In Cyprus, which has been
divided since 1974 as a result of the occupation of the northern part of the
island by Turkey, a new set of the intercommunal negotiations have been going
on since mid-May 2015 between President Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader
Akıncı, in order to reunite the island under a federal umbrella, but there are
some uncertainties, which draw attention as follows:
1. The two sides have
agreed that the constituent federal states shall have the right to enter into
agreements with foreign governments and international organizations on matters
falling within their jurisdiction. These areas cover culture (including arts,
education and sports), tourism and economic investment (including financial
support).
According to the
information given to the Turkish Cypriot press, the constituent states may only
want the Federal Foreign Office to be in operation, if they need it! But the
Greek Cypriot side said the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not need
to ratify, as the agreements will involve the entire state in a cooperative
effort with the constituent state.
Since the education is
left to the powers of the constituent states, it is a matter of debate how
federal state citizens will be educated in a federalist and unifying manner,
whereas the nationalistic prejudices have been strong for many years. This
issue is important in the context of the dependencies of the Turkish Cypriot
statelet on Turkey in all aspects since 1974.
2. The Turkish Cypriot
side has accepted in the past that the proportion of the territory of the
constituent federal state in the north could fall from today’s 36% to 29% +.
The Greek Cypriot side has prepared two maps, which envisage that 28.5% of the
territory will be left to the Turkish Cypriot side, but the talks on territory have
not yet ended.
The Greek Cypriot side
suggested that if the establishment of cantons in the areas of Karpasia and
Maronite villages were accepted, Morfou could also be a special administrative
area for the central government.
The Turkish Cypriot does
not accept the creation of special territories, mass population migrations and the
reduction of the coastline. (According to official data of the Central Command
of the British Sovereign Base Areas, 316.19 km of the coastline of Cyprus is
controlled today by Southern Cyprus and 420.55 km by Northern Cyprus.)
Moreover, it insists that the borderline between the two constituent states
must be flat!
3. According to the
agreement reached on the population, there will be 800,000 Greek Cypriots in
the south and 220,000 Turkish Cypriots in the north. However, the Turkish side
wants to add 30,000 Turkish Cypriots living abroad to this 220,000.
An interesting point is that
Mr. Anastasiadis, in response to the question put by the Chairman of the
Citizens’ Alliance, Georgos Lillikas, about the source of the number of
accepted 220,000 Turkish Cypriot citizens, answered that the number of Greek
Cypriots registered in the Statistical Office of the Republic of Cyprus was
deliberately increased from 667,000 (2011 Census) to 800,000 in order to provide
legitimacy to the 100,000, who are Turkish citizens!
According to the latest
official census, conducted in 2011 in the occupied territory, the number of
permanent residents is 286,257. The number of those born in Cyprus (“TRNC” and
Southern Cyprus) was 160,207 (56.0%) and 104,641 (36.6%) were born in Turkey.
As it is known, after 1974, Turkey moved population to the occupied territory
in order to change the demographic structure of the island and this is contrary
to the 1949 Geneva Convention. It is a fact that these settlers, who were
granted citizenship of the “TRNC”, also voted for the Annan Plan, but this does
not mean that they are legally located in the island.
On the other hand,
President Anastasiades said that the number of Turkish Cypriots registered as
Cypriot or have a passport or ID card is 117,544 and that there are at least
12,500 Turkish Cypriots, who did not apply or did not sign up, and thus the
number of Turkish Cypriots reached 130,000.
Anastasiades said that
the total number of Turkish nationals, formed by mixed marriages and their born
children, did not exceed 90,000, but later he said that this figure was “a wrong
number spelled out” and led to reactions. Anastasiades told that about 40,000
Turkish settlers will stay in the island and that this figure is much less than
the Greek Cypriots had accepted in the past.
,In addition, Anastasiades
noted that 25,000 Turkish Cypriots living in the United Kingdom have not applied
to the Republic of Cyprus and that the number of Turkish Cypriots, included in
the figure of 220,000, has increased to 155,000. It was estimated that the
total number of mixed marriages and their children was 25,000 this time, making
a total of 180,000 Turkish Cypriot population. Thus, he reduced the number of
Turkish settlers, who would gain legitimacy, to 40,000.
Akıncı stated that the
number of Turkish Cypriot citizens is taken as 220,000 persons, instead of
286,257 as mentioned above and he explained that all the “TRNC” citizens will
be citizens of the new federal state and the EU in the future without
difference of origin. Underlining that the work permits of the non-citizens
will be renewed and they will continue to work, Akıncı emphasized that the work-force
required by the economy will continue to be in Cyprus. He stated that the wish
of the Turkish Cypriots is that the needed workforce should remain in the
island.
The New Birth Party,
formed by the settlers from Turkey, directed the following questions to Akıncı:
"Anastasiades said 90,000 people will stay. Who are meant by the words,
those who originate from Turkey? How are they determined? What is the status of
the spouses in mixed marriages and what will happen to the children born in “TRNC”?
According to the Greek
Cypriot press reports, it is estimated that between 90 and 120 thousand citizens
of the Republic of Turkey will remain in the island. If it is the case, the
Turkish Cypriots will be a minority in their own constituent state. In order to
find out the real composition of the population, it is necessary to have a census,
monitored by UN or another reliable organization.
This issue is important also
for the EU. Because, if the composition of the population in the northern federal
state is dominated by the settlers of Turkish descent, the impact of Turkey,
which is not a member of the EU, may be decisive in Cyprus's foreign policy
issues and this will cause dispute within the EU. Already, many bureaucrats in
Brussels have asked "Will Erdogan step on to the territory of the EU
through Cyprus? Will Cyprus be Erdogan's Trojan Horse?" Moreover, Turkey has
demanded that four freedoms should be valid for its citizens in Cyprus that will
remain to be a EU country after the solution.
4. The number of Greek
Cypriots, who will live in the federal state in the north, has been constrained
in terms of four freedoms and the ethnic cleansing after the 1974 war has also
become permanent. The Turkish Cypriot side explained that there is difference
between the legal domicile and the right of abode, which has no political or
other right. Moreover, for any person, who would apply for "internal
citizenship", s/he should be able to know and to use the native language
in the North perfectly. Apart from the right to stay, for example, there will
be no political right to vote. "Domestic citizenship", i.e. legal
residence will be entitled maximum up to 20% of the population of the Turkish Cypriot
constituent state. It is thought that thus, the majority of the Turkish Cypriot
population in its own state will not be threatened in any way.
MORE DISPUTES
There are 183 topics,
which have not yet been agreed upon, as reflected in the minutes of the
negotiations. Among these are some of the demands of the Turkish Cypriot side:
1. Although there has
already been a rapprochement in the idea of a “single ticket” for the election
of the President and the Vice-President, the Turkish Cypriot side has clearly
indicated during the process of negotiating the subject of “Governance” that
"Cross voting" is a package with the subjects of “Rotating Presidency”
and the choice of the ministers to be preferred by both communities. Thus a cleavage
was formed.
2. The Turkish Cypriot
side believes that the subject of Primary Law is not yet closed. However, Peter
van Nuffel, EU Commissioner in Charge of the Negotiations, said that the Final
Agreement must be approved in the national parliaments of the EU member countries,
which is a very difficult argument.
3. The Turkish Cypriot
side insisted on the FIR for having two separate air traffic control centres.
The Greek Cypriot side did not discuss this and suggested that there should be
two control towers for approaching 20 km to the airport.
4. It was agreed that the
casinos would be under federal juristiction. However, according to the
convergence reached, the operating conditions and rules will not be applied to
the existing casino facilities in the occupied area.
5. The Turkish Cypriot
side has not yet provided the required data for organizations such as the IMF
and the World Bank that are examining the economic aspect of the solution.
FINAL UNDERTAKINGS
After the political
agreement is reached there are technical issues that need to be discussed and
resolved. Some of them are: The writing of the constitutions of the constituent
states and the federal state, which should be in harmony with each other, the
list of international agreements, the federal laws and even the detailed
writing of the coordinates of the territory. Besides the ones mentioned above,
it has been reported that the UN provided a list of 103 items, including flag,
anthem, civil servants, demining, etc., which should be realized before the
agreement. Of course, once the internal aspects of the Cyprus dispute are
resolved in this way, securing the newly established order, if necessary, by
the UN or the EU, will be discussed at an international meeting.
(Published in "In Depth", Bimonthly
Electronic Newsletter, Special Issue: The Cyprus Problem, Volume 14, Issue 1-
February 2017, © 2016 Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs • University of Nicosia)
