Today the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) marks the 44th Anniversary otherwise known as Peace and Freedom Day. The stage for celebrations, as I had witnessed last night was all set. The day is a public holiday in this part of the island.
I am participating at the event as an international guest, but in some way fail to understand the repeated failures to have resolved the decades old Cyprus crisis.
In the place of cut, copy and paste history from the internet - it's time to take the liberty to present a brief outline of the Cyprus dispute. It's important to know the cause to have divided one of the most scenic islands in the Eastern Basin of the Mediterranean Sea.
On the 15th of July, 1974 the ruling military junta in the then Greece staged a bloody coup in Cyprus with the collaboration of its supporters in order to achieve immediate Enosis (union of Cyprus with Greece). Makarios, the Archbishop and also the President of Independent Cyprus, was the protagonist of the coup. He aimed to attain Enosis in the long term, but was overthrown.
Makarios escaped, but this attempted coup, sponsored by the military junta in Greece, prompted considerable violence against Turkish Cypriots. During the days following the failed coup, many Turkish Cypriot villages were razed and their inhabitants slaughtered.
On the 20th July 1974, after consultation with Britain, Turkey intervened with a Peace-Keeping Action to protect the Turkish Cypriot community. This was valid and perfectly conformed with the powers of the guarantee agreed in the Treaty of Zurich. Thus began, an era of disagreement resulting in a bloodbath, forced migration thousands of Greek and Turkish Cypriots, unrecorded loss of huge property on both sides, and deployment of military ultimately divided the island into two. Roughly one third of the island is today occupied by Turkish Cypriots.
Until last year the remarkable feature of the day, 20th July, for this writer purely remained with Count Von Stauffenberg's daring attempt to assassinate Hitler in his East Prussian headquarters in 1944. Only from this year the added impact of the day began with the failed coup staged in Cyprus in 1974, exactly 30 years later orchestrated by the then Greek military junta in a different part of the world. And the Turkish military was forced to intervene to protect its subjects.
However, despite years of inter-communal negotiations and repeated efforts by the UN and the international community, the Cyprus problem yet remains unsettled.
According to the majority of the western media, overwhelming presence of Turkish troops on the island since 1974 and Turkey's reported intension to control Cyprus for strategic reasons continue to be the most important obstacles for a solution.
But, I disagree with this widely circulated notion. Imagine what would have happened if Makarios stayed away from attempting the Enosis with Greece, And, if there was no coup to have caused disruption in 1974.
The Turkish military presence could have been easily averted, and I would have needed a different visa to travel into Cyprus today.
Without taking Turkey's side, where were the European powers when the coup was staged in 1974? And even if Turkish forces are removed today, will there be any concrete guarantee to safeguard the lives and interests of Turk-Cypriots?
The point I attempt to make - military presence outside the mainland Turkey doesn't necessarily mean to threat or occupy a particular geographical territory - it also means to defend and secure Turkish interests prevailing for centuries.
Notably, the military units stationed in the TRNC could have expanded by invading other parts of the island. It could have also attacked opposition forces, it refrained from doing so.
An easy way out to the Cyprus question has become complex in the last decade also because of rampant branding of Islam as a religion of terror.
Of late it has become a key factor to this unresolved conflict, and the question is when would it end?
On the topic of strategically controlling the island, I agree the Turks want to remain in the upper hand. But it's the same with Greece. In fact, if Greece has the upper hand, it will serve the Western geopolitical interests.
Needs be mentioned, the early days of the Republic of Cyprus were marred by communal strife as there were political and religious objectives. Most Greek Cypriots aimed for enosis (union with Greece) and most Turkish Cypriots for Taksim (partition). Since none of the sides militarily imposed exclusive rights the skirmishes were avoidable.
That said - The gist of the so-called "Cyprus- question" is Greece aims to reunify the island with voluntary withdrawal of Turkish troops and the Turk-Cypriots demand partition, so it's not a question any longer. The question now - which party would win its respective demand with UN backup?
And it's right here on this point where a referendum becomes the most important issue between TRNC and the rest of Cyprus. And if that happens, from my limited understanding of the Cyprus question, it is only a division of the island and nothing more.
The Kofi Annan plan also suggested the new Cyprus to be a federation of two constituent states - the Greek Cypriot State and the Turkish Cypriot State - joined together by a federal government apparatus. In this case strategic supremacy by any single side becomes impossible but what about the international recognition for the new federal government apparatus.
Till today it is only the Turkish government that officially recognises the TRNC but wait there is more, Pakistan and Bangladesh had initially declared their recognition of Northern Cyprus as a sovereign state shortly after its declaration of independence, but they withdrew their recognition reportedly because of US pressure after the UN deemed the 'declaration illegal'. The United Nations considers the declaration of independence by Northern Cyprus as legally invalid, as enunciated in several of its resolutions.
However, there have been more than enough debates on the Cyprus question, and at least I don't foresee a solution anytime in the near future. A fact is a fact, devoid of optimism or pessimism. The UN has practically isolated the TRNC either to be recognised or to offer a permanent solution by keeping one third of Cyprus hanging on the balance.
The key point, with or without supporting Turkey, the strategic control of the Island becomes divided if a partition is accepted. Other than siding with western powers it must maintain a balance to deliver justice on both sides - the Greeks and the Turks.
Almost all avenues for striking a deal have been explored. Cyprus is considered strategically important for the security of Turkey's southeastern coast. But given Cyprus's geographical location and Greek interests, a possible Turkish and Greek military withdrawal will not happen any time soon.
The "Cyprus question" is likely to remain an unsettled issue despite the presence of a series of recommendations and options offered in the table. Politics concerning the crisis is deepening since the negotiators themselves are manifestly either delaying or blocking all rooms of negotiation.
Multiple factional interests, social biases, cultural traditions and business considerations have made the Cyprus question one of the most controversial in the contemporary geopolitics. The stakeholders and the negotiators of the Cyprus issue must take this important point into consideration.
Whatever, I have barely an hour left to get ready for attending the official ceremonies and parade organised to mark the 44th Anniversary at TRNC, and also there is no point lengthening my piece when the World Wide Web has an abundance of information on the Cyprus dispute. A journalist can maximum pen his opinion, looking forward to see you soon in Dhaka.
The writer is Assistant Editor, The Daily Observer
