Wednesday 17 August 2011

Ankara objects to Cyprus natural gas drilling plans

The US has supported Cyprus over gas-drilling plans, Turkish daily Hurriyet says, following reports that Turkey has urged Washington to put off the plans to drill for natural gas off the coast of Cyprus by US firm Noble Energy.

According to a Turkish official, Ankara told Washington “not to sacrifice the political reunification process of Cyprus for the sake of business”.

"We told U.S. officials that the unilateral oil and natural gas exploration activities by the Greek Cypriots were against international law and could lead to the end of the ongoing negotiation process for the reunification Cyprus”, he said.

Turkey has already conveyed its reservations to the U.S. Embassy in Ankara and to the U.S. State Department in Washington and will bring the issue to the attention of higher-level U.S. officials, he said, as well as to the UN Security Council.Ankara claims that Greek Cyprus’ agreements with Israel, Lebanon and Egypt in the eastern Mediterranean region, are invalid because they did not first get the approval of the Turkish Cypriots.

The Greek side is acting unilaterally as if they were the sole owner of the island”, the official said. Ankara also objects to the continental shelf delineation that Cyprus determined in its agreement with Egypt in 2003, saying “islands cannot be considered as if they were part of the mainland” while determining economic zones in territorial waters.

The paper says that the State Department told the paper that it is aware of Turkey’s position on the issue, and reiterated its commitment “to support strongly the efforts of both Cypriot parties to reunify the island into a bizonal, bicommunal federation”. However, the U.S. administration underscored that it views the plans in terms of “securing energy supplies through better energy diversity” and that “is something that the United States strongly supports for all countries”.The U.S. perceives the Greek Cypriot drilling plans, which could reportedly “sustain the energy needs of Europe for the next 100 years”, in terms of an alternative energy source for its European allies to help gain energy independence, despite fierce Turkish objections.”

Following the harsh statements coming from the Turkish administration, and at a time when Ankara is growing increasingly confident in asserting its own foreign policy terms, one that appears to be closely aligned with Washington, the gas-drilling project appears to have the potential to pose some challenges in the relations between the two countries, over and above its already jittery relations with Nicosia, the paper concludes.

Turkish Cypriot daily Bakis reports that rumour has it that the occupied fenced city of Varosha is about to be returned to the Greek Cypriots and that secret bargaining is being held on this issue. Citing a reliable source, the paper says that intensive bargaining is taking place regarding Varosha and all will soon be revealed.

Referring to reports in the Greek Cypriot press that a Camp David type conference will be held in New York, the paper says the Turkish side will use Varosha to corner the Greek side. The source noted that in return for the opening of Varosha, Tymvou airport and Famagusta port will also be opened to international flights and trade under EU or UN administration. It also said that the withdrawal of the lawsuits of the Greek Cypriots at the European Court of Human Rights against Turkey regarding Varosha is on the agenda, but no definite agreement exists on this issue.

The Turkish side is submitting reasonable proposals at the negotiating table, proposals which are peaceful, realistic and provide for a viable solution, Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu has said.

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris reports that in statements at a ceremony on the occasion of the celebrations for the 37th anniversary since the occupation of Famagusta, Eroglu said that the Greek Cypriots do not accept the geographic realities of Cyprus and want to dilute and eliminate bizonality.

He said they want to “drag to different directions” the constructive proposals of the Turkish side on property and territory, and do not accept Turkey’s active and effective guarantees. Eroglu argued that “if we try to solve the issues with the mentality of the Greek Cypriot side, we will force the Turkish Cypriot people to scatter, or be dominated by the Greek Cypriots, so they will remain without property and migrate”. He said that they will not abandon bizonality, or the right to administer themselves and Turkey’s active and effective guarantees. “By asking for these things we are not harming the Greek Cypriot people”, he said adding that bizonality will prevent possible conflict in the future and nor does Turkey’s active and effective guarantees pose a threat for the Greek Cypriots. Eroglu accused the Greek Cypriot side of preventing a solution by trying to use the EU in order to bring Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots to their knees.

Furthermore, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris reports that speaking elsewhere Eroglu said that there is no aspect of the Cyprus problem that has not been discussed at the negotiations and added that the negotiations should be intensified and a deal achieved.

“Let us either agree or let the road of the Turkish Cypriot people not be blocked any more. The Turkish Cypriots should not be forced to pay the price for the fact that an agreement could not be signed”.

Eroglu claimed that the Greek Cypriot side has not yet understood that the Turkish Cypriot side cannot water down bizonality, that two states and two peoples exist in Cyprus and that a partnership state could be established only with the above as starting points.

A rise in the number of applications received by the Immovable Property Commission established by Turkey for the occupied Greek Cypriot properties has been observed since March 2010, and as a result the system is working too slowly and should be speeded up, Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris reports.

The paper says that most applications concern properties in Kyrenia and northern Nicosia. So far the IPC has received a total of 1601 applications, of which 179 settlements were reached amicably, while another seven cases were concluded in court. The IPC has paid out a total of £58.231.440 sterling in compensation, has returned one property, given exchange and compensation in two applications and return and compensation in a further five applications. The IPC has decided to return and compensation property after the solution of the Cyprus problem for one application and the partial return of property for yet another application.

According to Asim Akansoy, the general secretary of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) has expressed the view that not only are the people of Cyprus fed up with the Cyprus problem, but so is the international community.

He pointed out that the negotiations started in 1968 and are still going on and this is not an acceptable situation reports Turkish Cypriot daily Bakis.

Akansoy said neither side will be fully satisfied with the outcome of the talks because both sides are negotiating for their ideal.

Referring to a recent statement made by Democratic Rally leader Nikos Anastasiades, Akansoy said that thinking that the TRNC will be recognized if the negotiations fail is a big mistake. “There is no such possibility. Therefore, we have to evaluate well the developments”, he said adding that they should continue the dialogue for reaching a model that will be protecting the interests of the Turkish Cypriots. He said the Cyprus problem is going through a crucial turning point and added that the Turkish Cypriot side should evaluate this process well.

Akansoy argued that after the Mari tragedy it is difficult to foresee what steps will be taken by a leader who faces so many problems and is so weakened.


Monday 15 August 2011

Can a weakened Christofias deliver a solution?

Although the Mari disaster and the economy have overshadowed the Cyprus problem, we are rapidly heading towards the October meeting in New York which will decide the island’s future, says Makarios Droushiotis writing in Politis yesterday, because at that meeting the UN S-G will decide whether a bizonal federation is still possible or whether it is no longer realistic.

Quoting well-informed sources he says that at the last meeting between the three, Ban Ki-moon warned the two leaders that if the deadlock is not broken by October then he will go to the Security Council and explain the reasons why his effort has failed and why the model for a solution that has been sought since 1977 is no longer feasible. However, until then he will leave no stone unturned in order to reach a successful outcome.

He has already got the two sides to agree that their next meeting in October will not be a mere three-party meeting but will be like a conference in a secluded spot with no press or other political parties, in the style of Camp David.

Droushiotis says that during their working lunch in Geneva, the UN S-G put several alternatives before the two leaders for moving the process ahead.

First he proposed a meeting lasting several days to be held in Qatar, a country friendly to both sides at which the two leaders and their teams as well as UN experts would take part. Eroglu agreed but Christofias wanted the whole of the Greek Cypriot political leadership to also be present, which Ban Ki-moon rejected as being counter-productive.

Ban Ki-moon then tried to include Turkey and Greece in the process, putting forward an old suggestion for Christofias to meet with Erdogan and Papandreou with Eroglu. Eroglu agreed provided the equality of the two leaders was maintained, but Christofias declined for the same reason.

The S-G then suggested that the procedure be speeded up in Cyprus itself with meetings three times a week. Eroglu agreed but Christofias said that, as President he had too many obligations, proposed meetings twice a week instead.

Having achieved the speeding up of the process with the more active participation of the UN, the S-G then proposed a new three-party meeting to be held towards the end of October in New York. Both leaders agreed.

Having got the two sides to agree, he then returned to his original proposal for a longer meeting lasting over several days to be held somewhere outside New York. Eroglu accepted immediately but Christofias hesitated and asked tentatively: “Are you going to impose a solution on us?” In the end he too agreed and the date was set for 20 October. The UN S-G asked them to keep at least eight days free.

Clearly, Droushiotis says, the UN S-G has lost his patience with the Cyprus problem and feels that time is running out for achieving an agreed solution. He also feels that “Cyprus ownership” of the talks has run its course and cannot be continued without a timetable or arbitration.

The UN is fed up of hearing the arguments of both sides time after time and has prepared bridging proposals which they will put before the two leaders in order to help them reach the framework of an agreement based on the UN parameters that have been set out since 1974. If they do not succeed, the UN S-G will submit his final report to the Security Council leaving each side to shoulder their respective responsibilities.

All this had been planned before the Mari disaster and Christofias’ weakening on the internal front. The international community is concerned as to whether Christofias can negotiate to the end and then convince his community to accept a solution which in the best possible scenario would be very similar to the Anan plan.

Despite underlining that the Cyprus problem is one of his priorities and calling for unity internally, Christofias has done nothing to prepare society for the eventualities to come. His relationship with the opposition is the worst it has ever been and his popularity among the population at the lowest ebb since he was elected.

Turkey, meanwhile, who is fully aware that Christofias is weak, does not seem at all willing to help him in any way and is insisting that the UN S-G continues to follow the road map agreed in Geneva with the end of the year as a deadline.

The UN had hoped that when Erdogan visited the north on 20 July he would have sent some kind of positive message to the Greek Cypriot side, instead of which they were shocked by his hardline statements that Morphou would not be returned and that they should forget Karpasia.

These statements could have been a way out for Christofias without any blame as no leader could sell a solution to the Greek Cypriot community that was worse than the Anan plan as regards territory.

According to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources, Erdogan’s aim was to send a message to Christofias to buckle up, because they felt he was playing for time to take him up to when Cyprus takes on the EU Presidency and then through the preelection period and thereby prolong the talks as long as possible.

According to Turkish paper Zaman, Erdogan’s words were an appeal to the Greek Cypriots to come to their senses. The Turks believed that trying to extend the status quo is a losing game for the Greek Cypriots and that they should instead do as the Turks do and follow a win-win strategy.

Turkey has also toughened its stance as regards the natural gas issue off the Cyprus coast. “Without a solution to the Cyprus problem being found and before a government is established that will represent the whole of the island, no one has the right to manage the island’s natural resources”, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davudoglu said.

What with the Cyprus government’s intention to proceed with drilling in October at the same time as the talks reach their climax and with Turkey warning that it will react, the political scene will be even more charged and the possibility of a solution even more distant, the writer concludes.



Wednesday 3 August 2011

The less said publicly the better

The leaders of the two communities in Cyprus, Christofias and Eroglu, yesterday continued their discussion on governance and power-sharing in a five and a half meeting, the third the two have had following a commitment in Geneva early July to intensify talks on the Cyprus problem.

They will be having one more meeting dedicated exclusively to power-sharing and governance on Friday.

UN Special Advisor, Alexander Downer said afterwards that they were aiming to keep the contents of the discussion “as confidential as possible.”

“The less is said publicly about what happens in these discussions, the more chance we have of having a degree of success in the negotiations,” he said.

He added that the two sides should be allowed “to talk around issues without any prejudice to their final position”.

"I think this is a work in progress and it's important it's understood to be a work in progress," he said.

Tuesday 2 August 2011

Downer: out of crisis comes opportunity

UN Special Envoy Alexander Downer said yesterday that real progress can be achieved over the next few weeks if the talks go well.

“It is important that we really invest a lot of time and energy in the talks this week and we hope that this will be productive”, he added.

Speaking after a one hour meeting with President Christofias, Mr Downer told the press: “I had the opportunity to talk to him about the intensive phase of the talks that we are in. I am looking forward to the talks tomorrow and then there will be another round of the talks on Friday before we have a two-week break for the holidays”.

Asked how it is possible for the talks to move forward when the Turkish Prime Minister Mr Tayyip Erdogan said that he will never give back Morphou, Karpasia and Famagusta, Mr Downer said: “When we get to these issues, the property and territory, all these questions will be discussed and at the moment as you know we are talking about governance and power sharing and we are focusing on those issues and after the holiday break will get back into the territory and property issue and it will be opportunity to canvas on those sort of questions”.

Replying to a question on whether these kind of statements help, Mr Downer said: “Not surprisingly, from our point of view, in the UN, it is probably best if we don't express publicly every sentiment that may rush through our veins, at any particular time”.

“We are more outcome-oriented”, he added. “We don't get into commentary on everything everybody says .I think it wouldn't make sense if we set ourselves up as commentators on everything every Prime Minister in the region says”.The UN yesterday said that progress towards a Cyprus solution would be good for Cypriots amid the difficulties the country is currently going through.

Commenting on the deadly blast on July 11 that killed 13 and destroyed the island’s main power station causing an energy crisis he said obviously this has affected people but it was necessary to look ahead and focus on the future.

“Out of crisis comes opportunity, and it is always worth remembering that no matter how bad the setbacks, you need to march forward, you’ve got to deal with the problems and you’ve got to live in the future, you can’t live in the past and it is important when things do go wrong to try to turn that adversity into opportunity as best as you can”.

Asked if he believes that President Christofias is capable of turning the current crisis into an opportunity and how this can happen given the internal domestic political situation, Mr Downer replied: “I think that if the talks can go well, if we can make some real progress over the next few weeks, particularly between now and the 21st of October, then that will be very positive and I think that will have a positive impact on public confidence as well, which you know at a difficult time like this it is understandably a little bit down; people are very depressed about what happened on July 11th, but this is one of the things that the President and the Government has to do, it has to try to solve the Cyprus problem, a solution has been elusive a long time, and it is important that everything be done to try to achieve a successful solution to this problem, that's what we want in the UN and so it’s tough times in other ways, we don't offer any real comments on that, but we say it is all the more incentive to try to solve the Cyprus problem”.

Meanwhile Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has promised structural changes and major projects to boost the north’s economy.

In a televised address on Saturday, Erdogan discussed the new Turkish constitution, the economy, terrorism and the Cyprus problem.

“We have very important projects for north Cyprus and they will change the face of the country. I would like to mention once again that Turkey will neither allow efforts targeting the TRNC nor will it negotiate with the EU or any other party on the Cyprus issue.”

He blamed the Greek Cypriots for the lack of progress in the talks, saying: “I made very sincere and fruitful contacts with the TRNC authorities during my visit and I think the Turkish Cypriot side is making sincere efforts at the negotiations to reach a bi-communal, bi-zonal federal solution in the context agreed before. This was proved at the Geneva summit once more but the Greek Cypriot side is not responding positively to the Turkish Cypriot side’s stance.”

Erdogan has made it clear he will not wait forever for a Cyprus solution, setting July 2012 when Cyprus takes over the EU Presidency as an informal deadline. He has promised economic development for the north, and set about implementing an unpopular austerity package to curb public spending in the north as well as privatisation of airlines and universities.

The authorities in the north have also announced new measures to issue ‘green’ and ‘white’ cards for 40 thousand Turkish mainlanders living and working in the north without citizenship. It is believed this will further skewer the already tilting balance between Turkish nationals and Turkish Cypriots residing in the north.

They also announced a number of measures to upgrade Morphou’s infrastructure and attract investment. Turkish Cypriot paper the Star reported that the current residents of Morphou found Erdogan’s statements “encouraging”, adding that they opened the way to investment without fear.

Kibris reports that the white card will be granted to people who have been living in the north for eight or twelve years with a work permit or fifteen years with or without a work permit. The green card will be granted to persons who settle in the occupied area of Cyprus after they retire or people who make big investments of more than $500 thousand.
Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika under the headline “Citizenship step by step”, notes that the decision to grant citizenship to all the settlers started after Erdogan’s visit to Cyprus.

Kibris reports that the chairman of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) said that the regulation is unconstitutional and that they will not remain spectators of this development but would contest it in court. Moreover the general secretary of the United Cyprus Party (BKP) stated that this decision will annihilate the Turkish Cypriots and was part of the integration policy which is followed by Turkey.