BY FERAI TINC
HURRIYET- It's like I'm watching a movie for the second time, but of course the setting is different now. The weariness I see on the streets and the problems and rumors in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) since last Sunday's Greek Cypriot presidential election reminds me of the Cyprus of years ago, before negotiations started between the leaders in power then, TRNC President Rauf Denktas and the Greek Cypriot administration's Glafcos Clerides. The economy was moribund and the market stagnant. There were no tourists and everybody was complaining about the government. Trade unions were ready to protest until the minimum wage was raised. But this time there's the difference of current TRNC President Mehmet Ali Talat. Denktas used to quarrel with the government, but he left domestic issues to the government. He used to focus on the Cyprus issue, Turkey and the world.
But Talat is different. He's both an actual party leader and a president, and he unavoidably feels torn. This time I saw that he's very close to becoming a scapegoat. He's angry at activists who criticize him for being unable to find a solution and who brand the government the `sub-administration' of Turkey . He says no perspective which fails to see him as the leader of Turkish Cypriots can possibly promote peace. We used to hear similar things from Denktas. No, I'm not saying that Talat doesn't want a solution - he does. He wants a solution on the basis of political equality and argues that Turkey 's guarantorship can't be given up. He also stipulates a new state of partnership to be formed by two equal states. As soon as Dimitris Christofias was elected Greek Cypriot leader, Talat held a press conference and made his stance clear. But Christofias isn't doing the same. He's not showing his hand. In a period when everybody's talking about a new hope, Cyprus looks very hazy.
This haziness wouldn't be so important if only we had a government with an open vision for Turkey . But do we? At the key 2002 Copenhagen summit of the European Union, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) mishandled the Cyprus issue. Denktas opposed the Annan plan, and the Greek Cypriots were a shoe-in for EU membership. The reason for the confusion back then, just after our own November 2002 elections (which brought the AKP to power), was a lack of confidence, but the reason for the current confusion is overconfidence. The AKP believes that it knows best and acts wisely on every issue. But do you think a government stuck between the headscarf chaos and funerals of dead soldiers can deal with such an incomprehensible problem like the 44-year-old Cyprus issue? What's more, there's no leader like Tassos Papadopoulos now, who opposed a solution. Now there's Christofias, and people think he'll try to solve the issue.
Although he carefully avoids spelling out what a solution would entail in his eyes, Christofias is getting support from not only Europe and the US , but also Russia . Meanwhile, there is Talat, who has treated the entire world very honestly. Following the defeat of the Annan plan in 2004, this honesty wasn't expected. On the contrary, we're still facing a TRNC administration and a Turkey soothed by promises from Europe . Did someone mention the example of Kosovo? Please examine it carefully. There was huge international support there from the very beginning. As long as Turkey lacks a strong, creative political leadership which can drum up international support close to that on Kosovo, history is gearing up for a repetition, with all its pressures, blackmail and fears.