Turkish Cypriot “leader” Ersin Tatar has rejected any deal on Cyprus that is not based on the occupied territories becoming a state. This is not surprising considering that Turkey has always demanded the partition of Cyprus. Mr. Tatar himself is not a real leader, but the representative of the Turkish government in Cyprus.
The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres says he does not intend to give up. The Secretary General may be well intended but the fact is that Turkey and its puppet regime in the North of Cyprus have always refused to comply with United Nations Resolutions demanding the withdrawal of all Turkish troops and settlers. The problem has been that neither the United Nations nor any Government in the world has ever forced Turkey to comply with the Treaties of 1960 which established the Republic of Cyprus.
There really cannot be a change until there is a real commitment to forcing Turkey to comply with international law. In 1991, the first Bush administration went to war to force Iraq from Kuwait. The Clinton administration bombed Serbia during the 1990’s to force Belgrade to comply with western demands. Other cases could be cited in which the international community has been willing to force certain countries to comply with their demands.
It is not necessary to declare war on Turkey in order to liberate Cyprus. But there have to be means to punish Turkey for sustaining the occupation of Cyprus. Sanctions would be a legitimate start. Other measures intent on isolating Turkey could be imposed gradually.
There is no willingness to force Turkey to comply with international law and the norms of civilization. This has been the case since the formation of the Turkish Republic in 1923. Therefore, the United Nations and the powerful governments of the world are responsible for sustaining the Turkish occupation.
Cyprus must find means to liberate itself from the Turkish occupation. It certainly cannot depend on the so called civilized world. With the passing of time, it will become more difficult to reverse the occupation of Cyprus. This is what Turkey has been aiming for.
Both Cyprus and Greece need to demand from the United Nations that sanctions be imposed on Turkey. Ankara makes the decisions regarding occupied Cyprus. Cyprus should have ceased negotiating with officials of the Turkish occupation back in the days when Rauf Denktash served as Ankara’s man in the occupied territories.
Ersin Tatar says that is pointless to continue negotiating. In this, he is entirely correct but not in the way that he means. The Cypriots suffer a loss of dignity by sitting down with the representative of the Turkish Government who disguises himself as the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community. Cyprus should cease meeting with him and his associates and should isolate them much as Cyprus has worked to isolate the recognition of the occupied territories.
The Republic of Cyprus should demand from the United Nations that there must be no more contact with the occupied territories. They could then suggest that sanctions or penalties be enacted against Turkey. Perhaps the UN response will not be a positive one but at the very minimum what does Cyprus have to lose by hardening its position and refusing to meet with Turkey’s lackeys who have no intention of negotiating seriously?
It is time for an evaluation of the situation in Cyprus. There must be more effective ways for Cypriot leaders to work for the liberation of Cyprus than sitting down in useless negotiations with the occupiers. Nicosia should also consider the possibility of raising war crimes that were perpetrated by Turkish forces in Cyprus in 1974. They can ask interpol and the United Nations to actively pursue the murders who murdered Cypriot protesters Tasos Isaac and Solomos Solomou during the summer of 1996.
They should change their emphasis from useless negotiations to less ambitious but more aggressive goals in seeking to punish Turkey for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Cyprus should push the human rights angle among international organizations and governments more aggressively.
2 replies on “The Next Approach For Cyprus”
Tartar is a Turkish stooge, his views are meaningless. The Turks should be forced to negotiate in good faith with western imposed sanctions, but it’s coming to that anyway. In 2006 there were 1.89 Turkish Lira to the EURO, but yesterday there were 9.96 Lira to the EURO-a massive devaluation in buying power for the Lira in the last 15 years.
Low income Turks on the mainland can’t afford staples and are subsisting on government doled out potatoes and onions. Meat is becoming a rare delicacy on Turk dinner tables, they can’t afford it more than a few times during a week. Transportation, fuel, heating, rent are all going up in cost as the Lira depreciates. Turkey provides funding for kktc, but it’s provided in Lira while ROC uses the EURO.
From an economic standpoint the current demarcation on Cyprus is unsustainable. Tartar us heavily subsidized by Ankara so he barks when they tall him to, but average Turk Cypriots have seen a dramatic decrease in their standard of living over the last 5 years in particular. Erdogan funds mosque construction in kktc, most TC’s want to see cheaper goods.
Fortunately for Greece and Cyprus Tayyip Erdogan has managed to offend just about every EU and US leader multiple times. He’s widely despised, the Italian leader refered to him as a ‘dictator’ recently. Erdogan should be place on the payroll of the Greek and Cypriot foreign ministry, he’s the gift that keeps on giving all year long.
While all this is good, it’ll take skillful manipulation by Mitsotakis and Anastassiades to exploit those advantages. Turkey still have lots of paid advocated in western capitals advancing their interests (Jack Straw, Angela Merkel and some other current and ex EU leaders are prime examples). But Greece/Cyprus are in a better position now then they have been in some time-they can’t misplay their cards.
Cyprus is in a better position. Certainly in a better position to reject Turkish demands. The next couple of years will be crucial in determining the future of Cyprus. I agree that Erdogan is the gift that keeps on giving. Hopefully, there will be a breaking point in which the US, Europe, and Russia all realize he is a lunatic.