Cyprus: Reunification efforts - full text
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On July 29, Alexander Downer, the UN Secretary General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, held separate talks with Greek Cypriot President Dhimitrios Khristofias and President Mehmet Ali Talat, leader of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The meetings were in preparation for the latest efforts to reunify Cyprus, and resulted in the two leaders agreeing to begin direct talks on Sept. 3.
Immediate Context
Hopes of a successful reunification settlement for Cyprus increased after the electoral defeat of the former Greek-Cypriot president, Tassos Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos had served as President of the Republic of Cyprus from February 2003 to February 2008, and had led the Greek Cypriot opposition to a UN plan in 2004 to reunite the island. Papadopoulos's successor, Khristofias, leader of the communist Progressive Party of the Working People (AKEL), had pledged to relaunch reunification talks with the TRNC and to work towards the reunification of Cyprus as a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation.
In 2004, a UN-brokered peace proposal was drafted and Papadopoulos and President Rauf Denktash of the TRNC accepted the plans for reunification, granting UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan ultimate power to resolve any disputes between the two leaders. However, Greek Cypriot voters overwhelmingly rejected Annan's plan to reunify Cyprus, with 75 per cent voting against the plan. In contrast, 65 per cent of voters in the TRNC--traditionally seen as the opponents of reunification efforts--voted in favour of the plan.
The Greek Cypriot rejection of reunification was attributed largely to the supposed failure of the plan to guarantee adequate restitution for the 170,000 individuals displaced by the 1974 Turkish invasion.
However, the rejectionist stance of the Greek Cypriot authorities affected the TRNC's standing in the European community. In December 2002, the EU invited Cyprus to join the organisation, but specified that if no peace agreement had been reached on the island, EU membership would be granted to Greek Cyprus alone. The news that the TRNC was to be excluded from the EU was met with widespread protest in the Turkish Cypriot community and the Turkish authorities criticised Denktash for obstructing reunification talks.
The Greek Cypriot accession to the EU in May 2004 resulted in the economic isolation of the TRNC. The TRNC was supported almost exclusively by Turkey, but as Turkey was itself seeking membership of the EU, traditional Turkish opposition to the reunification of Cyprus was lessening. . In a statement following talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara (the capital of Turkey) in January 2004, president of the European Commission (EC) Romano Prodi told the Turkish government that a solution to the division of Cyprus would be beneficial to Turkey's EU accession bid.
Reaction and Outlook
Upon his election to the position of president of the Republic of Cyprus, Khristofias had vowed that "the solution of the Cyprus problem will be the top priority of my government." Khristofias also indicated that he favoured closing down the UK's military bases on the island.
On July 29 the Famagusta Gazette reported Downer as saying that "developments over the past months have fostered a genuine sense that prospects have perhaps never been better to achieve a comprehensive settlement, favourable to all Cypriots". Downer had indicated that the Sept. 3 talks could potentially be one of the greatest opportunities for a reunification agreement to be reached, and that "the Secretary General himself is delighted with the leaders' announcement of the 25th of July to begin fully-fledged negotiations".
However, commentators speculated that hopes of a resolution could be derailed by agreeing on a timetable for pulling out 30,000 Turkish soldiers from Northern Cyprus. Other issues which could disrupt the reunification talks included agreement on how many Turkish settlers could remain on the island, and how property claims would be resolved. The Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman reported that on July 20, during a visit to the TRNC, Erdogan asserted that "no one should expect the Turkish Cypriot people to give up on equal status and agree to live as a minority. No one should drift into empty dreams and try to change these basic parameters".
Historical Context
The geographical position of Cyprus between Europe, Asia, and Africa resulted in the island being conquered and reconquered by various countries during its history. The Greek history of Cyprus dated back to 1400 BC when Greek settlers first landed on the island. Cyprus became part of the Roman Empire in 58 BC, briefly came under the rule of Cleopatra VII of Egypt, before returning to Roman rule after the Battle of Actium in 31BC.
Cyprus later became the first area of Rome to be governed by a Christian when the apostle Paul reportedly converted the Roman proconsul to Christianity. Following periods under Byzantine and French rule, Cyprus was ceded to the Venetians in 1489. In 1570, 60,000 Ottoman troops laid siege to Nicosia (the modern capital) and captured the island, which remained under Turkish control for the next three centuries, until the UK took over the government of Cyprus as a protectorate in 1878. At the beginning of World War I Cyprus was annexed by the UK and the island became a Crown Colony in 1925.
The island became the Republic of Cyprus on Aug. 16, 1960, but independence was a reluctant compromise between the Greek and Turkish communities. The Turkish Cypriot community wanted the island to remain under UK governance. Greek Cypriots, especially Archbishop Makarios III--the Archbishop of the Cypriot Orthodox Church, first president of the Republic of Cyprus, de facto leader of the Greek Cypriot community--had moved towards "enosis", union with Greece, as opposed to independence. Independence became the alternative to governance from Greece or the UK; however, the Turkish Cypriot community also favoured the partition of the island so that the Turkish regions of Cyprus could achieve union with Turkey.
The three treaties of Guarantee, Alliance, and Establishment became effective when the island gained independence. The treaties were supposed to ensure that the needs of the Greek and Turkish communities were met, but hostilities continued between the two groups. The Greek community resented the large number of Turkish Cypriots who had gained governmental posts and were therefore able to veto legislation. Unrest began to increase in both communities, and both The Greek Cypriot National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA) and Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT) rearmed.
In 1963, Makarios proposed the abolition of all existing municipal administrations, and for them to be replaced with Government-appointed administrative bodies. However, Makarios's proposed solution resulted in an increase in violence and by March 1964, the UN appointed Sakari Tuomioja as mediator for Cyprus, and approved the formation of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNICYP).
In January 1974, in response to a Greek-backed coup attempting to unify Cyprus with Greece, Turkish troops invaded the northern coast of Cyprus. Over 30,000 troops landed during the two day invasion, occupying Northern Cyprus. The region declared itself to be the Turkish Cypriot Federated State in February 1975, and eventually became the TRNC in November 1983, with Denktash being appointed president.
