4
May 2002
It
is indeed a great honor to have the opportunity to address this
distinguished group today and a great pleasure to come back to my
university after fourteen years. I will take this opportunity here
to argue that, although started and still furthered on wrong
footing, the EU enlargement process presents Cyprus, for the first
time in a very long while, a “win-win” scenario, whereby not
only Turkish and Greek Cypriots but also all parties with interest
over our small island stand to gain.
In
order to decide how to approach the challenges posed by the EU
enlargement I believe we first need to decide on the kind of future
we want to have for ourselves and for future generations. That is,
we need to form a common vision for the future. If we unite on a
common vision, much of the hard compromises of today will be easier
to make, and in some instances even become irrelevant. Instead, we
will be posed with new opportunities and threats that will require a
new tradition of working together.
Our
vision as the TRNC Businessmen Association, which is also shared by
the numerous NGOs that we are collaborating with, is clear.
It is a new partnership between two equal states on the
island, which becomes a full member of the EU, equipped with
effective guarantor rights for Turkey.
We call for a “new” setup because Cyprus of today has
obviously changed a lot in all respects since 1960. We think this
new setup should be a “partnership” because partnerships require
mutual respect and interdependency that makes the contract
sustainable. We want “two states” because we don’t want to be
isolated from the rest of the world ever again like we have been
since 1963 despite being the victims of a near genocide. We want
“effective guarantor powers for Turkey” because the UN troops
could not protect Turkish Cypriots between 1963 and 1974. And our
vision calls for “EU membership” because we know EU membership
is currently the only goal that Turkish and Greek Cypriots have in
common, albeit for different reasons.
For the Turkish side settlement and EU membership will
bring rapid social and economic development while to Greek Cypriots
security and reunification of the island. Taking our bi-communal
partnership into a larger union will most importantly enable us to
dilute our bi-communal differences and create cross cutting
interests and interdependencies facilitating our goal to attain a
sustainable peace and partnership on our common homeland. Such an
outcome is in and of itself reason enough for Turkey to support it.
But an added benefit for her will be the removal of a stumbling
block on her own way for EU accession. The US on the other hand will
avoid a potential conflict between her allies at a time when she
needs solidarity the most and the EU will be able to enlarge without
creating a crisis with Turkey. Very briefly this is why we think
this vision is a win-win alternative.
Yet, so far, the mishandling by politicians of the
opportunities posed by EU accession is appalling. The prime
responsibility for this lays with the EU whose rhetoric made the
Greek Cypriot side over confident in their unilateral EU accession
in the name of the whole of Cyprus. Through its decisions and
statements, the EU has made it very difficult for the Greek Cypriot
President Glafcos Clerides to prepare his people for the compromises
required to reach an amicable settlement. So much so that now they
even challenge the well-established principles of bi-zonality and
bi-communality, claiming that such arrangements run contrary to EU
law. Such a position further fuels an already suspicious Turkish
side who in response takes a more pointed position against the whole
EU perspective for Cyprus, which reassures Greek Cypriots in their
belief that all we want is to partition the island. A vicious circle
is created.
So now we find ourselves in a situation whereby the only
common vision of the two peoples of the island has been turned into
the most controversial one. Yet the clock is ticking. By the end of
this year the EU will announce the first wave of new members. What
they will have to say regarding Cyprus depends on what we do between
now and then. So the question is what do we do to reach the win-win
scenario and not a loose-loose one. And I don’t believe that in
this case a “win –loose” alternative exists.
In my opinion we have already done our first job. That is,
the Turkish side initiated direct talks. The very fact that the
Greek Cypriot leader had to oblige after three invitations by
President Denktaş proves that they are aware of the need to
portray a pro-settlement stance vis-ŕ-vis the EU. In this respect
one could say that the Helsinki Summit decisions were successful.
Yet the goal should be to settle the problem and not to keep on
negotiating over it endlessly. Therefore, I believe there is now a
great need for the EU to under take another initiative that will
make it clear to the Greek Cypriot side that although political
settlement is not a precondition, recognition of the legitimate
rights of the Turkish Cypriots is necessary if they want the whole
of Cyprus to be accepted into the EU. Mr. Solana’s recent
statements, in effect saying that Greek Cypriots may represent and
talk only for themselves is a case in point. Yet there is an urgent
need for such statements to be transformed into official policy if
they are to be of any use.
For our part we should help the EU to take this stance vis-ŕ-vis
Greek Cypriots. To that end I believe our task now is to make it
very explicit that we want to be a part of the EU enlargement
process and abide by the “acquis communataire”. There will of
course be derogations and special provisions negotiated and the EU
has already made it clear that they are ready to accommodate such
arrangements if they are mutually accepted by the both sides on the
island. If we manage to
give this clear message than we will go a long way to make the EU
and the Greek Cypriots see that our goal is not to divide the
island, or make it another province of Turkey, rather to make it a
land of peace and prosperity. Once that is done then the EU will
have to decide between welcoming the Turkish Cypriot’s call for a
new partnership between two equal states that will have a single
voice in the EU or alienating Turkish Cypriots and Turkey, thereby
dividing the island permanently and risking the stability of the
whole region. I believe they will make the right choice and continue
with the enlargement in line with the whole motive for enlarging,
which is increased security for Europe. Yet, if they don’t, than
at least we as the Turkish side will have an easy conscious in the
knowledge that we did all we could.
Much information regarding EU is needed by our government.
If all goes well we are looking at only 12 to 16 months to align the
Turkish Cypriot side to the Acquis. Every day counts, and we urge
the EU to rid itself from the “recognition by implication”
phobia and start talking directly with the Turkish Cypriot
authorities, and may be even appear side by side in conferences.
This will in and of itself disarm most critics of the EU and
act like a confidence building measure between the EU and the
Turkish Cypriot side, which should be welcomed by Greek Cypriots if
they also have a vision of partnership in EU and not a vision of
domination.
Finally, I want to stress the important role that the NGOs
have to play in this crucial stage. We can help built bridges
between the two sides. There is lack of information resulting in
lack of understanding and empathy towards each other’s interests,
concerns, fears and expectations. The two peoples of the island have
dehumanized each other. We could, however, start cross border
trading, organized tours, cultural activities, exchanges between
universities, common EU related projects and the list goes on. The
point is Greek Cypriot side must start removing all kinds of
embargoes and we must start facilitating contacts between
individuals.
This is not being done and I am afraid by focusing only on
the technical aspects all we are doing is building another Titanic.
Let’s not forget that no matter how well the ship is built it will
be the crew, i.e. the people who will steer us clear of the
icebergs. So let’s get them on board and have them work together
as soon as we can for the windows of opportunity seldom stay open
for a long time.
Thank you.
Özdil Nami
Chairman
TRNC Businessman Association