions, along with antiquities sites, are given special consideration.

As to respecting agreements, this one will be the first where there will be a double judicial safety mechanism in place, the local Cyprus supreme court and the court of the European Union to deal with violations. And unlike other cases (Imvros-Tenedos) the EU court does have teeth in the form of fines and suspension of agreements beneficial to the wrongdoer.

The basic assumption that people will want to return and live in their ancestral villages is not borne by the facts. Most people will not want to do this. They might want to retain ownership of their property but not actual possession in the form of daily occupation. And the dynamics of everyday life might dictate an altogether different pattern of habitation than the one envisaged by the architects of the BBF division.

Personally I think that the majority of the population will live around Limassol, Nicosia and Famagusta. Perhaps 90 per cent of the total will live in these areas for the simple reason that employment will be there and not in the far flung reaches of Karpasia or Polis etc. In the long run the south will be the more attractive place to live for that is where business and the action will be. Limassol is the only worthwhile port with modern container facilities, Nicosia is the business center, Famagusta will be a major center of reconstruction.

In view of the above it will be easy to retain ownership of ancenstral land. The big laugh will be when TCs will be trying desperately to get rid of fields in Angastina (sorry but the name is funny) in order to buy a flat in Limassol where their work will be, and not the other way around. I hope that no modern day TMT will try to intimidate them into holding on to useless and unproductive land just to establish a "historic footprint" in the north.

[Viewpoint]

Church land and EVKAF (in Greece they call it Vakoufika) land will be handled very delicately. As in every BBF solution proposed in the past the two religious institutions, along with antiquities sites, are given special consideration.

As to respecting agreements, this one will be the first where there will be a double judicial safety mechanism in place, the local Cyprus supreme court and the court of the European Union to deal with violations. And unlike other cases (Imvros-Tenedos) the EU court does have teeth in the form of fines and suspension of agreements beneficial to the wrongdoer.

The basic assumption that people will want to return and live in their ancestral villages is not borne by the facts. Most people will not want to do this. They might want to retain ownership of their property but not actual possession in the form of daily occupation. And the dynamics of everyday life might dictate an altogether different pattern of habitation than the one envisaged by the architects of the BBF division.

Personally I think that the majority of the population will live around Limassol, Nicosia and Famagusta. Perhaps 90 per cent of the total will live in these areas for the simple reason that employment will be there and not in the far flung reaches of Karpasia or Polis etc. In the long run the south will be the more attractive place to live for that is where business and the action will be. Limassol is the only worthwhile port with modern container facilities, Nicosia is the business center, Famagusta will be a major center of reconstruction.

In view of the above it will be easy to retain ownership of ancenstral land. The big laugh will be when TCs will be trying desperately to get rid of fields in Angastina (sorry but the name is funny) in order to buy a flat in Limassol where their work will be, and not the other way around. I hope that no modern day TMT will try to intimidate them into holding on to useless and unproductive land just to establish a "historic footprint" in the north.

I still don't believe many TCs will move south where the "action" is as they can do that today yet no one does, why? they do not want to live under a GC administration just as you do not want to live under a TC one.

[Nikitas]

VP,

Money and work are major incentives. The existence of the norther TC part will act as a safety net, to be used if there are problems, but the day to day life will center around work and business. That is my opinion.

Paphos and Kyrenia, and Polis are OK for tourism and holidays, but they will not be able to support large numbers of people. Look at what is happening in Turkey and Greece, where the population has centered around two or three major centers. Cyprus will be no exception, and maybe it will be a good way to protect pristine areas like Polis and Karpasia.

[Viewpoint]

VP,

Money and work are major incentives. The existence of the norther TC part will act as a safety net, to be used if there are problems, but the day to day life will center around work and business. That is my opinion.

Paphos and Kyrenia, and Polis are OK for tourism and holidays, but they will not be able to support large numbers of people. Look at what is happening in Turkey and Greece, where the population has centered around two or three major centers. Cyprus will be no exception, and maybe it will be a good way to protect pristine areas like Polis and Karpasia.

Cyprus is so small that TCs will work south and live in the north, its happening today, no Tcs wants to live in the south or they woudl all be on the side of the border, must tell you something.

[Nikitas]

The situation today does not lend itself to permanent living on the "other side". Once there are careers established around major business centers things will change. A career and permanent employment are different from laboring work, which is what we have now.

The development beyond the BBF settlement is a dynamic one and not easy to predict. One thing that is for sure is that it will not be a static unchanging situation as envisaged by some. People just do not live that way. Personally I hope that people will move about and that the island will be more ethnically mixed than it was in the 50s, because even back then we had our separate areas, despite what the maps show. That separation made the clashes much easier to organise. Again, that is my opinion, not the gospel.

[CopperLine]

This is a good topic/thread. It obliges one to think of the actualities of settlement whatever the formula. For example, consider the question of currency.

RoC as a new Euro member with monetary policy effectively determined in Brussels and Frankfurt, and TRNC as a 'YTL zone' member with monetary policy effectively determined in Ankara. Supposing a settlement is three years off, five years off, ten years off, then the Euro zone will have deepened on the island. But also Turkey will have become yet more integrated though not a member of the EU and Euro zone.

Labourers and others travelling for work from north to south will be paid in Euro and return Euros to the north. If European-orginated tourism expands in the north then the northern economy becomes increasingly subject to the Euro. Correspondingly if the YTL is regarded as a fragile currency in comparison to the Euro, then the value of Euro income from the south to the north will increase just as the capacity for Ankara-based support for TRNC weakens or at least becomes more expensive. Either way the daily lives of people in the north will become more integrated into RoC through the Euro.

Thus short of closing the border again, the tendency even if slow is for the deepening and widening of the Euro-economy. The division of the island will, to copy TS Eliot, will end not with a bang but with a whimper.