Peace and Prosperity Await a Single, Unified Nation of Cyprus

Insight on the News, March 26, 2001 by Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis

How sad that the future of Cyprus, according to the leader of the Turkish-Cypriot community, Rauf Denktash, comes down to the old adage that good fences make good neighbors (see Fair Comment, Jan. 29). Denktash once again has responded negatively to the efforts of the United States, the European Union and the United Nations to promote a process of dialogue aimed at the reunification of Cyprus. It can only be hoped that this is not his last word on the subject.

The Greek-Cypriot community remains fully committed to the U.N.-led effort to reach a comprehensive settlement based on a single sovereign state of Cyprus with a single citizenship but with an international personality. The nation's independence and territorial integrity would be safeguarded, and it would be composed of two politically equal communities, as described in the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, in a bicommunal and bizonal federation.

In December 1999, the United Nations embarked on a new effort. Five rounds of proximity talks have taken place so far, and a sixth was scheduled for January until Denktash, branding the talks a "waste of time," announced his withdrawal from this process until the illegal regime in the Turkish-occupied areas of Cyprus is recognized.

Clearly, such a precondition is unacceptable, for it undermines the very objective of the talks: the reunification of Cyprus.

The so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is the product of aggression, occupation and colonization. The nonrecognition of this illegal entity by the United States and every other nation on Earth -- with the exception of Turkey, the occupying power -- is based on a solid refusal to let the dismemberment of Cyprus stand. The unwillingness to accept this forcible division as a fait accompli, apparently much to the dismay of Turkey and Denktash, is a very moral stand, firmly grounded in international law and U.N. Security Council decisions.

It is for this same reason that international efforts aim to tear down the wall, which forcibly divides the people of Cyprus along ethnic lines, while Denktash and Ankara stubbornly fight to maintain the division and the ugly barbed wire through the heart of the sovereign state of Cyprus.

Contrary to the picture painted by Denktash, the Turkish Cypriots are themselves victims of Turkey's policy in Cyprus, which they have been protesting through large-scale demonstrations that have become increasingly common in the occupied area. Moreover, one-third of the indigenous Turkish-Cypriots have fled the island since the 1974 Turkish invasion, while those remaining are outnumbered by Turkish troops and colonists.

Denktash's theory of separation and segregation is based on the fiction that the two communities cannot live together and, therefore, that they must remain separated. In fact, the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot communities lived peacefully together for centuries until Turkey, through its divisive policies and the use of force, effected the separation of the two communities.

In the aftermath of the Turkish invasion, some 200,000 Greek Cypriots forcibly were displaced from the northern occupied area and the Turkish Cypriots from the southern part were forced to move to the north. Although the term was not in widespread circulation back in 1974, the invasion and occupation of Cyprus was a clear case of ethnic cleansing. A state born in this manner justly deserves the nonrecognition that Denktash protests.

Despite the pain of the division and the catastrophic effects of the invasion and occupation, Cyprus has achieved an economic miracle and has rebuilt a modern, market-based economy, with an excellent education system, advanced service and industrial sectors and high-quality infrastructure. As a consequence, Cyprus currently is leading the group of candidate countries and soon will be ready to participate in the next enlargement of the European Union.

Advocates for continued separation of the two communities, such as Denktash, seriously should consider whether they want the Turkish Cypriots to remain indefinitely cut off from prosperity and stability or join with their Greek-Cypriot compatriots to fully enjoy the many benefits of Cyprus' progress and approaching membership in the European Union.

The Turkish Cypriots are our compatriots and fellow-citizens. We share an island smaller than the state of Connecticut. But we certainly share a great deal more than that: a common homeland that can embrace all its children irrespective of ethnic origin, religion or language and a bright future as citizens of a united Cyprus, with membership in the European Union.

Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis is the ambassador of Cyprus to the United States.