BRITISH BACKBONE?
THE Greek Cypriot leader, Nicos Anastasiades, has recently put his usual “helpful” foot in it. “A two-state solution is unthinkable,” he says (despite that being the reality since 1983). I hope UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, takes careful note of this Greek Cypriot utterance. It hardly smacks of any form of UNdesired “compromise”, leading to the creation of “common ground”, now does it? No-one should be surprised. “No” is the English word most often used by the Greek Cypriot leaders.
I suspect the UN, prior to the latest “talks about talks” in Geneva, were looking for new ideas, as even they begin to realise 50+ years of effort to create a “bizonal, bicommunal, federation” have failed repeatedly. Well, that new idea is now on the UN table, thanks to TRNC President Ersin Tatar. Given Anastasiades’s response, it looks like the Greek Cypriots aren’t even prepared to discuss it. Their ever present “No” has reared its ugly head, yet again. They talk of sharing power and prosperity with Turkish Cypriots, then repeatedly veto any chance of it ever happening. Are you listening Dominic? You need to. Anastasiades wasn’t exactly complimentary about UK either.
On he went: “The British always follow the policy that they believe will help their own interests.” Well I never (and I suppose the Greek Cypriot’s don’t?).
He continued: “The British bases are based on the [same] agreement establishing the Republic of Cyprus. They cannot [the British], therefore, go ahead or accept or propose a two-state solution”. What Anastasiades means is, the 1960 Cyprus independence agreements and treaties granted the Republic of Cyprus and the British bases their individual, internationally recognised sovereignty and any attempt to undermine Greek Cypriot sovereignty over the whole island undermines the bases’ right to exist (an opinion conveniently overlooked by the GCs every time they demand more control over parts of the Sovereign Base Areas, and by the British when they give in to such demands). The appeasing advice Dominic Raab no doubt receives from the British Foreign Office (FO) mandarins simply reinforces Anastasiades’s view. Talk about the tail wagging the dog!
I’ve got news for Mr Anatasiades and the British FO mandarins. An internationally recognised, two-state Cyprus solution, would not mean the end of the “Republic of Cyprus” or end its sovereignty. It would simply restrict that sovereignty to the southern part of the island, being merely a recognition of the actuality that has existed for decades. If, as a consequence, the Greek Cypriots challenged British sovereignty over the bases, then on the basis of the above justification, simply tell them to get lost. Loads of Greek Cypriot jobs depend on the bases and so does Nato (of which the Greek Cypriots have never been a member). All that is required is a bit of sovereign British backbone.
If this reality is all a bit too much for Dominic Raab to currently accept, let him consider this: isn’t the latest, dismissive Greek Cypriot “No” just another in a long line of UN talksblocking GC vetoes? Isn’t it obvious that decades of Greek Cypriot demands and Turkish Cypriot compromise have got us nowhere? Is Turkish Cypriot isolation to be never-ending? Are the Greek Cypriots to be allowed to maintain an unjust Cyprus status quo forever? Isn’t it time there was a Greek Cypriot “Yes” to something (dream on)?
So let us assume Dominic Raab is not yet convinced that a two-state solution is possible for the UN to support (God knows why not, former Yugoslavia ended up being multi-state). There is still one thing he could do to help ease the unjustified isolations placed on the Turkish Cypriots. That relates to flights from Ercan, via Turkey, to the UK. A post-Covid world would open an opportunity here.
Dominic Raab may think direct flights from Ercan to UK are out of the question, but I suggest “indirect” direct flights via Turkey are not. Let passengers from Ercan stay on the plane in Turkey and fly on to UK. It used to happen, even as far back as the days of Cyprus Turkish Airways. I did it often. Even up to June 2017, Pegasus flights from Ercan to UK did just that. It didn’t stop because of international embargoes, it was a purely British decision, easy to reverse. British officials cited “a genuine terrorist threat” as the cause. That might well have been the case. Is it now?
Another justification of the British decision was that Ercan, being “unrecognised”, could not guarantee passenger and aircraft “security”. Really? Has any British official been to check Ercan’s security procedures? I doubt it. Dominic Raab should ensure they do. It’s not rocket science. They would merely be ensuring that previously accepted procedures now meet present day requirements. What is wrong with that? The Greek Cypriots would play merry hell, but so what?
President Tatar has made it clear (and he means what he says, in all respects) that the TRNC government are “ready to comply with any conditions the British government might have” to allow Ercan-embarked, UKbound passengers, to stay on the plane in Turkey. What the hell more could Whitehall expect? The British government constantly say they wish to “ease the isolations placed on the Turkish Cypriots”. Fine words, the practical manifestation of which has, so far, been in short supply. I might also point out that this particular isolation is also enforced on thousands of British nationals in the TRNC and hundreds of thousands of British Turkish Cypriots in the UK. An often forgotten effect.
By the time you read this, I will have forwarded this column to the British High Commissioner in Nicosia, with a request he pass it on to Dominic Raab for a response. This is a chance for the UK to give the Turkish Cypriot people a small sign that British actions match their words. With promised TRNC co-operation, this is one isolation that is easy to remove. It requires British backbone. Prove that you’ve got some, Dominic, or is Greek Cypriot intransigence to be rewarded yet again?