Cyprus-Forum.com

[boulio]

How would this work(FOUND IT ON THE INTENET) :

The Federal Proposal
In 1977 (President Makarios/Denktash talks) and again in 1979 (President Kyprianou/Denktash talks) the negotiators of both communities, in what has become known as the high level agreements, agreed upon a solution to the Cyprus problem based on a federal model. This was endorsed by UN resolution 649, adopted by the Security Council on 12 March 1990.
Cyprus is not a very large island and cannot easily accommodate two separate states, with the result of duplicity of administration in many areas. A viable solution that takes account of both the UN resolutions and the desires of the two communities is one that will have the best chance of success.

The constitution that Cyprus inherited in 1960 was arguably one of the most complex in the world. It was based on racism, which allowed nationalists in both communities to exploit ethnic differences for their own ends, and as such resulted in the current unacceptable situation.

The prospect of Cyprus once again being handed a poisoned chalice in the form of a federal constitution, that will on the surface look to establish the co existence of Cypriots on the island, but underneath facilitate the strategic interests of the West, by establishing the legal framework for partition, cannot be morally acceptable.

In light of this, a working model should be sought that has been tried and tested over the years as the basis for a solution. There are numerous federal states throughout the world that could be considered. Those of the United States of America, Germany, Spain and Switzerland to name but a few.

A federal solution that has appropriate checks and balances to ensure that abuse of power is avoided and that both communities can feel confident and secure must be sought.

The Swiss canton style of federal government has not been artificially created, but instead has evolved over the centuries. The Swiss cantons existed long before the formation of the Swiss Confederation.

Could the Swiss style of federation be applied to Cyprus? Probably not. The artificial polarisation of the communities in Cyprus, has meant that the natural development of the Swiss cantons has not taken place. This would undoubtedly lead to confrontation between the two states, as is the case in Belgium where the federal structure is based along linguistic lines between French and Dutch speakers.

It should also be pointed out here that the American civil war was fought on the basis of the southern states wishing to secede from the Union and seek their own separate destiny. The southern separatists were quashed in a bloody civil war. A similar situation occurred later in Spain, where dictatorship established a strong centralised government which quashed the desire for regional autonomy, only to see it resurface once democracy had been established.

The Swiss canton model would include the possibility that eventually the Turkish Cypriot canton in Cyprus will integrate with Turkey. This would come about as a result of the settlers voting in a referendum for their canton's integration with Turkey. This would mean that the partition of Cyprus would have been brought about by a "democratic vote", and render redundant any claims of the Greek Cypriots to live in their homes in the north.

The German federal model, however, seems more suited to Cyprus. Created at the end of the Second World War, the German model has shown itself to be workable in an artificially created situation as opposed to the natural evolution of the Swiss federation.

Germany is divided up into various länder or states, similar to the states of America. These states are responsible for overseeing matters such as policing, education and cultural affairs (within the state boundaries) and are governed by the appointment of a minister-president and an elected assembly. The civil service that each state maintains is of benefit to the federal government and does not result in excessive bureaucracy, as these administrations are responsible for seeing through the implementation of federal policies.

This method of government places the onus of implementing federal law on to the länder and allows for a decentralised federal system. Each länder is also allowed to raise local tax revenue which results in only 25% of their revenue coming from the federal reserves.

The system of government is based around the Bundestag or lower chamber of the federal parliament, which is an elected assembly based on proportional representation. This assembly elects and controls the federal government. The upper chamber or Bundesrat is composed of representatives from the länder governments, which in turn have also been elected by the people of each state.

The Bundesrat cannot initiate legislation but forms part of the constitutional checks and balances of the German federal system. All legislation that relates to länder responsibilities must be approved by the Bundesrat ensuring local needs and concerns are listened to at federal level.

The President of Germany is mainly a figure head with limited powers and is appointed, for a maximum of two five year terms, by the Bundesversammlung or Federal Convention, which is made up of members of the Bundestag and an equal number from the länder governments.

The Chancellor or Prime Minister is elected from the party with a majority in the Bundestag and in turn can appoint a 16-20 member cabinet.

The checks and balances built into the German federal system are:

The Bundesrat or upper chamber. The Bundestag or lower chamber. The Bundesverfassungsgericht or constitutional court.

The voice given to the länder governments ensures that the smaller states have their voices heard in the decision making process. The decentralisation of power through the länder ensures that local priorities are given prominence. Matters affecting the whole country are dealt with by a legislature that takes account of the political persuasion of all the people.

This form of government would provide a sound basis for a solution to the Cyprus problem. The länder concept would be translated as the two zones called for in the UN bi-zonnal proposals. These länder or states would have their own state government, to oversee local affairs and would send representatives to Cyprus' equivalent of the Bundesrat.

The federal government would be elected in a similar way to that of Germany. The smaller political parties would not be disadvantaged within this framework, but also equally important, the majority choices would not be disadvantaged.

The federal government would be elected in a similar way to that of Germany, i.e. on a system of proportional representation. The smaller political parties would not be ignored within this framework but also equally important the majority would not be artificially held back.

The Lower House.

The Lower House would be elected on the basis of a representative parliamentary democracy with proportional representation. All eligible citizens will enjoy universal suffrage with one citizen one vote. There would be no restriction upon the number of candidates standing nor upon their political platform. Likewise, there will be no restriction upon the citizens as to whom they may vote for.

The Upper House.

This house would be the representative of the länder regions of which there will be two in the case of Cyprus. Election of candidates to the Upper House would take place indirectly via the länder regional assemblies.

In the northern region a set number of seats in the regional assembly could be reserved on a ratio of perhaps 2/3 of the available seats for the Turkish Cypriots and 1/3 for other residents. This will guarantee a built in majority in the northern region for the Turkish Cypriots regardless of the actual size or ratio of the relevant populations. There would be no restriction upon voting rights nor upon the right of any citizens wishing to stand for elected office. The only limit would be the number of seats available to members of each community.

There would, however, be two key mitigating factors to take into account. First, the Turkish Cypriot candidates would have to canvass Greek Cypriot voters in order to get elected. It would not therefore be in their interests to abuse their position. Second, the greater likelihood is that as time passes party political interests would replace pure nationalist sentiment so that although the Turkish Cypriots would have a built-in majority they would not all necessarily belong to the same political party. Indeed it is possible that some of them would share the same party political affiliations as their Greek Cypriot colleges thus blurring the ethnic divide and enhancing democracy.

There can be objections to this arrangement of course but these would be more along the lines of the current debate as to whether the British parliament ought to have a fixed quota of seats reserved for women. The question is not "is this democratic?" but rather "is this fair to aspiring male parliamentarians?".

In the southern länder region of Cyprus the Greek Cypriot majority would "reserve" a proportion (perhaps 1/3) of the seats in their regional assembly for the other minority groups such as the Armenians, Maronites and Latins on exactly the same basis as the reserved seats in the northern Turkish Cypriot Länder. Thus we will eventually arrive at a bi-cameral federal government which will be elected on a party political basis moving away from the strict ethnicity of the two main communities.

The regional assemblies would be free to elect whom ever they wish to represent them in the federal government's upper house. At first this could be expected to be based upon ethnic lines. In the long run, however, party affiliation can be expected to play a major role in such decisions.

The reason for the necessity of these small restrictions is to guarantee, without loss of democratic rights, that the administration of each länder assembly remains in the hands of each respective community. This allows the Turkish Cypriot community to retain administrative control over their "Länder" even though they will in fact remain a minority in absolute terms due to the return of all the Greek Cypriot refugees to their homes and properties in the region.

[halil]

İ would like to see forum members views about your post.
some how they did'nt send any comment.
German Federal model for Cyprus How would this work ?
Whose idea is this model?

[halil]

MASSIMO D’ALEMA SAYS: UN IS THE ONLY PLATFORM TO SOLVE THE CYPRUS PROBLEM
Italian Deputy Prime Minister – Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema said that the efforts aimed at bringing about a solution to the Cyprus problem should be continued under the aegis of the United Nations.

Mr D’Alema said that his country has been in support of the efforts of the United Nations on the Cyprus issue and underlined the need to resume the Cyprus negotiations process.

[boulio]

the german federal model as it stands would grant t/c political equality and allow g/c refugees to return to the North,solving two of the largest obstacles to a settlement in cyprus.

concerning UNDER WHO THE SETTLEMENT should take place turks and t/c always under the UN all the time,but dont you think they should first implement resouloutions PASSED BY THE UN before seeking a resolution under it?

[Rain]

Boulio,
There is no way that the Greek Cypriots will be going to the North of Cyprus, even the Turkish Cypriots will not go back to the south.
Boulio, you are forgetting something, 33 years have passed since the separation, life did not stop in 1974.

[boulio]

the issue should be free will,any future plan should allow the g/c or t/c for that matter to settle wherever and go wherever they want.The Political equality is safeguarded in this model even if 300,000 g/c decide to move north.

[ge0rg10]

boulio, great plan!

[boulio]

thanks geroge but its not mine it was written 10 years ago by i believe a greek cypriot grad student.

[humanist]

boulio .......................sounds like a great PLAN and certainly a better deal than the current situation. Although there was no mention of Armenian's or Maronites taking seats in the (future to be known as) northern state.

[ge0rg10]

yeah but you brought it to the table, most people just suggest partition or war ect....