Washington Active On Cyprus

BY SEMIH IDIZ
AKSAM- US President George W. Bush’s Dec. 26 letter to Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis has mostly ignored in Turkey as if it were not an important development. However, the Greek Cypriots raised hell about it and think that Bush should be scolded. When Washington was sending this letter, it was a message to Turkey as well. It aimed to put lie to the expression, ‘We shouldn’t always put pressure on the Turkish Cypriots, sometimes one must press the other side as well.’ Interestingly, following last month’s elections in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), not the European Union, but rather Washington became active. The day after the polls, the US sent its Special Coordinator for Cyprus Tom Weston to the island to show it wanted its presence felt on this issue. Of course this is bad news for ‘Denktas’s camp.’
Bush’s letter throws water on the Turkish Cypriots who always says ‘no’ because it shows that pressure won’t be put on the parties in Cyprus, but on Greece and Turkey. It also shows that TRNC President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos will be put on the back burner because Washington thinks that the Cypriots lack the will to solve the issue themselves. The game played by Denktas and his son in northern Cyprus to block the formation of a functional government is becoming clearer and clearer. The Greek Cypriots have also shown their insincerity. Papadopoulos has said, ‘If the Turkish side agrees to discuss Annan’s plan, I would go back to the table,’ but on the other side he also said, ‘I wouldn’t sign onto Annan’s plan.’
At this point, the Bush administration recognized that direct pressure on the sides on the island would yield nothing and also noted Erdogan government’s proactive stance for a solution. With his letter to Simitis, Bush wants to encourage Ankara before Erdogan’s visit to Washington this month and also wants Athens to discipline the Greek Cypriots into a solution. The worst development for Denktas’s camp would be the EU’s starting to put pressure on the Greek Cypriots.