By Yusuf Kanli
TDN- Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat has committed a very serious mistake by agreeing to the release of a joint statement after a July 1 meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Demetrios Chritofias stressing that the two leaders have accepted "one citizenship and one sovereignty" to be one of the negotiations subjects when and if comprehensive talks get underway between the two leaders.
For a compromise settlement on Cyprus mutual painful concessions by the two sides on the island is a must. No question in that. However, there is a difference between a painful concession and surrendering and giving away one of the key existential demands of the Turkish Cypriot people. Agreeing that the future common state of Cyprus will have "one nationality and one sovereignty" is tantamount to Turkish Cypriots accepting to become first a minority in a Greek Cypriot state and later disappearing on the island through osmosis while rendering the entire Cyprus peacemaking process an exercise on how to apply the European Union acquis communitaire "in the areas that are not under the control of the internationally recognized Cyprus government."
Talat cannot sell such an agreement - if it can ever be reached - either to his people or to the Turkish nation. But if not urgently abandoned and if Talat doesn't retract the July 1 joint statement with Christofias such a defeatist surrender of key interests and existential demands of the Turkish Cypriot people will not only be rejected in a possible referenda by Turkish Cypriots but it will be an element further complicating future peace efforts as Greek Cypriots will never ever agree to go back from what Talat unfortunately agreed - though just to talk over.
Now, the Turkish Cypriot opposition parties rightly but in an exuberant manner are calling for Talat's resignation. Are they wrong? Talat should at least make a correction to the July 1 statement and clarify that neither "one citizenship" nor "one sovereignty" are issues within the range of "painful compromise" the Turkish Cypriot side can offer.
(Yusuf Kanli can be contacted at [email protected] or [email protected])