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Speech by Alexis Galanos
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The title of the subject reflects to a big extent the predicament that those who still care about re-unifying our island find themselves. Has the Cyprus problem been lost or forgotten or gone astray and needs a re-visit? Let us see.
I do not intend to spend more time than necessary in the little time available to discuss the past. There are many mistakes and many lessons to be drawn, which are only important in order to avoid them in the future. History of course is still being written and can be interpreted equally correctly and wrongly from our different viewpoints and perspectives. However there are some things on which perhaps we can all agree.
Our fight against Colonial Rule in the 50’s started with the National aspirations of the Greek Cypriots to unite the island with Greece as part of a PanHellenistic vision. It ended in a dysfunctional independent state based on a very difficult and complicated Constitutional system.
The importance of achieving a free independent State, The Republic of Cyprus, was little appreciated at the time and very few considered it as a future premise to build upon a prosperous and mutually tolerant bicommunal society based on trust and goodwill which would have enabled us to bridge ethnic and other differences.
The following factors, among others, militated against such a desirable development:
1. The lack of political maturity on both sides and the personal ambitions of individual politicians. 2. The lack of tolerance emanating from the absence of political traditions and institutions and the century-long political and ethnic baggage carried by both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. 3. An acute psychological problem relating to National “Identity”. A problem, which to some degree, still exists today.
“A difficulty to realize the difference between our Statehood which is Cypriot and our descent, tradition and roots which are Greek and Turkish respectively. And the difficulty to simply understand that the two can easily coexist in good faith and that in reality there is nothing to prove whatsoever.”
4. Of course the situation did not become easier by the inter play of foreign geo-political and geo-strategic games and interests, the existence of the British bases and the Middle East imbroglio, inter alia.
The geographic location of Cyprus has always been through ages both a blessing and a curse. Economically we are a bridge between Europe and two other Continents; strategically we are in a very sensitive and vulnerable location and position. So the good winds of trade meet continuously the evil winds of big power interests with known results. We have always been at Crossroads, of all sorts.
As the people of Cyprus were not so mature, wise and knowledgeable to know where their true interests lay it was inevitable that our fate was dictated by outside interests. Unfortunately in the 1960’s the last thing we possessed was the maturity and experience that would have allowed us to recognize and identify our real interest in a changing region where Cyprus was only a small coq-wheel of the engine and not the power-driver..
One should never forget the fact, that historically Cyprus has a Hellenic History but we must not underestimate the fact that geographically it lies very close to Turkey, and that Turkey has never abandoned designs over Cyprus related to its overall strategy and claims vis a vis Greece but also Europe and the West.
I like to close these rather general views on the past till 1974 by stressing the evident fact that we never appreciated, in the most tragic way, what we had, that is our Independent Republic of Cyprus.
Now the present President of Cyprus talks nostalgically of the London Zurich Agreements.
What happened therefore between 1960 and 1974 was tragic but was also predictable. If we are to divide the past into parts the first ends in the Summer of 1974 and the other goes upto the day of the accession of the Cyprus Republic to the European Union or perhaps to the day of the Referendum on the Annan Plan.
The significant point that escapes many people is that Greeks and Turks worked together in government only 2-3 years viz between 1960 to 1963 and relations between the two Communities either political or social were not allowed to flourish during the 45 years between 1960 and today.
Any vestiges of trust and goodwill collapsed following the coup by the Greek Junta and the Turkish invasion.
Although the invasion caused enormous economic devastation and a big loss of land and resources, despite these, our side achieved a quick and spectacular economic revival while the land under occupation suffered from isolation and mismanagement plus the corrupt practices of the Denktash regime.
On the other hand the political balance of power shifted favorably towards Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot administration and the Biregional, Bizonal agreements between Makarios-Denktash and Kyprianou-Denktash reflected these realities.
We talk about the Annan Plan and its various models. In reality we are talking about the various plans and efforts from the part of U.N. as they evolved through all these years through long and arduous negotiations in direct or parallel talks with the interested parties. Simply Turkey was allowing some half-hearted negotiations with a view of achieving control over the whole of Cyprus by way of a loose federation or a Confederation that would satisfy the pivotal and controlling role of Turkey over the whole of Cyprus.
I would like at this point to make a very clear distinction between the policy of Turkey over Cyprus vis a vis the aspirations of the common Cypriot be it Greek or Turk who would like to see a genuine effort towards living together in one State in a common future.
Turning now to the present:
A. It is a new ball game. Cyprus is a full member of the European Union where Turkey aspires eventually to become a member. Any negotiations in the future have to take into account this fact despite the cynical way the Europeans deal with their principles and derogate from them. Simply European Union is now a player and participant in the Cyprus problem and has legitimate interests to protect.
This of course has its negative aspects in some way. If the negotiations of the European Union with Turkey do not reach a happy end then the Cyprus problem not only will not be solved but it could become a hot area of tension between Europe and Turkey. In the meantime there is the clear and present danger of relegating the problem to the annals of time as Turkey has no incentive whatsoever to see a solution unless they are “home and dry” in Europe.
B. This brings us to the famous theory of a solution at the “Depth of Time” What is this Apocalyptical “Depth of Time”? The end of the Universe? Is it the time of the final entry of Turkey into Europe in 15-20 years?! If any? (And by that time what is going to happen in dynamics and not in comparative statics?) What are the components of such a solution?
Surely one of them is the return of the refugees to their “ancestral” homes. The emphasis goes to the “ancestral” as per some of our politicians. But in the next 20 years how many refugees will still be alive? If we were 30 years old in 1974 we will be near 90 years and hopefully going, in 20 years time. And what “ancestral homes” are they going to find with the criminally rapid exploitation of their properties by British, Israelis and others? And what kind of communities are we going to have? What is going to be the proportion of Turkish Cypriots to settlers by that time? What kind of a solution we envisage since there will be no subject-matter to such a solution.?
In my mind it is clear that the Annan Plan had a lot of weaknesses not least of them the very inadequate and poorly thought economic provisions regarding Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot properties. It showed almost a complete disregard for the need to have a united economy in Cyprus. A disregard for a European Union model that could produce solid growth and bring closely together the two communities through economic cooperation. In other words the Annan Plan imposed a mentality of controlled division by Turkey, as arbiter, while the European Union model requires a monitored unification of the Economy, with Europe and its institutions as arbiters.
The above are legitimate concerns and considerations that should be addressed with goodwill within a European context and should not be addressed with prejudice as part of a ploy of Greeks to dominate economically, the Turkish Cypriots. I am afraid, however, that the reservoir of Goodwill is emptying very rapidly now and for this I do not place the blame only on one side.
Among those who voted against the Annan Plan were people with such legitimate concerns and very anxious for a lasting solution that unifies rather than divides and takes into account that in Cyprus there is already a recognized state as compared to Bosnia where they had to start from scratch.
At the same time there were of course also people with vested interests. People whose first consideration was money and their immediate economic concerns however short sighted this can be. Such vested interests are strengthened day by day. Unfortunately the same is true for many Turkish Cypriots compatriots. After the Denktash years there is definitely more relative acceptance of the Turkish Administration in the world and in the European Union; the economic status and standard of living of Turkish Cypriots have greatly improved. So again the economic incentive for re-unification is weakening on the Turkish side and there is a feeling of frustration regarding our own Government’s perceived role and tactics over the solution of the Cyprus problem. Plus again a newly found sense of power and authority that weakens the overall attraction for a solution.
Another factor at work is the normalization process due to the partial abolition of barriers and the increased contact between the two communities. This is a good development and should be a good development, if it is viewed as a process, and as a stage leading to a solution. However it can be a dangerous development if it is viewed as the solution and as the end of the road. We do not want good neighbourly relations and trade between two states. Such state of affairs can only erode and corrupt the efforts of re-unification, convey wrong messages abroad, and also create a psychological state of acceptance that could become irreversible.
In fact we are very close to this happening. The positive message is that the two communities can co-exist. But the negative news is that increased contacts and the partial lifting of the restrictions to free movement allow co-existence but do not necessarily promote re-unification. There are various forces at work. There is a kind of a “paradoxical” and schizophrenic situation where we see placed in the same basket the “fruits of occupation” and the “benefits of the European membership of Cyprus”.
It is like normalizing illegitimacy without granting legitimacy. How can we, for instance, explain to a National Guardsman who does his duty and risks his life guarding the Green Line that his father can cross it everyday to play at a Casino in Kyrenia.?! Did I use the word schizophrenic? I do apologise.!
What characterizes the present situation is:
Plus A lack of common vision and of a Grand Design as regards the future of the European Cyprus of all the Cypriots for all the Cypriots.
Coupled With an increasing mistrust on both sides. Our side believes that there is a “game in time” from Turkey and Mr Tallat for separate recognition while our Turkish Cypriot compatriots believe that deep down we do not want Federation and particularly a bizonal Federation.
Future So, can there still be a future for a United Cyprus??!!I am by nature an optimist. At the same time I do not see many good reasons for optimism. While during the last period of the Simitis government in Greece and the events leading to Copenhagen and Hague we could see various converging forces at work contributing towards a solution, the mistake on our part, to go for talks in New York and then accept the UN Secretary General’s arbitration led to the overwhelming rejection of the Annan Plan by our side. From that point this convergence was lost and divergent and negative forces are at work, stronger than before, because such an emphatic rejection from our part is next to burial, (and ignore the rhetoric to the contrary).
What I therefore say now in trying to maintain some hope can be construed as more a case of a wishful thinking on my part, if we consider the following:
I That Turkey has no incentive whatsoever to allow a solution to the Cyprus problem unless they are firmly inside Europe and this is still a faraway and distant process, if at all.
II The two communities are learning to live and prosper side by side and security is perceived (wrongly I believe), to be achieved with the status quo.
III For a great number of politicians on both sides it is increasingly more opportune to invest their political future on promoting division and empty slogans.
IV Economic and political power is increasingly concentrated in the hands of those whose future depends on the perpetuation of division. To use a legal term, their plans to stay in power are made in “perpetuity”.
The big question is to what extent the West, that is, USA and Europe wish to promote a solution of re-unification or whether their interest particularly that of USA is focused on simply giving Turkey an alibi and good credentials for a European destiny.
Would Turkey permit Cyprus to get out of its clutches before entering Europe in order to pre-empt favorably developments in Europe? I very much doubt it knowing how the “Deep State” works in Turkey.
Would the European Union undertake serious initiatives to ensure that it does not have a divided member in its midst? Again, I have some doubts as Europe has other priorities and a number of more serious internal issues.
So, what can people who wish to see this small beautiful island reunited and its people living together do?
The only realistic thing we can aspire in my opinion until conditions of convergence emerge, if ever, is to promote genuine and sincerely, measures of goodwill.
There are quite a few other measures and useful proposals as regards confidence building or “solution momentum building” but the fact remains that the key to the solution was, is and will stay in Ankara and now travels through Europe. The Cyprus problem has its internal aspect, its bicommunal aspect, but we beg the answer if we evade the International dimension. What will happen in the future will depend less on what the two sides do and more what Europe does with Turkey or perhaps Turkey does with Europe and of course the state of relations between Greece and Turkey.
Until conditions are ripe may be we should prepare ourselves to evolve some mutually acceptable guidelines for a solution.
For InstanceIn the context of Europe
· Do we need Guarantor Powers?! The answer should be NO · Do we need an integrated Economy? The answer is emphatically YES · Can we both improve as regards viability and functionality on the Annan Plan within the framework of a bizonal bicommunal federation? Again the answer is YES
Therefore those good men and true who still believe in the existence of a United Cyprus should start addressing and discussing the genuine fears and aspirations of both communities knowing that unfortunately the time for Unification is past midnight, the hopes are dimmer but we do not have the luxury to abandon them.
Closing this address please allow me to read to you a paragraph from the introduction to the first American re-issue in 1984 of a book written in the 40’s by a lady called M.M. Kaye titled “Death walked in Cyprus”
Mrs Kaye lived many years in Cyprus and was married to a high British official stationed in Cyprus. Some of you may have read or seen in the movies her famous story “The far Pavillions”.
“The Cyprus I was living in and painting was much too good to last and that one day greedy quarrelling factions were about to destroy it. That day came sooner than I thought; and nowadays the Island is divided into two hostile sections. Kyrenia and Hilarion, lovely Ayios Epiktitos and beautiful Bellapais, and most of the places I knew best, are now held by the Turkish Cypriots while the Greek Cypriots, who hold the remainder, have turned their sleepy coastal towns into roaring tourist resorts, complete with vast holiday hotels and “recreation complexes”.
“O world! O life! O Time!”
Shelley said it all. Unquote
What would Mrs M.M. Kaye say today, if still around, if she were told that lovely Ayios Epiktitos joined the roaring developments of this side!!
I feel sad to say that the only vision or non-vision as regards Cyprus that appears to be working today is that of Mr Denktash and his disciples on both sides.
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