TURKISH CYPRIOT leader Mehmet Ali Talat warned yesterday that lack of progress on unifying the island meant permanent partition was becoming more of a possibility.
Since the latest UN re-unification plan was voted down by Greek Cypriots in 2004, the two communities have been pushed further apart and diplomats seen no hope of fresh talks soon.
"Partition is becoming a reality ... this is dangerous and I don't want it to happen," Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat told Reuters at his office in divided Nicosia.
Nationalist rhetoric has escalated on both sides of the island and the government has blocked EU efforts to end Turkish Cypriot economic isolation, fearing such a move could help it on the road toward full independence.
The government yesterday also threatened to veto Turkey's moves to join the European Union if Ankara does not meet EU obligations and open its ports to Cypriot traffic.
Western diplomats say European Union members, tired of the long-running conflict, needed to take greater interest now that it was linked to Turkey's key membership talks.
"It's simply a fact that the direction is away from unification of the island and that's a tragedy," said an EU diplomat in Nicosia.
After years of international efforts, the fear is now that each side will become more entrenched, making it harder to bridge differences and achieve lasting peace.
Talat said he would keep pushing for unification but admitted inhabitants of the north were more disillusioned and the north's isolation forced them to rely more on Turkey, the only country to recognise the northern enclave.
Talat accused the Greek Cypriots of imposing new measures on the Turkish Cypriots by pressuring foreign diplomats not to visit him and making it difficult for Turkish Cypriot non-governmental organisations to operate.
"In reality the Cypriot government doesn't want power sharing with the Turkish Cypriots ... the government is not willing to unify the island," Talat said.
Turkey's reformist government is in a tight spot because it wants to move EU talks forward but must also take into account nationalist sentiment, particularly within the armed forces.
Around 35,000 Turkish troops are stationed in the north.
Talat rejected calls by Greek Cypriots to open more border crossings across the line patrolled by UN forces, reducing the size of Turkish troops or creating demilitarised zones.
"This is an effort to divert from the real problem. If we solve Cyprus ... the whole island will be demilitarised and there will be no need for border crossings," Talat said.
Talat: Partition is becoming a reality ... this is dangerous and I don't want it to happen
Whom is he kidding? How he can claim that he is "president of TRNC" and then tell us that he doesn't want partition?
Can somebody support "TRNC" and not partition? 
