Cyprus deadlock broken at last.Byline: Patrick Seale Patrick Seale is a British journalist and author who specializes in the Middle East. He is a former correspondent for The Observer, and has interviewed most of the Middle East's most prominent leaders and personalities. Three long-running conflicts have plagued the international community for decades - Palestine, Kashmir and Cyprus. While the first two continue to claim their grisly gris·ly adj. gris·li·er, gris·li·est Inspiring repugnance; gruesome. See Synonyms at ghastly. [Middle English grisli, from Old English grisl toll of human victims, the third seems at last ripe for resolution. This may be the best news to come out of the troubled eastern Mediterranean region for several years. On September 3, Alexander Downer Alexander John Gosse Downer, MP (born 9 September 1951), Australian politician, became Foreign Minister of Australia in March 1996 This makes him the longest serving Foreign Minister in Australian history. , a former Australian foreign minister - recently appointed UN special envoy to Cyprus - will preside pre·side intr.v. pre·sid·ed, pre·sid·ing, pre·sides 1. To hold the position of authority; act as chairperson or president. 2. To possess or exercise authority or control. 3. over a meeting of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot presidents. The positive results of this meeting are eagerly awaited. Because of the personalities and political backgrounds of the two Cypriot leaders, hopes for a reunification re·u·ni·fy tr.v. re·u·ni·fied, re·u·ni·fy·ing, re·u·ni·fies To cause (a group, party, state, or sect) to become unified again after being divided. of the island after a 34-year split have never been higher. For one thing, Demetris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat Mehmet Ali Talat (born July 6, 1952) is the current President of the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (or KKTC in Turkish), which controls the northern third of the island of Cyprus, but is unrecognized by any nation except Turkey. are both committed Leftists. They understand that solving the Cyprus problem would be a great gift for its working people - whether Greek Cypriots Greek Cypriots are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus. They form the island's largest ethnic community, comprising nearly 80 percent of the population. The Greek Cypriots are mostly Eastern Orthodox Christians, members of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, an autocephalous church in the south, or Turkish Cypriots Ethnically Turkish inhabitants of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus are referred to as Turkish Cypriots. The term is sometimes used to refer explicitly to the indigenous Turkish Cypriots, as opposed to the Turkish migrants who have settled there since the Cyprus conflict of 1974. in the northern third of the island. Christofias is a Communist - the only Communist head of state in the European Union European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community . He earned a doctorate in Moscow where he studied from 1969 to 1974; speaks Russian (but no English or French). He is general secretary of AKEL AKEL Anorthotikon Komma Ergazemenou Laou (Cyprus; Progressive Party of the Working People) , a Marxist-Leninist party, and was elected President of the Republic of Cyprus last February, when he vowed that the solution of the Cyprus problem will be the top priority of his government. He is also in favour of closing down Britain's military bases on the island. His Turkish counterpart, Mehmet Ali Talat, started in politics as a youth leader and trade unionist, graduated in engineering from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, became head of the Left-wing Republican Turkish Party The Republican Turkish Party (Cumhuriyetçi Türk Partisi) is a political party in Northern Cyprus. The party was founded by Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu in 1970 as an opposition to the Turkish Cypriot leadership of Fazıl Küçük and Rauf Denktaş. in Cyprus, then Prime Minister in 2004 and President in April 2005. But the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus over which he presides is recognised by no one except Turkey and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. In 1983, northern Cyprus declared its independence as a separate Turkish Cypriot Republic. In May 2004, the Greek Cypriot Republic was admitted into the European Union after voting down a UN reunification plan for the island. But the Turkish Cypriot community was excluded from EU membership and has since suffered from an economic embargo. A great step towards resolving this problematic situation would be taken if, as is widely expected, Demetris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat reach agreement to create a federal state with a rotating presidency and a small inner cabinet to handle EU affairs. The solution would then have to be approved in separate referenda in both parts of the island. JosA Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission The President of the European Commission is the head of the executive body of the European Union. The President leads a college of 27 Commissioners, one from each Union member-state, who hold specific portfolios. , has welcomed news of the September 3 talks. But, as with all long-running conflicts, serious problems remain. The high command of Turkey's armed forces - already alarmed by the reforms of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan - would have to approve the deal, which would inevitably mean the repatriation Repatriation The process of converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country. Notes: If you are American, converting British Pounds back to U.S. dollars is an example of repatriation. of troops to mainland Turkey. Another serious problem concerns the future of Turkish settlers in Cyprus. What rights of theirs would be recognised? And what property once in Greek Cypriot hands might have to be returned? In a clear sign of the improved climate between the two communities, the two leaders agreed last April to open a border crossing in central Nicosia, reunifying the two sides of Ledra Street, the main shopping district after a closure of more than three decades. Yet, each leader will have much to do to convince their people that the time to settle has arrived. Some 76 per cent of Greek Cypriots rejected Kofi Annan's 2004 reunification plan. They will need to be won around. In turn, Mehmet Ali Talat will need to persuade Turkish Cypriots - as well as the authorities in Ankara - that Turkish minority interests will be protected in a unified Cyprus. Several factors are likely to give a favourable push to the coming talks. First, the Erdogan government has survived a recent attempt to drive it from office by Turkey's Constitutional Court, on the grounds that it was threatening Ataturk's secular legacy. Secondly, relations between the Turkish and Greek governments - and between their two societies - have greatly improved in recent times. Thirdly, it is widely recognised in Ankara, Athens and Brussels that a resolution of the Cyprus problem would remove a major obstacle now preventing progress towards Turkey's accession to the EU. A unified Cyprus would undoubtedly be good for Europe, for Turkey, and for Greek-Turkish relations. It would also provide a model of peaceful reconciliation to the warring parties in the Middle East. Copyright 2008 Gulf Daily News Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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