Ankara: Time for EU to stick to its responsibilities in Cyprus without excuses

Nonetheless, both Ankara and some analysts argue that the possible negative impact of Eroğlu’s discourse has been exaggerated, while key factors leading to the defeat of former KKTC President Mehmet Ali Talat, one of which is the EU’s failure to fulfill its promises to Turkish Cypriots, have been ignored.

Brussels was the venue on Wednesday for the first meeting between a high-level EU official and a Turkish official to take place following Eroğlu’s election. The issue was the main topic on the agenda of talks between the EU’s Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.

At a press conference in Brussels following his talks with Füle, Davutoğlu was reminded of the aforementioned comments by the international media concerning the KKTC election. Instead of commenting on comments, Davutoğlu underlined how the international community, most particularly the EU, failed to keep any of its promises given to the Turkish Cypriot people back in 2004 and that this failure led to deep disappointment among the Turkish Cypriot people.

“We want and expect the commitments made by the EU for removing the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot people to be realized,” Davutoğlu added, while stressing that this demand, which has also been voiced by Turkish Cypriot leaders, was “a fair demand.” Cyprus joined the EU as a divided island after Greek Cypriots in the south rejected a UN reunification plan in twin referendums held in 2004, even though the Turkish Cypriots in the north overwhelmingly supported it.

Turkey, which does not recognize the Greek Cypriot administration, has called on the EU to fulfill its commitment to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots as a condition for opening its ports and airports to traffic from Greek Cyprus. The EU unveiled a plan to ease the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots by establishing direct trade with the KKTC after they voted for the UN plan to reunite the island, but it was never implemented because of opposition from some members and Greek Cyprus, which joined the EU a few days after the Greek Cypriots rejected the same UN plan in April 2004 in the simultaneous referendum.

During his meeting with Füle, he once more confirmed Eroğlu’s commitment to the negotiation process, Davutoğlu explained. “Both during campaigning and after the election, Eroğlu has stated that he will continue negotiations. Such discourse by Eroğlu is actually spoiling the game of the Greek Cypriot side. We are giving positive messages, and you should also do so,” diplomatic sources quoted Davutoğlu as telling Füle.

“We are concerned that the Greek Cypriot side will try to exploit the election result. If they do, they will lose. The EU should not be trapped into the Greek Cypriot side’s tactical moves,” Davutoğlu also told Füle, the same diplomatic sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Sunday’s Zaman.

The Turkish side has often reiterated that there is a serious disparity in negotiations because Turkish Cypriots are isolated in every sphere and are unable to even play an international football match, while Greek Cypriots comfortably enjoy international recognition and EU membership. In addition, Turkey’s entry into the EU partly hinges on a peace deal in Cyprus, whose Greek Cypriot population represents the island in the EU.

Disappointment and dissatisfaction

The KKTC’s disappointment expressed by Davutoğlu was best reflected in the results of a Eurobarometer survey -- a series of surveys regularly performed on behalf of the European Commission since 1973 -- made public in February.

The survey suggested that 50 percent of Turkish Cypriots were satisfied with their lives, compared to an average of 78 percent in all EU countries. Fifty-one percent of Turkish Cypriots viewed the most important issues they are facing as the economic situation, with 46 percent viewing unemployment as the most important issue, while the Cyprus problem continued to lose importance among Turkish Cypriots, ranked as the most important issue by only 22 percent of respondents.

Earlier, the Autumn 2009 Eurobarometer revealed that the level of life satisfaction among Turkish Cypriots is related to hopes of finding a solution to the Cyprus problem.

“The EU should correctly read the results of the election,” Fevzi Tanpınar, the president of the Foreign Press Union in the KKTC, told Sunday’s Zaman. “As a matter of fact, the latest election results have been a reaffirmation of the disappointment among the Turkish Cypriot people, which was already reflected in the results of the parliamentary election results last year,” Tanpınar added.

He was referring to the KKTC parliamentary elections held on April 19, 2009, just around one year ago. The Republican Turks Party (CTP), Talat’s former party, lost the elections to Eroğlu’s National Unity Party (UBP), which favors a two-state solution to the Cyprus issue.

“It was the first signal since a party whose former leader -- sitting at the negotiating table -- lost it,” Tanpınar, who is known to be sympathetic to Eroğlu’s policies, said.

The disappointment was not only related to the failed promises by the EU but was also strongly related to dissatisfaction over the content and the results thus far of the negotiation process, Tanpınar said, describing with an idiom how the Turkish Cypriot people perceived the current picture regarding the negotiation process: “The mountain gave birth to a mouse.”

A model of balance?

Hugh Pope, the Turkey/Cyprus project director at the International Crisis Group, is of the conviction that there is too much obsession and focus on the issue of what is in compliance with UN parameters in regards to assessing the results of the KKTC elections, while he noted that the definition of parameters is a flexible issue.

“Sometimes, two sides call the same thing with different names and sometimes they call the different things with the same name. As long as Eroğlu is not talking about an independent state, there is no real problem,” Pope told Sunday’s Zaman, when reminded of commentaries arguing that Eroğlu’s opposition to the principle of single sovereignty is equal to opposing UN parameters, which are the grounds for negotiations.

“The key thing is the Turkish position, and the Turkish position has been the same since 2003, which is willingness for solution. So far it has been the Greek Cypriots who appeared uncertain over whether they want a deal or not, and this is the biggest problem,” Pope said.

“It is too early to prejudge Eroğlu’s performance. He already said he will continue talks, and that’s what matters,” Pope added.

While underlining that the principle of single sovereignty has never become a part of the UN parameters regarding Cyprus, Mehmet Hasgüler, an associate professor at Çanakkale 18 Mart University, has another perspective on election results, saying Eroğlu’s presence at the negotiating table can be more advantageous than the previous situation at the table.

“Everybody has described Talat and Christofias as ‘pro-settlement’ from the beginning, forgetting; however, that the latter has actually acted as a ‘Mr.No’,” Hasgüler said, referring to the fact that while Talat’s CTP supported the Annan plan at the time, the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL), then led by Christofias, said “no” to the Annan plan.

“Eroğlu had also said ‘no’ to the plan; thus now we have two sides who had both objected to the same plan. Maybe this can offer a model of balance at the table. Moreover, Eroğlu’s presence at the negotiating table will be positive for healing nationalist concerns both in the KKTC and in Turkey. A resolution which would be embraced by Eroğlu is likely to have no problem of ‘national legitimacy’,” Hasgüler, also an expert on Cyprus and the EU at the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (USAK), said.