BY FIKRET BILA
MILLIYET- ‘The TRNC’s independence was a dream,’ said Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat this week. If a prime minister speaks of his country this way, how will others talk? Firstly, if you’re the premier of a country which you don’t believe in and are preparing to run for president, wouldn’t this raise your ambivalence? Secondly, if the prime minister says such things even as we’re preparing to sit at the table with the European Union and Southern Cyprus, what bargaining power do we have? Who believes in a person who doesn’t believe in himself? Most probably Talat will stand for president in the April 2005 elections. If he’s elected, he’ll head the Turkish delegation in the next talks and protect the rights of Turkish Cypriots. He’ll work for the establishment of a common state based on two equal nations, two democracies and two states. However, such remarks only make him weaker.
He might have a certain view concerning the TRNC’s independence. However, posts such as prime minister and president require different responsibilities. Of course neither Turkey nor the Turkish Cypriots expected the TRNC to be recognized on the day of its establishment. However, many efforts were made for its recognition. Of course Talat knows the reason for the TRNC’s founding better than any of us. Not the 1974 Peace Operation, but the Greek Cypriots’ coup d’état destroyed the Cypriot Republic. They tyrannized and expelled Turks for years and seized the Cypriot Republic. That’s why Ankara is intervening in the issue under its right as a guarantor state. It’s an obligation for us to protect Turkish Cypriots’ lives, goods and sovereignty. Likewise, before the TRNC was founded, the Turkish side stated its intention not to divide the country, but reunite it in the future. However, after the Greek Cypriot administration was accepted as the only legal government representing the entire island, it became clear that a solution based on two equal sovereignties would be possible only with the TRNC. Now the search for a solution is proceeding on this basis, and Talat is the premier of that country and preparing to become the president.