‘South will be neighbours with Turkey in 10 years’
GREEK Cypriots will find themselves neighbours of Turkey in 10 years’ time, Republican Turkish Party (CTP) MP Doğuş Derya has said.
Speaking to the South’s Fileleftheros newspaper, Ms Derya said the demographic structure of the TRNC had changed over the past decade, and within the next, the Greek Cypriots would not find a Turkish Cypriot opposite number with whom to negotiate.
She said the international isolation and embargoes under which Turkish Cypriots had been living had increased their economic dependence on Turkey — while the TRNC economy was a “sinking ship” with all sectors on the brink of bankruptcy — and that had brought with it political dependence and cultural assimilation.
Yet she claimed most Turkish Cypriots still preferred a future as a reunified island, despite their fears and concerns about how that may work out, and continued to believe that a bicommunal, bizonal federation based on the political equality of the two communities was the best option for a settlement.
Commenting on the danger to the peace process of tensions over hydrocarbons exploration off the island, Ms Derya said the issue was not regional but international, and that a Cyprus solution could ease the transport of the natural gas to Europe.
The feminist MP also emphasised the need for participation of women in decisionmaking mechanisms and spoke of their support for a peace culture.