Cyprus-Forum.com

[Piratis]

BBF (Bi-zonal Bi-communal Federation) is something that we were blackmailed to accept as the basis of a negotiated solution after the Turkish army invaded Cyprus, illegally occupied 1/3rd of our homeland and kept it as a hostage while at the same time refusing to obey UN resolutions calling for the withdrawal of their troops from our island.

While the terms of any such a "solution" would be clearly racist, as they would forcefully divide and segregate the population based on ethnic background, we accepted to negotiate such a solution because we wanted to have at least some of our lands back and at least some compensation for the rest of the refugees who would not be able to return to their homes.

Unfortunately the Turks didn't stop at BBF, but they continued asking for more and more, and the end result was the Annan plan which was more of a confederation than a federation and if accepted it would have created an undemocratic, dysfunctional state were racism and human rights abuses would have been institutionalized, while Turkey would have a say in every important decision that Cyprus would take (essentially making the whole Cyprus a banana republic of Turkey as the so called "trnc" is today). Clearly that sort of so called "solution" was too much for Cypriots to accept and it was naturally rejected in the referendum a few years ago.

For 37 years the Turkish minority of 18% illegally occupies the 37% of land and over 50% of the coastline and natural resources of the island. It is also obvious from the negotiations that a proportional share of power / land / resources is not something that the TC minority would ever agree, as they are very happy to use the military power of Turkey to forcefully take a far greater share than what proportionally belongs to them. They keep our land under illegal occupation and they claim that it is supposedly a "compromise" from their part if they give back to us even part what is ours to begin with. They even insist on occupying the fenced part of Famagusta, insisting that no land would be returned until a comprehensive solution is found.

Well, things might change soon if vast amounts of natural gas are found in the sea south of Cyprus. This gas would be exploited in cooperation with Israel and the USA, and Turkey can bark all she wants but she will not be able to steal this resource, no matter how much they would like to. If the predictions are right the profits from natural gas could be in the billions, far more than what the Turks can make by illegally exploiting our lands in the occupied part of Cyprus.

The president said that the gains from such resource would be shared with the TCs, but it goes without saying that any such sharing can only come after a comprehensive solution is found.

Today the 18% Turkish minority is keeping under illegal occupation more than the 50% of the natural wealth of Cyprus. But if large amounts of natural gas is found in the sea south of Cyprus, then this 18% minority could actually be in possession of less than even the 18% of the natural wealth of the island. Suddenly this separation, with TCs in the north and us in the south, could actually be economically beneficial for us, and we will be in no rush to accept any racist, dysfunctional "solution" where the TC minority would take more than their proportional share on our expense. The tables would be turned and it would be us, not them, who would have in our possession a disproportionally large amount of the wealth of Cyprus (and unlike them we will be able to legally exploit it).

As always we will continue to be ready for a fair solution in the Cyprus problem which will create a truly free, independent and democratic Cyprus, where all Cypriots are equal citizens and where the communities can share fairly and proportionally the wealth of our common island. But from then on the Turks and TCs will not be able to blackmail us by saying "we won the war and now you have to accept our terms". Any sort of unfair solution, including "BBF" as TCs envision it, will be dead and burred for good.

[Bananiot]

Is this the shift in the balance of power you were waiting for Piratis? And, I suppose, now that you are flying the flag of the Jewish state, we should vote against the recognition of an independent Palestine state and of course, we should lend our weight behind the tyrant of Syria, now that Turkey is threatening Syria with sanctions. Do you remember someone who constantly wrote about principles and international justice?

[Capt J Sparrow]

Is this the shift in the balance of power you were waiting for Piratis? And, I suppose, now that you are flying the flag of the Jewish state, we should vote against the recognition of an independent Palestine state and of course, we should lend our weight behind the tyrant of Syria, now that Turkey is threatening Syria with sanctions. Do you remember someone who constantly wrote about principles and international justice?

International politics and diplomacy does not always fall in line with what is just and fair. Cypriots should know this more than most.

We rely on the superpowers to offer the world their lead by example and to support international law through the UN, and sometimes, take unilateral action for the greater good in support of international law and justice. Sometimes they do this, and sometimes those in power will not strive for this justice, but merely act in the interests of their respective nations.

So if the big guns are driven mainly by self interest, what can a tiny country like Cyprus do?

Well, it can and should preserve its own interests, and those interests fall in line with Israel. Pipelines will be built, natural gas processing plants will also be built, and both will export their gas to Europe through US/Israeli oil and gas firms, called Noble Energy and Delek.

Regional alliances are of paramount importance, and such an alliance is even more important for a country like Cyprus, which has been prodded and bullied by Turkey while the very West turned its back. Well now the West is staring Turkey in the eyeballs. Why? Because it suits their interests.

And no! Cyprus can still be pro Palestinian independence. Even the US has challenged Israel on illegal settlements in the West Bank. Sure, the Israelis won't like this, but it will be a brief tiff, and then its business as usual.

[Hermes]

Is this the shift in the balance of power you were waiting for Piratis? And, I suppose, now that you are flying the flag of the Jewish state, we should vote against the recognition of an independent Palestine state and of course, we should lend our weight behind the tyrant of Syria, now that Turkey is threatening Syria with sanctions. Do you remember someone who constantly wrote about principles and international justice?

You mean that for the sake of the Palestinian cause the Republic of Cyprus should not take advantage of its mineral wealth? Not develop a strategic partnership with Israel, Greece, the EU and the United States to strengthen its sovereignty and its economic clout? It should not use this strategic and diplomatic advantage to marginalise and pressure the Turks - the very people who occupy our lands?

And what good did it ever do Cyprus that it steadfastly supported the Palestinian cause? Did the Syrians and Iranians show their gratitude? Did the Islamic states express solidarity with the RoC? Even our principled stand against Israeli occupation of Palestine was driven by our self-interest. Let's be honest. We needed to keep the Arab states on our side.

So what you imply is that the Republic of Cyprus should do nothing about the vast mineral deposits it potentially owns. Instead it should claim to be the only principled nation in the area all the while languishing under occupation with its very survival at stake. In other words, you want the Republic of Cyprus to completely capitulate to Turkish aggression and to ignore making strategic and economic alliances in the region which are to its favour.

Give me a break!

[Capt J Sparrow]

Let's be very clear about one thing.

Some of Israel's staunchest supporters, and there are many, have supported Palestinian Liberation in the past. The US was one of those.

Things like this do NOT put an end to this type of alliance. An ally of Israel, can also stand for what they believe is just.

Israel has many allies, and Cyprus is just one of them, albeit a tiny one, and yet ever so important to the Israelis as is Israel to Cyprus!

[Hermes]

Unfortunately the Turks didn't stop at BBF, but they continued asking for more and more, and the end result was the Annan plan which was more of a confederation than a federation and if accepted it would have created an undemocratic, dysfunctional state were racism and human rights abuses would have been institutionalized, while Turkey would have a say in every important decision that Cyprus would take (essentially making the whole Cyprus a banana republic of Turkey as the so called "trnc" is today). Clearly that sort of so called "solution" was too much for Cypriots to accept and it was naturally rejected in the referendum a few years ago.

After 2004 the Turks effectively abandoned the idea of a BBF. They talk now about a confederation as this is the only way they can get a legalised partition. What they realise is that now that Cyprus is in the EU, the idea of a BBF is inconsistent with the EU acquis. The Turkish insistence on derogations from the acquis is proof of this.

Ultimately, we have Turkish greed and belligerence to thank for saving us. If Turkey hadn't made such a calamitous error in trying to walk away with everything in 2004, the likelihood is that they would have got most of what they wanted: a legalised partition with a crippled dependent South. Instead, they are clinging on to northern Cyprus as it becomes a rapidly dwindling asset. Facing a restless population, the "TRNC" has become an economic drain and a strategic folly.

The discovery of mineral wealth has certainly changed things: strategically, diplomatically. But the potential economic deprivation of T/Cs should also be exploited. T/C's share of the gas billions will dwarf the amount of aid that Turkey gives the north. It will do us no harm to suggest to the T/Cs that the Turkish occupation is depriving them of their fair share of Cyprus's potential wealth.

[Cap]

International politics and diplomacy does not always fall in line with what is just and fair. Cypriots should know this more than most.

Hit the nail on the head.

[blaise pascal]

International politics and diplomacy does not always fall in line with what is just and fair. Cypriots should know this more than most.

Hit the nail on the head.

The statement quoted is naive - international politics and diplomacy have nothing whatsoever to do with what is just and fair; any correlation is coincidence and/or spin.

[Kikapu]

I have been warning for a while now, that if the TCs do not accept BBF now to be based on True Federation, True Democracy, Human Rights, International law and the EU Principles, then in time, Cyprus will become a Unitary state and ALL Cypriots will then become equal citizens as anyone else in the country without any special privileges given to any one ethnic group, unless of course, it is ONLY given in the form of "Minority Rights" at the request of any one ethnic group. Times are changing, and so will the present situation in Cyprus.

"Time Does Not Stand Still"

[Capt J Sparrow]

International politics and diplomacy does not always fall in line with what is just and fair. Cypriots should know this more than most.

Hit the nail on the head.

The statement quoted is naive - international politics and diplomacy have nothing whatsoever to do with what is just and fair; any correlation is coincidence and/or spin.

So what can Cyprus do?

We have interests with Israel, and have been terrorized and bullied by Turkey, a nation of 80 million. Do we now take the moral high ground and support Turkey's idle threats to escort "aid" ships to Gaza just because this is the 'right' thing to do?

Or do we offer limited support towards Israel by not allowing them any right of passage and extract gas from our legitimate EEZ fields?

If correlation to justice is pure coincidence and/spin for all countries, then Cyprus has nothing to be ashamed about. If one "unjust" nation could be responsible for another justice in Cyprus, out of pure coincidence, then that's fine by me.

But let's be realistic here! How "unjust" is Israel, when you compare it to Turkey? I think Turkey makes Israel look like Mother Teresa!

Look at its history. Look at what it has done to the Kurds within its borders and in Northern Iraq. Look at the occupation in Cyprus!

Last but certainly not least, lets look at the Armenian Genocide. An attempted genocide that was Hitler's inspiration.

And let's look at Turkey's imbecilic foreign diplomacy, a diplomacy with no substance in International Law, and with no basis on International Law of the Sea.

It is no coincidence that the West will side with Israel on all fronts. Cyprus can't go against this, otherwise it too will be punished, again.