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Europe cannot cope with Cyprus crisis

By Ferai Týnç published in Hürriyet on 5 November 2006.

“TUOMIOJA. Youngsters are bewildered to hear me pronounce his name. I am familiar with this name for long. His father had also been involved in this matter but he had a heartattack after he had one and a half hours long meetining with the Greek Cypriots.”

Mehmet Ali Talat expressed during a conversation in Istanbul before he went to meet the Finish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, in Brussels.

The Cyprus problem has become such an endless story. Excuse me, it is not correct to call it “an endless story”.

An endless intrigue, the same all story that we have heard from our grandfathers that we shall transfer to our grandchildren only with anecdotes of different years.

I have revised yesterday the memoirs of retired American diplomat who served as a mediator in Cyprus. Undersecretary of State during Lyndon Johnson’s government, George Ball who expressed the following as one of the incidents he “cannot forget”.

“... A massacre took place in Limassol on the south coast in which, I recall, about fifty Turkish Cypriots were killed in some cases by bulldozers crushing their flimsy houses. As Makarios and I walked out of the meeting together on the second day, I said to him sharply that such beastly actions had to stop, that the previous night's affair was intolerable, and that he must halt the violence. With amused tolerance, he replied, "But, Mr. Secretary, the Greeks and Turks have lived together for two thousand years on this island and there have always been occasional incidents; we are quite used to this."

In his book “The Past Has Another Pattern” which was published in 1982, Ball noted his memory which took place in 1964, expressing how furious he had been for Makarios whom he said “this is not the Middle Ages but the latter part of the twentieth century. The world's not going to stand idly by and let you turn this beautiful little island into your private abattoir."

My objective in reminding this story is for stressing that, it is impossible to save the two thousand years old affair of the Greek and Turkish peoples in Cyprus from the poisonous helical of habits with solution proposals which would disregard the realities of the past.

***

SON Tuomioja’s initiative has also been left pending in the air. The search for reconciliation has entered into impasse before the progress report. Fingers have been directed towards Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots again.

I have left aside the Galli Point of Ideas, Glion, Geneva, Troughtbeck, New York, the Burgenstock meetings, the negotiations for the Annan Plan. A line has also been drawn over the “yes” decision for the Annan Plan that, Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots had been barely made to accept two years ago.

The Greek Cypriot administration has reverted to the old method and declared Turkey as the party that do not seek a solution in the Island. Everybody seems to be ready to accept this.

Their tactic is clear. What bothers me is their success in drawing support from the world public opinion. And thus, Turkey’s failure in this subject matter.

Is it merely because the Greek Cypriots are now a member of the European Union that makes Turkey’s efforts of explaining herself not to be more than a  mutter.

***

FINLAND had orally submitted the proposal package he prepared in order to make Turkey open its ports to the Greek Cypriots until the summit in December. Before the content of the package was discussed, the problem of status has evoked. Both Papadopoulos and Lillikas said; “Our collocutor is Turkey, Talat has no authority. If he wants he may join Turkey’s team.”    

Now I have a question. Can’t Turkey open her ports to the Greek Cypriot ships? I think she can. But, it will not solve the problem.

The problem which is considered to have been solved by the Greek Cypriots after their  EU membership, has been continuing. What if two thousand years old habits reappear?

Therefore, Europe has to understand Turkey’s insistence. Her insistence is the only effective warning in order to prevent the Cyprus problem be forgotten. To attain a viable solution that would be accepted by both sides, this would strengthen the European Union at most.

Especially during such a depressive period when she cannot overcome her crisis. Because each crisis in Cyprus means a crisis in the European Union and Europe cannot cope with this.