I've said it time and time again, and again, and again that if the North's population becomes a majority "Turkish" and a minority "Turkish Cypriot", the cementing of Northern Cyprus as a Province of Turkiye will be to the LOSE of the Greek Cypriots and no one else - as the Turkish Cypriots are all now already connected in some way or another by our Turkish mainland brothers. However, and furthermore, I'm sure I heard Erdogan in a meeting not so long ago say "Wait until the North's population is above the 1 Million mark!". I say this again, and especially to those air heads like "Get Real", if you don't convince your stupid leaders in accepting a recognised Turkish Cypriot State soon, the MAJORITY population on the ENTIRE ISLAND will soon be "TURKISH". Then, and only then, will you see how international favouritism will benefit Turkey's True intentions on the island. If you don't believe me, ask Mr Mehmet Cakici!
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/opinions/our-view-cyprob-rituals-ever-moving-us-toward-partition/20120720
Our View: Cyprob rituals ever moving us toward partition
Published on July 20, 2012 Follow the mail on Twitter.
CYPRUS marks the 38th anniversary of the Turkish invasion today. We will hear the same defiant speeches about the struggle for a fair and just solution to the Cyprus problem and the familiar calls for the withdrawal of the Turkish occupation troops, while north of the dividing line the Turks will stage the obligatory military parade and engage in the familiar celebrations. Some things never change in Cyprus.
Another UN-brokered peace initiative ended in deadlock earlier this year, after more than three years of negotiations, with each side blaming the other for the failure. The UN team facilitating the talks has stayed in Cyprus in the hope it could undertake a new initiative after February’s presidential election, on the grounds it does not want all the convergences reached to go to waste.
Meanwhile, at the UN Security Council, the familiar bickering over the six-monthly renewal of UNFICYP’s mandate took place this week, with Britain incurring Greek Cypriot wrath by trying to include a provision for a review of the peacekeeping force. In September, President Christofias, who claimed on Wednesday he was doing everything in his power to keep Britain’s clause out of the resolution, will travel to New York for the annual ritual of addressing an indifferent UN General Assembly.
While the Cyprus problem rituals remain the same, some things have changed. The majority of the population in the occupied north consists of Turkish nationals, many of whom have set up businesses and have a stake in the occupied area. The Turkish Cypriots have become a minority and have been expressing fears that before long they will be nothing more than citizens of a province of Turkey, which seems to be how Ankara views the north nowadays.
Things have also changed legally, after the recognition of the Immovable Property Commission by the European Court of Human Rights. A couple of weeks ago, the Cyprus government sanctioned and funded a property exchange between a Greek Cypriot claimant and the IPC. This may have just been the start of the exchange of properties the Turkish Cypriot side has always demanded.
We are gradually moving closer to the formalisation of partition, but the Greek Cypriot leadership seems too engrossed in the Cyprus problem rituals and rhetoric to take any notice. Presidential candidate Giorgos Lillikas is marketing himself as a Cyprus problem hard-liner who supposedly wants negotiations to start from scratch, in his search for votes. Christofias engaged in talks without suffocating time-frames and arbitration, to ensure there was no conclusion. Party leaders want a settlement that the Turkish side would never agree to, without explaining how they can achieve this.
By which anniversary of the invasion will the Greek Cypriot leadership finally realise that its obsession with maintaining the Cyprus problem ritual is actually helping Turkey achieve all of its objectives?
