BY FERAI TINC
HURRIYET- When I spoke with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas yesterday, he told of the day in 1964 when the decision came down recognizing the Greek Cypriots as the official representative of the state. For Denktas, it was on that day that the Greek Cypriots stole Cyprus. When Denktas speaks about Cyprus, he always discusses the history of the problem, because he considers the Cyprus issue a tale of theft which the world refuses to see. Greek Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos recently stated, ‘Even if Denktas had signed Annan’s plan at the Hague, I wouldn’t have signed it,’ and also former Greek Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides recently confessed that his nation had reached its European Union membership goal ‘without making concessions in negotiations and by laying the blame for their failure on the Turkish side.’ These are ‘harbingers of fate’ for Denktas, who was the target of large protests this time last year due to his opposition to Annan’s plan for the island.
Obviously the Cyprus issue requires a new way of doing things. However, people’s minds are now more confused than they were last year. Even these confessions seem to have given pause to those seeking a quick solution. Cyprus is preparing for new negotiations after the Dec. 14 elections. It seems that Denktas will again sit at the negotiating table at that time, by seeing himself proven right with the confessions of Greek Cypriot leaders, and believing that Cyprus has become a trump card in Turkey’s European Union membership bid. Indeed, solution of the Cyprus issue is now a trump card for everybody. For example, it’s an important trump card for Greece to solve its problems with Turkey as it pleases, for Cyprus’ EU membership and for Turkey’s EU membership bid. Even those who favor solution say, ‘Europe wants neither Turkey, nor the Turks. In the end, this will end up dividing the island.’ The coming general elections will be full of surprises. However, there is no surprise in the timetable waiting for Cyprus. Everything depends on Europe’s signals to Turkey.