Shocking decisions

Autocratic Turkey responded in kind — and parachuted troops onto the island, quickly occupying nearly two-fifths of the country’s territory.

Most Turks are under no illusion that the Cyprus issue was just another delay tactic by the EU establishment to keep Turkey out.

At the time of the Turkish invasion, I was a student at a German university with an active Greek exchange program. To my horror, I watched as many of my Greek friends hurried to sign up for voluntary military service.

Of course, Greek/Turkish animosity went back a long time, but I wondered why they would continue to harbor such hatred towards their neighbor.

Why would my friends fall for the foreign policy diversion of their military dictatorship?

Becoming independent

And why did they not see the injustice done to many Turkish Cypriots by the Greek Cypriot majority government? As it turned out, the Greek military dictatorship soon lost its grip on power, Greece became a democracy, joined the European Union and the division of the island of Cyprus became the status quo.

Nine years later, in 1983, the Turkish enclave declared its independence under the name of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). It was only — and not surprisingly — recognized by Turkey.

The conflict

Given EU recalcitrance, it is time then for the international community to accept that a divided but peacefully coexisting Cyprus is a win-win solution for all.

Since then, ever so often international negotiations haplessly tried to settle the conflict and to reunify the island. The international community, and the European Communities in particular, invested a lot of goodwill into these efforts.

After all, a larger Greek-Turkish conflict had only been avoided in 1974 because both countries were members of NATO. International negotiators assumed that such a common bond would eventually lead to a peaceful resolution of the dispute.

This is one of those cases were well-intentioned people fail to see the futility of their actions. In the meantime, the saga has taken another turn.

Excluding Turkey

Struggling with its own internal divisions over prospective EU membership of Turkey, the European Union turned its policy of good intentions towards unification of Cyprus into something truly peculiar.

The policy has become an ill-intentioned tool to guarantee the exclusion of Turkey from this distinguished club. It happened when the EU agreed at its summit in Helsinki in 1999 that Cypriot membership in the EU would be facilitated by reunification of the island — but not conditioned upon it.

Joining the EU

The UN would be best suited to pursue such a change of course under the leadership of its newly elected Secretary General, who knows a thing or two about division and coexistence.

After a quarter century of the island’s division, the EU knew full well that ultimately such reunification was improbable. Moreover, the fait-accompli of Cypriot membership in the EU would create an insurmountable hurdle for Turkey to join in the foreseeable future.

In a final attempt to solve the Cyprus problem, before the Greek part of the island was to join the EU, the United Nations brokered a unification deal in early 2004. In a plebiscite, two-thirds of the Turkish part of Cyprus backed the UN proposal — while a resounding 76% of the Greek population rejected it.

Without skipping a beat, the European Union approved the application of membership of Greek Cyprus anyway — and the country joined the EU in May 2004.

Big ban, big progress

Most Turks, including the Turkish government, are under no illusion that the Cyprus issue was just another delay tactic by the EU establishment to keep Turkey out.

From human rights to freedom of expression to the rule of law and even right down to the compatibility of legislation with EU directives — not to speak of macroeconomic stabilization — Turkey has made great progress.

A new excuse

In fact, it is no stretch to suggest that — certainly considering their respective starting points — the Turks are further advanced in many of these areas than some of the recent additions to the EU and/or the two countries likely to enter in 2007.

To my horror, I watched as many of my Greek friends hurried to sign up for voluntary military service.

Yet, the territorial dispute — and the predictable refusal by Turkish authorities to allow Cypriot ships to enter Turkish harbors — provide yet another excuse for EU officials to deny the country its long-earned and desired accession.

Given EU recalcitrance, it is time then for the international community to accept what has long been reality. There is no federation or other constitutional concept that will allow Greek and Turkish Cypriots to live within one nation state.

Dividing the cultures

However well-intentioned reunification might be, it is not in the best interest of Turkish Cypriots — and not even in the best interest of Greek Cypriots. Yet, a divided but peacefully coexisting Cyprus is a win-win solution for all.

As an executive at General Electric during the late 1990s, I was approached by the political leadership of the TRNC to consider investments in their territory. I gently reminded them that their status as an unrecognized sovereign nation would likely impede such investments.

Certain visions

However, in a personal capacity I went on to inquire whether they would be willing to trade some of the territory of the TRNC for independence.

This is one of those cases were well-intentioned people fail to see the futility of their actions.

The TRNC covers 37% of the landmass of Cyprus, while its population amounts to roughly 30% of the island’s total. Their response was unambiguously affirmative.

Consequently, international negotiators should give up their idealistic vision of a reunited — but politically and socially divided — Cyprus in exchange for the realistic prospect of an independent TRNC with improving economic potential.

A compromise?

Negotiations should aim at a territorial compromise — rather than at an arranged marriage. The UN would be best suited to pursue such a change of course under the leadership of its newly elected South Korean Secretary General, who knows a thing or two about division and coexistence.