The Cyprus Problem - My personal views

Since the Turkish invasion of 1974, the people of Cyprus, both Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots, have witnessed many rounds of talks between their respective leaders aimed at finding a permanent and viable solution to the Cyprus problem. Sadly all of these talks have ended with little or no progress being made whatsoever.

Who is to blame is a matter of much contention and as in the case of all such issues, the answer one gets almost invariably depends on the biases and prejudices of those concerned. On a national level the blame always falls, as is to be expected, on the opposing side. Over the years, the Greek-Cypriot community has accused the Turkish side of following delaying tactics, refusing to put forward proposals on various crucial aspects of the Cyprus problem and being intransigent on those proposals that have been laid down on the negotiations table. The Greek-Cypriot community believes that the ultimate aim of both Turkey and the Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash is to consolidate, with the lapse of time, the faits accomplis and the eventual Turkification of the illegally occupied territory. The Turkish-Cypriot leader on the other hand insists on acceptance by the Greek-Cypriot side of the "new realities" created by the invasion as the basis and indeed prerequisite for negotiations.

Within the national barriers, the opposing political parties, whether they be right wing or left wing, have all too often attacked and criticised the handlings of the ruling party in regards to the national problem and all issues relating to it. The 1998 presidential elections saw an extreme case of such rivalry with the sensitive matter of the purchasing by the government of the Russian S300 defence missile system becoming the main theme of TV campaigning adverts. In the illegally occupied North it is only very recently that the long-standing (30 years) Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash has faced any opposition whatsoever. Following the 5th round of proximity talks (November 2000) and just as the UN Secretary General announced a new round of talks (January 2001), Rauf Denktash, with the full support of the Turkish government, once again chose to abandon the talks. It was at this point that the leader of the Republican Turkish Party Mehmet Ali Talat described Ankara's and Mr Denktash's decision to abandon the talks as "the biggest mistake in history" and stressed that "it is not a clever move to withdraw from the indirect talks".

Pressures brought forth on the Turkish side by both internal and external factors, saw the March 2004 beginning of yet another round of talks between President Tassos Papadopoulos and the Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash once again under the auspices of the United Nations. This time the talks were based on the proposals of the current secretary general Kofi Annan entitled "Basis for agreement on a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem - Comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem". What made this round of talks any different from preceding rounds? In some aspects, nothing - in others, everything.

That the Anna plan is, as its name implies, a comprehensive plan is probably beyond doubt. Whether or not it can act as the basis for agreement on a comprehensive settlement is a matter open to debate and one that merits a whole discussion of its own. It is however beyond the scope of the plan itself that the uniqueness of the latest round of talks can be found.

For one, Cyprus entered the latest round of talks on its way to becoming a full member of the European Union. On April 16 2003, Cyprus signed in Athens the Accession Treaty of the European Union enabling the island, as from 1st May 2004, to enjoy the full benefits (but also disadvantages) that such a membership has to offer. Apart from the obvious socio-economic benefits, perhaps what is more important with respect to the national problem is the safeguard the European Union will (hopefully) offer against any further aggression against the people of Cyprus. Although not entirely ruled out, it is highly unlikely that the European Union will idly stand by and allow any form of military intervention or aggression by Turkey against a member state. Turkey, and indeed all those superpowers currently supporting her and providing her with military funding in exchange for the right to use her land as passage into the middle East and Asia, must therefore rule out any future plans that involve further military intervention in Cyprus.