PARTITION INCONTESTABLE FUTURE OF CYPRUS |
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Prof. Dr. Ata ATUN |
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The misapplication of harsh politics towards the Turkish Cypriots by Greek Cypriot administration leader Tassos Papadopoulos is exacerbating the partition of the island.
If he is re-elected as the so-called president of the Republic of Cyprus again in the February 2008 presidential election, all hopes of unification for the island will sink with no hope of surfacing ever again.
If Mr. Papadopoulos insists on enforcing his mid-20th century chauvinist politics during his second presidential period from 2008 to 2013, as he did in the first period, separation in the island will defi-nitely become inevitable.
This time there will be no hints of an Annan plan, EU appanage or ample means for Turkish Cypriots to seek a United Cyprus.
Now in the north almost 75 percent of the Turkish Cypriots sup-port the idea of separation and are sympathetic towards the existence of two states, rather than a single unitary Cyprus government, for which they voted “yes” with a 65 percent majority only three years ago.
During these three years, Mr. Papadopoulos, with his dark-ages politics, managed to melt down the majority of this “yes” vote to a figure as low as 18 percent, according to the most recent public poll.
Hopes for unification are gone with the wind.
Greece pushed hard against Turkey after Greek accession to the EU on Jan. 1, 1981 and relied on the EU to solve her disputes. Member states soon realized this dirty trick and blocked the Greek efforts.
After May 1, 2004 it was the Greek Cypriot government that staged this dirty trick all over again.
It did not help to solve any problems; on the contrary, it contri-buted much to worsen the relations with Turkey and Turkish Cypriots.
The Greek Cypriot leadership is keen to spread its sovereignty to the territories now administered by Turkish Cypriots, to root out the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (KKTC) and assimilate the Turks of the island by way of osmosis.
Of course their plan was to periodically place obstacles before Turkey on the road to EU accession and benefit from the compromises.
The other expectation was the cowing of the Turkish Cypriots by the unjust political, economic, cultural, social, sporting and trade em-bargoes implied on them by the infamous UN resolutions 541 (1983) and 37/253.
The Russian Federation unfortunately pressed very hard on the UN the Security Council to block the efforts of the secretary-general to invalidate the above-mentioned resolutions in the wake of the 65 per-cent “yes” vote by Turkish Cypriots in the Annan plan — named after former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan — referendum on April 24, 2004.
These prospects for motherland Greece and Greek Cypriots are all over. The stance of the Turkish people toward the EU and accession has changed a lot and been turned upside down. Support for EU ac-cession among the Turkish people has hit rock bottom. They are no longer as sympathetic toward accession as they were before.
And on top of these changes in Turkey, French President Nicholas Sarkozy, with his persistent opposition to Turkey’s accession to the EU as a full member, demolished the remainder of the last hopes.
Anyway, this foul play and the expectations of Mr. Papadopoulos and the leadership of the Greek government was only a soap opera, with no possibility of realization.
Turkey will not retreat from Cyprus, nor will the Turkish Cypriots kneel.
This policy of Mr. Papadopoulos will only give a hard push, more than ever, to the separation of the two peoples on the island.
2013 will probably be the beginning of a new era in Cyprus, with two recognized states as the best choice for the Turkish and Greek peoples for a peaceful, sustainable and stable solution on the island.
