Turkish State Minister and Chief Negotiator for EU talks Egemen Bagis said Tuesday that the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU) were fed up with and tired of the spoiled attitudes of Greek Cypriots.
Speaking to reporters before meeting with the Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Irsen Kucuk and an accompanying delegation at the Secretariat General for the EU Affairs headquarters, Egemen Bagis said that Cyprus was a national issue for all segments of the Turkish society.
Pointing out Cyprus’s importance in Turkey’s EU process, Bagis said that Turkey experienced certain difficulties in the EU process due to the difficulties stemming from the Greek Cypriot administration.
17 of the 20 chapters not opened to negotiations yet have remained closed due to political reasons. Beyond these political reasons lie the spoiled attitude of Greek Cyprus. They claim to be a state. Certain EU countries also argued that the Greek Cyprus administration was a state and that they should be admitted into the Union. Only last week, when Pinar Karsiyaka Basketball team went to Southern Cyprus, they showed that they were neither a state nor a tribe. They have shown to the whole world that an administration that can not facilitate security for a guest basketball team could not be called a state, Bagis underlined.
The Greek Cypriot administration still has the same pre-conceived notions as they did prior to 1974. I believe that we can lead them in certain issues with our understanding of tolerance, Bagis said.
Asked where the issue of Cyprus would go if the UN was to withdraw from Cyprus, Bagis said that there was a limit to the patience of the UN.
There is a side in Cyprus that has consistently said ’no’ to all UN efforts, Turkey’s and TRNC’s proposals for peace and compromise. We can not have compromise by forcing it on them. It is natural for the UN to expect results after their efforts. It is a natural right of the UN Secretary General to review UN’s efforts if the Greek Cypriots display the same attitude after the talks at the end of January. I hope that the Greek Cypriots would take this as a warning. The UN and the EU are fed up with and tired of the spoiled attitudes of Greek Cypriots, Bagis stressed.
How can we entrust our brothers and sisters in Northern Cyprus to a mentality that can not even tolerate a basketball game?, Bagis said.
For long years, we insisted on a solution based on political equality, Bagis said.
The whole process and experiences have cast a shadow on the universal respectability of international organizations. People all across the globe have begun questioning the credibility of the UN. The UN now has to think about its own credibility. In a similar fashion, the EU has to think about its credibility. The EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou, is a Greek Cypriot. What will her reaction be to the recent incidents in Southern Cyprus following the basketball game? I have not yet heard any remarks on the incidents from Ms. Vassiliou. I am making a call on her. If she is an EU Commissioner, she has to protect the interests of whole Europe and not only her country. We will see how European she is, Bagis also said.
-IRSEN KUCUK-
TRNC Prime Minister Irsen Kucuk, in his part, said that they arrived in Turkey on the occasion of announcing the year 2011 as "The Year of TRNC in Turkey".
Kucuk thanked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish government for their support to the TRNC.
"This project will boost tourism in the TRNC. The project will carry Turks from all corners of Turkey to the TRNC. We expect our cooperation to reach the highest level thanks to this project," Kucuk said.
Negotiations in Cyprus are continuing. The TRNC government and President Dervis Eroglu are sitting at the negotiations table with all sincerity. The side that offers hope for the future is either Turkey or the TRNC, Kucuk said.
It is impossible to witness such a good will in the South or in Christofias, Kucuk underlined.
It is impossible to have faith in the sincerity of the Greek Cypriots. We are sorry to see that we are not close to an agreement or peace in Cyprus, Kucuk said.
We will, nonetheless, continue with our good will, Kucuk said.
We expect the UN to be more influential in 2011, Kucuk also said.
Gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, Cyprus became a bi-communal Republic where Greek and Turkish Cypriot constituent communities would share power guaranteed by the UK, Turkey and Greece.
However, Greek Cypriots soon expelled Turkish Cypriots from power and terrorised and ghettoised them. Decades long armed attacks on the defenseless Turkish Cypriots culminated in 1974 when an Athens-backed Greek Cypriot military coup on the island led to Turkey’s intervention based on its rights stemming from the Treaty of Guarantee.
Although the Republic of Cyprus as described in the 1959 agreements is no longer there, Greek Cypriots continue to enjoy this title and international recognition while the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a fully democratic government representing Turkish Cypriots, still suffers under an unfair political and economic blockade.
Cyprus joined the EU as a divided island when Greek Cypriots in the south rejected the UN reunification plan in twin referendums in 2004 even though the Turkish Cypriots in the north overwhelmingly supported it.
The promise made by EU foreign ministers before the referendums to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots and establish direct trade with north Cyprus remains unfulfilled.
TRNC is an independent republic located in the north of Cyprus. TRNC has received diplomatic recognition from Turkey and it has representations in dozens of countries across the globe.