“On the background of negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus problem” by Stefanos Stefanou, member of the Political Bureau of AKEL

 

The Cyprus problem is a result of continuous imperialist interventions in Cyprus aiming to control the island which is situated in the very important from a geostrategic standpoint region of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

The culmination of these interventions was the fascist coup d’état of the Athens junta and the fascist organization EOKA B on 15th July 1974 which violently overthrew the elected President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios III, and the Turkish invasion of the island that subsequently followed five days later. The coup d’état and invasion represent the two parts of the plan that was drawn up in the high ranks of NATO.

Since then, Turkey is illegally occupying approximately 37% of Cypriot territory and despite the fact that since then several rounds of negotiations have taken place between the two Cypriot communities – the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot – the Cyprus problem remains unresolved.

Today we are in a new phase of the intercommunal negotiations. As is usually the case whenever negotiations are ongoing, intense discussions among the political forces have developed domestically as to whether these will lead to results.

AKEL considers that nobody can be certain about the prospects of the Cyprus problem and no one can predict what the outcome of the negotiations will be. The only way to find out is for the negotiations to continue. The true intentions and positions of the parties involved – and first and foremost Turkey – can only be diagnosed at the negotiating table. This is what we say, namely that the criterion of truth is practice itself. AKEL believes that the debates and disputes about the result of the negotiations is in actual fact without substance and is disorientating.

We are urgently pressing for a solution, because the passage of time is to its detriment. Forty-one years after 1974, the given situation and conditions on the ground have become worse and adversely affect the quality of the solution. Of course this for us in AKEL does not lead us logic that would accept any solution regardless of its content – absolutely not. AKEL has always stressed that the solution of the Cyprus problem must have such content so that it serves the interests of Cyprus and its people. It should serve peace and cooperation in the region and not make Cyprus a launching pad for any foreign interventions.

The goal is to achieve a mutually agreed solution between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot side, the Cyprus state should transform into a bi-zonal, bi-communal, federal state with political equality as described in the relevant UN resolutions.

AKEL maintains that the solution should provide for a single state with a single sovereignty, a single citizenship and a single international personality, in which human rights and basic freedoms are respected and implemented for the people as a whole, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

Currently we are in the phase of intensified negotiations with the property issue being the key issue under discussion – without it being the sole discussion. According to the information we have received so far, relative progress has been registered in the negotiation which is mainly due to the reaffirmation of the previous convergences that had been achieved by Christofias and Talat (the leaders of the two communities back then) during the period 2008-2010.

Developments have demonstrated that these convergences on three of the six main chapters of the Cyprus problem (governance and power-sharing, the economy and issues concerning the European Union) are very significant. These convergences should from the very beginning have been reaffirmed by both sides and the negotiations should have continued from the point they were broken off by the Turkish Cypriot side in March 2012.

Unfortunately, the President of the Republic seemingly a captive of his pre-electoral pledges which he generously was dishing out to his circumstantial allies, instead of reaffirming these convergences, preferred wandering in processes and positions that ultimately caused a great delay, but also provoked problems to the Greek Cypriot side’s credibility.

Despite some progress that was recorded in the negotiations, the two basic disagreements on the property issue remain. One disagreement has to do with who has the priority in the option of therapy on the property issue. The Greek Cypriot side upholds the correct position that the priority must belong to the owner, while the Turkish Cypriot side wants the priority to belong to the user. This is an issue that can be resolved with the formation of the criteria for the choice of therapy.

The second disagreement has to do with a guaranteed majority of property ownership and population which the Turkish Cypriot side insists on. The Greek Cypriot side cannot accept this position because it leads to the violation of the European acquis communautaire and of basic freedoms that must operate without hindrance and unobtrusively, as the relevant Christofias – Talat convergence indeed provides for.

To breach the dreadlock, AKEL proposes the utilization of the proposal that had been submitted in the negotiations during the period 2008 – 2010 by the Greek Cypriot side. The proposal provides for such territorial adjustments to be made so as to allow about 90-100,000 refugees to return under Greek Cypriot administration. Even if all the other refugees were to settle in the region under Turkish Cypriot administration, their number will not be enough to overturn the majority of the Turkish Cypriots. According to various measurements of public opinion, the number of refugees declaring a readiness to re-settle in the region under Turkish Cypriot administration does not exceed 20%. Consequently, the majority of the Turkish Cypriots with regards to the population is de facto guaranteed.

If the two sides manage to arrive within range of an agreement on the property issue, they can then proceed to the issues of security and the guarantees, the presence of the occupation troops and the settlers, which Turkey is directly involved and must be held to account. These issues are related to the international aspects of the Cyprus problem which will be agreed at an international representative conference that will be held under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council. Besides the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the guarantor powers, the Republic of Cyprus, the two communities and the European Union will also participate.

However to reach that point a lot of hard work needs to be done. It is for this reason that AKEL insists that all involved parties should focus their attention on the negotiations with the wish and hope that the road towards a solution will open up soon.