SOME THOUGHTS ON FEDERALISM IN CYPRUS

    Although the adapted Turkish thesis after 1974 for the solution of the Cyprus problem is "federation", unfortunately there has been no detailed scientific study until today by the interested individuals or organizations, e.g. the political parties, about the structure and the function of the proposed "Federal Republic of Cyprus". As far as I can follow, the first article, which evaluated this subject in the Turkish-Cypriot (TC) press was published in the Ortam daily (20-21 December 1984) with the title "The way to unity in Cyprus passes through federation, not confederation" by Ertan Yüksel. Later in three other articles the subject was elaborated under the title of "Federal solution in Cyprus" and the stress was made on some principles which will help the success of a federation in Cyprus.

            The subject "federation" was put on the agenda once more and was discussed during the "Second German Week", organized by the TC-German Cultural Association from 26th Nov to 6th Dec. 1985 and the contributions which gave information to the public were read there. The titles of these contributions were "The history and culture of the federal systems in the Federal Republic of Germany and in the world" by Prof.Vural Ülkü, "Federal Germany and the federal systems in the world" by Oktay Feridun, "Cyprus Conflict and the approach of the both sides to a federal solution" by Zaim Nedjatigil and "Federalist elements in Cyprus between the years 1955 to 1984" by Uwe Berner.

            Again a documentary compilation under the title "The first proposal for federation in Cyprus with the partition in mind as the Turkish view and the concept of federation of the Soviet Union" was serialized in the "Söz" weekly magazine for 6 weeks, starting from 17th January 1986 and the misunderstandings and the facts were stressed there once more.

            Lately, a serial of interviews were published by Sevgül Uludağ in the Yeni Düzen daily on the "Economic aspects of a federal republic (5-10 May 1988) and "Working life in a federal republic" (13-20 June 1988), where the views of some individuals and members of some organizations were reflected to the public opinion. Later the views of Mr.Denktaş's economical adviser, Mr. Ahmet Aker were published on 19-23 August 1981 and the views of some businessmen on 22-27 August 1988.

            There was another serial in the Kibris Postasi newspaper, a chronological review of the GC press on a federal solution (24-28 September 1988) prepared by Ahmet An. Ismet Kotak published a 4-day serial about his impressions from the Prag Meeting of the Cypriot political leaders from 20 to 23 May 1989.

The political parties keep silent on this subject

Until now, if a federal Republic of Cyprus will be established the following questions should have been answered: How will be the functioning of the state structure? How will the citizens of the federal republic feel the federalism in their everyday life? Unfortunately these questions are not dealt with yet by any political party, which at least seems to defend federalism, by the help of an enlightenment and propaganda campaign. It is worthy to think why they have not begun such a campaign. It is not yet clearly stated what kind of political solution is aimed at: Federalism between the states, that is confederation or federalism in one state, that is federation? Everyone comments diffe­rently on federalism, but as long as we are going to establish a federal republic, I don't know why it is not discussed before the public, what federalism is and what it is not. The main reason for this is that both those having the power and those oppositional parties do not work within the principles of the political science and they are satisfied with day-to-day politics. Then, it is left to the people and organizations outside the political parties, who are interested in this subject, to answer the following questions:

Why is the federal structure accepted in Cyprus? How was the his­torical development in this respect? Those, who are in favour and aga­inst this structure should say what are their argumentations? According to the law of constitution, which necessary bodies should be set up in the future FR of Cyprus? How will be the division of the governmental duties between the federal state and its provinces? In which spheres of influence should the central and local governments act together? What is a federal parliament, what are its duties, how does it work? How is the position of the political parties regarding the federal parliament? How influential is this parliament in the political determination processes? Will the policies of the federal and provincial governments be supportive or destructive to each other? Which one will have more say on the money collected from the tax-givers? Which government will have what kind of financial resources, who will be financially independent from whom and at which point?

Sovereignty will be at the central federal government

We can still go on asking more questions. As it is looked upon from the point of view of political science, there is a difference between repeating the stereotyped sentence "our party is for a bi-regional fe­deral state" and finding answers to these questions. Even the most left wing Republican Turkish Party talks about a divided right of sovereignty between the northern and the southern provinces of the FR of Cyprus. This shows what the RTP understands from federation. Thus this party falls into parallel of the official line, which says "federation" and means "confederation". On the contrary, the sovereignty belongs to the central federal government in a federal state and what is shared between the governments of the provinces is the state power.

            Then, there has to be the following article in the constitution of the FR of Cyprus: "The form of the state is republic and the FRC is a union, which consists of two regions. Both provinces, in the North and in the South are the territory of the state of the FRC. Beside the central federal state, there will be two separate administrations, one in the north and one in the south. Both of the federal and the provincial administration will have representative-parliamentary governments and their administrators will be elected directly by the citizens.”

            The idea of “we are responsible from the sea- and air-ports in the north and they, in the south" does not suit to the principle of a federal state. This is true in a confederal structure. But in a federal state, the entering into the country by aeroplane or by ship will be checked up by two uniformed officials. The federal authority will set the passport of the visitor, while the provincial authority will ask if there is something to be declared to the customs office. There has to be both amblems at the entrance, one of the province and one of the federal state.

Federal parliament-provincial parliament

            The most outstanding character of the federal states is that there are two parliaments. One is the federal parliament, where the problems of the whole country are discussed and the decisions are taken. The other one is the provincial parliament, where the local provincial matters are discussed. The political principles of the central federal state are written in the federal constitution. Besides the respect to the human rights, freedom and equality, the respect to the representative democracy, principles of the law and the social state are all put into order in the constitution.

            The bi-regionality of the federation, which will be stated in the constitution of the FRC and the common action in the legislative have to be unchangable articles. Even the 2/3 majority, which will be enough for constitutional amendments at the federal parliament would be able to change this federal structure and organizations.

Bi-regionality does not mean two states.

There should be no tolerance for those, who use the term bi-regionality in the meaning of the two states and who do not understand federalism by creating a confusion of concepts and a conflict. The FRC will be a single state, consisting of a central federal government and the provincial governments. The fixed boundaries of the provinces will not be changed and no province will ask for this later. But some corrections on the boundaries could be made with the consent of the both provinces. Most important of all, it has to be written in the constitution clearly that the union of the whole island or one of the pro­vinces with another country is out of question and that the propaganda for this cannot be made.

            The constitution of the provincial governments will be arranged in a way that they will be independent from the federal constitution, but not contrary to its provisions. The provincial constitutions will be the basis for the legislative, the executive or the judiciary of the province. Every province will have its own parliament and government. There will be a prime minister and ministers of every province with the provincial government and the parliament. Its judiciary organs will take its own political decisions, but this will only cover the sphere of its own provincial legislative authority. It will have a limited financial autonomy and it can put additional taxes and use this money freely. It can make laws, related to its own province and veto the ones made by the federal parliament. But both provinces have to obey some fundamental principles. The provincial laws have to be in harmony with the republican, democratic and social state of law character of the central federal state, the validity of the laws in the provinces will be under the responsibility of the province.

Federal Constitution is above the provincial constitution

What are the principles for the regular function of federalism and the constitutional homogenity? The central government will guarantee the constitutional order in the provinces. The federal constitution is always above the constitution of the provinces and it has more say. For example the provinces cannot make a new law on the family law or on the traffic rules. The federal government can appoint an official for the province, which does not fulfill its responsibilities and the government can give orders to this official. If the freedoms and the democratic order are disturbed in a province, the federal government can send the federal police force to this province and retain the order. How this will be done is regulated by the laws.

No division, but cooperation

It is very important to develop mutual confidence and contacts. Cooperation will be supreme between the provinces, not the division. The protective character of the Federal Supreme Court for the Constitution has a big role in the development of these relations of security The Federal parliament has to approach friendly and constructively to the provinces and vice-versa. The federal constitutional court will be the protector of the federal peace in the country. The disputable subjects between the federal parliament and the provinces will be examined by the federal constitutional court in order to find out which party is right in the case of uncertainty.

            The division of the duties and the responsibilities of the state is another important subject. The state duties have to be taken seriously both by the federal government and the governments of the provinces. These can be summarized as follows: To protect the country from outside, to make laws in order to maintain security inside the country, to show the power of the state everywhere in the country, to fulfill the constitutional responsibilities of the principles of the social state like health, old age and housing matters.

            One of the characteristics of a federal state is that the sovereignty rights of the provinces in their international relations in the fields of foreign policy and military are extremely limited. In other words, according to the international law, the provincial governments do not have their own sovereignty in their contact with other states. Foreign policy and the defense subjects belong to the central federal government. For this reason the provincial governments do not have their ministers for foreign affairs and defense. The provincial parliaments do not deal with these subjects and they do not make laws on them. They cannot discuss the related problems and do not make declarations. As an exception they can make agreements with other states, but these agreements have to get the approval of the federal government. This can be a cultural agreement (for example a TV-broadcast) or an agreement on the sea-cleanliness and this needs the approval of the other province. Or it has to be very careful in not disturbing the interests of the other province. It is natural to have cultural diversity in federalism.  Theatres, museums, libraries and monuments are different. The  radio -TV broadcasts and the press are separate, because of the language difference. But the federal state secretary or a provincial mi­nister can speak to the people or the decisions of the federal or the provincial courts can be read to the people from these media organs. One can establish organizations on federal or provincial basis on the subjects of economy, religion, sport, labour and social relations. There can be political parties, functioning in both of the provinces or in one province only. The provincial groups of a party can come together at the federal parliament and work more influentially. The elections for the federal state organs have to be done throughout the country. When the federal government is formed, there has to be representation of the provinces. It should not be formed only out of one province. The results of the provincial elections may change the structure of the federal or the provincial parliament.

Division of power   

In federalism, the judiciary powers of the state are stated clearly in the constitution as "the ones belonging only to the federal parliament" and "the ones belonging only to the provincial parliament". For example foreign policy, defense, civil defense, citizenship, passport, fiscal and financial subjects, customs and foreign trade, federal roads, air ways, maritime lines, post-telephone-telegraph services belong only to the federal parliament. It can make frame-laws related to the high-schools, hunting, protection of the nature, land distribution and consolidation, residence and identity affairs. Among the subjects, which belong only to the provincial parliament are culture, provincial police force, provincial education and health problems. There can be contradictory laws in the matters of citizen rights, penal law, demonstration and meeting rights, rights of the foreigners to reside, nuclear energy. But different laws should not result with big differences because of different  policies.

The points against federalism

As we have seen above, there are some points against federalism. First of all, the capabilities of the central officials and the pro­vincial ones can be different and the living conditions in several places of the country may not be at the same level. Thus, the principle of social state can be disturbed. The equality of chances, social security, promotion of the individuals and social support may not be the same in both provinces. As a result of this, there can be different outcomes in the economic, social, cultural and political fields. This situation is already deeply felt in the northern region of Cyprus before federalism is set up.

            The federal and the provincial officials have to respect the views of each other when they take political decisions. In case of conflict, a compromise has to be reached. There has to be no suspicion on how the view of the state is. It should not give way for the diminishing of the politicality.

            Federalism is an expensive form of state. It will require a lot of money. Beside the two different provincial governments and parliaments, there is a need of a federal parliament, a federal government and the federal administrative organs. The process of taking political decisions is complicated. The gradually increasing taxes cannot be sufficient for the federal expenses. If the federal policy is very strong, sometimes the provinces can have their own policy in the foreground.

The points in favour of federalism

Beside the above criticized points, there are lots of points, which are in favour of a federal state structure. Especially in the circumstances, when the unity of the people is necessary, federalism is very useful to strengthen the unity of the state. With the democratic participation of the people, democratic values are realized and strengthened and this will be beneficial for the people, whose possibilities have become more. The citizens use their votes twice, once on the provincial level and once on the central federal state level. The provincial participation is being increased more on the federal level and the influence of the citizen will be more. In a modern pluralist party state, the influence of the horizontal power distribution in the executive, legislative and judiciary is very low. But in a federal state, the vertical power distribution strengthens them more. The power of the central and the provincial governments are limited in a certain rate, but they have to work together for the realization of the state duties. Thus, they can influence and control each other and limit their use of power. Through this way, the division of power in a federal state and its limitation will strengthen the state of law.

            Federalism develops the possibilities of bringing the opposition together and promotes the contest of the political parties. Both in the central and in the provinces, the political parties are forced to increase the number of their voters according to their individual and capacity-related characteristics_, in order to strengthen the parliamentary administration. If the federal and the provincial parliaments have different votes of majority, it will be possible to get some oppositional parties in some provinces into the power, while the majority of the government the federal parliament can be forced to be in the opposition in that province.

            There is a need of political leader cadres in a federal state. The practice of democracy in the provincial parliaments and the parliamentarism will be realized better. The provinces are the places, where the capable political forces are existent for the federal posts. It is same for the federal parliament, where distinguished politicians are raised. This circulation of the political cadres guarantees the realization of the state duties and the disappearance of the conflicts. As compared to the unitary system, the federal provinces have the right to exercise new political ideas in their fields. They can warn the federal government or the parliament in certain political matters. This can be in the other way round that the central government warns the provinces. Through this mutual exchange of experience, the social progress can be realized.

            Federalism provides the looseness of the strong party structures the political parties and strengthens the democracy of the party. The political parties can develop themselves within the provincial administration in forms of regional autonomy and self-sufficiency. The party organization, which is tested in power or in opposition can bring proposals to the party central. There is no such possibility in the unitary states for the local party organizations. In this way, both the party program and the aims of the party can benefit from these proposals.

            Finally federalism gives the possibility of having diversity in unity. Cultural diversity, individual and local characteristic can be protected and developed and the massive monotypicality can be left away.  Besides, there is respect for the partnership and togetherness, the monotony is avoided and the diversity in various fields of life is reached.    

Main issue: The question of  power

                If we summarize, we can say the following: As one thinks on the practice of federalism in Cyprus, the most important point, which should not be forgotten is that the bourgeois federalism is not a vehicle for the solution of the national or ethnic problems. Federalism is more a specific form of practice of the political power on the level of the regional or the provincial administration. Different political preferences and differences of the socio-cultural development between the provinces can be removed, through the central federal state and the extreme centralization of the political power and through a strong structure. In the concrete situation of Cyprus, the question of state and the power depends on one hand on the elimination of the influences of imperialism and neocolonialism and the abolishment of the military bases from the island. On the other hand it depends on how the internal main issue, the question of nationalities will be solved. But again the determining factor is not the national differences between the main two ethnic communities living in Cyprus, but the class struggle in the country and on the international level. This has to be underlined. As the bourgeois circles argue, the question is not "which community will govern which one?", but it appears as "which class will have the power in its hand on the whole of the island".

Reference Source:

Federalism in the Federal Republic of Germany (in German),  Informationen zur politischen Bildung, Heft: 204/1984, Bonn.

(The original English version of this study was read on 10-11 February 1990 in a conference, organized by the bi-communal Movement for an Independent and Federal Cyprus, at the Ledra Palace Hotel in the buffer-zone of Nicosia. The Turkish translation of the same study was published in Yeni Düzen daily newspaper on 2 and 3 February 1990.)