Germany meddling in Cyprus affair
Feeling the heat from pointed criticism by outspoken Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who puts his German counterpart, Angela Merkel, on the spot every time stalled EU negotiations with Turkey are brought up, the crafty chancellor seems to have come up with a clever plan to up the ante in the Cyprus problem in a frantic search to avoid the spotlight.
The ultimate aim in Merkel’s game plan is to lay the blame on Turkey for the lack of progress in both UN-sponsored Cyprus negotiations as well as on EU accession talks with Ankara.
The plan, in the works for some time, was highlighted during the German chancellor’s first visit to the Greek Cypriot part of the divided island on Jan. 11 for a one-day state visit, during which she squarely put the blame on the Turks while praising what she described as Greek Cyprus’s “courage and creativity” in talks. The response was quick from the Turkish prime minister, who lambasted the chancellor for a lack of knowledge of the history of the Cyprus dispute. Turkish President Abdullah Gül also expressed regret over Merkel’s remarks, saying she should have been more “cautious and constructive.”
Trading blame was not unexpected as we have seen that played out many times in the past. But a more hideous plot was in action this time behind the public accusations by Merkel. The Germans were in fact telling Greek Cypriots that they would throw their full support behind the tiny island’s battle plan against heavyweight Turkey, providing that Greek Cypriots take the fall for the lack of progress on EU accession talks. The drummed-up Cyprus excuse would give Germany, a country that hosts more than 4 million Turks, more breathing space with respect to overly stressed relations with Turkey.
With the encouragement and promise of support from Germany, the Greek Cypriots did the chancellor’s bidding and succeeded in turning what was originally a routine protest march against economic austerity measures announced by the government in the north into an anti-Turkey rally with placards saying, “Ankara, take your hands off us; this land is ours, we will run it.”
Secret deals leading to these events did not go unnoticed by Ankara, however. Turkish intelligence determined that operatives connected to the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL), the former party of Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias before being elected as the president in 2008, had made contact with some of the protest organizers in Larnaca under the pretext of spring festivities. It was even reported that a leader of an ultra-leftist group from the north had crossed the border and met with Christofias before the protest rally.
The cooked-up plan worked smoothly and Merkel deserves much of the credit for hitting two birds with one stone in this case. Not only did she carry the Cyprus deadlock to the heart of EU accession talks with Turkey as a major impediment before everything else, including her own staunch opposition to Turkish membership, but also drove a wedge between Turkish Cypriots and Turkey. In response, Ankara showed it can play hard ball as well and sacked the current ambassador to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) and replaced him with Halil İbrahim Akça, the point man used to run the crucial assistance to the KKTC until recently.
As the $4.7 billion economy of the KKTC is heavily dependent on foreign aid coming from Turkey, worth around $500 million annually, Turkey will ultimately get what it wants. Realizing that the current situation is simply untenable, Ankara has for some time been calling upon Turkish Cypriots to get their house in order and adopt structural reforms to reinvigorate their economy and attract investment. It is estimated that Turkey has transferred some $35 billion to the Turkish north since 1974 when Turkey intervened to stop the bloodshed following the Greek-inspired coup on the island.
The protests held on Jan. 28 and to be repeated on March 2 are designed to give the impression that Turkey is the only party preventing the island from uniting. “Even the islanders on the north do not want Turkey meddling in its affairs,” was the message Greek Cypriots, backed by Germany’s Merkel, wanted the world to hear. Although the Greek part of the island rejected the UN-backed Annan plan for unification in 2004 while the Turkish north voted overwhelmingly for it, Merkel is trying to draw a different picture for her own interests.
As we watch the events unfolding before our eyes, this may ultimately come back and bite Germany, hurting long-term strategic interests of the economic powerhouse of the EU on account of short-sighted policies pursued by Merkel’s conservatives. The export-driven German economy needs strong manufacturing partners like Turkey and China -- both are committed to improving their infrastructure and productivity -- to continue expanding on the heels of high-quality German capital goods.
What is more, there seems to be growing frustration in Ankara over stalled talks with the EU and it seems to have been infecting even the most pro-EU circles in the country recently. As the membership leverage is rapidly loosing steam, Ankara is busy developing new economic and foreign policy tools to advance its own national interests in a much more diversified portfolio. On the roster of items Turkey needs to tackle, Cyprus no longer tops the list and has been relegated to much lesser importance.
The new austerity measures will hopefully bring fiscal discipline to the dependent economy of the KKTC and a renewed spirit of entrepreneurship will fuel new ventures, bringing income and revenue for the state treasury. As Davutoğlu stated the other day, “Turkey wants the KKTC to stand on its own feet.”
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-235630-germany-meddling-in-cyprus-affair.html
abdullah, comedy doesn't seem to agree with you...
how the tables have been overturned, in the space of a couple of years...
but seriously $34 billion dollars?...i would be pissed off aswell...
