Cyprus-Forum.com

[Omer Seyhan]

Is Cyprus heading for a federation of Greek Cypriots and Turkish settlers ?

By Ilker Kilich
(archive article - Wednesday, September 2, 2009)
YENI DUZEN reported that in a recent interview with Politis, chief adviser for the Turkish Cypriot negotiating team Ozdil Nami announced the “Turkish side’s policy”, claiming that not only will settlers vote in the north’s referendum but that the great majority of them will vote “yes” because of their vested interest in becoming EU citizens.

Nami argued that as the settlers will vote ‘yes’, it would therefore be unfair to send them back. “They will become citizens of the United Federal Cyprus,” enthused Nami. He also emphasised that the Greek Cypriot side was receptive to the proposal, although Greek Cypriot media reports suggest otherwise.

We stand to be corrected but the released ‘TRNC’ official figures indicate that the total number of “registered citizens” number around 320,000 (out of which about 195,000 are eligible voters).

Nearly 55,000 live abroad, so the actual number of “resident citizens” is around the 265,000 mark, out of which about 160,000 are on electoral list. In this figure, no distinction is made as to who is Turkish Cypriot.

According to official figures quoted by the Republic of Cyprus, the total number of Turkish Cypriots who are natural citizens of the Republic of Cyprus and who reside in the north is estimated at 90,000. This means that around 54,000 must be on the electoral list... In a nutshell, the north’s electoral picture shows that there are 106,000 settlers and 54,000 Turkish Cypriots voters, which amounts to a ratio of nearly 2:1 (66%) in favour of the settlers. By contrast, the Greek Cypriot side claims that the Republic has granted citizenship to 25,000 people since 1974, which represents about 3.5 per cent of its population.

In a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality, the demographic composition and the domain of power in the “self-contained” north may become a non-issue to the Greek Cypriot side as it will not affect the Greek Cypriot constituent state.

At a federal level too, the proportion divided up between the northern Turkish Cypriot state and southern Greek Cypriot state will not be anything more than 70/30, a figure of acceptable balance in the 1960 constitution.

However, the issue here is not whether the “Turkish side’s” proposals are or are not acceptable to the Greek Cypriots but whether they are also acceptable to the Turkish Cypriots. It is the Turkish Cypriot community who will lose their 1960 statehood/sovereignty rights to the Turkish settlers – not the Greek Cypriots.

The ruling National Unity Party (UBP) in the north and those who support the recognition of the ‘TRNC’ refuse any discussion on the subject of settlers and even go so far as to refuse to deny any differences between settlers and Turkish Cypriots.

Recently the new administration has gone further, encouraging the world to call settlers and Turkish Cypriots, the “Turks of Cyprus”. The north’s ‘state’ TV channel BRT recently banned the use of the term “Turkish Cypriot” from its programmes.

How do these affect the peace process and a future settlement? A second referendum on both sides of the buffer zone in Cyprus will undoubtedly be held on EU territory however, “TRNC citizens” are not all EU citizens. This should render votes illegal, while the referendum itself will be undermined and even may be rejected under EU law unless, the “TRNC electorate” is officially recognised by the UN, the EU and the RoC before the referenda takes place.

The transfer of political power from Turkish Cypriots to Turkish settlers in the north by a “solution” may not be easily accepted by those who still identify themselves as Turkish Cypriots, despite the fact that a significant section of Turkish Cypriots including those who apparently want solution have already resigned themselves to the idea of being Turks of Cyprus under the domination of the settlers.

Heavily relying on support from this section of the Turkish Cypriot community (or rather ex-Turkish Cypriots), Turkey’s demands continue as media in the north report that Ankara is now calling for an additional 50,000 settlers to be granted citizenship before a solution.

Following orders, the north’s administration announced that 15,000 settlers will be granted citizenship before the end of 2009 and another 15,000 is rumoured, before the “presidential election” in April 2010.

Eating away at the Turkish Cypriot electoral power, such a demographic modification will provide another 18,000 (11%) of fresh votes for the UBP leader whose “presidential” candidacy is not only widely expected but has already been announced by his general secretary.

Making up 66 per cent of the population, one could certainly argue that in a free democracy the political power in the north should belong to the settlers and not the native Turkish Cypriots. But then again, nobody has ever pretended that the ‘TRNC’ belongs to Turkish Cypriots.

If the settlers vote in a referendum to determine the future of Cyprus and if after a solution they all become citizens of the United Federal Cyprus, then in effect the ‘solution’ will become nothing more than a Federation between Greek Cypriots and Turkish settlers; a realisation of Settler’s colonialism.

The issue here is not one of settlers’ human rights. Human rights do not give an alien population the right to determine the future of the natives of the land or vote on sovereignty over the territory they “illegally” occupy.

Constituting settler colonialism, this violates the human rights of all native Cypriots by depriving them of the basic right to determine their own future and is a crime against humanity.

n Ilker Kilich is on the editorial panel of Turkish Cypriot weekly Toplum Postasi in the UK

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009

[zan]

Does this person realise that we have already had a VOTE in the Annan Plan.....Was all these problems over looked then???

[Get Real!]

Is Cyprus heading for a federation of Greek Cypriots and Turkish settlers ?

That’s certainly what’s being proposed but it’ll never get off the ground.

[Kikapu]

There is a very simple way to deny any non True Turkish Cypriots from voting in order to preserve the voice of the True TCs in deciding what they want for their country of Cyprus, and that is to hold the referendum's voting ballot boxes all in the south where the UN can maintain control over them. All True TCs are eligible to cross the check points to vote while all Illegal Aliens will be denied access to the south. I would ask that the voting for the TCs to take 7 days to complete, so that it can be done smoothly to make sure overwhelming majority of True TCs who wishes to vote are able to travel to the south. This is the only way to preserve the voices of the True TCs to vote without having their votes stolen by the settlers domination at the ballot box. The UN should insist on this and so should the RoC, and most importantly, so should the True TCs themselves..!

[zan]

There is a very simple way to deny any non True Turkish Cypriots from voting in order to preserve the voice of the True TCs in deciding what they want for their country of Cyprus, and that is to hold the referendum's voting ballot boxes all in the south where the UN can maintain control over them. All True TCs are eligible to cross the check points to vote while all Illegal Aliens will be denied access to the south. I would ask that the voting for the TCs to take 7 days to complete, so that it can be done smoothly to make sure overwhelming majority of True TCs who wishes to vote are able to travel to the south. This is the only way to preserve the voices of the True TCs to vote without having their votes stolen by the settlers domination at the ballot box. The UN should insist on this and so should the RoC, and most importantly, so should the True TCs themselves..!

Put your idea to the TRNC government and see what they say......You never know!!!!