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Opening up of  borders- Reactions show which side is prepared for reconciliation and which side is not

By Uli Piller, TRNC Honorary Representative in Munich/ Germany

The TRNC opend its border to the Greek Cypriot side and is blamed for that step. Turkish Cypriots from now on have the chance to go to the Greek Cypriot side and visit people there and also the other way round. It was a wise step taken by the Turkish Cypriot government and President Denktaþ. The Greek Cypriot authorities immediately have reacted in their typical style, but the world and especially the media keep silent. The Greek Cypriot government says: To open the border is not enough, only to give up sovereignty will do. They don’t allow TRNC citizens of Turkis origin who live in Cyprus since almost three decades to pass the checkpoints and they refuse all tourists, because they entered Cyprus through “illegal” ports and airports. And the TRNC is blamed for blocking all negotiations, Denktaþ is wrongly and unfairly blamed for not moving a little step towards the Greek Cypriots. Fact is, since 1963 they have never moved a single step towards the Turkish Cypriots. And they have found their own mouthpiece: The United Nations. That the TRNC did not accept the Annan Plan for Cyprus was evident and also the Greeks did not like that plan – and that is proof enough that this plan would not have worked in Cyprus. Shortly after the negotiations came to an end in The Hague in March, TRNC President Rauf Denktaþ offered his Greek Cypriot counterpart, Tassos Papadopoulos to negotiate further and he also offered concrete points to discuss about. Regarding the decision to open the  border for daily visits part of the President’s confidence building measures, it was only a logical step to prove the Turkish Cypriots’ will to co-exist in Cyprus as peaceful neighbours. The reaction from the Greek part of Cyprus was all but encouraging. They say that they can`t accept the TRNC controlling Greek Cypriot passports, when Greek Cypriots pass the Ledra Palace checkpoint in Nicosia. They say, if they did so it was a recognition of the TRNC and that was Denktaþ’s only aim. Is that the new way the Greek Cypriots are speaking about? Is that their pragmatical solution they are seeking? If yes, Turkish Cypriots should never hesitate and support the government and the president.

When the Greek Cypriot part of Cyprus was accepted as EU member, the Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis came to the island to celebrate ENOSIS as he later said. Greek Cypriots and Greeks now feel united under the roof of the European Union – and they know about the advantages of being two countries speaking with one voice. No good times for Turkey and the TRNC (especially as long as Verheugen is member of the EU Commission). Simitis came to say ENOSIS was done. What does this mean for the TRNC and the Turkish Cypriots? At the moment nothing at all, because the TRNC government and President Denktaþ wisely refused the Annan Plan. But if they had accepted the UN Secretary General’s proposals it would have led to a Greek Cypriot dominated state in Cyprus with some 100 000 Turkish Cypriots to leave their villages, with a government dominated by Greek Cypriots and – most important – with a Greek Cypriot controlled economy. Those Turkish Cypriots longing for a better life at present, forget, how high the price is and how little the profit for the TRNC might be if the Annan Plan were to come true.