Cyprus-Forum.com

[Lit]

A message for Turkey: tear down Cyprus’ wall now!

http://www.neurope.eu/articles/97503.php

While politicians who were not around to help bring down the Berlin Wall were practically dancing in the streets at the 20th anniversary celebration of its fall as if they had, none will stand in front of the Green Line in Nicosia, a divided capital in the European Union, because they want Turkey - which invaded Cyprus in 1974 and won’t obey EU rules – admitted at any cost, including allowing the wall there to stand.
So let’s not hear any crocodile tears about the meaning of freedom while pointing to where the Berlin Wall stood, while they allow a barrier to remain on Cyprus because they are drooling over the prospects of a country with 80 million people, trade, and a bridge to Asia being a member of the EU, although it isn’t in Europe and isn’t free. Let’s admit Iran too while we’re at it then.
The Green Line in Nicosia is a haphazard arrangement of barrels, barriers, and barbed wire, not the imposing concrete structure that stood in Berlin, and not even as menacing as the wall in Belfast which stands between the poor of that city, Catholics on one side and Protestants on the other, which puts the lie to the idea there is real peace in Northern Ireland, unless you’re rich and don’t care what religion your neighbor is either.
So as politicians stood in the rain in Berlin and were glad-handing and back-slapping each other, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who, as a Foreign Minister the last time his party, PASOK, was in power, stood toe-to-toe with the Turks even while reaching out his hand. He was in Germany to bring the same message that former US President Ronald Reagan did in Berlin 20 years ago: “As Greeks and as Europeans we must shout out: Tear down the last wall, the one that divides Cyprus in two,” Papandreou said. His election seems to have elevated him from his usual somnolent state and he said that, “There cannot be a Europe with walls and occupation armies. The Europe of freedom, a united Europe cannot tolerate this.”
Yes it can, and it will, and Papandreou’s plea will fall on deaf ears, even though he cornered US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Berlin, because Greece doesn’t count to the US, and barely matters to the EU when it comes to the question of Turkey, which still has an unlawful invasion force of 40,000 troops in the northern part of the island, won’t recognize Cyprus – an EU country – nor allow Cypriot ships or planes to enter the country. If France did the same to Germany, its ages-old enemy, what would the reaction be?
The wages of democracy demand there not be totalitarianism, even if it’s lucrative for you, but it’s a price the EU won’t pay because Turkey is more important than Cyprus and Greece. Turkey’s best friend in this is Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias, a collaborator in his willingness to acquiesce to Turkish demands it be allowed to keep troops on the island and share the presidency. Meanwhile, the Green Line is open in places but with conditions for crossing that mean it is still a barrier to peace, and many Greek Cypriots refuse to cross it because they have to show passports to travel in their own country, in the face of guns. Papandreou has a weapon too: Greece, which has supported Turkey’s EU bid, can bar it and he should deliver another message to Turkey: get out of Cyprus or the next wall will keep you out of the EU.

[YFred]

This was not written by Andreas Nigolis was it?

[AWE]

this is more a message to the EU stop bending over to accommodate Turkey - lets see what happens in December, b ut gicven the feelings in both France, Germany among others and Turkey I guess the EU leverage is weakening.

[YFred]

this is more a message to the EU stop bending over to accommodate Turkey - lets see what happens in December, b ut gicven the feelings in both France, Germany among others and Turkey I guess the EU leverage is weakening.

It's worse than that, EU is forging dependce on Turkey, which does not bode well for the GC aspirations.

[Expatkiwi]

The EU is exercising realpolitik, so looks like RoCy may be in for a disappointment then...

[james_mav]

The EU is exercising realpolitik, so looks like RoCy may be in for a disappointment then...

As a political union, the purpose of the EU is to prevent armed conflicts amongst members; the danger of realpolitik is well understood, hence the strong judiciary. If realpolitik can overcome the European Court of Justice, then for sure the RoC will be in for a rude shock.

But there is no way the ECJ can be overcome by realpolitik without the very essence of the EU being overcome by realpolitik. If this is to occur, Europe is back to a collection of independent states engaged in co-opetition, exactly as they would be if not for the political and economic union that is the EU. For sure the EU is not guaranteed to survive, but a hell of a lot has been invested into it for it to stumble on the matter of the occupied north of the RoC.

Think of it this way: the EU may well just love to gift the occupied north to the occupier in order to get on with enlarging the EU, securing energy supplies from central Asia, etc. But if the EU gifts a part of the RoC, the EU is finished. Poland have no confidence that the EU will not gift a chunk of it back to the Germans, the Baltics could have no confidence that parts of their territory back to the Russians, and even the Brits could have no confidence that the EU wouldn't gift Gibraltar back to Spain. Everyone is then back to trusting no one, and building up their armed forces and seeking out 1901-style alliances and secret pacts in order to protect their national interests. This is exactly what the EU is designed to avoid, and those nations who sign up to the EU make an explicit undertaking to relate to other members within the EU framework, rather than through the might of arms and overlapping & competing treaties.

In the political sphere, the EU is essentially an agreement of "what's mine is mine, what's yours is yours", and what belongs to whom is determined explicitly up front. In the case of the RoC, this has been done: the entire island (apart from the SBAs) belongs to the Republic, and there is no way for this to change unilaterally in law (and since Lisbon, not in policy either).

[bill cobbett]

The EU is exercising realpolitik, so looks like RoCy may be in for a disappointment then...

As a political union, the purpose of the EU is to prevent armed conflicts amongst members; the danger of realpolitik is well understood, hence the strong judiciary. If realpolitik can overcome the European Court of Justice, then for sure the RoC will be in for a rude shock.

But there is no way the ECJ can be overcome by realpolitik without the very essence of the EU being overcome by realpolitik. If this is to occur, Europe is back to a collection of independent states engaged in co-opetition, exactly as they would be if not for the political and economic union that is the EU. For sure the EU is not guaranteed to survive, but a hell of a lot has been invested into it for it to stumble on the matter of the occupied north of the RoC.

Think of it this way: the EU may well just love to gift the occupied north to the occupier in order to get on with enlarging the EU, securing energy supplies from central Asia, etc. But if the EU gifts a part of the RoC, the EU is finished. Poland have no confidence that the EU will not gift a chunk of it back to the Germans, the Baltics could have no confidence that parts of their territory back to the Russians, and even the Brits could have no confidence that the EU wouldn't gift Gibraltar back to Spain. Everyone is then back to trusting no one, and building up their armed forces and seeking out 1901-style alliances and secret pacts in order to protect their national interests. This is exactly what the EU is designed to avoid, and those nations who sign up to the EU make an explicit undertaking to relate to other members within the EU framework, rather than through the might of arms and overlapping & competing treaties.

In the political sphere, the EU is essentially an agreement of "what's mine is mine, what's yours is yours", and what belongs to whom is determined explicitly up front. In the case of the RoC, this has been done: the entire island (apart from the SBAs) belongs to the Republic, and there is no way for this to change unilaterally in law (and since Lisbon, not in policy either).

Yes!........ Yes! ....... Yes! .... Yes!!

Sorry, was just watching the diner scene with Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally whilst reading JM's post.

[YFred]

The EU is exercising realpolitik, so looks like RoCy may be in for a disappointment then...

Judging by the GC feelings it may turn out to be a full blown erectile problem. The watch the population plummet.