"That is indeed the crux of the problem; Greek Cypriots are not yet mentally prepared to a bi-zonal and bi-communal federal settlement where the two peoples of the island are politically equal."
However, what I would like to debate on is not this article, but on whether or not the Greek Cypriots will corner themselves into partitioning the island come Feb 2011 due to their Ultra-Nationalist - anti-Turkish Cypriot views. We all know that the Greek Cypriot back-benchers of the GC-operated ROC hate the Turkish Cypriots and want them only to be represented as a pointless minority group in a majority dominated GC-ROC, which will obviously never happen, but how long will they NOW be able to hold on to that false reality? In my opinion, and according to the response I received in New York (Yes, that's where I currently am), I would say that the team from the UN very much already see us [The Turkish Cypriots] as being a part of another "State". One UN Diplomat even said the following, "I like the Turkish Cypriot Flag that's being flown outside". Regardless of it being known as the TRNC flag to us TCs or one of the "Constituent" flags of the proposed "United Cyprus Republic", it is still here to stay. Please enjoy Yusuf Kanli's article below.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=cyprus-talks-i--2010-09-22
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
YUSUF KANLI
For the next few days, I will be trying to analyze the latest developments in the Cyprus talks. The tentative year’s end deadline for a resolution on the island is approaching fast, yet developments indicate that unless Greek Cypriots go through a comprehensive evolution and overcome their mental fatigue, a settlement on the eastern Mediterranean island will not be possible any time soon.
According to some public statements the proposals of the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides on the thorny property aspect of the Cyprus problem apparently boosted the “hope” of the United Nations team “facilitating” the direct-talks process that there might be a Cyprus settlement. Now, instead of the “end of 2010” deadline, “deep throats” are whispering that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has started commenting that perhaps the process might be allowed to continue until the end of February 2011.
In private discussions, however, many people involved in the process underline that it might be conducive to the process to tell the public that there is hope for a settlement, but the two sides on the island are as far apart as ever on most key aspects of the problem. If the talks are to succeed there is a need to accelerate the process and get on board Turkey, Greece and Britain – the three guarantor powers under the 1960 accords – and convert talks into a five-party conference on the sidelines of which the EU as well as the five permanent members of the Security Council should sit as observers. Greek Cypriots are staunchly opposing such a conference on grounds that they are the government of the entire island and cannot agree to be relegated to the community status by attending on equal footing with the Turkish Cypriots. That is indeed the crux of the problem; Greek Cypriots are not yet mentally prepared to a bi-zonal and bi-communal federal settlement where the two peoples of the island are politically equal.
This mental fatigue of the Greek Cypriot side was reflected once again in their proposal regarding the property aspect of the problem. A careful examination of the Greek Cypriot proposals clearly demonstrate that there has not been an inch forward in the Greek Cypriot position since the 1975 National Council decision describing Greek Cypriots as owners of the eastern Mediterranean island and Turkish Cypriots as 500-year-old guests who cannot have any rights in the Cyprus Republic further than some minority rights. Neither the immense sufferings of the Turkish Cypriot people under genocidal practices they were subjected to in the period of 1963-1974, nor the developments on the island since the 1974 Turkish intervention are being taken into consideration in the Greek proposals.
Though Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias described the proposals he presented to the Turkish Cypriot side as “reasonable”, acceptance of the package would mean saying “yes” to Turkish Cypriots becoming landless as over 80 percent of the properties in northern Cyprus would have to be handed over to Greek Cypriots and thus collapse of the socioeconomic structure established in northern Cyprus in the aftermath of the 1974 intervention. Thus, in the “Turkish Cypriot state” of the future federation, Turkish Cypriots would become lessee of Greek Cypriot properties. Naturally, such a demand is in total contradiction with the “bi-zonality” principle.
Secondly, Christofias is demanding that only 50,000 of the mainland Turkish people who settled on Cyprus and have acquired Turkish Cypriot citizenship might stay on the island after a settlement, the rest should be “paid and sent back to Turkey” while up to 100,000 former Greek Cypriot residents of northern Cyprus should be allowed to return to their former properties. That means up to 40 percent of the population of the reduced northern Turkish Cypriot zone would be Greek Cypriots. Is this compatible at all with the bi-communality principle the two sides agreed back in 1977 and 1979 high level agreements or the established U.N. parameters of a settlement?
Under the Greek Cypriot proposals title deeds of all former Greek Cypriot properties would be given back to Greek Cypriots. 90 percent of those properties would be handed back to Greek Cypriots, while the remaining 10 percent might be leased for up to 15 years to “current Turkish Cypriot users.” Coupled with the demand that up to 100,000 Greek Cypriots should be allowed to return north, Christofias is indeed telling Turkish Cypriots they have no place on Cyprus.
Such demands contradict not only with the 1977 and 1979 accords and the established U.N. parameters regarding the bi-zonal and bi-communal character of the future federation but also renders Turkish Cypriots landless in their own homeland. Naturally, these proposals cannot be taken seriously or considered as “reasonable” by anyone in northern Cyprus.
