Agenda Magazine

The taxi meanders through the heat towards Ledra Street, the check point between the south and the north of Nicosia, as it is known by the world. It is the only divided capital of Europe and is called Lefkosia by the Greek Cypriots and Lefkoşa by the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey.

Cyprus's situation is an obstacle for the EU's attempt at harmony and tolerance among nations and cultures. Although, de jure, the whole island is a member of the EU, de facto, the official government has power only in the southern part (on 59% of the territory), while the northern part (37% of the land) is under the authority of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), self-proclaimed 26 years ago and recognised only by Turkey. The remaining 4% of the land is partly controlled by the UN, in the buffer zone known as the Green Line, and partly by Britain, which still has two military bases on the island.

Following its independence from Britain in 1960, the Mediterranean island was the arena of civil unrest and bloody fights between the largest ethnic groups, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. Scores of civilians on both sides were displaced, wounded or dead, culminating in 1974 with the actual division.

TRNC is facing international isolation, slow development and economic growth, while mistrust and tensions still run high between the populations in the North and the South. Negotiations to find a suitable solution seem to go on forever, with the populations tired of them and with little hope of finding a solution that satisfies both sides.

Greece and Turkey, who were given the status of guarantors of their ethnic groups after the independence of Cyprus, continue their respective support, adding to the turmoil of the island, a victim of its geostrategic location. Still, since the last governmental elections in Greece, on October 4th, both Greece and Turkey took steps to accelerate finding a solution to Cyprus and enhance cooperation. Although partners in NATO, Greece and Turkey have had a difficult relationship, but their actual leaders vow to leave that behind and possibly help Turkey's accession to the EU.

Symbolic reunification

As we travel through the dusty streets, the taxi driver, a man in his late-60s, remembers the times when Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots were living side-by-side, there were tensions but also friendships. His voice shakes with emotion when he recalls visiting his old neighbours from before the 1974 split and his escape from the area now inhabited by Turkish Cypriots. The two sides were practically without contact for almost 30 years, until 2003, when a couple of crossing points were opened.

In 2008, a panel of the wall separating the two sides was taken down on Ledra Street, once a bustling shopping area in the middle of the capital. In a step considered historical in the will of the two sides to reach a peaceful solution, a new crossing point was made there, symbolically reuniting the capital. "We were very happy to find and to recognise each other," relates the driver, with tears in his eyes.

With presidential elections approaching in the North in April 2010 and in 2013 in the South, both leaders are under pressure to fulfil expectations or lose credibility and even make a possible settlement harder to reach if the elections replace them with people less receptive to talks.

Back on July 20th 2009, only a few hundred people braved the heat to attend the celebrations of the Peace and Freedom Day, a day remembering Turkey's military operations on the island to protect the Turkish Cypriots - the spectacular show had parachutists dropping smoothly from the sky, an army parade and the skilled air force acrobatic team followed in the afternoon, this time under the eyes of thousands.

Journalists who were invited just like me to follow the development of the situation North of the Green Line told me that North Cypriots are grateful to Turkey for helping them back in the 1970s but they would now like to have their own independence and stop feeling they owe Turkey. Many would like the Turkish army to go away and that they could develop normal relations with Greek Cypriots.

The highest authority of TRNC, Mehmet Ali Talat, has been pressing for more support from the EU to break the deadlock in which the island has been caught for over 35 years now. Talat's main function is that of negotiator, although he is not recognized as president in the international arena, since TRNC was declared an illegal separatist entity over 20 years ago by the UN; he is, admittedly, the representative of Turkish Cypriots. Since 2008, when Cypriot President Demetris Christofias was elected, he declared his intention to open a dialogue and renewed hopes only to find them fade again as no solution has yet emerged.

Mehmet Ali Talat has to face voices who suspect that he is not making enough of an effort and is accused of being too complacent to Turkish authorities, and actually has no interest in finding a solution because his own posting will then become meaningless and he will lose it. He is constantly compared with former ruler Rauf Denktas, a living legend in the North, who still attracts crowds that gather around him at every public appearance. Turkish Cypriots still feel bitter today, considering that Greek Cypriots were "rewarded with EU membership" as people put it, for refusing in a referendum an (imperfect) peace plan while they were left to cope alone with international isolation and what they feel as hostility from the Greek Cypriot authorities.

Authorities of the Cyprus Republic feel they would have long found a solution if it hadn't been for Turkey's army on the island and its policy towards the Northern side of Cyprus. In order to keep attention focused on what it considers being the occupation of its territory by the Turkish army, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Cyprus gives a rather scary warning: "Travelers entering the Republic of Cyprus via the illegal/closed airports and ports (i.e. all the airports and ports in the occupied areas), may still face the consequences of the Laws of the Republic. Therefore, you are urged to travel via the recognized ports of entry, so as to avoid any possible problems (provided that a visa has been granted to you)." It adds that no assistance can be provided by authorities in the occupied area.

Polarizing attention

It is true that officials from Cyprus have no influence in the North, in the case that some assistance is required from them in that area, but it is also true that people in the North are very friendly, as they are not overwhelmed with tourists, plus infrastructure is good, the landscape unspoiled, food sophisticated and fresh, and there are plenty of activities to do. One can hardly notice the Islamic faith - people dress as anywhere else in Europe and there are very few mosques, which do not call people to prayer.

More and more people are discovering the beauty of this part of the island, with the majority being British or from the Middle East, and some Europeans participate in day trips offered by some tour operators in the South. On weekends Turkish soldiers - one of the main areas of dispute for Greek Cypriot officials - can be seen spending their free evening in towns. However, if you expect to see tanks, check points or armed patrols you will be disappointed, since none of that exists.

"I am from Lebanon, and I used to come to Cyprus for many years," begins a retired university professor and my first acquaintance in Cyprus. "I have a house in the Southern part, but six years ago my son took me to the North and since then I always come here. I fly to Nicosia, then cross the border by car and stay here. There are less people, life is cheaper and I find everything I need," he concludes before heading off to swim in the clear waters under a cloudless blue sky.

There are hardly any Greek Cypriots living in the North, as there are hardly any Turkish Cypriots in the South, but there are several other minorities living on both sides, adding to the political dispute, since both sides suspect the other of lax rules regarding foreigners settling in order to change the demographics and gain an upper hand in negotiations.

Illegal immigration that transits through the North to enter the EU is another big issue putting a strain on Cyprus. Equally, there are tensions between Turks and Turkish Cypriots as some Turkish Cypriots feel that Turks are getting the better share - often they are business owners or get the highest paid positions. In the same vein, there are also Greek Cypriots who would prefer to demarcate themselves from Greece and stand up with their own identity.

On the other hand, on the Greek Cypriot side some foreigners feel like second-class citizens, doing the mean work, such as caring for people in nursing houses, being shop assistants or cleaning. With the situation between North and South catching all the attention, the risk of social tensions on each side can go unaddressed, setting the path for even further troubles.

All eyes are on the negotiation process, although it seems like a "loss of time and coffee" to outside journalists and analysts but there is a strong desire to reach an agreement. What kind of solution do people see? One man summed up the position I mostly heard north of the Green Line: "We are Cypriots, we are islanders, we are different from Turks, so we do not belong to Turkey, but we also do not trust the power in Cyprus; they once tried to kill us, so how can we trust they won't start again? Each of us on our own side of the island as one federal state or, if that's not possible, then as two different states - this is the best solution. To be permitted to visit each other, to cooperate with each other, but to live separately."

Old-fashioned solutions

We leave our taxi driver and walk towards the check point on Ledra Street that now cuts the once prosperous commercial street in half with its tall walls and blind windows. At the Greek check point my colleague from Macedonia is invited by the custom officer to return to the North as he does not hold an EU passport and he entered the island through a non-official point - Ergan Airport, located on the North side - otherwise he might be charged with illegal attempt of entering an EU country.

In the small tavern, where we have lunch, the difference in atmosphere with the North is mostly noticeable only in the language spoken - Greek, instead of Turkish - and in the fact that we can pay in euros. We are served by a young Bangladeshi man; half of the people we met during our few hours stay were foreigners from Bulgaria, Romania, China and the Philippines, each of whom came to work here in recent years.

A Greek man in his sixties smiles as he sits at the table next to us and begins reading his newspaper. He is friendly and agrees to share his memories and vision for the future: "My father was the muhtar (chief) of the village for our community. I remember the Turkish Cypriot muhtar wanted to have me as a son-in-law. I would have agreed, but my father refused because of the religion. Now, what solution I see for the future? I believe the majority should decide for the minority, and we, Greek Cypriots, are the majority," he adds sheepishly, probably aware of the old-fashioned solution he was advancing.

However, all the other answers we gathered opted for separate states, mentioning the same distrust in what can be expected from the other side of the Green Line. The presence of the Turkish army on the ground is no help, as its presence casts a shadow of fear regarding a potential invasion of the South. It seems 'distrust' is the word I would hear most often in both North and South.

There is no interest in creating the reunification of the country. "Turkish Cypriots are too different from us in their traditions, their way of being, but it would be nice to visit each other and live in different states," says Maria, a shopkeeper who was five when the Turkish army started operations in TRNC. Another shop assistant is adamant: "I do not want to have anything to do with people in the North. Let them live there, and us here, just like we do now."

"The two communities do not interact much, and nationalists on both sides do their best for this to continue," explains one of the two young Turkish Cypriot researchers, who regularly cross the border to sip a spiced coffee at Starbucks and experience a different atmosphere. "There is little hope for a solution, as negotiations drag on forever. There seems to be agreement on all little issues, while major issues, such as the right to recover property for people who fled their homes, still creates a roadblock. There are not enough cross border activities where people and businesses can meet and understand each other, contributing to dissipate fear and mistrust."

Breaking down barriers

Recently, EasyJet founder Greek Cypriot Stelios Haji-Ioannou initiated grants of one million euros to joint companies promoting activities across the Green Line: "It's the multiplier effect. If I can encourage these teams to break down the barriers between communities they may change the landscape on the island," he was quoted as saying by Reuters. Indeed, joint actions or mixed marriages are still very rare.

Some Turkish Cypriots say they have been trying hard to break down these barriers without much success. Ozbek Dedekorkut, President of Cyprus Turkish Tourism & Travel Agent Association feels that authorities in the South sabotage all their efforts of peace and cooperation, and supports this by showing papers signed by Cypriot officials: "Our partners abroad, travel agencies, were harassed into stopping their sales to North Cyprus. Authorities of various countries were told they could face consequences if they deal with us. When we try to open our own companies in the South, we encounter a lot of red tape and changing rules, so we cannot do it. The EU money allocated to Cyprus for development hardly ever arrives on our side and usually only for very small projects."

"Therefore, Turkey's major contribution to the budget of TRNC cannot be turned down. This further puts the Turkish Cypriots in a delicate position, feeling they have to also accommodate Turkey at different levels. All communication with the world is done through Turkey, increasing the prices of all products and increasing dependence on Turkey. Even if you want to send a postcard to TRNC you should write a Turkish address, as there is no possible delivery to the Northern part of Cyprus directly," concludes Ozbek.

As an oddity, Turkish Cypriots can also have two sets of papers stemming from their particular situation - passports of Cyprus, meaning EU citizenship, and the ones issued by their own authorities, which are recognized only by Turkey and allow them to travel only in Turkey. All of this also includes dealing with the presence of two British bases on the island - being under British law, they are out of reach for the Cypriot laws, and enjoy an enviable tax free status. Britain already declared it is ready to give away half of the territory it retains on these bases if this can help find a settlement. At least on this very point, the two communities have a united position: the bases would have to go.

One Greek Cypriot who has lived abroad for many years concluded one of our conversations with the following sage approach: "Regardless of historic reasons, whether we like it or not, now we should deal with the actual situation and find a solution that fits with the modern world."

Cyprus property matter
Embassies of Greece and of Cyprus in Helsinki offered the latest update of the final judgment in the well known case of a Greek Cypriot whos property in the Northern part of Cyprus was bought by a British couple. The British Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday January 19, 2010, in a final way against the British couple's rights on the property. For the Cypriot authorities the decision is "a significant development that will discourage further illegal exploitation of Greek Cypriot property in the occupied areas of the Republic, as the illegal exploitation of Greek Cypriot properties in the occupied areas of the Republic is one of the key problems faced by Cyprus" As both ethnic groups fled their homes in 1974 ethnic clashes followed by the intervention of Turkey, the property issues are a major topic in the negotiations. As the majority on the island and therefore owning more properties, Greek Cypriots are more interested that Turkish Cypriots in reaching an agreement in this issue. Repaying rightful owners - on both sides- their dues should be the rule, but without proper legislation the way for unhealthy development seems to be open - for the benefit of tourism and business, but to the disadvantage of the unspoiled nature. More on this case : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolides_v_Orams

Posted by Admin on 2010-02-08