BY GUNERI CIVAOGLU
MILLIYET-The changes which ended the 30-year status quo in Cyprus policies are now bearing fruit. For instance, the 40-year embargo on the Turkish Cypriots has been broken. If business as usual had prevailed, the isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) would have continued and Turkey’s hope for a date for EU membership talks would be but a dream. However, nothing is as good as one hopes and nothing is as bad as one fears. Yesterday’s EU decision will lift the three-decade economic embargo on the TRNC. From now on, TRNC citizens will be able to import and export products directly. However, one shouldn’t interpret this to mean that the EU recognizes (or will recognize) the TRNC. The EU’s decision has no political dimension. Its aim is to bring the TRNC’s economic level closer to that of the south in case one day they are re-unified. The TRNC’s economic weakness is seen a problem in these unification plans, and this situation gave the south pause.
One TRNC government minister told his friends on the way back from Brussels, ‘The EU is very far from recognizing us. They are trying to conduct diplomacy with us through non-governmental organizations [NGOs].’ Indeed, TRNC Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat was invited to Brussels, but only as the leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP).
Things are leaning towards carrying out commercial transactions through Limasol Harbor in Greek Cyprus. But what about the TRNC’s own Magosa Harbor? This way seems doubtful. However, there is also the privatization route. If management of the harbor is contracted to an international TRNC-foreign consortium, would the problem be solved? Of course breaking the embargo is a positive development. However, the TRNC nation hasn’t fulfilled expectations of its production capacity. It has generally depended on contributions from Turkey. The TRNC will reap the rewards of its efforts. So the door of the cage is being opened. It’s time for the TRNC to fly with its own wings.