Maria Spassova
Special grreporter.info correspondent in Nicosia
The official visit of the Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis in Cyprus coincides with one of the hardest anniversaries in the history of the split island. Five years ago, on April 24th 2004, the Greek Cypriots rejected the Annan’s plan for settling the Cyprian problem and the Turkish Cypriots approved it. The plan was named after the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and it was the end result of the international community’s efforts to find a balanced solution for the Cyprian problem.
Today, five years later the unification of the island seems to be too far away. “The solution of the Cyprian problem can be found only in the justice, which should overrule the injustice, which has had settled in after the Turkish invasion in 1974,” said the chairman of the Cyprian parliament Marios Karoyan on the parliament session, which was dedicated to the visit of the Greek Prime Minister. It is normal for the Greek Cypriots to seek for justice for the tens of missing people as well as for the lost property of the northern part of the island.
The problem is that this is not the way, which will lead to the needed compromise with the Turkish Cypriots. “We need a working and effective solution, in order to create a federative republic, with a united power, one nationality and united international representation,” said in his speech Kostas Karamanlis in front of the Cyprian parliament. The lesson from the failure of the Annan’s plan is that the compromise might have to come from an outer third party.
This working and effective solution needs to be made on a basis of very well thought of compromise from both sides. This is why the Greek Prime Minister appealed to Ankara to leave the Turkish Cypriots to independently reach a decision on what kind of compromise they are ready to do. He called Turkey’s attitude “arrogant” – on one hand they declare their support for the negotiations between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots and on the other, they pressure for a more obstinacy.
Ankara’s respond was not delayed. The Turkish President Abdullah Gül and the Turkish Prime Minister said: “For us, the only negotiator is Mehmed Ali Talat.” The position of the north Cyprian leader was shaken after the right-wing won the elections in Northern Cyprus last weekend. Rumors started going around that even if not replaced, Mehmed Ali Talat will be accompanied by one more person on the negotiations.
The nationalistic outbursts to the south quickly found its answers to the north. “With his visit in Nicosia, the Greek Prime Minister wants to blame Turkey for the separation of the island,” answered Mehmed Ali Talat’s spokesman Hassan Ertzakidja. He also said that Greece has also contributed for the separation of Cyprus and Karamanlis should know that. Ertzakidja alsoaccused the Greek and Cyprian governments, that they want to connect the acceptance of Turkey into the EU with the negotiations for unifying Cyprus.
There is a change in Cyprus. The direct negotiations between the two presidents of the two communities Dimitris Christofias and Mehmed Ali Talat bring hope. “Ever since the beginning we knew that the negotiations would be hard but we expected a faster progress,” admitted the Cyprian president, who was the initiator of the direct negotiations. People openly agree that a compromise must be made. The hard thing is to decide who, what and how much to compromise.
On the streets of Nicosia, the last separated capital in the world, difference can be seen. Of course, there are still UN’s military patrols but somehow their presence is more discrete and inappropriate. The authorities from both sides agreed to open the border station at the historic street Ledra.
Through this street people can pass relatively easy from one side to the other but they still need a “visa” in order to enter the Turkish part. Of course, the visa is easily issued right away. Turkish Cypriot journalists can easily enter the presidential palace of Dimitris Christofias without needing a special accreditation. It is possible for a new employee to notice them and to ask what they are doing there but very fast a more experienced journalist can be found, who will explain that they have to right to be there and take photos.
The Cyprian parliament still keeps 24 parliament member seats and one deputy chairman seat for the Turkish Cypriots. When they will return, no one knows. In case this happens, this will be the solution of one of the most complicated political cases, which the 20th century left us with.
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