Cyprus-Forum.com

[Alexandros Lordos]

Magikthrill asked me some time ago to put together a "revised plan", based on the findings of the most recent bicommunal survey: Here it is. I am not offering "I am not sure" as a response option, so that we all think about this, discuss it, and give a definitive answer whenever we are ready. I uderstand that there are many details that have not been spelt out in the following framework, so I am at your disposal to answer any questions you might have, before casting your vote.


Revised Security: The development of a Cypriot-European security system, as follows: Greek and Turkish troops will be replaced by a European Security force, under a European commander, and this force will also include Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot soldiers, who will together receive military training in other European countries. This new security force, comprised of units for land, sea and air defence, will be responsible to deal with all internal and external threats. Until Turkey joins the European Union, however, a safety valve for the direct protection of the Turkish Cypriots by Turkey will also be in place, if the above described system of European Security fails to protect them from some particular threat.

Note: If Turkey never joins the EU, then presumably this "last-resort protection right" mentioned above will apply indefinitely. There will be a special European Committee overseeing the deployment of this Security Force, and Turkey will have a seat in that committee even when she is not a member of the European Union.


Revised Property Rights: Original owners will be able to reclaim and use all their property, except that in which refugees with equivalent property to exchange live or that on which there has been major investment – and for such properties they will be compensated. In case an original owner is not entitled to receive his actual home, then as compensation he will be entitled to a new home built for him in the same town or village. The building of these new residences will be co-financed with the support of international donors.

Note: Houses that have been constructed by developers in the north since December 2002 will be nationalised, with the original owner of the land and the Property Developer both being compensated as appropriate, and these homes will be given to refugees under the "right to a new home" provision described above. If an original owner and a current occupant wish to swap their entitlement, so that the original owner gets his original home and the current occupant gets the new home, they will have the right to do so.


Revised Residence / Voting Rights: There will be no limit to the number of Greek Cypriots who may choose to reside in the north, but with the following arrangement for voting rights: Such Greek Cypriots will vote for the Greek Cypriot constituent state government, and for the Greek Cypriot members of the Federal Government, while for municipal elections only they will vote at the place where they reside in the north. The equivalent to the above will of course apply for Turkish Cypriots living in the south.

Note: The residence rights of Greek Cypriots in the north and Turkish Cypriots in the south, as ex-territorial residents, will be protected through a series of co-operation agreements between the two constituent states, on matters that range from Health to Education to Welfare to Justice. Constituent state citizenship status will be granted on the day of the Comprehensive Settlement, according to where each person resided on that particular day, but GCs who currently live in the north and TCs who currently live in the south will be entitled to select to be citizens of the other constituent state, if they so wish. Constituent State citizenship will be permanent, and will be transferred from parents to their children. In the case of mixed marriages between citizens of the two Constituent States, individuals will be entitled to select the internal citizenship status that they prefer.


Revised Provisions for Settlers/Immigrants from Turkey: Citizenship will be acknowledged to those married to Turkish Cypriots, those born in Cyprus and those who arrived here before the age of 18, while a permanent residence permit will also be granted to their parents, who will remain citizens and voters of Turkey with the right to live and work in Cyprus. Everyone else will be required to return to Turkey within 2 years of the settlement, and will be compensated USD 20,000 per family, paid for by Turkey and International Donors, to help finance their relocation.

Note: Only families that have been resident in Cyprus for at least nine years before the Comprehensive Settlement will be entitled to the treatment desribed above. All others will be granted a temporary 3-year work permit, after which time they will be required to depart.


Revised Decision Making Mechanisms: The requirement for positive participation of both communities in decision making will be maintained, but an electoral system will be instituted whereby the politicians will have an electoral motive to be co-operative. More particularly, cross voting will be instituted for the Senate as follows: Greek Cypriots will also vote for Turkish Cypriot Senators, but their vote will be weighted to 25% of the total vote, while Turkish Cypriots will also vote for Greek Cypriot Senators, and their vote will be weighted to 25% of the total vote. In this way, a politician will still have to satisfy his own community’s fundamental needs in order to be elected, but he will also have to convince the other community’s voters that he is open minded, respectful and co-operative.


Revised Legal Status: A formula will be included in the preamble of the constitution, as follows: Firstly, it will be affirmed that the Republic of Cyprus was founded in 1960 as a Bicommunal Republic, to be jointly administered by the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots according to the constitution. After the unrest of 1963-4, the Republic of Cyprus entered a period of constitutional crisis. During this period, and up until the present day, the Greek Cypriots maintained a temporary caretaker government of the Republic of Cyprus, out of the necessity to maintain the continuity of the Republic, while in the same period the Turkish Cypriots formed a temporary Turkish Cypriot administration, out of the necessity to manage their everyday affairs on an interim basis. And now, with the acceptance of the Comprehensive Settlement agreement, the Republic of Cyprus is overcoming its constitutional crisis and returning to normal Bicommunal control, while evolving into a Bizonal – Bicommunal Federation through the approval of a new constitution.


Revised Implementation Guarantees: All the sides involved, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Greece and Turkey, will sign a binding protocol with the European Union, which protocol shall clearly define the responsibilities of each side regarding the implementation of the solution and also define specific consequences for particular acts of non-implementation. Depending on what the breach is, the consequence might be a monetary fine or the withdrawal of some particular EU-related benefit.

[Dhavlos]

In the revised security section, couldnt it be easier, in terms of not having the 'last resort' option, if neither greek nor turkish troops, either as seperate or part of a european force, be part of any 'peacekeeping'.

At least then there will be 'impartiality' on the side of the forces.

On voting rights, couldnt you have a small, capped number of GC representatives in the TC 'const. state', and vis-versa for TCs in the GC 'const. state'?

I dont understand the Revised Decision Making Mechanisms. Could you expalin the weighting thing...i dont understand it.

Otherwise, it sounds much more accpetable than the 5th plan.

[Khan]

Revised Residence / Voting Rights: There will be no limit to the number of Greek Cypriots who may choose to reside in the north

There has to be a limit, otherwise Turkish Cypriots will become a minority in their own state. TC's have to have gurantee of long term sovereignty of their own constituent state.

[detailer]

Revised Residence / Voting Rights: There will be no limit to the number of Greek Cypriots who may choose to reside in the north

There has to be a limit, otherwise Turkish Cypriots will become a minority in their own state. TC's have to have gurantee of long term sovereignty of their own constituent state.

That's right. Maybe GC can hold the property and get the rent for it. Giving limitless residence rights to GC in north will make the restrictions on their voting rights meaningless after a while.

[turkcyp]

deleted by the author...

[cannedmoose]

Firstly, good to have you back Alexandro...

Secondly, I'm not a Cypriot so I won't vote in the poll, but I do have some comments to make, so here goes...

Revised Security: The development of a Cypriot-European security system, as follows: Greek and Turkish troops will be replaced by a European Security force, under a European commander, and this force will also include Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot soldiers, who will together receive military training in other European countries. This new security force, comprised of units for land, sea and air defence, will be responsible to deal with all internal and external threats. Until Turkey joins the European Union, however, a safety valve for the direct protection of the Turkish Cypriots by Turkey will also be in place, if the above described system of European Security fails to protect them from some particular threat.

Note: If Turkey never joins the EU, then presumably this "last-resort protection right" mentioned above will apply indefinitely. There will be a special European Committee overseeing the deployment of this Security Force, and Turkey will have a seat in that committee even when she is not a member of the European Union.

Since this is the only area of the Cyprus problem that I consider to be my specialty I will only comment on this single aspect. Generally, as you know from the draft security framework I proposed a while ago (see link below), I think the total demilitarisation of the island is pie in the sky, a total non-starter, I'm glad to see that you agree with this.

http://www.cyprus-forum.com/viewtopic.p ... 61&start=0

Therefore I think the framework that you propose is a solid one but contains some flaws. It's similar to mine in that it proposes a unified GC and TC force, with the ability to defend against threats both internal and external. However, I think where we differ is that in my proposal I specified that the force should have a 'limited' capacity, with the ability to handle the situation at least until external assistance could arrive. Originally I proposed NATO as the effective guarantor, but I'd now see the European rapid reaction corps as such a force. If you have a Cypriot force equipped with heavy weapons, a modern (if small) air capability and naval reach, it's bound to be opposed by Turkey, no matter how benign its real intent.

I also think the chances of a 'European force' being permanently stationed on the island is a non-starter. I can't see European countries being willing to provide the manpower to police a solution indefinitely, or assume responsibility for both internal order and external defence of Cyprus, especially if there was even the remotest potential for clashing with Turkish forces. Do you have an idea of how many European soldiers would be involved in this force? If you're simply talking about a few hundred military advisors and observers, stationed on the island permanently, but in rotation, I think your proposal is achievable, but if you're talking about x thousand soldiers being involved, I can't see it happening. I can see this as a possibility for a transitionary period, i.e. Europe would guarantee the viability of a solution by forming a 2 or 3 year duration stabilisation force while GC and TC forces were trained, equipped, and gradually integrated into the force (ultimately replacing it entirely) but not beyond this.

I agree with the training element taking place outside the island, this will remove the soldiers from their home environment, expose them to military practices elsewhere, and ideally forge a common mentality amongst them, that they might be deflected from with home influences all around.

Finally, I'd need to hear more about how Turkey fits into this European security framework. I assume that the 'last resort protection right' would only be taken in consultation with and the agreement of the European Committee, otherwise you could have a situation in which European security forces are attempting to control, for example, severe unrest involving GC and TCs, only to find Turkish paratroopers dropping from the sky and involving themselves in the issue. What I'm trying to say is that with European forces on the ground, it would be a dangerous situation if Turkey retained a unilateral right to intervene if she felt it necessary to do so - there would have to be a mechanism whereby such intervention was sanctioned by the Committee (e.g. by a simple majority or 2/3rds majority).

Hope these points make sense. Please feel free to counter them.

[Alexandros Lordos]

Revised Residence / Voting Rights: There will be no limit to the number of Greek Cypriots who may choose to reside in the north

There has to be a limit, otherwise Turkish Cypriots will become a minority in their own state. TC's have to have gurantee of long term sovereignty of their own constituent state.

That's right. Maybe GC can hold the property and get the rent for it. Giving limitless residence rights to GC in north will make the restrictions on their voting rights meaningless after a while.

I can understand your concern - and I assume that this is the main reason this proposal has mostly been getting "No" from TCs so far, but you have to think what your alternative is. If you ARE going to enforce a quota on the number of GCs coming to the north, then you cannot at the same time ask that they shouldn't have voting rights - such a proposal would not be balanced. So what we would end up having, is 30% GC voters in the TC constituent state, whereas in the GC state TC voters would be only 5%. This would unbalance the "political equality of the solution" that TCs tend to seek, since the TC state politicians will have to satisfy GC voters whereas the GC state politicians will not be under a similar constraint. Are you sure that you prefer this over separate voting but without residence limits?

I suppose my proposal is leading to a situation where bizonality will gradually become irrelevant, and bicommunality will prevail. The state would eventually evolve into a bicommunal unitary state, similar to the 1960 constitution, where the two communities would enjoy political equality while the populations become totally mixed.

[Alexandros Lordos]

Since this is the only area of the Cyprus problem that I consider to be my specialty I will only comment on this single aspect. Generally, as you know from the draft security framework I proposed a while ago (see link below), I think the total demilitarisation of the island is pie in the sky, a total non-starter, I'm glad to see that you agree with this.

http://www.cyprus-forum.com/viewtopic.p ... 61&start=0

Therefore I think the framework that you propose is a solid one but contains some flaws. It's similar to mine in that it proposes a unified GC and TC force, with the ability to defend against threats both internal and external. However, I think where we differ is that in my proposal I specified that the force should have a 'limited' capacity, with the ability to handle the situation at least until external assistance could arrive. Originally I proposed NATO as the effective guarantor, but I'd now see the European rapid reaction corps as such a force. If you have a Cypriot force equipped with heavy weapons, a modern (if small) air capability and naval reach, it's bound to be opposed by Turkey, no matter how benign its real intent.

I also think the chances of a 'European force' being permanently stationed on the island is a non-starter. I can't see European countries being willing to provide the manpower to police a solution indefinitely, or assume responsibility for both internal order and external defence of Cyprus, especially if there was even the remotest potential for clashing with Turkish forces. Do you have an idea of how many European soldiers would be involved in this force? If you're simply talking about a few hundred military advisors and observers, stationed on the island permanently, but in rotation, I think your proposal is achievable, but if you're talking about x thousand soldiers being involved, I can't see it happening. I can see this as a possibility for a transitionary period, i.e. Europe would guarantee the viability of a solution by forming a 2 or 3 year duration stabilisation force while GC and TC forces were trained, equipped, and gradually integrated into the force (ultimately replacing it entirely) but not beyond this.

I agree with the training element taking place outside the island, this will remove the soldiers from their home environment, expose them to military practices elsewhere, and ideally forge a common mentality amongst them, that they might be deflected from with home influences all around.

Finally, I'd need to hear more about how Turkey fits into this European security framework. I assume that the 'last resort protection right' would only be taken in consultation with and the agreement of the European Committee, otherwise you could have a situation in which European security forces are attempting to control, for example, severe unrest involving GC and TCs, only to find Turkish paratroopers dropping from the sky and involving themselves in the issue. What I'm trying to say is that with European forces on the ground, it would be a dangerous situation if Turkey retained a unilateral right to intervene if she felt it necessary to do so - there would have to be a mechanism whereby such intervention was sanctioned by the Committee (e.g. by a simple majority or 2/3rds majority).

Hope these points make sense. Please feel free to counter them.

Cannedmoose, your comments were very helpful - and you've given me much food for thought in order to flesh out this proposal. I agree with all your comments and qualifications.

[Alexandros Lordos]

I will vote “No” for the following reasons.

My friend, I know you well enough to know in advance what your vote would be ...

At least you are not rejecting it on the issue of residence rights. After all, that part is based on your own proposal ....

[demetriou_74]

i voted no becasue of the bit about major developments. are you saying that if i stole your phone put a new case on it and changed all the sim cards its ok. its the sentimental value of land. my dad gave it to me and i will give it to you and ..............